The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The Earl's family was extremely satisfied with the meal. They did not invite any friends this time as they just wanted to test the waters first. Unexpectedly, the meal exceeded their expectations and was a huge surprise.

Before finishing the meal, Brett found an opportunity to settle the bill in advance. Min Xi understood his thoughts and took the money.

So when the countess asked her son to give money to Min Si, Min Si said, "Mr. Bright has already paid the bill."

"Alex, how can you pay for this?" Mrs. Comstock said angrily.

Brett smiled and said, "Aunt Sarah, this is my house. You are here as guests. How can I let you spend money?"

"I wouldn't have asked the housekeeper to look for you. We could have found this place ourselves," said Mrs. Comstock.

"Aunt Sarah, let me pay this time. I won't pay next time you come." Brett said with a smile.

"Well, thank you!" said Mrs. Comstock cheerfully.

When the Comstock family left, Brett didn't leave immediately because when he went to pay the bill, Min Xi told him to leave later because he had something to give him.

Min Xi baked beef jerky for Brett and filled a box with it. "I'm sorry that I didn't bake the beef jerky you asked for last time until today."

Brett quickly took it and said, "Thank you very much. How much is it?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "It's not worth much, it's a gift to you. Thank you for introducing me to the Countess and bringing me many guests."

"Thank you so much! I'll invite my friends over for dinner next time." Brett left contentedly, holding the box of beef jerky.

With the income, the two felt more at ease, finally they were no longer living off their savings.

There would be a table of guests every two or three days, mainly Langdon and his group of friends, as well as Bright and Hopson's friends. Earl Comstock would occasionally bring his friends to dine.

The promotion effect of Earl's Mansion was still limited. Maybe it was because they served desserts, not full meals, which lacked persuasiveness. Maybe their prices were too high, or maybe the restaurant was too remote and people were unwilling to take the risk to try it. The business of the store was not very good.

Min Xi and Yun Ji could only wait. Since there were few guests, they had plenty of time. They did not plan to live in the UK for a long time, so they did not plan to farm in the UK. They used this time to study.

In addition to learning Chinese characters from Yun Ji, Min Xi also learned English with Yun Ji. He needed to use this method to get rid of his illiterate label. When he returned to Ming Dynasty, he would be a literate scholar.

Yun Ji was very dedicated in teaching him to read. He copied teaching materials for Min Xi, which included "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic", as well as contents of "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Great Learning". This showed that he had not given up and was determined to guide Min Xi towards the path of studying.

He also found that Min Xi not only learned English faster than him in speaking, but also in writing, which made him more convinced that he was a genius. However, only Min Xi knew that he was not a genius, but just a slow bird that flew ahead many years.

In addition to studying literature, Yun Ji also began to take Min Xi to practice martial arts. They were wandering outside, and danger was everywhere. Although he had the ability to protect Min Xi, he was afraid that there would be a time when he could not take care of him. He hoped that Min Xi could protect himself.

Min Xi was not opposed to practicing martial arts. He knew it was impossible for him to become as good as Yun Ji, as that required more than ten years of hard training. But when he thought about the fact that they would have to travel across the ocean to return to Ming Dynasty in the future, he felt that he should still practice so that he would have a strong body to withstand the strong winds and waves on the sea.

So he practiced with Yun Ji every day. While Yun Ji practiced martial arts, he practiced basic skills. Yun Ji also taught him some basic fighting techniques.

When they had free time, Min Xi would ask Yun Ji to tinker with other things together, such as making ink, brushes, and paper. They had tried to make paper when they were in Lisbon before, but were unable to do it for various reasons. Now that they had plenty of time and the conditions were better than before, they could just give it a try.

For them, this is actually just a game. If they can figure it out, they feel a sense of accomplishment.

That afternoon, Min Xi was collecting cigarette ashes in the empty room next to the stable, which was used to make ink sticks. A bell rang in front of him, indicating that a guest was coming. This was the doorbell they had installed recently. Because the yard was too big, they sometimes couldn't hear the arrival of guests, so they installed a bell with a rope at the gate. The bell was at the gate, and it was not small. When the bell rang, the whole yard could hear it.

Min Xi heard the doorbell ringing several times and continued. He was a little suspicious. Did Yun Ji not come back from cutting grass for the horses? So he put down the things in his hands, washed his hands in a bucket beside him, and walked to the front yard.

Langdon was relieved when he saw someone. "So you were home! I thought no one was there."

Min Xi came over and opened the door. "It's Mr. Langdon. Please come in! I'm sorry, I was busy in the back just now and thought my brother was there, but I didn't expect he hadn't come back yet."

Langdon smiled: "It's okay, just stay home."

"But do we need to order food?" Min Xi asked.

"Exactly. I have a friend who has just returned from France, and I would like to invite him to have dinner with you."

"Okay. How many people are there? Is there anything in particular you'd like to eat?"

Langdon thought for a moment. “He loves duck. Is there any other way to cook it besides three-piece duck?”

"Yes, we can also make roast duck, beer duck, etc."

"How about a three-course duck and roast duck? Let him have his fill at once!" Langdon laughed.

"Okay. How many people?"

“For three, let’s order a meal for four,” Langdon said.

"Sure." Min Xi agreed readily.

“One of them is a lady. Do you think we should prepare something special for her?” Langdon asked.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "I'll make some desserts for you then."

"That's great!"

"What's the specific time?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay. But by tomorrow at noon, we can't be sure whether there will be three sets of ducks, because wild ducks and wild pigeons are caught by hunters. If you don't make a reservation with him in advance, they may not be available." Min Xi explained this possibility to him.

"If there is really nothing, then you can try another dish, beggar's chicken is fine, roast duck will definitely be available, right?"

"Yes, there must be roast duck."

When Langdon paid the deposit, he saw that Min Xi's hands were still covered with cigarette ash and asked, "Are you making something delicious?"

Min Xi looked at his blackened palms and said with a smile, "No, I'm making ink for writing."

Langdon was stunned when he heard this answer. “You make your own ink? Can’t you buy it?”

"There's nothing to do, I'm just bored. The ink I made is solid, more convenient to carry than ink, and there's no need to worry about spilling it," Min Xi explained.

"Really? Can I take a look?" Langdon was curious about everything about China.

"Sure." Min Xi took him to visit the backyard.

Langdon looked at the pottery bowl upside down on the oil lamp and thought it was amazing. He asked Min Xi about the specific method. Min Xi did not explain it in detail, but just said to collect the ashes and add glue to mix them together. Langdon just wanted to learn about it and did not plan to do it himself. After all, writing with a goose feather pen is not just about dipping it in ink.

Langdon left soon after.

Yun Ji came back soon. He not only brought back a large basket of green grass, but also a large pile of water lily leaves, which he spread out one by one to dry.

Min Xi told him about Langdon's order and asked him to buy wild duck and milk tomorrow.

Yun Ji responded: "Got it!"

Although Langdon said there were only three of them, Min Xi still prepared six dishes according to the standard set meal for four people.

Landon arrived at around eleven o'clock in the morning. Min Xi's main dishes had already been prepared, and there were a few stir-fried dishes that needed to be cooked after the guests arrived.

His friends are a young man and a young woman. The man is handsome and the woman is pretty. Judging from their clothes, they should come from a good family.

Min Si came out to greet the guests, and Langdon introduced them. "This is my friend Fergus and his wife. They just returned from their honeymoon in Paris. Max, this is the Chinese chef I told you about. He is an excellent chef and can make the most delicious duck in the world."

Max Fergus nodded to Min Xi and said, "Hello! My good friend Anthony strongly recommended the duck you made to me. I think the taste must be right."

"I hope you won't be disappointed." Min Xi said with a smile, "Please sit down for a moment and have some tea. The food will be ready soon."

Min Xi hurried to cook. Because the guests love duck, today's main dishes are three sets of duck and roast duck, and the rest of the dishes are mainly stir-fried and boiled.

Since we had an oven, we made steamed buns for the main course, and egg tarts for dessert. This was my first time making egg tarts in the UK, and since there were not many people, it was easier to get the utensils.

The dinner was a great success for both the host and the guests. The Fergus couple enjoyed the meal very much. The dessert was especially loved by Mrs. Fergus. Both of them were very satisfied with the meal and said it was better than the food he had prepared in the most upscale restaurant in Paris. Langdon also felt very proud.

The three of them ate six courses, but there wasn't much left. Both Langdon and Max Foggs were big eaters.

They were all full, so after dinner, they went to the sofa to drink tea and rest.