The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Everyone thought that this beautiful lady was the boss's favorite girl, but they found out that she was Baron Fernando's fiancée, which made them a little disappointed. Their boss was so handsome, so kind, and could make money, so why didn't any beautiful girl like him?

Min Xi naturally had no idea what the shop assistants were thinking, so he went into the kitchen and prepared a pork feast for Miss Alice.

Thanks to King Sebastian I's promotion of castration technology, most of the pigs around Lisbon are castrated this year. It is very easy to buy castrated pork in the market, and their restaurant now only uses castrated pork.

Min Xi cooked braised pork, sweet and sour spareribs, sweet and sour pork, parsnip and pork meatball soup, and the stronger-tasting twice-cooked pork. Alice looked at the dishes on the table and didn't recognize any of them. She looked at Min Xi curiously: "What are these dishes?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "This is a dish made with pork. The pork here is different from the pork in the UK. Miss Alice might as well try it and see if it tastes good."

Alice was a little hesitant. In Britain, pork was eaten by the lower class, and she had never tasted pork before.

Min Xi and Yun Ji accompanied her to eat. Min Xi used a serving chopstick to pick up a piece of sweet and sour pork for her and added a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs: "Please try it."

Alice looked at the dish in the bowl, and based on her trust in Min Xi, she picked up the pot-wrapped pork with a fork and put it into her mouth. It was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and sweet and sour. Not to mention, it tasted really good and had no peculiar smell. Why does no one eat such delicious pork in the UK?

Min Xi watched her eat a piece and asked, "How is it?"

Alice nodded excitedly. "It's delicious. I didn't know pork could be so delicious!"

Min Xi explained: "Because the pork in Lisbon is different from the pork in the UK, it is processed when it is raised, so the pork does not have a fishy smell. Pork is also relatively tender, and compared with beef and mutton, it has another flavor. In our restaurant, pork is also a very popular dish. Several other dishes also have different flavors. You can try them."

Alice was like an adventurous child. She tasted each dish and pointed at the braised pork and said, "I think this tastes the best. This and these are all good!" She then pointed to the sweet and sour pork and sweet and sour pork ribs.

There was only twice-cooked pork, so she tried a piece and said, "This is too spicy, but also very fragrant! It's just that I'm afraid of spicy food, so I dare not eat too much."

What a well-educated girl she is, she has thought of everything.

"It doesn't matter, eat whichever you like." Min Xi said with a smile.

The night Alice came to the restaurant for dinner, Baron Fernando came to thank her: "Thank you for helping me entertain Miss Alice. I have been too busy recently and don't have much time to accompany her. And they say it's not advisable to see each other too often before marriage."

"Don't be so polite, I'll treat her as a guest." In order to avoid suspicion, he didn't even enter the private room.

"When I'm done, bring her to our restaurant for dinner. This is an invitation for you to attend the wedding." This was the main purpose of the Baron's visit this time.

Min Xi took the invitation and asked, "Don't you want me to cook for you at your wedding?"

The baron said, "No, we are friends. I don't want you to be busy in the kitchen when I get married. Just come to the wedding."

"That's fine. I'll ask Diego to prepare a wedding cake for you then." Min Xi said.

"Great! Diego can handle things on his own now. You can rest assured now."

"Yes, now I don't cook for myself anymore, I let them do it."

"Yes, when will your private restaurant open?"

"It's still early. I want to go to Madrid after the New Year and then drive after I come back from Madrid."

The baron asked in surprise, "You are going to Madrid? What are you going to do there?"

Min Xi and Yun Ji looked at each other and said, "We plan to return to China next year or the year after. Before we go back, we want to take a look around."

The baron was silent for a long time, then nodded: "That's fine. You can go there to find my cousin, Count Hernandez. He has some power in Madrid, and he owes you a favor, so he should treat you well."

"We are also planning to go find him." Min Xi said with a smile.

"Are you really planning to return home?" The Baron was really unwilling to accept this fact.

"We have been in Europe for almost two years. We have been away from our hometown for too long. Our family members are still waiting for us. It's time to go back." Yun Ji sighed when he said this.

Min Xi added: "But we will probably come to Europe again in the future."

The Baron suddenly became excited when he heard this: "Really?!"

"Yes, there is such a plan. We want to buy a galleon. Do you think it is feasible?" Min Xi asked the baron.

The baron was stunned for a moment: "You want to buy a galleon?"

"Yes. The ships in our Ming Dynasty are too small and have poor risk resistance, so they cannot come to Europe at all. I want to buy a galleon so that I can travel smoothly between Ming Dynasty and Europe. Can foreigners buy ships in Portugal?" Min Xi asked.

The baron thought for a moment and said, "It should be possible. This matter is under the jurisdiction of Simon's father, the Marquis of Melo. I will ask for you later."

"Can I go and ask Lord Mello myself?" Min Xi asked.

The baron nodded: "That's fine. You have a good relationship with him. It might be easier to ask him to ask his father for you."

Min Xi asked again: "How much does it cost to buy a new ship and how long will it take to build it?"

The baron said, "If you want to buy a ship, 30,000 or 40,000 reais will be enough. But since it is an ocean-going ship, you have to install a few cannons on board to keep it safe. As you know, pirates are rampant now. Without cannons, you are just a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. If you add cannons, you will need at least 140,000 or 150,000 reais. How much money do you have now?"

Min Xi smiled bitterly: "Less than 2 reais."

The baron touched his chin and said, "Yes, it's a little less. But I can help you. When you return home, you can take my ship. I haven't opened up any trade routes in Asia yet. When the time comes, I'll ask you to help me sell the goods in China, and then buy a batch of goods from China and ship them to Europe. After all the goods are sold, I can give you 20% of the profit. The profit of a shipload of Chinese goods is at least 200,000 or 300,000 reais. You can make two trips, or even just one, and you can almost raise the cost of a galleon."

This condition is really very tempting.

Min Xi asked Yun Ji: "Seventh Brother, what do you think?"

Yun Ji said, "I think it's feasible. In fact, as long as we return to Ming, I can collect the remaining ship fare. Then we can load a ship with our own goods and come to Europe to sell them."

The Baron asked, "How is it?"

Yun Ji nodded: "Okay!"

The baron extended his hand: "Happy cooperation!"

Yun Ji and Min Xi stretched out their hands and shook hands with him respectively: "Happy cooperation!"

In this way, they are not only friends, but also partners.

In the evening, Min Xi personally cooked a sumptuous meal for the baron and ate with him. At the dinner table, the baron mentioned another thing: "You really helped a lot during this trip to England. My elder brother and others should have told His Majesty the King about your contribution. His Majesty will reward you later."

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty." Min Xi thanked happily.

The reward that Sebastian I wants is a lot of silver. They are in need of money right now, so of course they will accept anyone who comes and take as much as they can.

The Baron is getting married, and Min Xi and Yun Ji, as his friends in need, naturally have to send him a big gift. In addition to the specially customized three-layer wedding cake, Yun Ji also plans to give him a set of four screens as a wedding gift.

They had discussed this gift when they were on the boat, and finally decided to have Yunji paint four scrolls to make a folding screen, which would save money and show sincerity. So Yunji had been concentrating on this these days, and he hadn't taken care of the store's affairs at all.

After rushing for ten days, I painted a new set of four scrolls, with a picture of a hundred children on them. Originally, a four-panel scroll of flowers and birds was more appropriate for a wedding, but it was a bit redundant with the one given to the King of Spain. The picture of four beauties was actually not bad, but beauties were okay for a baron, but I'm afraid the bride wouldn't like it too much, so I gave a picture of a hundred children instead.

The symbol of the Hundred Children Picture is many children and good fortune, so it is quite appropriate to give it to newlyweds.

On the wedding day, Min Xi and Yun Ji first asked someone to bring up several three-layer cakes. Birthday cakes are already very popular in Lisbon, all of which were led by oriental flavors, and other pastry shops followed suit, but this three-layer cake was the first time I saw it. Cakes can actually be divided into layers, how is it done?

The guests' curiosity was aroused and they kept glancing at the three-layer cake.

But what really caught the eye were the four-panel screens of the Hundred Children that were put up later. The screens depicted a hundred Chinese children of various shapes, all of them plump and fair, with bright clothes, playing and chasing each other, lively and agile, and looking extremely lively.

Baron Fernando looked at the four scrolls, feeling happy but also puzzled: "Why did you give me this?"

Min Xi smiled and explained: "In China, having many children means having more blessings. Giving you the picture of a hundred children is to wish you a son soon, many children and more blessings!"

After he finished speaking, everyone present laughed and thought that this was a good gift.

In ancient times, due to low productivity and manpower being the main labor force, population became particularly important. In addition, due to low medical standards and low infant survival rates, having more children was a consensus among people in the East and the West at that time.