The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The Earl and his family spent two days packing their luggage and finally filled two carriages. In addition, there were two more carriages for their family to ride in. Together with Min Si's carriage, there were five carriages for the trip.

The Earl also brought a team of armed guards to escort him. The team was very impressive. With such a team going out, no scoundrel would dare to have any bad intentions, so they felt very safe.

The team was too large, so they couldn't move fast. If Min Xi and Yun Ji walked by themselves, it would take at most three days to reach the destination, assuming the road conditions were good, with a distance of more than 300 kilometers.

But the count's family was used to a life of luxury, and the two children seldom traveled far. They simply could not bear the fatigue of traveling, so they had to stop to rest every once in a while. It took them five days to reach Valencia.

The Earl was generous and paid for all the expenses along the way. His only request was that Min Xi also bring some food for their families when he cooked.

Since someone was paying, Min Xi was naturally happy to help. It was nothing more than cooking a little more. When they were out, the food was simple. Whatever they ate, the Earl's family would eat as well. Only the dinner at night was a little richer. The Earl's family had no objection at all. Even if Min Xi's cooking skills were casual, they were much more delicious than what his own cook made. The two children rarely cried along the way because they were comforted by Min Xi's food and snacks.

Finally, they arrived in Valencia safely.

Arriving in Valencia, Min Xi looked at the rice stubble in the farmland beside the road and the irrigation channels around the farmland, and felt strangely familiar. It turned out that Valencia was a rice-growing country. In addition to rice, he even saw orange trees.

This gave him the illusion of returning to his hometown. He told Yun Ji, "I didn't expect the climate here to be similar to that of my hometown. We can even grow rice and citrus."

I asked the count, and he said, "Rice and citrus fruits were brought by the Arabs. They are only found in Valencia and the surrounding areas, and are rarely found in other places."

It was originally introduced by the Arabs. The ancient Arabs have always played the role of envoys of cultural exchange between China and the West. Their footprints are all over Eurasia, and the Mediterranean coast is their main venue. In medieval Europe, Arabs are a symbol of science and wealth. They have had a huge impact on the culture, technology and economy of southern Europe. The rice and citrus in Valencia were brought by them.

The count has a villa by the sea in Valencia, which also has a private beach. Although they rarely come to stay, the servants always clean the house and the master can move in at any time.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were naturally also invited to stay in the Earl's villa. They did not hesitate and moved in.

The winter in Valencia is warmer than that in Madrid. It has a typical Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine and salty sea breeze. The villa faces the endless blue Mediterranean Sea, the white sand beach embraces the blue sea, and the sea surface reflects the blue sky and white clouds. It is a picturesque place and a great place for a vacation.

As soon as the children got off the car, they couldn't wait to run to the beach, all the fatigue from the long journey was swept away.

The tutor had to drop everything and catch up with him. She was both a nanny and a teacher. In addition to teaching the children basic knowledge, it was also her responsibility to take care of the children.

Min Xi and Yun Ji took their luggage off the carriage first. The villa didn't have as many rooms as the Earl's manor, so they could only spare one room for the two of them. The Earl felt very sorry: "I'm really sorry, you can only squeeze into one room."

Min Xi smiled and said, "It's okay, one room is enough." In fact, when they stayed in the hotel on the way here, the two of them also asked to stay in one room. It was not that they deliberately saved money for the count, but they only brought one mattress, and they didn't want to use the hotel's bedding, so they could only sleep in one bed.

Yun Ji was so happy that he couldn't wait to let them live in the same room.

That night, the Count invited Min Xi and Yun Ji to the most famous restaurant in Valencia to taste the most famous paella there.

The people of Valencia grow rice and live by the sea, which is rich in seafood, so they combined rice and seafood to create the famous paella.

Compared to the food desert in the European continent, people in the Mediterranean coastal areas of southern Europe are obviously more knowledgeable about life. Whether it is Spain, France or Italy, they all have their own special cuisines. From this perspective, it is hard not to say that southern Europe was influenced by Asian food culture, thus producing its own special cuisines.

The authentic paella really lived up to its reputation and tasted much better than the one made by the Earl’s cook. After all, the most important thing about seafood is its freshness. As long as the seafood is fresh enough, it is very difficult to make it taste bad.

However, the paella Min Xi ate was still different from the paella he had eaten in Spain before. After all, all recipes have been gradually improved and perfected. At least it is better than the current paella.

The Earl was eating paella and asked Min Si, "Can you make paella?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes."

The Count looked at him and asked, "Can you cook everything you've eaten?"

"As long as it's not too complicated, you can usually make it after eating it once. It's hard to say if it's a little complicated. Paella is not complicated and you can almost make it after eating it once." Min Xi said.

When the Count heard this, he secretly sighed. He had thought that Spanish cuisine would finally have something to offer, but he did not expect that it was still a simple dish in Minxi's place. In terms of diet, it turns out that the mysterious Orientals know how to eat better.

Min Xi had eaten seafood rice, and the next morning, he replicated seafood rice in the Earl's kitchen. To be more precise, he improved seafood rice. He used shrimp heads to make shrimp soup, and then used this soup to make seafood rice. Every grain of rice was full of thick shrimp soup, and it tasted so delicious.

The Count and Countess had to admit that the paella Min Si cooked was even better than the one they had had in the restaurant last night.

The two children had a great appetite and wanted to continue eating after adding more rice, but their mother stopped them: "It's not good to eat too much, it will give you a stomachache. Anyway, Uncle Min is at our house, he will cook for us in the future."

Miguel said, "Uncle, let's have paella for lunch!"

Min Xi smiled and said, "Sure, if you like it, I'll make it for you again."

The Earl warned the child: "Uncle is a guest, not our cook. You can't ask him for anything. You have to wait until he is free to cook."

Miguel heard this and said very obediently: "Uncle, go and do your work. When you are free, make paella for us."

"Okay!" Min Xi agreed with a smile.

After enjoying the delicious food, the Count naturally played the role of a good host and took Min Xi and Yun Ji to visit the famous attractions in Valencia.

After visiting the attractions, the Count asked, "Is there anywhere else you want to go?"

Min Xi said: "We want to visit the University of Valencia. I wonder if the school has a botanical garden. I am more interested in plants."

The count thought for a moment and said, "I don't know about that. But I have a friend who teaches at the University of Valencia. We can ask him and ask him to take us on a tour."

"Will it delay your business?" Min Xi asked.

The count said: "The only reason I came to Valencia this time was to go to the shipyard to check on the progress of my ship. Apart from that, there was nothing else. I came here mainly to spend the holiday with my children."

When Min Xi heard this, his heart started pounding: "Did the Earl buy another new ship?"

In order to communicate smoothly with Yunji, the Earl spoke Portuguese. When Yunji heard this, he grabbed Min Xi's wrist, nodded at him, and mouthed in Chinese: "Let's go and take a look too."

Min Xi understood and nodded vigorously.

"Yes. I have always planned to develop in Asia, but the six existing ships have already had fixed uses. If we want to develop new trade routes, we can only buy new ships." said the Earl.

Min Xi said, "We still don't know how the boat was built. Can we follow you to learn more?"

The count readily agreed: "Of course, I will take you to see it when I go there."

"Thank you, sir!" Min Xi shook hands with Yun Ji excitedly. This opportunity was really rare.

This is an unexpected gain from my trip to Valencia. After visiting the shipyard, I will ask the count if foreigners can buy ships in Spain. One more channel means one more opportunity.

The next day, Min Xi and Yun Ji followed the count to the University of Valencia. Compared with Complutense University, the scale of the University of Valencia can only be said to be average. After all, it is just a port city, not a capital, and it is not one of the earliest universities.

But the University of Valencia also has its own characteristics, such as its excellent medical specialty.

The Count's friend Silva is a professor of medicine. He has a very high academic status and is one of the best in Spain.

Professor Silva saw the Count and gave him a warm hug: "My friend, are you feeling unwell again?"

The Earl smiled and said, "No. I am here to bring some friends to visit your school. These are my two Chinese friends, Mr. Min and Mr. Yun."

Professor Silva was very surprised to see Min Xi and Yun Ji: "This is the first time I have seen Chinese people. I never thought there would be Chinese people in Spain! Hello!"

Min Xi and Yun Ji shook hands with Professor Silva respectively.

Min Xi has always been curious about how Western doctors treat patients. He once read a statement that ancient European doctors confirmed the disease by tasting the patient's earwax, urine, etc. He always felt that this did not seem to be true.

But he had never seen a doctor since he came to Europe, and he felt that it shouldn't be this serious. If doctors had to make such great sacrifices, who would be willing to be a doctor?

Professor Silva has a strong desire for knowledge. He asked Min Xi and Yun Ji questions, wanting to know more about China.

As they were chatting, someone knocked on the professor's door, and his assistant said outside, "Professor, one of your patients is here for a follow-up visit."

Min Xi suddenly became curious. She could see with her own eyes how European doctors treated diseases.