The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi stood beside the flowerpot, looking at such a large pot of sweet potato seedlings, he was so excited that he couldn't express it in words. But how could he tell Yun Ji that this was what he was looking for?

Yun Ji also noticed that he was standing there motionless, so he asked, "What did you see?"

Min Xi squatted down and reached out to touch the sweet potato leaves: "I wonder what this is? It's growing quite lushly."

Yun Ji quickly grabbed his hand and said, "Don't touch plants you don't recognize, be careful they might be poisonous!"

Min Xi had no choice but to withdraw his hand: "It shouldn't be that serious. It doesn't look strange, its color isn't weird, and it doesn't have any peculiar smell. Generally, plants of this type are non-toxic."

"Where did you learn this knowledge?" Yun Ji looked at him.

"This is common sense. I heard it from my neighbors when I was a child," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji stared at him seriously: "No matter what, it's better to be careful when you encounter unfamiliar plants. Don't be as reckless as you were when you ate the tomatoes before. Fortunately, it wasn't poisonous that time. If it was, you wouldn't be able to afford it even if you had several lives."

Min Xi grinned at him and said, "I know. I'll pay attention next time. There are so many plants, there should be what we need. It's a pity that there is no one who knows about it to ask. Should we wait here for the biology professor to come back, or go back first and come back later?"

Yun Ji's brows were also furrowed. He had thought that after this trip he would be able to solve the problem once and for all, but who knew that there was no one here who understood and no one knew what kind of plants he needed.

Min Xi looked at Hongshu reluctantly, feeling really unwilling. He knew you were here, but he couldn't take you away.

He walked around the greenhouse and found peanuts planted in pots, but nothing else he wanted to see. Could it be that the British didn't bring back potato and corn seeds?

Min Xi walked around the greenhouse twice but couldn't find any corn or potatoes, so he left the greenhouse and planned to take a look at the botanical garden outside.

Coming out of the greenhouse and looking around, Min Xi discovered some familiar plants in the distance. He hurriedly walked forward a few steps and, sure enough, it was a small cornfield with about a dozen corn plants planted. These corns were already blooming and bearing fruit. Looking at the bulging corn cobs, they should have been successfully pollinated.

Min Xi quickly waved to Yun Ji, "Seventh Brother, come and take a look. Are these the seeds we got from Professor Greeley, the kind that only has two plants?"

Yunji came over and looked the corn up and down with a surprised expression: "The leaves look a bit similar, but this one is much bigger. Also, can they grow this tall?"

"Yes, I didn't expect it to grow so tall. Is this its fruit? Such a big plant, but it only has this one fruit?" Min Xi asked, pointing at the corn cob.

Yun Ji stared at the corn cob for a long time: "What does it look like inside?" He really couldn't imagine.

Min Xi looked back at Professor Michel, but he didn't see him in the botanical garden. He must have gone into the greenhouse. He quickly peeled off the husk of one of the corn cobs and showed Yun Ji the kernels inside: "Look, Seventh Brother, they are so big, much bigger than rice and wheat."

This corn was ripe, and the kernels were well pollinated. The kernels were neatly wrapped under the husk, and although the kernels were not as big as those he saw later, they were also very plump.

Yun Ji looked at the neatly arranged corn kernels and was extremely surprised: "How come they are arranged neatly like human teeth? Are they the same for the whole corn kernel?"

Min Xi took a look and said, "It seems like there is a core inside, and the seeds grow on the core. But if a plant only produces this one ear, the yield should not be lower than that of a rice plant. This is a big ear."

Yun Ji reminded him: "Restore it quickly, don't let anyone see anything unusual."

Min Xi wrapped the corn husk back and said, "Seventh Brother, what do you think this plant can be called?"

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "Since the seeds are wrapped, it can be called corn or rice."

Min Xi smiled and said, "I think it's okay." Isn't this the name that everyone calls in later generations? It is indeed the most common and intuitive name.

"I don't know whether the two corn trees we planted have borne fruit, and whether Gael and Diego have helped us take care of them," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji looked at the corn in front of him and said, "I wonder if it is ripe. If it is, we can get some seeds back."

Min Xi said: "There is only one ear of corn on each tree. Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

"There are so many seeds in one ear. Can they tell how many seeds are in each ear?" Yun Ji said.

Min Xi laughed: "Seventh brother, you have learned bad things!"

Yun Ji said seriously: "A gentleman has his own way of doing things and his own way of not doing things. If we can bring back some useful food crops for our Ming Dynasty, it will also provide an extra layer of protection for the people of Ming Dynasty, right?"

"Yes, Brother Qi is right. At this time, even if I have to be a thief, I will accept it!"

Yun Ji looked at him and said, "You don't have to steal it. I'll do it."

"It's a pity that they don't seem to be fully ripe yet. We'll have to come back later." Min Xi said with some regret.

Min Xi also wanted to find traces of potatoes in the botanical garden, but after looking again and again, there was no trace of potatoes. Potatoes could not even be found here. There was only one possibility: potatoes had not yet been introduced to Britain.

If you can't find potatoes in the UK, you can only go to Spain, where you will definitely find them. The Spanish royal family was the first to fund Columbus's voyage around the world. Columbus' discovery of the New World also laid the foundation for Spain's dominance at sea.

Many crops from the Americas were brought back by Spanish fleets and then spread to other European countries.

Compared with Britain, Spain is really close at hand, and there is no need to risk crossing the ocean. After all, he came here because he believed what Baron Fernando said, that the glass greenhouse at Oxford University collected various plants from the New World.

What Fernando said was actually not wrong. There were many kinds of New World plants here, far more than in his glass greenhouse, but these were not exactly what he wanted.

Although there were frictions between Flanders and Spain, the two countries had not severed their ties. The royal families had always kept in touch, even if it was just superficial. There was also a lot of communication among the people. Fernando's cousin, Count Hernandez, still owed them a favor. If they went to Spain, they would surely not be embarrassed.

After thinking this through, Min Xi was no longer so obsessed with the crop seeds here.

Yun Ji asked: "Then let's go back to London first? Come back later?"

Min Xi nodded: "Okay. I'll go call Professor Michelle."

Min Xi entered the glass greenhouse again and saw Professor Michel admiring the blooming cacti. It's true that cacti are not good-looking and covered with thorns, but their flowers are extremely beautiful, and can bloom in many colors such as red, orange, yellow, and purple, forming a huge contrast between the flowers and the plants. The only regret is that the flowering period of cacti is only one day. If you miss it today, you will miss it tomorrow.

Seeing that Professor Michelle didn't notice him, Min Xi quietly walked to the pot of sweet potato vines, pulled out a half-meter-long vine from the pot, rolled it up, and stuffed it into his coat. Then he stood up and said to Professor Michelle, "Professor, have you finished reading it?"

Professor Michelle turned around and asked: "Are you all ready?"

"Yes, we have finished the tour. We are going to go back and cook. We would like to invite you to dinner in the evening at the hotel where we are staying." Min Xi said.

Professor Michel hesitated: "That's so embarrassing."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Thank you professor for helping us so much today. It has made our trip to Oxford without any regrets. We may go back to London tomorrow." Min Xi said.

"Are you going back so soon? Not going to play for a few more days?" Professor Michelle was a little surprised.

Min Xi smiled and said, "We opened a restaurant in London. This time we closed the door and went out to have fun. Many customers were waiting to come for dinner, so we wanted to go back early."

“You also opened a restaurant?”

"Yes. If the professor comes to London, I will treat you to a meal."

"I'd better pay for it myself." Professor Michel waved his hand.

"No, I'll treat you." According to Min Xi's understanding, a professor's annual income is usually only thirty or forty pounds. Although it is very considerable compared to ordinary people, it may not be enough to eat in his own restaurant. What's more, Professor Michel loves to buy books so much that he may not have much spare money.

Professor Michel did not argue any further. He might not really go to London for dinner. If he really went, he would talk about it when the time comes.

After Min Xi returned, he went upstairs to collect the sweet potato vines and decided to let Yun Ji know after returning to London. Sweet potatoes are extremely tenacious and can survive by cutting with vines. The survival rate will not be affected even if they are left for several days.

It's just that it's a bit late now. It's already August. With the climate in the UK, I don't know if sweet potatoes can grow if I plant them now. If not, the vines will be wasted and I will have to go to Spain to find sweet potato seeds.

In the evening, Min Xi cooked a table full of dishes and invited Professor Michelle, Anderson and Daniel to have dinner together.

Due to limited cooking utensils, I didn’t cook any big dishes. I just simply fried a few home-cooked dishes, but they still amazed everyone.