The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

There are many foods that can demonstrate one's cooking skills, but Min Xi also knows that on the boat, one must save water and fuel. If one makes noodles, it will consume at least twice as much water as making pancakes.

After listening to Min Xi's arrangements, Yun Ji naturally rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands and started kneading the dough. Diego also came over to help Min Xi pick green onions.

Min Xi moved all his kitchen utensils over, took out a kitchen knife and started cutting pork. He would have pork and scallion stuffed pancakes for lunch today.

Thanks to them, they brought the technology of pig castration to Lisbon. This year, most of the pork sold in Lisbon is castrated pork, because pork without castration is too fishy and difficult to sell. Farmers have to hire people to castrate the pigs as soon as they catch them, otherwise it would be useless to raise them. Now the technology of pig castration has spread from Lisbon to surrounding areas. Min Xi's move can be said to benefit the Portuguese.

The temperature in the North Atlantic is not high in September, so fresh meat can be kept for a day or two without any problem, but it still cannot be kept for too long, so all the meat must be eaten within a day or two.

Therefore, Min Xi did not hesitate to put meat in the pork and scallion pancakes. The pork fat was used to make oil for pancakes, which saved oil, but it was a bit fuel-consuming. However, after leaving the port, the fuel was still sufficient. After it was used up, they had to go to the next supply point for replenishment. During this period, the crew could only eat dry food.

Originally, Min Xi thought that cooking noodles was a waste of water and fuel. After all, one had to boil a pot of soup and a pot of boiling water to cook the noodles. However, a lot of fuel was also needed to make pancakes for more than 40 people. Min Xi tried to make one pancake per person, of course, they were all large pancakes.

While eating, the crew looked at the piles of pancakes on the plates and were very curious about what Min Xi had made.

Min Xi gave everyone a piece of cake and an apple: "One piece of cake per person, if you're not full, there will be no more." The cake was big enough and it was all pork, so one piece should be enough for one person. He was worried that it would taste too good and some people would not be satisfied after eating one piece, so he made arrangements in advance.

The crew took their lunch on the plate and found that there was only one pancake. They shrugged their shoulders. To be honest, they were a little disappointed. After all, they still had expectations for the chef of the Chinese restaurant. When they took the first bite, they understood what the captain meant when he said Min Xi was a good cook.

Min Xi and Yun Ji did not eat pancakes. They steamed buns at home in the morning and ate them for lunch. They would go bad if they were not eaten, and it was shameful to waste them on the boat. There was still some fire after making pancakes, so Min Xi put the buns on the pan and heated them up with some water.

Food was collected in the kitchen, but everyone found their own place to eat. After Min Xi and Yun Ji heated up the buns, they put them in bowls and prepared to take them back to their cabins to eat.

Some crew members were sharp-eyed and noticed that the food in their bowls was different from theirs, so they started to make a noise: "Why does the chef eat something different from us?"

Min Xi said, "This is the food we brought from home this morning. There isn't much, so I won't share it with you."

The man said, "Yours looks more delicious."

Min Xi smiled slightly: "Actually, the ingredients of mine and yours are exactly the same, both are stuffed with pork and green onions, but the cooking methods are different. How about we switch?"

The man looked at his half-eaten pie and said, "I'm kidding you."

Captain Almeida also noticed that what Min Xi and his crew ate was different from everyone else, so he came over to ask about it. After getting the answer, he said, "Actually, there is no need to prepare additional food. Since you are on board, the baron will pay for your meals."

"It's not that I don't want to burden the Baron. I just made it while making breakfast. It can also save some fuel and water on the ship. Don't worry, I didn't bring much, and I didn't expect that I would be asked to cook as soon as I got on the ship." Min Xi explained.

"Thank you for your hard work!" said Captain Almeida.

So at dinner time, Min Xi simply steamed buns for everyone, still stuffed with pork and green onions, and told them: "This is what we're having for lunch."

This finally shuts those people up.

Compared to the people on the Jazz, Min Xi and his four companions were outsiders. When new people arrived at a group, they would always be scrutinized or even excluded. Fortunately, there were four of them, and Min Xi's cooking skills were really great. He quickly conquered the stomachs of most people, and those who wanted to deliberately make trouble did not dare to act rashly.

When Min Xi went to deliver dinner to Old Hughes and Diego, he didn't see Diego in the cabin, so he asked, "Mr. Hughes, where's Diego?"

Old Hughes said, "He's seasick and vomiting outside."

Min Xi put down Old Xius's dinner and said, "I'll go see him."

Min Xi walked onto the deck and saw Diego holding the railing and vomiting. A crew member had his hand on his back, sliding it up and down, seemingly trying to comfort him.

Min Xi walked over quickly: "Diego, how are you?"

The crew member heard Min Xi's voice and took his hand away.

Diego spat down there, took two quick breaths, and said, "I'm fine, boss. Mr. Hughes said I'll get used to it after I spit it out again. I'll be fine in a few days."

The crew member was not tall, and he was very stocky with a full beard. When he saw Min Xi, he smiled at him in a friendly way and said, "It's not a big deal. All of us sailors have been through this. Everyone who just got on the ship would vomit for a few days. It's just a matter of severity. You'll get used to it after vomiting for a while."

Min Xi looked at Diego's pale face and said, "Let Yun Dongjia take a look at you later. He knows medical skills and can see if he can give you some relief."

"Thank you!" Diego looked back at the sailors eating on the deck and asked, "Have you had dinner?"

"Yes, let's go and have dinner." Min Xi said to the sailor who comforted Diego, "Thank you!"

"My name is Nick, and the food you cook is delicious!" The other party took the initiative to introduce himself.

"Thank you! Let's go eat quickly, everyone will finish eating soon." Min Xi reminded the other party.

Back in the cabin, Yun Ji, who was responsible for distributing food to everyone, also came back. He saw the two of them, asked about the situation, and said, "Eat first, I'll press his acupuncture points later."

Diego was so seasick that he had no appetite. He ate only two buns and said he was full. This was far from his usual appetite of seven or eight buns.

Min Xi put the buns in a small hanging basket fixed on the bulkhead: "I'll put it here. You can eat it when you are hungry."

Diego nodded and lay still in the hammock.

Not long after, Yun Ji finished his meal and came over to check his pulse. Min Xi watched him press several acupuncture points on Diego's body for a while, and said, "It would be better if there were silver needles. A few more piercings would have a better effect. Now we can only press the acupuncture points."

"Bring a pair with you when you get back," said Min Xi.

"Ah."

However, pressing the acupoints seemed to be really effective. Diego said he felt much better and didn't feel like vomiting as much.

Yun Ji said, "Then you should get some sleep."

"Okay!" Diego said this and fell into a deep sleep.

The boat was rocking back and forth, and when it got dark, it seemed that there was nothing else to do except sleep. So Min Xi and Yun Ji also went back to the cabin to sleep. Someone would take turns on duty at night, but it was not their turn yet.

Yun Ji was suddenly awakened at some point, and he seemed to hear Diego's voice. Yun Ji got out of the hammock, groped his way out of the cabin, and walked towards the source of the sound.

The sound came from the deck, Yun Ji quickened his pace and walked onto the deck. His eyes had adapted to the darkness, and although there was no light, he still found Diego's location accurately.

He was worried that Diego would be bullied, but what he saw was Diego beating up a crew member, while another crew member was trying to pull him aside to stop the fight.

Yun Ji quickly stepped forward: "What's going on, Diego?"

Diego heard a familiar voice and felt that he had a backer, so he let go of his hand: "Boss!"

The crew member lying on the ground cursed: "It was just a touch, you little bastard, how dare you hit me? Wait till tomorrow and I'll beat you to death!"

Diego heard this and kicked the man in the stomach: "How dare you curse!"

Yun Ji understood what was going on when he heard this. He had been treated like this when he was on the Shark. It seemed that there were also those blind people on this ship. Yun Ji walked over, grabbed the man's collar with one hand and dragged him up, then swung his fist and hit him hard on the jaw. The man wailed and felt a strong taste of rust in his mouth. He was bleeding from the beating.

Yun Ji slapped the man hard a few more times and said, "Remember, don't think we are easy to bully because we are few in number. We are not your playthings. If you dare to touch us again, I will make sure you don't live to see the next day."

After that, he threw the other person to the ground like a broken sack and said to Diego: "Let's go, Diego, go back to sleep."

Diego quickly followed, and Yun Ji asked, "Are you still vomiting?"

Diego shook his head. "Boss's method is good. I won't vomit. I just stood up to pee, and that disgusting guy saw me and even touched me... I beat him up. It's all thanks to the moves that Boss taught me."

Yun Ji patted his shoulder and said, "Well done, you know how to protect yourself. When you encounter something like this, you shouldn't show mercy. Beat him up first, otherwise he will think we are easy to bully."

"Yeah!" Diego nodded vigorously. Having his boss around really made him feel safe.

Yun Ji saw Diego enter the cabin, then he entered his own cabin. Min Xi was still unconscious, Yun Ji reached into Min Xi's hammock and felt around to make sure his quilt was covered, then he returned to his own hammock.

The next day, Min Xi found that the crew members on the ship looked at them evasively. He felt something was wrong, so he asked Yun Ji: "What's going on? Why are they looking at us like that?"

Yun Ji snorted: "Nothing, some people are blind, I just gave them a lesson."