The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

When they arrived at the house, the three of them got off the carriage, and Brett asked, "How is this house?"

"It looks nice outside," said Min Xi.

"It's quite nice inside too. Let's go in and take a look." Brett took out the key and opened the gate.

There is a well in the yard and a huge viburnum in full bloom. The branches are adorned with snow-like flowers, supported by tender green palm-shaped leaves. It is fresh and elegant, reminding people of a girl in a white gauze skirt and a white wreath.

Brett turned back to look at Min Xi, looking pleased: "How is it?"

Min Xi asked: "Whose house is this? How much is the rent?"

Brett laughed when he heard that. "I knew you would like it here. The rent for this house is one pound a month. Isn't it cheap?"

Min Xi fell silent. Compared with staying in a hotel, the rent of this house is indeed not expensive. But compared with the income of British people, this house is too expensive!

Who would rent such an expensive house, especially in the suburbs?

Yunji said he also understood the rent and said in English: "It's too expensive."

Brett turned his head to look at Yun Ji in surprise, because he rarely spoke, he asked back: "Why do you say that?"

Yunji made his point with a simple English phrase: "Too far!"

Min Xi helped explain: "He said this place is too far from the city, and the house in the suburbs is not worth the price."

Brett laughed: "If you really want to rent this place, you can rent it cheaper. Just name your price."

Min Xi discussed it with Yun Ji and finally said, "The maximum amount given is 10 shillings per month."

Brett couldn't help but sigh: "If you hadn't said you wanted to rent it out, the owner really wouldn't want to rent it out."

When Min Xi heard this, he looked at him and said, "Mr. Bright, this house is not yours, is it?"

Brett smiled and said, "You're right. This is my villa in the suburbs. It's where our family vacations are. Isn't it beautiful?"

Min Xi also smiled: "Yes, I liked it at first sight. Mr. Bright's aesthetic taste is really great. Who can not like such a beautiful courtyard?"

"Since you really want to rent it, I will rent it to you with great reluctance. But I need to lock some rooms and you can't enter." Brett made a request.

"Okay, we only need one bedroom, but I want to be able to use the kitchen, dining room and living room," said Min Xi.

"Of course, I know you're planning to open a restaurant, so these can certainly be used. I just need to lock up some of the bedrooms," Brett said.

"of course can."

"I'm your landlord, and you open a restaurant in my house. Can I enjoy some privileges?" This is also Brett's selfish desire. He rents the house to them so that he can have more conveniences than others.

"Of course, if you come to eat, I can give you a 9% discount."

"That's all? If there's a lot of people in line, can I get a queue?"

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid not. But if you really need it, I can cook some food for you."

Brett was instantly happy when he heard this: "Great! This means I can eat whenever I want, right?"

Min Xi shook his head: "You can't say that. You know, my store is a pre-sale system. The ingredients for each day are purchased in advance, and it is rare that they exceed the budget. So if you don't tell me in advance, you may not have anything to eat."

"I see. You also need to book in advance, right?"

"That's pretty much it."

"I've got that." Brett opened the door. "Come in and take a look."

Min Xi and Yun Ji followed him into the house, which was the reception room. They drew aside the curtains and saw that the room was spacious and bright. The furniture was not very new, but it was decorated in a very warm way.

Brett said: "Look at how bright the living room is. Guests can drink tea, chat or play poker here while waiting for dinner."

Min Xi also thought it was a good idea and discussed with Yun Ji: "Let's make another set of sofa cushions and replace the carpet later."

Yun Ji nodded: "Okay." Since you're planning to open a restaurant, you still need to make the basic investment. You can't just rely on the landlord for everything. You have to make changes if necessary.

They went to the restaurant again. Min Xi and Yun Ji were not very satisfied with what they saw. After discussing it for a while, they said to Brett, "Mr. Brett, your restaurant is a bit small. If there are more people, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient to move around. I hope to move the restaurant to the living room and move the shelves originally placed in the living room to the restaurant."

Brett naturally knew the limitations of his own restaurant, so he did not object to Min Xi's proposal: "You can do whatever you want. Are you satisfied with the kitchen?"

Min Xi said: "I may remodel the kitchen according to my own needs, but I will try not to touch your original things. I will build an oven at the back of the kitchen."

"Okay, try to keep the kitchen the same as it is. If you really need to change it, just restore it for me when I move out." Brett was easy to talk to.

"No problem." Min Xi agreed readily.

As for the bedroom, Min Xi and Yun Ji chose a room on the east side of the second floor. The room faced the viburnum tree directly below, and when they opened the window they could see the flowers on the tree, which was refreshing.

Brett was a little surprised: "Just one bedroom?"

Min Xi was stunned for a moment. Now the situation was different from before. He and Yun Ji could each live in a room. So he said to Yun Ji, "Seventh Brother, why don't we take two bedrooms, the one on the west side as well, so that we can each have one."

Yun Ji looked at him and said, "I think one room is enough. We can stay the same as before. What's wrong with that? This way Mr. Bright doesn't have to make an extra room for us. If you don't feel comfortable living with me, then we can each have a room."

Since he said so, Min Xi certainly couldn't say that he felt uncomfortable, otherwise it would hurt his feelings, so he said: "Not that I feel uncomfortable. Since Seventh Brother doesn't mind, let's just do it like before." Anyway, they were each covering themselves with their own quilts, so it wouldn't be too awkward. Besides, he was used to sleeping with two people now. Yun Ji's personality and habits were very good, and the two of them got along well with each other, and there was no disagreement or conflict at all.

Min Si said to Brett, "We only need one bedroom to live in. You can move the things in this room to other rooms, leaving enough furniture for us, and you can lock up the rest of the rooms."

Brett looked at them in surprise. He didn't expect that two grown men would be willing to share a room and a bed, but he didn't say anything. For him, it was more convenient to have to clean up one less room.

Renting the house went quite smoothly. They signed the lease contract on the same day and paid a deposit of two pounds and three months' rent. Although it was not clear when Baron Fernando would arrive in London, according to their original itinerary, their visit to the UK would last two or three months.

Since they had rented a house, there was no need to stay in a hotel. That afternoon, they checked out and moved to the suburbs.

When Hopson came back, he caught up with them moving. He hurriedly followed them to get acquainted with the house. When he saw the new house, he praised it highly: "The environment here is beautiful. Although it is a little remote, I think the guests will be happy to eat here. When are you going to open? I'll bring my friends over for dinner."

Min Xi said, "It's still early. When we are ready, we will invite you to dinner."

"Then I won't go back to Manchester for the time being. I'll go back after having this meal." Hopson rubbed his hands in great anticipation.

"Okay, I will go to the hotel to inform you of the time. You can bring a few friends with you, preferably those with high incomes who can afford to spend money here." Min Xi said with a smile.

Hopson understood what he meant: "Don't worry, I will call some of my wealthy friends to recommend potential customers to you."

"Thanks in advance then."

After Hopson left, Min Xi and Yun Ji began to pack up their new home. Mr. Bright had arranged for someone to clear out the things in the east bedroom, leaving only the furniture for them. The rest was up to them to arrange.

They didn't bring much with them, just some bedding. The two planned to put down the old ones first and then go to the city to buy a set of sheets and quilt covers for replacement.

As for decorations, there are none now, but we can add them slowly in the future. Or maybe we don’t even need to add them. The Baron and his men might be here soon, so there’s no need to go through all this trouble.

The most important thing is the kitchen. The two moved the dining table to a corner of the living room and moved the wine cabinet and other shelves in the living room to the dining room. It is more convenient for guests to rest and eat in the living room.

As for the oven, they built it together. It was not their first time doing it, so they were familiar with it and did it quickly and well.

The oven had to dry for several days before it could be used, so the two men built a shed on top to protect it from wind and rain.

As for the tableware, they borrowed the silver tableware from the Bright family. Since some of it was missing, they went to the silversmith to make some large and small bowls for soup and dishes, which are relatively rare in British tableware.

The two spent money to customize new sofa covers and buy new carpets. The total investment was several pounds, which was still within an acceptable range.

After a few days of hard work, we can finally entertain guests.