The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After Hopson left, Min Xi discussed with Yun Ji: "The Botanical Garden at Oxford University doesn't have the potatoes I'm looking for. I've already got the sweet potato seedlings. There's no point in waiting any longer. Why don't we leave England first?"

Yun Ji always supported his decisions: "Okay. How do we go?"

Min Si said: "It is difficult to find a ship from England to Portugal."

"Are you talking about Portugal?" Yun Ji was still a little confused and was not used to calling Portugal Portugal.

"Yes. So I want to go through other countries on the European continent. I'll draw a map for you." Min Xi took a stick in his hand and drew a map of the European continent and the United Kingdom based on his memory. "Look, this is the United Kingdom. Opposite the United Kingdom is France. The two countries are very close to each other and have very close exchanges. There are many ships going to France, and the safety factor is the highest. Going south from France is Spain, which is Greater Luzon. Portugal is very small at this location. In theory, you can reach Lisbon by land, but we don't know the specific conditions of the land route."

Yun Ji looked at the map on the ground: "It can't be more dangerous than the sea."

"That's hard to say. If we encounter enemies at sea, it's usually only once or twice. It's not necessarily the case on land. There may be robbers everywhere along the way. If we encounter armed robbers, the risk factor is still very high. However, there is an advantage of the land route, which is that we can collect all the crops we need by the way."

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "These countries don't have any caravans or anything like that. We can pay some money and follow their caravans, which will reduce the risk factor."

"I just don't know. You can only be sure after you go there. It's a huge adventure. Do you dare to try it?" Min Xi looked at Yun Ji.

Yun Ji smiled and said, "Why shouldn't I be afraid? When I first learned martial arts from my master, I also thought about traveling the world with a sword, joining the army to fight on the battlefield, and making achievements. In the end, I failed and went to sea. In fact, going to sea is another way of traveling the world with a sword."

"Yeah, no wonder I feel strange. A young man like you should be living a life of luxury and staying at home instead of going out to the sea to risk your life. I guess you are a bit rebellious at heart." Min Xi said with a smile.

Yun Ji smiled at Min Xi: "How many people are willing to follow the path planned by their parents and elders? They all want to prove their abilities."

"Then it's settled. Let's look for a ship to France or Spain. However, I guess there are very few ships going to Spain. After all, the two countries are hostile to each other."

Yun Ji looked down at the map on the ground and said, "There's Spain between France and Portugal, right? How far is the distance?"

Min Xi frowned and thought for a while: "I estimate it is more than a thousand kilometers, which is about two or three thousand miles."

Yun Ji frowned. This distance was not close. "Can we afford a bodyguard with our current money?"

"We still have more than 200 pounds, which is a huge sum of money in the UK and Portugal, but we don't know what the exchange rate is against the French and Spanish currencies. Let's go and inquire about the exchange rates against the French and Spanish currencies. We'll go in the afternoon and visit the dock to find out about the ships going to various European countries." Min Xi just wanted to leave the UK as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble.

"Okay. Let's go now? Don't want to take a nap?" Yun Ji asked.

"Now. Don't sleep anymore. Go to bed early when you come back in the evening."

"Then I'll go to the Green family and borrow another horse." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi nodded, and Yun Ji had already walked out of the yard.

Min Xi turned around and went back to the house to clean up, locked the door, and then went to the backyard to lead the horse out, waiting for Yun Ji to come back. Not long after, Yun Ji borrowed another horse from Green. This mixed-colored horse was obviously not as good as the one they rented. Green was really honest.

The two rode into the city and went to Bright Hotel to find Hopson first, because they didn't know who to ask about currency exchange. However, they didn't meet Hopson. Hopson and his friends may have gone somewhere else after entering the city and had not returned to the hotel yet.

They asked the guy at the front desk about currency exchange and told him they should go to a currency exchange dealer. There were merchants on Oxford Street who specialized in exchanging currencies of various countries. With the guy's guidance, they found a currency exchange dealer.

It was a small shop, probably only a few square meters. Inside sat a shrewd middle-aged man. When he saw people coming, he hurriedly got up to greet them. When he heard that they were here to inquire about currency exchange, he said with a big smile: "Yes, yes, I can exchange currencies of various European countries. Which country's currency do you want to exchange?"

Min Xi asked: "How do you exchange pounds for French currency?"

The other party smiled and rubbed his hands: "How many pounds do you want to exchange, sir? One pound can be exchanged for one livre."

Min Xi was confused. The French currency was not the franc. He asked in confusion: "Can you tell me what the denominations of French currency are?"

"Of course." The other party introduced him enthusiastically.

It turned out that the French currency unit was much more complicated than he expected. The most commonly used currency unit was called livre, which was at the same level as the British pound. 1 livre was equivalent to 20 sous, and 1 sous was equivalent to 12 deniers, which was the same as the British currency. But in addition, France had other currencies, such as 3 ecu, which was equivalent to 6 livres and 1 sous, and 16 pistole, which was equivalent to 1 sous. In short, it was very complicated. Min Xi decided to just remember the three units of denier, sous, and livre.

In theory, the British currency and the French currency are designed to have similar values, so the pound and the livre are almost equal. However, during the actual casting process, the silver content of the denarius is not as high as that of the penny, so when exchanging currencies, the British currency is slightly more valuable than the French currency. The exchanger said that 1 pound was exchanged for 1 livre, which actually raised the value of the French currency.

Min Xi did not say whether to exchange or not, but continued to ask: "Excuse me, how many pounds can you exchange at most?"

The other party thought he agreed to the exchange rate and said happily: "I can exchange as much as you need."

It seems that this person is still rich. Min Xi said: "Thank you for letting me know. I will come to you when I need you."

"Please wait a moment, don't you want to exchange it?" The other party was anxious and quickly stopped Min Xi.

Min Xi looked back at him and said, "I'll check the market first. If I need anything, I'll come to you."

The other party quickly said, "You won't find a more suitable money exchanger in London. If the amount you want to exchange is large enough, I can give you a better discount."

"Okay, thank you!" Min Xi didn't stop and left the exchange store with Yun Ji.

They don't understand the market situation now, so it's naturally impossible for them to exchange it now. They should at least ask a few more companies.

The two asked passers-by and found out about another currency exchange dealer. The exchange rate was slightly higher. One pound could be exchanged for one livre and ten deniers, which was almost one livre to one sou. It seemed that there was still room for negotiation.

The two decided not to exchange the money first, but to go to the dock to inquire about the situation and see if there were any ships going to Europe. After asking, they found out that there were many ships going to France, in addition to cargo ships, there were also passenger ships, which departed about once a week, and they only needed to buy a ticket.

There are ships going to Spain and Portugal, but they are very few and there are no dedicated passenger ships. Instead, you need to take a ride on a ride-wind ship, and it is completely uncertain when one will be available, so you have to rely on luck.

After understanding the situation, the two returned.

Yunji asked, "Are we leaving from France?"

"It should be, but before we go, we have to understand the situation in France. We know that Philip II of Spain was a warmongering emperor, but he was indeed very capable, and the security situation in Spain should still be controllable. I have no impression of the current situation in France. The only impression I have of France's ancient history is the three generations of Louis XIV of the Bourbon dynasty and Napoleon, who almost unified Europe. I have no impression of anything else. Usually, history without traces means that the monarch has done nothing. If the monarch does nothing, then the country will definitely be in chaos." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "Go ask Brett?"

"Well, we have to ask them. It would be great if Baron Fernando were here. He must know a lot."

"If he were here, we wouldn't have to go back to Lisbon from France."

"Of course! Let's go home first. It will take more than one or two days to leave. We need to make some preparations." Min Xi said.

As soon as they got home on horseback, they saw a carriage outside the courtyard gate. Langdon was sitting in the carriage waiting boredly. When he heard the sound of horse hooves, he turned his head and immediately opened his arms to Min Xi excitedly: "Min, you are finally back. I have been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. We just got back yesterday." Min Xi got off the horse, opened the gate and let the guest in.

Langdon said, “You know how happy I was when I drove here and saw the sign saying business as usual? But when I got in, I was turned away. You weren’t home. I waited for at least an hour.”

"I'm really sorry, we have to go into the city for something. Please come in and have a seat." Min Xi handed the horse to Yun Ji and went to greet the guests.

Yun Ji first led the black horse back to the stable and locked it up, then went to Green's house to deliver the horse.

Min Xi made tea for Langdon. "What can I do for you? By the way, have you followed up on the Portuguese mission ship you asked me to help you investigate?"

Langdon sat down and took a sip of tea. He was thirsty after waiting for so long. If it wasn't urgent, he would have gone back. "I haven't asked Fergus about that yet, but I have something important to ask you. You must come and help me."

Min Xi asked: "What's going on?"

Langdon said, “Baron Hofstadter is hosting a banquet for a very, very important guest, so he would like you to be the chef for his banquet.”