The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The road ahead is a road they have never walked before. For them, it is a brand new exploration and experience.

Most of the Portuguese they met along the way were very friendly, but occasionally they would encounter some scoundrels who would harass them, try to deceive, blackmail or even rob them, and naturally they didn't get anything good from them.

At first, they were inexperienced and chose to set up tents in towns or villages, thinking that it would be safer to live in crowded places. However, one night they encountered a village with unsophisticated folk customs. In the middle of the night, seven or eight rogues came to rob them. Fortunately, Yun Ji was alert and reacted quickly, and taught them a lesson with a stick.

But that night they had to pack up and leave in the dark. They didn't get any sleep for most of the night, and the carriage even got stuck in a ditch because it was dark and the road conditions were unclear, and they almost couldn't get out.

From then on, the two knew that it was better to set up a tent in the wild than in a crowded place. Although they might encounter wild beasts in the wild, no matter how ferocious the beasts were, they were not as scary as human hearts.

They would stay in hotels in the city only when it rained. Winter was cold, so they wouldn't feel uncomfortable if they didn't take a bath for ten days or half a month. They didn't have any peculiar smell on their bodies, at least not as strong as the Europeans' smell that could make people faint.

The journey at the beginning was smooth and the pace was not slow. Soon, they arrived at a province on the Portuguese border. A few dozen kilometers further on, they reached the border, which meant that they could enter Spain tomorrow.

That night, they set up camp in the wilderness where there was no village or shop nearby, just like they had done in the previous few days.

Min Xi got off the carriage and tightened his coat. He looked up at the sky and said, "It feels like the temperature has dropped. It's getting a lot colder. There are thick clouds in the sky. Will it rain?"

Yun Ji was about to unload the things from the carriage when he heard him say, "How about we go a little further and see if there is a town and stay in an inn?"

Min Xi said, "Did you forget? If you want to stay in a hotel, you have to walk at least 40 kilometers to a town near the border. It will be dark in an hour at most. If you keep walking, you will definitely not make it in time."

"Then find a village. If it rains, we'll have a place to hide."

"I don't want to live in the village. This is a border province. The public security here is obviously not as good as places like Lisbon and Coimbra, and the people here are much tougher. If the people in this village act tough, it won't be as simple as getting wet in the rain." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji thought it made sense: "Let's set up the tent first. If it rains, we can take down the tent and take shelter in the carriage. Go to the forest and collect more firewood. I think it will be very cold at night and we will need a lot of firewood."

"Okay." Min Xi agreed and ran to collect firewood.

The population was sparse these days, so firewood was easy to find. Min Xi soon collected a large pile, lit a fire, and started cooking dinner. Yun Ji was still busy setting up the tent.

The wind was so strong that the flames flew everywhere. Min Xi said, "It feels so cold today. Let's make some hot noodle soup and go to bed early after eating."

"Okay." Yun Ji was not picky about the food Min Xi cooked.

Min Xi lit the fire, put on the pot, and cooked a pot of chicken soup. The chicken was bought at a market in a village in the morning, and it was killed and processed right after buying it, so as not to be in a hurry in the evening.

Then knead the dough, roll it into thick strips, then pinch out pieces of dough and throw them into the chicken soup. After it is cooked, serve it out and eat it.

After drinking the hot noodle soup, I felt warm all over.

After finishing the meal, we packed up and went into the tent. The tent was made of wool felt, which was very breathable and warm. It was completely different from the outside world, and it was very warm.

Min Xi lay comfortably on the moisture-proof sheepskin carpet: "It is indeed more comfortable to lie down."

Yun Ji poked his head in from outside and said, "You lie down right after eating, aren't you afraid of getting a belly?"

Min Xi reached out and touched his stomach: "It shouldn't be that serious. I'll get up and exercise tomorrow morning."

"Get up and wipe your face." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi quickly sat up: "I forgot about this."

Yun Ji said, "Don't come out. I'll rub the towel and wipe it for you."

"Thank you, Seventh Brother!" Min Xi chuckled. It was actually quite good to be taken care of like this. It was so worry-free.

Min Xi took Yun Ji's hot towel and wiped his face and hands. Yun Ji said, "Okay, lie down."

Min Xi chuckled: "I feel like a patient. Thank you, Seventh Brother."

Min Xi lay down again, but Yun Ji didn't come in for a long time. Min Xi called out in confusion: "Seventh Brother, what are you doing? Are you not done yet?"

However, he didn't hear any response and felt strange. Where did he go?

Min Xi had no choice but to stick his head out of the tent and look at the fire. When he didn't see Yun Ji, he quickly put on his boots and got out of the tent: "Seventh Brother!"

Yun Ji's voice came from the woods in the distance, but the wind was so strong that it blew his voice away, and Min Xi didn't hear it clearly.

Min Xi looked at the dark forest. Did he go to relieve himself? After thinking for a while, he decided not to go and look for firewood. He squatted down beside the fire and added two sticks of firewood. He found that he had picked up so much firewood, but there was not much left. The wind was too strong and the firewood burned vigorously. It was burned out quickly. Did he go to look for firewood?

After waiting for a long time, Yun Ji came back, dragging a large dead tree. Seeing Min Xi squatting by the fire, he asked, "Why did you come out?"

"Did you find some more firewood?" Min Xi looked at him and said.

"Well, there isn't much left from the previous ones. The branches you found are a bit thin and have been eaten away. This firewood catches fire quickly, but it's not durable and will burn out quickly. I'll go find some more." Yun Ji took the axe from his waist and started chopping the tree trunk.

Min Xi felt a little guilty: "Let me help you."

"No need, you go to sleep, I'll finish chopping wood soon. You won't feel cold while chopping wood." Yun Ji's hands kept moving, and the wood made a loud bang.

Min Xi squatted there motionless: "It's okay, I'm warming myself by the fire, so I'm not cold." He felt bad for Yun Ji while he was lying down, so he might as well just accompany him to work.

After hearing what he said, Yun Ji had no choice but to say nothing more.

Only after Yun Ji finished his work by firelight did Min Xi add two thick tree trunks to the firewood pile. After the tree trunks were on fire, the two of them went into the tent to sleep.

Usually the fire had to be refueled several times at night, and this was basically done by Yun Ji, while Min Xi usually slept until dawn.

In the middle of the night, Yun Ji got up to add firewood, and found that the fire was almost out. He hurried out of the tent to add more firewood, but found that snowflakes were floating in the sky. Although they were not big, they were real snowflakes.

Yun Ji felt surprised. He had heard that it rarely snowed in Portugal. It was already after the New Year and spring was about to arrive, so how could it be snowing?

He added thin branches to the firewood pile to start the fire, and then added a few thick tree trunks to make the fire burn vigorously. If the snow was not heavy, it would not put out the fire.

Yun Ji went back into the tent and lay down, and Min Xi came over. He was not awake, but it was snowing and it was too cold. When Yun Ji left, he lost his heat source and it was even colder sleeping alone, so when Yun Ji came back, he subconsciously came over and hugged Yun Ji tightly with all his limbs.

Yun Ji knew that Min Xi didn't mean it, but he was as stiff as a piece of wood and dared not move. He didn't dare to make any unnecessary movements for fear that he would not be able to control his next action.

The wind outside was still very strong, blowing up the snowflakes and making a whimpering sound, which sounded a bit scary. However, Yun Ji felt as if he was in spring, and there was no other place that could make him feel warmer and happier than now.

The sound of the wind outside the tent gradually died down, and the sound of snowflakes falling to the ground became louder and louder. Yun Ji was worried about whether the fire outside had been put out, but he was unwilling to get up and take a look even though he had the whole world in his arms. Forget it, if it really snowed heavily, it would be useless to go out and check, he said to himself.

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, even piling up on the tent. The cold inside the tent was getting worse, and Min Xi kept trying to get into Yun Ji's arms. Yun Ji was in pain and joy, hugging Min Xi and fell asleep in a daze.

The two were awakened by the screams of horses. As soon as Yun Ji heard the horses screaming, he knew something was wrong. He quickly took his hands off his waist, turned over and got up quickly, picked up his coat and put it on, put on his boots and went out.

Min Xi also woke up, still a little dazed, but soon he realized where he was. He quickly got up and looked out of the tent. Wow, it was white outside. It was snowing! He didn't see such heavy snow in his time. He didn't expect it to snow so heavily in Portugal.

Before daybreak, the fire had been put out by the snow, leaving only a pile of snow. Yun Ji was fighting with several wild wolves with a stick.

There were actually wolves in this place, so Min Xi didn't waste any time. He quickly put on his clothes and boots, took the gun from the tent, loaded the gun, pulled the trigger, and fired a shot into the air, scaring the wolves that were still fighting with Yun Ji.

Min Xi reloaded the bullets, picked up another gun and put it on his back, then walked towards Yun Ji with the gun raised: "Seventh Brother, here's the gun."

Yun Ji was skilled in martial arts, so he was not afraid of the wolves. He was a little worried that the wolves would hurt Min Xi, so he left the wolves behind and quickly ran towards him, taking the gun from him: "Hurry up and get in the carriage and close the door!"

Min Xi hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay. Be careful!"