The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi was very surprised. He didn't know why Mr. Hopson said this to the other party. He was sure that he had never mentioned returning to China.

Soon, Hopson called Min Xi and Yun Ji to leave the reception room. After going upstairs, Hopson explained, "Mrs. Wells just now came to London to participate in social activities. Her purpose is to find marriage partners for her two daughters."

Min Xi recalled that this was indeed the case when he watched British dramas before. There were several months of social season in London every year. The British upper class gathered in London to participate in social activities. One of the important purposes was to provide single men and women with opportunities to find good relationships.

Many middle-class people also take advantage of this opportunity to come to London to meet the upper class, hoping to have the opportunity to cross the class barrier.

"I've heard of the social season in London. Is it now?" Min Xi asked curiously.

"Exactly. It started in April and ended in August. Living and eating in London for several months is very expensive. Rich people would have come here a long time ago. Those who come here now are from poor families and come to see if they can get a bargain. The Wells family is a poor family. They borrowed money to bring their daughter to London for social activities in an attempt to marry into a wealthy family. As a result, they haven't married their daughter off in three years. So any young man with a better financial condition will be considered by them," Hopson explained.

Min Xi suddenly realized that a man who could afford to stay at the Bright Hotel must be rich. No wonder even herself and Yun Ji became the subjects of her investigation: "Thank you, Mr. Hopson, for clearing up my doubts."

Hopson lowered his voice and said, "Although it is ungentlemanly to talk about others behind their backs, I don't think the Wells family is suitable. You are new here, so you must be careful. If you meet her in the future, don't say you are single."

"Thank you Mr. Hopson for the reminder." Min Xi thanked sincerely.

He actually admired Mrs. Wells a little. She even went into debt in order to let her daughter marry better. Isn't the love of this mother for her daughter touching?

After returning to the room, Yun Ji asked Min Xi: "What is that good idea you told me before?"

Min Xi explained: "Our purpose in coming to England is to find some crops from the New World. If the Baron were here, I think it would not be difficult to ask for some crop seeds from Oxford University through his connections. But now the Baron is not here, and we don't know anyone, so this matter is a bit difficult."

"Then how do you plan to start?" Yun Ji knew that he should have thought of a solution.

Min Xi said: "Well, we opened a restaurant in Lisbon and got to know noble people like the baron and the lord, and also met Professor Greeley and Professor Boyle. If we open a restaurant in London, I think we should be able to make some connections. Of course, it takes too long to open a restaurant and the cost is also high, so I want to open a private restaurant."

Yun Ji was stunned: "What is a private restaurant?"

Min Xi said: "This is the custom cuisine I was planning to open when I was in Lisbon. Later, the business in the store was too good, so this custom cuisine has never been officially launched. Our main purpose in London is not to make money, but to make friends, so we only sell two tables of food every day, one table at noon and one table at night. The price of the dishes is set a little higher, ordinary people can't afford it, only rich people can afford it, so the chance of meeting rich people will be greater. The venue does not need to be too big, renting an apartment is enough, the decoration time is short, and the cost will not be too high."

Yun Ji raised a practical question: "How can we make our restaurant famous? How can we let people know about our private restaurant?"

Min Xi smiled: "There are some ready-made ones."

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "Are you talking about Mr. Hopson?"

Min Xi nodded, "Yes. There are also guests of the hotel, Viscount Herbert, who is also a potential guest and may be a helper to help us expand our network. There is also the hotel owner Mr. Bright who has not shown up yet. We can also invite him to dinner. Since he is in a high-end hotel in London, he must have a wider network of contacts."

Yun Ji nodded: "What you said seems to make sense. But my English is not very good, I am worried that I can't help much."

"It doesn't matter. We have limited guests and I can handle it. From today on, let's use English for daily communication. If you can't express what you want to say, I will teach you." Min Xi said.

"it is good!"

Min Xi rubbed his hands excitedly: "The more I think about it, the more I think this is very feasible. Now is the social season in London, and the upper class people from all over the UK are attending social events in London. If we can open a private restaurant in a short period of time, we will have many opportunities to meet the upper class."

Yun Ji asked in confusion: "What is the social season?"

Min Xi explained: "This is an unwritten rule of the British nobility. From April to August every year, people from the upper class will gather in London to play together, participate in hunting, sports, banquets and dances. It is a good time for the nobility to visit relatives and friends and keep in touch with each other. It also provides an opportunity for young noble men and women to get to know each other. Many marriages are facilitated during the social season."

Yun Ji understood a little: "It seems that the marriage of Western nobles is more open-minded than that of our Ming Dynasty. Young men and women can get to know each other before marriage."

"Yes. It is indeed freer than the marriages arranged by our parents in the Ming Dynasty." Min Xi said.

"So the Baron is also here to socialize?" Yun Ji suddenly asked this question.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said with a smile, "The Baron should not be counted. His marriage was also arranged, a family marriage. The only luck he had was that he met the girl before the marriage. By the way, the lady downstairs just now, she brought her daughter to attend the social event, hoping to find a good husband for her daughter in the social scene. She was asking about your situation just now, asking if you are married."

Yun Ji was stunned: "Why are you asking me?"

Min Xi smiled slyly: "Of course I'm attracted to you and want you to be my son-in-law."

"Are you kidding me? I have never met her before, so how can we get to the stage of discussing marriage?" Yun Ji is not stupid.

"I'm not kidding you. From what I see from her attitude, she wants to recruit all the young and promising talents and find someone who is willing to be her son-in-law. She just wants her daughter to marry better." Min Xi laughed.

Yun Ji sighed: "Then this mother is too rash. Is she willing to let her daughter marry a foreigner?"

Min Xi also sighed: "Maybe they are desperate. Their family is not well off. Mr. Hopson said they borrowed money to attend the social event in order to find a good husband. They have been here for several years but have not been able to find their dream. I think they are anxious."

Yun Ji shook his head: "It's pitiful that parents all over the world are so kind. But the purpose is so clear, and it seems like climbing up the social ladder, I'm afraid it's hard for people to like it."

"I think it's because of this problem that you haven't been able to achieve your wish for so long." Min Xi clapped his hands, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. From now on, you have to speak English to me. If you don't understand, ask me."

"Okay!" Yun Ji answered in English.

From that moment on, the two began to communicate in English. Min Xi planned to train him in basic English before opening the private restaurant.

Not long after they went upstairs, the receptionist came up and said, "Sir, there is something I need to tell you. After breakfast, a kid named Jerry came to see you and said he wanted to tell you something he found out for you. He left when he heard you were not there, and he will come back this afternoon."

"OK, thanks!"

"The breakfast you made this morning tasted so good. What's its name?" The guy at the front desk couldn't help swallowing his saliva as he recalled the steamed dumplings he had that morning.

“It’s called Xiao Long Bao.”

"Thank you, I'll remember that! That's the most delicious food I've ever eaten!" he exclaimed sincerely.

"Thank you for liking it!"

In the afternoon, the little boy named Jerry came as expected. He told Min Xi: "I have already inquired for you. In the past seven days, no ship from Frankfurt has docked in London."

"Thank you for the news!" Min Xi gave him 1 penny.

Turning back to Yun Ji, he said, "That kid said there won't be any ships from Flanji arriving in London in the next seven days. Are the Baron and his men really not here yet? I'm really worried about their safety."

"Don't worry, they will be fine." Yun Ji replied to him in English. He tried his best to express himself in English now and could only say simple sentences.

Around five o'clock, Min Xi and Yun Ji went downstairs to cook dinner. When they went downstairs, they saw several gorgeously dressed young girls in the hotel's reception room. They were wearing huge puffy skirts and lace hats, just like what Min Xi had seen in movies and TV dramas.

When the young girls saw them, they stared at them curiously. To them, their looks were too strange.

Herbert came down from upstairs and coughed when he saw the girls like this. The girls came to their senses and said, "Father, you are down!"

It turned out to be Herbert's daughters. Herbert was dressed very decently and was leaning on a cane. He was probably taking his daughters to a banquet or a dance. The curfew in London should be exempted for these nobles.

Min Xi and Yun Ji didn't stay long, and walked through the crowd to the kitchen, where Judy was preparing dinner. When she saw them come in, she took the initiative to greet them: "Sir, are you going to cook again?"

"Yes, ma'am, I hope it won't cause you any trouble." Min Xi said.

Judy waved her hand: "No, you go ahead."

The attitude has obviously changed a lot, which seems to be due to the dumplings.

Yun Ji said, "I'll go kill the chicken."

Min Xi nodded: "Okay, I'll knead the dough, and we'll have chicken noodle soup tonight."

As soon as Yun Ji went to the backyard, Min Xi heard a loud voice saying, "Judy, is dinner ready? We want to eat now!"

Looking back, it was Mrs. Wells.