The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

When Min Xi heard this, he turned around in surprise and looked at Diego: "Why do you suddenly want to learn Chinese?"

Diego said, "I want to know what you are talking about."

Min Xi then realized that when he and Yun Ji were together, they basically spoke Chinese. Did Diego get anxious when he couldn't understand what they were saying?

Min Xi looked at Diego and said, "But you won't be able to use Chinese much in the future."

Diego bit his lower lip and said, "Is the boss going back soon?"

Min Xi was surprised that he would ask this: "Why do you say that?"

"The boss has handed the store over to us and no longer manages it. I think you should prepare to go back," said Diego.

Min Xi did not hide it from him: "I do have this plan, but it won't happen so quickly. It will take at least a year or two."

Tears welled up in Diego's eyes: "If the boss leaves, can you take me with you? I want to go with you."

Yun Ji was also very surprised: "You want to go to Daming with us?"

"Yeah. I'm alone here and I don't have any relatives. My boss treats me the best. I want to follow him. Wherever he goes, I'll go." Diego said.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were silent. Diego was an orphan and he had no relatives in Portugal. But even if he had no relatives, Portugal was his hometown, with the local accent and environment he was familiar with. It was not easy to leave his hometown and live in a foreign land!

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Diego, I understand how you feel. It's easy to say that you're going to live in China with us, but once you're there, you'll really be a stranger there. You won't know anyone except us, and it'll even be difficult to communicate. This is what we originally planned: After we leave Portugal and return to China, Oriental Taste will be handed over to you to manage, and the money you earn will be your own. When you grow up, you can get married and have children, and have your own family, so you won't be alone anymore."

Diego is only 15 years old. He has never thought about getting married and having children: "I haven't thought about it that much. I just want to follow you. Wherever you go, I will go."

Yun Ji advised him: "You are here, at least you still have friends like Gale."

Diego remained silent, tears already hanging on his eyelashes.

Seeing this, Min Xi said hurriedly, "It's okay, Diego. Since you want to learn Chinese, we will teach you. We'll talk about the future later. When the time comes, you must follow us to China. We won't stop you. You can come back after you go, right?"

Yun Ji also nodded: "Yes, these are things that need to be considered in the future. When you are older, you may change your mind. If you want to learn, we will teach you."

Diego finally burst into laughter after hearing this: "Thank you, boss!"

Min Xi taught him in Chinese: "You should say 'Thank you, boss.'"

Diego followed suit and said, "Thank you, boss!"

During the holidays, they did not go anywhere else. It was cold outside, so they stayed in the tea room of the pastry shop, with the fireplace burning, and sat on the sofa to learn Spanish and teach Diego Chinese painting. Diego was very interested in learning Chinese and was very determined. When I taught him a sentence, he would repeat it ten or a hundred times until he remembered it, and then start learning the next sentence.

Yunji simply taught him all the Chinese characters, and Diego worked very hard while learning to speak and write.

After the Christmas holiday, the store was opened for a few days, and then it was the New Year holiday, so Diego learned Chinese and Chinese characters for a few more days.

After the New Year, Min Xi and Yun Ji began to prepare for their trip to Spain.

When he said he was going to Spain, the shop assistants were very surprised. How long had he come back and he was leaving again?

Min Xi said, "We don't need to take the sea route to Spain. The situation on land is more controllable and safer. And you also know Yun Dongjia's skills. Most people can't beat him. We will also bring hunting rifles with us, so you can rest assured. We will be gone for a maximum of two months this time. It will take about a month to travel back and forth, and a month in Spain. We will come back after we finish our business."

Diego was the hardest to accept: "Boss, what are you going to Spain for? Do you have to go?"

Min Xi touched his head and said, "Yes, there is a reason why I have to go."

"Can you take me with you?" Diego's eyes were full of anticipation.

Min Xi smiled helplessly: "But you are the only one who can make dim sum. If you leave, Oriental Flavor will close."

Diego lowered his head, obviously very sad, tears rolling down his face uncontrollably, but he couldn't say a word of objection.

Seeing this, Min Xi had to comfort him: "Diego, I promise you, when we return home, if your decision has not changed, we will definitely take you with us. But we really can't take you with us to Spain."

Diego seemed to be comforted when he heard this. He raised his head and said, "Are you serious? Don't lie to me. You must take me with you when you return to China."

"Really, I'm not lying to you!" Min Xi was very firm.

Diego's spirits were barely lifted. "Then you must go quickly and come back soon. If you haven't come back in two months, I will go to Spain to find you."

Min Xi said, "There's no need to be so restrictive. Maybe something will delay us for more than two months. We plan to come back before April because there are so many seeds at home waiting for me to plant, so we will definitely come back."

Diego thought about it. Even if it was April, it would still be less than three months from now. He could accept that. "In short, you must come back soon."

"Okay! I'll be back early this time. I'll write to you regularly."

Min Xi explained everything to the shop assistants and entrusted the shop to Baron Fernando. This time the Baron was in Lisbon, so there was no need to trouble Lord Melo. Compared to the Baron, they had a closer relationship with him and spoke more casually with him.

This time they left was different from the last time. Last time they left, there were a lot of staff changes in the store, but this time it would hardly alarm many people. Min Xi and Yun Ji simply bought two horses and a carriage, modified the carriage according to their needs, added a trailer to the back of the carriage, put tents and pots and pans, various condiments and flour in it, so that they could live in tents on the road and cook their own meals. As for the ingredients, they would buy them on the road.

To be on the safe side, they also brought two shotguns just in case.

The Baron also helped them get official documents for clearance. After all, going to Spain was considered going abroad, and having official documents would bring more conveniences. At least they would not be arrested as spies.

They didn't hire anyone to be a driver or guide. If they encountered a small group of robbers on the road, Yun Ji could deal with them. If they encountered a large group of robbers, the more people there were, the greater the probability of casualties. There was no need to take people to take risks.

There were no outsiders around, so they could walk however they wanted, fast or slow, as they pleased.

Early in the morning of January 1, Min Xi and Yun Ji packed their bags, said goodbye to the store clerks, and embarked on their journey to Spain.

Madrid is located northeast of Lisbon. Go north out of the north gate, and then go east to Coimbra. There is a relatively mature official road, which is flat and easy to walk. There are also many people along the way, so the chance of encountering robbers is relatively small.

They had traveled the road from Lisbon to Coimbra back and forth once and were quite familiar with it, so the journey was not too difficult.

Yun Ji, wrapped tightly in a fur coat, sat in the front driving the carriage, while Min Xi sat in the other carriage. The carriage was swaying all the way and he couldn't read, so he talked to Yun Ji from time to time, mainly teaching him to speak Spanish.

Feeling suffocated in the carriage, he climbed out and swapped seats with Yun Ji. He drove the car and let Yun Ji go into the carriage to warm up.

The winter in the Iberian Peninsula is not very cold, but it is adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and there are westerly winds in winter, so the wind is quite strong, and it can drive people crazy over time.

They were not in a hurry to travel, they just treated it as a tour, stopping as they went, and if they passed some nice scenery along the way, they would stop to take a look.

When they are hungry, they stop to cook. They usually have a simple breakfast and lunch, just a few omelettes or scallion pancakes, and they will make a hearty dinner in the evening, after all, they are not in a hurry at night, so they have plenty of time to cook slowly.

As for food, they usually bought chicken, duck, eggs, fish and vegetables on the way. If there is a town, they will buy it in the town. If there is no town, they will buy it from the farmers on the roadside. As long as they have money, buying things is not a big deal. In addition, their skin color and appearance make it easy for them to win the favor of the locals. After all, most people are kind to outsiders.

The journey was quite leisurely, and we didn't encounter the bandits we had encountered before. I heard that those bandits had been wiped out long ago.

When they arrived in Coimbra safely, they also visited Professor Greeley and Professor Boyle at the University of Coimbra.

When the two professors learned that they were going to travel to Spain, they envied them for being able to travel on their own accord. It would be difficult for them to travel so far as they were tied up in worldly affairs.

When Professor Greeley learned that they were going to Madrid, he said that he had academic exchanges with Professor Diaz, a professor of biology at the Complutense University of Madrid. He also wrote a letter of recommendation to Min Xi and asked him to find Professor Diaz.

This was really like a pillow being given to someone when they were sleepy. Min Xi happily took Professor Greeley's letter, said goodbye to the two professors, and embarked on a journey to Madrid.