The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After eating the custard buns, Langdon asked, "Kane, how did these two Chinese come to London, and why did they come to the Earl's house to make snacks?"

Kane shook his head: "I don't know the details. But I heard from the Countess that these two Chinese opened a restaurant outside of London. We can go there for dinner then."

“Why open a restaurant in the suburbs instead of in the city?”

"That's not clear."

Min Xi and Yun Ji didn't know that they had become the focus of the party before they even showed up. Many people had shown great interest in them, not only because of their cooking skills, but also because of their backgrounds.

They were busy until almost five o'clock when they finally finished preparing the ingredients. They were sweating all over. After taking a short break and washing their faces, they came out to meet the guests attending the party.

They had been busy for two days without even asking Mrs. Comstock for payment, just for this moment.

Min Xi and Yun Ji walked from the kitchen to the living room. The guests in the room who were originally chatting and laughing gradually lowered their voices and looked at them. Their first impression was that they looked a bit strange, but not as weird as they had imagined. On the contrary, they were quite good-looking.

Although their hairstyle is a bit weird, their facial features are fully exposed. Even so, they are still very pleasing to the eye. They should be considered good-looking people in China.

Mrs. Comstock turned her head and saw them. She smiled and waved to them, "Young men, come here. These two are the Chinese who made snacks for us today. Let them introduce themselves."

Min Xi and Yun Ji walked behind Mrs. Comstock's sofa and bowed to everyone present. Min Xi said, "Nice to meet you all. My name is Min, and this is my brother Yun. We are from China."

As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone was surprised that he could speak fluent English. Although his pronunciation was a little different from that of the English, everyone could understand him.

Antonio Landon was very interested in everything they did: "I'd like to know where you learned English?"

"I learned it from a friend of mine who was a Flame Machine."

"How did you end up in England?"

Min Xi had answered this question for many people before, and now he told them their origins again in front of everyone. Everyone was stunned. This experience was too legendary.

Langdon couldn't help asking about the Ming Dynasty again. Min Xi briefly explained it, and seeing that the other party wanted to continue asking, he said, "It's difficult to explain the differences between our Ming Dynasty and England in a few words. I hope we can sit down and talk slowly in the future. We opened a restaurant in the western suburbs of London, called Yizhuo Restaurant, which specializes in Chinese-style meals. We only serve one table per meal, and reservations must be made in advance. If you are interested, you are welcome to come to my restaurant to taste Chinese food. I will also have time to answer your questions."

"One-table restaurant?" Langdon was interested. "That's interesting. If they only serve one table, the price must be quite high, right?"

Min Xi smiled and nodded: "Indeed, the minimum consumption standard is 1 pound, and the price varies according to the number of people dining, with a minimum of four people."

When he announced the price, everyone present couldn't help but gasp: This price is too expensive, 1 pound for four people, 5 shillings per person, it's too extravagant.

Langdon's friend Kane yelled, "This is too expensive! What kind of delicacies do you serve in your restaurant that you charge this much?"

Although everyone present did not express their opinions due to face, they all agreed with Kane's point of view.

Min Xi smiled and said: "Of course it is Chinese food that you can't eat in the UK. Friends who are interested are welcome to come and support us."

Langdon asked, “If I don’t want to eat, but just come to chat with you, would you welcome me?”

Min Xi smiled and said, "Of course you're welcome." The main purpose of opening a restaurant was to make connections. How could he not be willing if someone wanted to be friends with him?

Mrs. Comstock said, "Young man, your cooking skills are so good, why do you only open a one-table restaurant? It's a pity that so few people can taste your cooking skills. Why don't you open a restaurant in the city? With your cooking skills, the business will definitely be booming."

She did not directly say that the price was too expensive, but suggested opening an ordinary restaurant, implying that the prices of an ordinary restaurant certainly could not be outrageously expensive.

Min Xi sighed helplessly, "Madam, it's not that we don't want to, but we have limited manpower and we are too busy to run an ordinary restaurant. We may leave the UK at any time. Yizhuo Restaurant is just opened while we are waiting for news from our friends. It may close at any time. Friends who are interested in Chinese culture and Chinese cuisine are welcome to come and taste the food and exchange the cultures of the two countries."

What he said was very straightforward. He was just like Jiang Taigong fishing, and those who are willing to spend money will come.

Antonio Langdon was full of curiosity about Min Xi and Yun Ji's origins and experiences, and couldn't help asking about the specific location of the Yizhuo restaurant. Min Xi told him the specific route truthfully and told him that there were signposts on the road. If he could find the signposts, he could basically find where the restaurant was.

It was getting late, and the guests seemed to have no intention of leaving because they were interested in Min Xi and Yun Ji. Seeing this, Min Xi took the initiative to say goodbye to the Countess. After all, it was almost dinner time, and if the guests didn't leave, would the host ask them to stay for dinner?

Sure enough, as soon as he said he was leaving, some guests came to their senses and realized it was time to leave.

Min Xi and Yun Ji went back to the kitchen to pack up and prepare to go back. The housekeeper came over and took out a 1-pound gold coin and handed it to Min Xi: "The Countess is very satisfied with the snacks you made. The guests also like them very much. She said that you have worked hard these two days and asked me to express my gratitude to you. This is your reward for these two days."

Min Xi did not take the gold coin and smiled, "Thank you, Countess, for giving me the opportunity to make desserts and show my cooking skills in front of so many friends. We don't want any reward, as we originally agreed to be here to help. Please convey my sincere greetings and thanks to the Earl and Countess. If they are free, please come to our restaurant for a meal."

The housekeeper didn't expect that Min Xi would not ask for any payment and would make snacks for them purely for free. He was really shocked in his heart. It seemed that these two Chinese people had extraordinary vision.

Yun Ji also understood what Min Xi said, and was not surprised at all. They volunteered to come to the Earl's Mansion to make snacks, not for the reward, but for more connections and customers. Now that their goal has been achieved, of course they cannot accept the money. If they don't accept the money, they can also establish a good relationship with the Earl's Mansion, and maybe they will provide them with more opportunities in the future.

In fact, the two of them didn't have a lot to pack, mainly steamers, steamers, dim sum molds, and some reserved old dough to use for making buns tomorrow.

Min Xi wanted to ask the butler to call a carriage, but at this moment, all the guests outside were preparing to go home, and the butler was busy seeing them off, so Min Xi had to go out and find a carriage by himself. As soon as he walked out of the manor gate, he was stopped by someone: "Mr. Min!"

Min Xi turned his head and saw a young man with brown curly hair raising his hand to greet him from an open carriage. His eyes were as green as emeralds. Min Xi remembered him. He was the guest who said he didn't want to eat and went to chat with him, so he greeted him: "Hello! May I know your name, sir?"

“Langdon, Antonio Langdon.” Langdon introduced himself. “Where are you going?”

Min Xi said, "We are going to go home, but we have some things that cannot be packed, so we plan to rent a carriage."

Langdon looked at the guests waiting for the carriage in front of the manor and said, "There are quite a lot of people waiting for the carriage right now. Do you have a lot of stuff? If not, I'll give you a ride and visit your house to get to know you."

Min Xi hesitated: "Will it be too much trouble for you?"

"Of course not. Go get your things quickly, I'll wait for you here." Langdon said. He came here specifically to wait for Min Xi and Yun Ji. He had a dream of traveling around the world since he was a child. Now he met two rare Chinese people from the mysterious and distant oriental country. Of course, he had to take the opportunity to learn more about them.

"Thank you very much!" Min Xi thanked him sincerely. Although he didn't know Langdon's identity, he could tell from his clothes, conversation and demeanor that he should have an extraordinary family background. Such a friend was exactly what he needed.

Min Xi ran back and told Yun Ji, who asked Min Xi to get the horse while he took all the things and went outside. When they arrived outside the manor, many of the guests outside had left, but Langdon and his carriage were still there.

Min Xi led the horse and walked over with Yun Ji: "This is Mr. Langdon. Mr. Langdon, this is my brother Yun."

Yun Ji extended his hand to the other party: "Hello! I am Yun, thank you very much for your willingness to help us."

Langdon shook his hand. “Nice to meet you! Is that all you have? Put it in the carriage. You have another horse, so one of you can ride in my carriage.”

Min Xi handed the horse to Yun Ji and got on the carriage. As the carriage and horses drove out of the city, Min Xi expressed his gratitude to Langdon again.

Langdon waved his hand. "It's an honor to serve you! Please forgive my intrusion. I'm just too curious about your origins and your country. I have dreamed of traveling around the world since I was a child, but unfortunately I have only been to France so far. I really envy you for being able to come to Europe from China."

Upon hearing this, Min Xi couldn't help but smile bitterly. It seemed that he was a rich young man who was ignorant of the sufferings of the world. There was no need to envy their experience of surviving many dangers to reach Europe.