The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The deposit of more than 30,000 reais alone stumped Min Xi and Yun Ji. They only had a little over 20,000 reais at the moment, and they were still short of more than 10,000 reais for the deposit.

The shipyard will naturally sign the contract only after seeing the deposit, and will start building the ship only after the contract is signed. The delivery time is 30 months, which is two and a half years.

After quoting the price, Min Xi and Yun Ji were silent for a moment, and then they began to discuss in Chinese: "This deposit is far beyond our current ability. How about we discuss with them whether we can buy the boat first and the gun later?"

Yun Ji nodded: "Sure, once the money is in place, we can even install a few more cannons."

So Min Xi discussed with the shipbuilder again: "We want to buy the ship first, not the cannon. Can we install the cannon later?"

The shipyard was silent for a moment after hearing this reply. This was the first time someone had made this request: "Don't you need cannons? Or is this ship not for ocean voyages?"

Min Xi smiled awkwardly: "It's like this, our funds are not yet in place, so we want to install the cannons after the funds are in place, and we may even install more at that time."

The person in charge of the shipyard said: "You can buy them separately if you want, but the price will be different. In total, it will cost 20,000 to 30,000 reais more."

After hearing what they said, the baron quickly called Min Xi and Yun Ji over and said, "Let's discuss this first."

The three of them left the meeting room, and the baron asked, "You want to buy separately, is there any financial difficulty?"

Min Xi nodded awkwardly: "The deposit has not been collected yet. We want to buy the boat first, and then pay the balance when we return with the money."

The baron said, "How much is the difference? If it's not enough, I can lend it to you."

Min Xi and Yun Ji looked at each other and said, "We should have over 20,000 reais now, and we still need about 10,000."

The baron said, "That's not bad. I'll make up for the shortfall."

"Thank you so much!" Min Xi thanked sincerely.

Yun Ji also expressed his gratitude to the Baron.

The baron said, "It's settled. You sign the contract and pay the deposit first, and then pay the subsequent amount when you return from China."

"Okay, we have to prepare for returning home. Sir, do you have a ship going to Asia this year?" Min Xi asked.

The baron thought for a moment and said, "If my Jazz can return to Lisbon on time, I plan to send it to Asia and go to Ming with you."

Min Xi's eyes lit up: "Okay."

Generally, ships departing from Europe to Asia would depart between June and September, so that they would avoid the hurricanes in the summer when they reach the Indian Ocean. By then, the crops he had planted would basically be harvested, so he could take the seeds back with him and plant them when he returned to Ming next year. If he returned to Europe next year, he would be able to make the mid-term payment.

The baron said, "If everything goes well and you set off in the second half of this year, you should be able to return to Europe next year. I'll keep an eye on the shipyard for you. If you miss the mid-term payment, I'll talk to the shipyard and ask them to delay the payment."

Min Xi said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Lord Baron."

Yun Ji said, "Let's go back to Lisbon tomorrow and bring the money back to pay the deposit and sign the contract."

"it is good!"

To be honest, buying the ship went much more smoothly than Min Xi and Yun Ji had expected. They thought it would take at least a few days to figure it out, but with the Baron, who was knowledgeable about the business, buying the ship became much easier.

After returning to Lisbon, Min Xi and Yun Ji withdrew all the money they had deposited in the loan office, and also exchanged the pounds that had not yet been exchanged for reais for Portuguese gold or silver coins.

It took four or five days to withdraw and exchange money, which was more complicated than the process of buying a boat. The main reason was that the amount they withdrew was too large, and all the money in the loan office had been lent out. They could not take out so much money at once, and it took time to raise money for them.

Because he was in a hurry to exchange money, he was unable to exchange the pounds for an equivalent amount. He could have exchanged for 7000 reais, but in the end he only got 6700 reais. At this time, he could only swallow his anger.

Min Xi and Yun Ji took out all the money they could, which was in reals. The deposit they had to pay was in reals, and they were still short of 9200 reals.

After hearing this, the baron gave them the reais directly: "Keep the 800 reais for your use. I'll lend you an integer so that it will be easier to keep accounts."

When Min Xi took the money, Yun Ji wrote an IOU to the baron: "Please accept this IOU, and we will pay you according to the interest of the loan office later."

The baron looked at him unhappily: "I still owe you this little interest?"

Min Xi said, "Sir, we Chinese have a saying, 'Brothers should settle accounts clearly.' You have helped us enough, and we cannot take advantage of you. Since we are borrowing money, we should follow the rules of borrowing money."

The baron sighed, "You are just too polite. You see, up to now, you have all used honorifics to address me and have not considered me a friend."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Your Excellency, you are wronging us. If you don't like us calling you that, we will take the liberty of calling you by your name."

"That's better!" The Baron's expression looked better.

After collecting the deposit, the Baron accompanied them to Setubal to sign the contract, pay the deposit, and sign his name as guarantor.

After signing the contract, Min Xi and Yun Ji smiled at each other: "Finally it's done! We will have our own boat soon!"

The sailboat was delivered two and a half years later. The boat was bought by Min Xi and Yun Ji together and was their joint property.

Min Xi shook his empty purse and said, "I have nothing now. The remaining balance depends on you, Seventh Brother!" Then he patted Yun Ji's shoulder.

Yun Ji smiled: "Don't worry, as long as you can return to Daming, just give me the balance."

Min Xi sighed, "This seems a bit unfair to you. Even if we go back to buy goods and sell them here, the capital is yours. You pay the most for the boat, but the boat belongs to both of us. Why don't we divide the share when the time comes? I'll take 20% of the boat and you 80%. "

Yun Ji looked at him with a strange expression: "Do you have to be so clear about the difference between us? I am here to survive because of your craftsmanship. According to my original intention, you can sign this contract alone, and the boat will be yours."

Min Xi smiled and said, "That won't do! Brothers should settle accounts clearly. And when you go back, is the money you use to buy the boat your family's or your own? If you don't settle this account, will your family settle it?"

The baron interrupted: "That's too much. You two treat me like air! You speak Chinese in front of me, but I don't understand a word you say."

Min Xi smiled and explained to him: "I was talking to him about the share of the boat. He paid the most, and I asked him to get a larger share, but he disagreed."

"What do you say, Yun?" the baron asked curiously.

Yun Ji said, "We bought the boat together, so we each own half. Isn't that unreasonable?"

"But the ship fare is not just the money we earn, the bulk of it has to come from your family." Min Xi said.

The baron said, "Isn't this matter easy to resolve? Will you two come to Europe to do business again in the future? When Min makes money, can't you just return the money to Yun? The boat will still be half for each of you."

Yun Ji wanted to say something, but Min Xi said, "I think it's okay! Pedro's idea is the most suitable."

Yun Ji could only look at him helplessly and did not continue the topic. It was too early to say anything now. Let's talk about it after returning to Daming. He had been away for so many years and didn't know what the family was like now, or whether his parents were safe. He was originally the heir to the family, but the Yun family was large and prosperous, with a large population. He had been gone for so long, and it was hard to guarantee that there would be no changes. Let's talk about it after returning.

The last time I came to Setubal, I came and left in a hurry. This time, after finishing my business, I can finally have a good look around. Accompanied by the baron, the two finally walked around Setubal, bought some special souvenirs, and learned about the local characteristics to see if there are any that they can bring back to Ming Dynasty.

Now that they have decided to go back, they have to start preparing. After staying in Europe for so long, they can't go back empty-handed.

Unfortunately, all the money was used to buy the boat, so they couldn't bring back any valuable goods. But at least they could bring back the most valuable things.

After returning to Lisbon, the two continued to run a shop and grow vegetables. Whenever Min Xi had time, he would go to the fields to check on the growth of potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, rice, etc.

For most plants, the higher the temperature, the faster they grow, so plants grow the fastest in summer. But for potatoes, temperatures of around 10 to 20 degrees are the most suitable, so they are the best growing of these crops.

Every time Min Xi went to see the potatoes, he would find that they had changed again. The leaves and branches were full and they were plump and pleasing to the eye. This showed that the McCaughlins were also very attentive. They followed Min Xi's teachings, composting and fermenting animal manure, and then used it to fertilize crops. His vegetable garden always grew more luxuriantly than other people's.

When there were no customers, Yun Ji would ride around on horseback, looking for goods worth bringing back to Ming Dynasty.

To be honest, there weren't many things to bring from Europe during this period. The most worthwhile things had already been set eyes on by Min Xi, including crop seeds, sailboats, cannons and guns. The other things were the fish bladders of croaker and yellow croaker, which they usually paid attention to accumulating and they collected quite a few. Glass products could be considered one, but Min Xi had studied chemistry and had read some time-travel novels, so he knew what glass was and he might be able to make it himself when he returned, so he didn't want to bring any of these back.

Things like pearls and gems are not produced in Portugal, and given their current poverty, they can't buy much to take back even if they did.