The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yunji made a screen for the lord to thank him for his help. A farewell gift is too light, and the screen is obviously more sincere. After all, Yunji is the only one in Europe who can make it.

Although there were no guests in the evening, it was not difficult to find some ingredients at home to treat the lord to a meal. There were chicken, eggs, ham, and the leftover vegetables bought in the morning. It was not a problem to put together four dishes and a soup.

After dinner, the lord left satisfied.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Yun Ji found a pen and paper and began to sketch the Four Beauties on the paper. Min Xi saw him drawing under the lamp, so he found two candles and lit them to make the light brighter.

Yun Ji likes to do these things in the living room. Although his bedroom is quieter, he is alone in that case, and Min Xi will probably not go to his room to accompany him. In order to stay with Min Xi, his main activity place is still outside the bedroom. Anyway, there is no one else at home, and even if Diego comes back to spend the night, it will be quiet and will not disturb him.

While Yun Ji was composing the picture under the lamp, Min Xi took out a pen and ink and practiced calligraphy. His calligraphy was acceptable, but his brush calligraphy was really hard to describe. Moreover, he had to write traditional Chinese characters, so he really couldn't do it without practicing hard.

The two sat opposite each other. The room was silent except for the occasional "crackling" sound of the candle wick. It seemed peaceful and beautiful.

Yun Ji sketched for a while, then raised his head and looked at Min Xi who was standing diagonally opposite him. The yellow light fell on his face, which made him look indescribably gentle. His eyes also softened. Min Xi keenly noticed his gaze and looked over. When their eyes met, there was an instant ambiguity and awkwardness in the air.

In order to ease the awkwardness, Min Xi broke the silence: "What's wrong?"

Yun Ji said, "Can you help me with the composition?"

"Okay." Min Xi put down his pen and walked to Yun Ji. "Let me see how you compose the picture. Is your painting so beautiful that it can make fishes sink to the bottom of their bodies, geese fall, and the moon hide in shame? It's not the same as the composition I saw."

Yunji’s compositions are all lines, without specific facial features, but the action scenes of the characters can already be seen.

"What did you see?" Yun Ji asked.

"We don't have a unified standard of movements. Generally, they are Xishi washing sand, Zhaojun holding her zither, Diaochan worshipping the moon, and Yuhuan getting drunk. So the four pictures have very distinct characteristics and can be recognized even without the names indicated," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji nodded: "You are right, the four beauties all need distinct characteristics. It gave me some inspiration. I will redraw it."

Min Xi smiled and said, "In fact, I think if you randomly draw four beauties, they won't know the origins and stories of these beauties."

"Then I still have to be stricter with myself." Yun Ji said with a smile.

"Okay, keep it up!" Min Xi said.

Yun Ji asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'come on'?"

Min Xi couldn't help laughing: "It means to keep working hard. The cars in our time were powered by internal combustion engines, which burned oil. If you want to go faster, you have to burn more oil, which is called refueling. So it is used to express encouragement."

Yun Ji smiled: "Interesting!"

Min Xi suddenly said, "Lord Mello has also helped us a lot. Should we do something for him as a thank you?"

Yun Ji's expression suddenly became a little embarrassed: "I made it and gave it to him? Or should I buy something else?"

"What should we buy? If it's too cheap, it won't show our sincerity enough, and if it's too expensive, we can't afford it." Min Xi knew that Melo had a crush on Yun Ji. If he gave him a gift, Lord Melo would be very happy and might have some weird thoughts. Yun Ji was unwilling to give her anything because of this concern.

Seeing Yun Ji was silent, Min Xi couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, if only I had the same talent as you. I would make it and give it to him, and he would definitely not have any wild thoughts."

Yun Ji hesitated for a while and said, "How about I make it, and you give it to him and say it was you who did it?"

Min Xi looked at him and smiled: "That's fine."

Yun Ji himself laughed. This was obviously a bit of an attempt to cover up the truth. Min Xi's talent has always been in cooking, and the calligraphy and painting screens have always been from Yun Ji's hands. Even if he said that it was done by Min Xi, Lord Mello would not believe it.

Min Xi said, "In fact, you can just make it and I can give it to him. He knows that this gift is not from you, but from both of us. Even if he knows in his heart that you made it, he will only feel happy and will never misunderstand. Lord Melo is actually quite a gentleman."

Yun Ji sighed: "I know." If he hadn't had some sense of propriety, he probably wouldn't be as troubled as he is now.

Min Xi patted his shoulder and said, "Seventh Brother, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

"It's good that you know." Yun Ji looked at him deeply.

Just like that, Yun Ji had one more task, which was to make a four-panel landscape painting for Lord Mello. The friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water, so this time he should not misunderstand.

Sebastian I asked Min Si to follow the baron to the palace to get the approval document in person. Min Si guessed that His Majesty had not tasted his cooking for a long time, so he got up almost at two or three in the morning and made beggar's chicken, braised pork elbow, braised beef and roasted beef jerky to take to Sebastian I.

The baron came around ten o'clock. When he saw the dishes that Min Xi had prepared, he asked in surprise, "When did you make this?"

Min Xi said, "I got up in the middle of the night. Your Majesty summoned me, so I can't go empty-handed."

The baron gave a thumbs up and said, "You are very thoughtful. Your Majesty will definitely like it."

Min Xi lived outside the city, which was closer to the king's palace. Soon, they arrived at the palace, with the dishes in their hands still hot.

The baron said: "Just in time for your Majesty to have dinner."

When Sebastian I saw Min Xi and Yun Ji, he said happily: "I haven't seen you for a long time. I heard that you went to Spain?"

Min Xi quickly replied: "Your Majesty, I went to Spain for more than half a month some time ago."

Sebastian I was very excited: "You went to Spain, what do you think of them?"

Min Xi said: "Some places are good, and some places are not so good."

"Oh, tell me about it in detail," said Sebastian I.

Baron Fernando said, "Your Majesty, Min Heyun brought you your favorite dishes. How about we eat and chat at the same time?"

Sebastian I's eyes lit up: "Okay, let's have dinner together."

So Min Xi and Yun Ji sat down with the king and the baron to have lunch.

It’s not that Sebastian I had no concept of hierarchy, but the food was brought in from outside the palace, and to be on the safe side, it was better to eat with the person who presented the food.

While eating, Sebastian I listened to Min Xi and Yun Ji talking about their trip to Spain. The baron also interrupted from time to time and mentioned paella. Sebastian I looked at Min Xi and said, "Why don't you make paella for me?"

Min Xi had no choice but to say, "Your Majesty, the rice I brought back from Spain has been stored for a long time, and I thought it would not be fresh enough to present to Your Majesty. I brought rice seeds back from Spain and plan to sow them here. Once they are planted, I will present the new rice and seafood rice to Your Majesty as soon as possible."

Sebastian I nodded and said, "That's fine. Is that rice only available in Spain?"

Min Xi said: "Not really. Rice originated in Asia and is suitable for growing in hot and humid places because it needs a lot of water during its growth. The rice in Spain was brought here by the Arabs and is mainly grown in Valencia. I don't know if it has been introduced to Portugal."

Sebastian I turned to the courtier beside him and said, "Please ask someone to see if we have rice in our country. If not, we can try to introduce it for cultivation. The Spanish can eat delicious paella, and we in Portugal have plenty of seafood, so we can also make delicious paella."

The courtier nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Sebastian I was envious when he heard Min Xi and Yun Ji talk about their trip to Spain. He was a person who could not sit still, and he often took his guards and a group of young nobles to hunt for game, but the scope was never beyond the country, only in Portugal. As an ambitious king, he felt that Portugal was too small, and he always hoped to expand the territory so that he could travel around and see more.

At the end of the conversation, the topic of buying a ship came up. Sebastian I did not raise any other requirements. After all, Portugal had already obtained legal residency in Macau, and they had successfully established trade relations with the Ming Dynasty, unlike the United Kingdom, which had not yet found the way. He only asked Min Xi and Yun Ji to return to Europe to do business in the future, and the first choice must be to cooperate with Portuguese merchants.

Min Xi and Yun Ji naturally agreed and successfully obtained the ship purchase license.

After getting the license and coming out of the palace, Min Xi couldn't help but look at it over and over again. Finally, he could buy a boat.

Yun Ji was calmer than him and said to the baron, "Sir, we obviously don't have enough money to buy a ship. Can you please be a guarantor for us? We will pay the balance after we return from Ming Dynasty."

Although customers have to pay a deposit first and then the balance when buying a ship, they are foreigners after all, and the shipyard may not agree to their payment method, so they must find a guarantor. If the customer cannot pay the balance and the ship is built, the guarantor will pay the balance.

The baron agreed without hesitation: "Of course! I'll guarantee you." This was not a loss at all for him. If Min Xi and Yun Ji couldn't pay the balance, or couldn't come to pay the balance, he would just buy the ship. It wouldn't be impossible for him to buy another ship anyway, and it would save him the deposit.