The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After the oven was ready for use, Min Xi baked some cakes and gave them to his neighbors. Although the neighbors were quite far away, they would inevitably interact with each other if they lived here for a long time, so it would always be a good idea to build some friendships first.

Another important reason why Min Xi wanted to get along well with his neighbors was that he wanted to buy food from them in the future, such as poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese, as well as some vegetables and fruits, without having to go to the city to buy them. After all, it was quite troublesome to go to the city to buy vegetables every day, as they had neither horses nor cars.

When the neighbors saw the two foreigners, their reactions were different. Some were indifferent, some felt shy, and some found it interesting.

Those who understand the ways of the world will return the visit as soon as possible. On the evening when Min Xi delivered the cake, a middle-aged woman came to visit with a child. After asking, they found out that they were the neighbors behind their house: "Our surname is Powell. Thank you very much for the cakes you sent today. They are very delicious and the children like them very much. These are some fruits and vegetables grown in my own home, and I send them to you to taste." Then she took the basket off her arm and handed it to Min Xi.

Min Xi looked and saw blackthorn, cherries, two melons and some fruits that Min Xi didn't recognize in the basket: "Mrs. Powell, please come in and sit down. Thank you very much for your gift. I like it very much."

Mrs. Powell was very curious about what the inside of the house looked like. Before, the Bright family only came here for vacation and did not live here for a long time, so they were too lazy to maintain good neighborhood relations, and no one knew what his house looked like.

Mrs. Powell hesitated, then came in: "Did you buy this house or rent it?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "We rented a house from Mr. Bright. We're staying here temporarily, and we'll have to ask our neighbors to take care of us in the future."

"You are foreigners, right? Why do you rent a house here?"

“We’re planning to open a restaurant here.”

"Open a restaurant here? Are you sure? Who will come here to eat?" Mrs. Powell was very surprised.

Min Xi smiled and said, "We mainly entertain guests from London."

"They would come so far to eat?" Mrs. Powell was obviously a little unconvinced.

"Maybe." Min Xi smiled, "Please sit down, I'll empty the basket for you."

Mrs. Powell held her child's hand tightly and stood in the living room, looking at the layout inside. The furniture in this house was so beautiful. The houses of city people were really different.

Min Xi emptied the basket and put some cookies in it: "Thank you for the fruit. These are the cookies I baked myself, you can try them. By the way, Mrs. Powell should have a lot of chickens, ducks and geese, right?"

Mrs. Powell looked at the cookies in the basket and said, "You are too polite. I can't eat yours all the time. My own fruits and vegetables are not worth much. I have a lot of chickens and ducks at home."

"I may need to buy some chickens, ducks, and geese in the future, and I will also need a lot of eggs. I wonder if I can go to your house to buy them."

Mrs. Powell's eyes lit up when she heard him say that. "Do you need to buy chickens, ducks, and geese? Or eggs? Yes, just come and buy them. I have quite a few at home."

"Then let's put it this way. When I need it, I will go to your house to buy it. If the vegetables you grow are fresh, we will also need them."

"Yes, yes, we can take you to see the fields. You can come anytime." Mrs. Powell left happily. The chickens and ducks they raised and the vegetables they grew had to be taken to the city to exchange for money. If someone could buy them directly at home, it would save a lot of trouble. See, this is the benefit of neighbors visiting each other more often, and business will come to the door automatically.

Yun Ji came in from the back door and said, "The utility room at the back has been cleaned up."

"That's great! In the evening we'll go to Powell's house behind to buy some chickens and ducks to raise, so we don't have to go buy them every day." Min Xi said.

"Did anyone come just now?"

"Yes, Mrs. Powell sent some fruit as a return gift. She has a lot of chickens and ducks at home, so I'll buy from her next time."

"Okay, from now on, we'll go to the city mainly to buy beef and mutton. If we want to go to the city often, it'd be best to have a horse." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we buy one and sell it when we leave? Or we can rent one. The rent shouldn't be that expensive. When we leave, we can just return the horse."

“That’s a good idea too.”

"Then when we go to Powell's house to buy chickens and ducks tonight, we can ask if anyone has a horse to rent."

Among the neighbors, Powell's family was not the closest to them, but he was the only one who had visited them, so they had to go to him. At night, the two knocked on Powell's door and explained their purpose. The Powells were very surprised and quickly opened the pens to catch chickens and ducks for them.

Mrs. Powell also asked, "Do you have food for the chickens and ducks?"

Min Xi shook his head: "Really not. Do you have any here? Sell some to us."

"Yes, we have oats and rye. What do you need?"

"Whatever you normally feed them, give me some of that."

"Hey, both. So you want all of them?"

"Okay, thank you!"

They bought five chickens and six ducks, and a large bag of rye and oats.

A chicken costs two pence, and ducks are a little more expensive, 5 pence for two. All added up is only 30 pence, which is really not expensive.

Min Xi asked again: "Mr. Powell, we often go to the city to buy things, and we need a horse. I wonder how much it costs to buy a horse? Or rent one. Do you know anyone who has extra horses?"

Powell heard this and said, "Buying a horse is not cheap. A low-quality horse costs at least 5 pounds, and a better one is more expensive. I don't know the exact price for renting a horse. The Green family has two horses. If you need them, I will accompany you to the Green family to ask?"

"Okay, thank you Mr. Powell." Min Xi thanked him.

Powell was embarrassed when he heard him call him Mr., so he said, "Just call me Powell. I'm not a Mr.."

"Okay, Powell." Min Xi followed suit.

Yunji first sent the chickens, ducks and food home, while Minxi and Powell went to Green's house. Green was Minxi's neighbor on the left. Powell introduced him as a very shy man: "He is very good at farming and can grow everything well, but he is very shy and doesn't like to see people. He never takes things from his home to the city to sell, and would rather leave them to rot in the fields. Sometimes I can't bear to see them, so I will help him sell some. If you need them, you can go to his house to buy them."

"Okay." No wonder when he went to deliver the pastries, he clearly saw someone moving around in the yard. He knocked on the door for a long time and the dog barked for a long time, but no one came to open the door. He had no choice but to put the pastries at the gate of the yard. He must have been embarrassed.

Powell knocked on the door for a long time before Green slowly came to open the door. He turned out to be a young man who looked to be in his twenties. He was quite energetic, but unfortunately he was too introverted. When he saw Min Xi, his face turned red like a persimmon and he subconsciously hid behind the door.

Powell quickly propped up the door with his hands to prevent him from closing it. "Wait a minute, Green, this is Mr. Min, a tenant who just moved into Bright Manor. We're going to be neighbors in the future. Do you have two horses? He wants to rent one from you. How much does it cost?"

Green was very embarrassed, with his eyes downcast, not knowing where to put his gaze: "I, I don't know."

"Your horse has no other use except for working in the fields. Why don't you rent it to Mr. Min?" Powell said.

Min Xi said, "I want to rent a horse. How much is it per month? I will help you take care of the horse, and I will return it to you when we leave."

Green didn't say anything. If he hadn't spoken just now, Min Xi would almost think he was mute.

Powell looked anxious: "Mr. Min runs a restaurant. You can sell the vegetables you grow to him if you can't finish them."

"Yes, I need vegetables. If you have chickens and ducks that you can't finish eating, you can sell them to me. How about I give you one shilling a month for a horse?" Min Xi said.

When Powell heard this, he was envious. He could raise the horse in someone else's house without having to take care of it himself, and he could get 1 shilling for it. What a great thing! "Green, you should agree to it quickly."

Green took a long time to utter a word: "Okay."

Min Xi said, "Then I will go and get the horse now."

They turned on the lights and went to the stable to look at the horses. Min Xi didn't know much about horses and didn't know how to choose. Green went and led out a black horse himself, stammering, "This one." He led out the better one.

"Okay. I can ride it, right? Is there a saddle?" Min Xi asked.

Green said "hmm" and turned to get the saddle.

Yun Ji came over at this moment: "Have you rented it?"

"Okay. What do you think of this horse?" Min Xi handed him the reins.

Yun Ji raised the lantern in his hand, looked up and down, left and right, and then looked at his teeth: "Not bad."

At this time, Green took out a saddle from the utility room next to the stable and put it on the horse's back.

Min Xi thanked him: "Thank you! I'll give you money. This 1 pound is a deposit, and the other 1 shilling is this month's rent, keep it."

Green looked at the gold coins shining under the light, hesitating whether he should take it.

Powell saw his hesitation and said, "I think you don't need to take the deposit. We are all neighbors and can be trusted."

Min Xi put the gold coin into his pocket and put the 1 shilling silver coin into Green's hand: "Okay, I won't give you the deposit. Don't worry, I will definitely not lose the horse. If I lose it, I will compensate you according to the price."

Green held the silver coin in his hand, nodded, and said nothing.

Min Xi said to Yun Ji happily, "Okay, let's go home. We can ride to the city tomorrow morning."