The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi retreated to the carriage, climbed onto the carriage, opened the window, and saw Yun Ji pointing his gun at a wolf and shooting it right in the head. The wolf howled and fell to the ground motionless. This frightened the rest of the wolves and they began to slowly retreat.

Yunji's gun was out of bullets, but he stood still, pretending to reload his gun and aiming at the wolves. The wolves retreated to a certain distance, then turned and ran towards the distant mountains and forests.

Min Xi saw the wolves had left, so he got out of the car and asked, "Seventh Brother, are you okay?"

Yun Ji shook his head: "I'm fine. I'll go check on the horses." He walked towards the horses tied under the tree. The wolves came over just now and wanted to attack the horses, but fortunately the reins were long and the horses were tall, so the wolves failed to attack. Only one horse was bitten on the leg, but the injury was not serious.

Min Xi got off the carriage and saw Yun Ji checking the horse's injured leg: "Is the horse injured?"

"It's just a minor injury. Bring the medicine box and bandage it." Yun Ji said.

When they set out from Lisbon, they asked Dr. Cafu for some common medicines, including herbs for external application to stop bleeding. Min Xi hurriedly got on the carriage to get the medicine box, took out the herbs from it, and gave the medicine to the horse, and wrapped it with cotton cloth.

Min Xi said, "It shouldn't be a big deal, right? Why did it suddenly snow? I didn't expect it at all."

"It should be fine. With such heavy snow, the roads are covered and it's not very safe. Let's find a village nearby and wait for the snow to melt before we go." Yun Ji said.

"it is good!"

I didn't want to go into the village, but now it seems I have to go.

The two men went to dismantle the tent and found that it was almost collapsed by the snow. There was only a little space left inside, which was just enough for the two of them to sleep, so they were not awakened.

As Yun Ji was dismantling the tent, he said, "The tent is all wet from the snow. How come the snow melted so quickly?"

"It's determined by the temperature and humidity. The snow here is similar to the snow in our south, with high humidity. Unlike the snow in the north, which is all dry snow and doesn't melt easily after falling." Min Xi explained.

They had originally planned to make breakfast before leaving, but now the firewood was wet and they couldn't make a fire. They couldn't eat the porridge raw, so they went into the village first.

It wasn't even bright yet and snow was still falling, but there were already wolves on the scene, so we definitely couldn't stay any longer.

They packed their luggage, harnessed their horses, and drove off to find a nearby village.

The snow was about two to three inches thick, which was not too thick. They walked along the fairly obvious roadbed. In fact, the road was passable. But now they had to find a place to get something to eat. They couldn't travel on an empty stomach.

It was still dark, the road was covered with snow, and the horses were injured, so they dared not walk too fast. After walking about seven or eight miles, the sky finally brightened, and they could vaguely hear the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs. There should be a village ahead.

"I see that the road is still passable. Let's go to the village ahead to rest and get some food, and then continue on our way. We'll rest after we reach Badajoz." Yun Ji said.

"That's fine." Min Xi agreed readily.

The two men drove the carriage and turned into the village intersection. Before they entered the village, they were discovered by a group of dogs. First there was one dog, then a group of dogs, one after another, it was so lively.

This scene made the two men look like robbers. They did not dare to enter the village, so they stopped the car in front of a house at the farthest end of the village. This family did not have a fence and the door was tightly closed, but they had a dog, which was the first to discover them.

Yun Ji parked the carriage in the yard, stepped through the snow and knocked on the door: "Is anyone home? We are just passing by and would like to borrow some firewood."

After a long while, coughing was heard in the room, and it was estimated that the owner had just gotten up.

After waiting for a long time, an elderly woman finally opened the door. She was hunched over, with a turban wrapped around her head. She tilted her head to look at the tall Yun Ji and asked, "What do you do?"

Min Xi also came over: "Old man, we are passing by and going to Badajoz. It's snowing and we can't find dry firewood. We want to borrow your kitchen to make breakfast. We can give you some money."

The old woman grumbled and said, "We don't have much to eat at home."

Min Xi smiled and said, "We brought our own flour. We just want to borrow your stove and firewood. We don't need your food."

The old woman was very suspicious and hesitated for a long time before she agreed. Perhaps she saw that Min Xi and Yun Ji both looked friendly. She opened a door and said, "The stove is here, you can use it."

Min Xi saw some dead branches piled up at the foot of the wall, not too many in number. In a corner of the yard there were also some dead trees lying around in a mess, not completely covered by the snow. The trunks were a bit thick, probably because the owner was too old to cut them down, so he left them to be exposed to the sun and rain.

Yun Ji said to Min Xi, "Ninth brother, you make breakfast, and I'll help her chop some firewood."

Min Xi raised the corner of his mouth: "Okay." Yun Ji and he are getting more and more in tune with each other.

Min Xi went into the kitchen and took a look. It was very dark and the furnishings were very simple. There was no water in the bucket. After asking where to get water, Min Xi picked up the bucket and went to get water.

Yun Ji was taking off his coat and chopping trees. He turned around and saw him coming out with a bucket, as if he was going to get some water. He quickly chased after him: "Get some water, right? I'll do it!"

"I'll go there. It's just in front, not far away." Min Xi said.

"The ground is slippery, be careful not to fall." Yun Ji took the bucket from him.

"I'm a grown man, am I still afraid of falling?"

"I'm afraid you would fall." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi looked at Yun Ji's back with a helpless smile, and had to turn around and go back to get a bucket. Since he needed to fetch water, he might as well fetch more for the old man.

Finally, someone came back with a bucket of water. With the water, Min Xi quickly washed his hands and made breakfast. He planned to make breakfast for the old man as well. He would have noodles in the morning and a few scallion pancakes. If he couldn't make it to the town at noon, he would eat a few pancakes to fill his stomach.

By the time Min Xi finished making breakfast, Yun Ji had already cut down half of the fallen tree in the yard.

In addition to an old lady, there is also an old man in this household. The couple are very old, and the old man is a little hard of hearing. He always asks you again before saying anything. They are in high spirits, and when they talk, their voices are so loud that the whole yard can hear them.

The old woman was going to make breakfast, but Min Xi stopped her and said that he had already made it for her. She was skeptical until Min Xi brought the noodles to her. The noodles were topped with eggs bought from the old woman's home, and all of them were fried. So the eggs that the old woman ate were sold to Min Xi herself, and she felt a little embarrassed.

Moreover, the two travelers ate wheat flour, which they were reluctant to eat at other times and only ate during festivals. They were really generous to treat them to such a meal.

She had never seen this way of eating noodles before. It was very soft and delicious, and was the most suitable for elderly people like them with bad teeth. The taste was also the most delicious she had ever tasted. On such a cold snowy day, eating a bowl of hot noodles made her whole body warm, not to mention how comfortable it was.

The old man even started to sob while eating, saying that he had never eaten such a delicious meal.

Min Xi felt that he was exaggerating. This bowl of egg noodles was actually very ordinary and could not be considered delicious at all.

But the next second he found that the old woman had a droopy face and looked unhappy: "If you think my cooking is not tasty, then make it yourself!"

The old man was no longer hard of hearing and quickly begged for mercy: "I didn't say your cooking was bad, it's just a little bit worse than this gentleman's."

"That's what you mean!" snorted the old woman.

Min Xi suddenly felt embarrassed. Did he cook this meal wrong? He opened his mouth, but didn't know how to persuade him.

Seeing this, Yun Ji quickly finished his noodles in three or two mouthfuls, drank two sips of soup, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said, "Old man, eat slowly. We will go and chop wood for you. Leave this bowl here and we will wash it ourselves later." After that, he pulled Min Xi's hand, motioning him to go out with him.

After leaving the room, Min Xi looked back anxiously: "I'm so scared. Are they going to quarrel over the noodles I made? That would be a big sin for me."

Yun Ji smiled and said, "Don't worry, this is a common quarrel between couples. My parents also quarrel like this, but they are actually very loving."

Min Xi was stunned for a moment: "Is that so?" As far as he could remember, his parents had been arguing, and the arguments were very fierce, and finally broke up the family. He lived with his grandparents. His grandmother was a nagging old lady, and his grandfather was extremely taciturn. They had two extreme personalities, so he had never seen them quarrel. It was only his grandmother who scolded him one-sidedly. Even so, he was still very afraid that his grandmother's voice would suddenly get louder.

As a child who is neither loved by his father nor his mother, he learned to read people's expressions since he was a child. He is very well-behaved and sensible, hoping that his understanding will reduce the quarrels among adults.

"Yes. There is no couple in the world who doesn't quarrel, but it is important to note that you cannot bring up the past or open up scars during a quarrel, otherwise no matter how good the relationship is, it will be worn away," said Yun Ji.

Min Xi looked at him in surprise: "You are not that old, how do you know this?"

Yun Ji said seriously: "I am already over 20 years old and have reached adulthood, how can I be considered young?"

Min Xi sighed: "That's right. In your era, you are already the backbone of the family at your age. In our place, thirty years old is still a child."

Yun Ji looked strange: "A 30-year-old kid?"

"Yes, we are popular with late marriages. There are many people who are not married at the age of 30. They think they are still young and can have fun for a few more years. They are still their parents' children. Unlike you, you can become grandparents at the age of 30."

When Yun Ji heard this, he couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.