The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi understood immediately: "Who did you fight with last night? When did it happen?"

Yun Ji said calmly, "Last night, after you fell asleep, Diego got up to relieve himself. Someone offended him and he beat him up. I heard about it and slapped him twice."

Hearing this, Min Xi nudged him with his elbow and said, "Great, Seventh Brother, your disciple has graduated!"

Yun Ji laughed when he heard this: "Yes, it's not bad."

While having breakfast, Min Xi saw a guy with a face as swollen as a pig's head. It happened to be the guy named Nick whom he met on the deck yesterday. He thought he was really so friendly, but it turned out that he had bad intentions.

When Min Xi poured him tea, he accidentally spilled some of it onto his hand, scalding it so much that he knocked over the tea bowl. "What are you doing?"

Min Xi said hurriedly: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I was just startled by your face and my hands are shaking a little. Do you still want tea?"

Nick said angrily, "No more drinking!"

The people around him found it hard to believe that Min Xi didn't do it on purpose. After all, everyone knew that Nick's face was hit by Min Xi's people, and he couldn't be unaware of it. Now everyone realized one thing: Min Xi and his people were not to be provoked. Not only were they good at fighting, but they also held grudges. It was better not to provoke them.

In the first few days, since there was fresh fish and meat, Min Xi cooked all the meat in different ways, which naturally consumed a lot of fuel and water. Fortunately, they would dock at the Madeira Islands for supplies, refill the water, and replenish enough fuel, so Min Xi did not have any burden.

The Madeira Islands are volcanic islands located on the west coast of Africa, on a straight line heading south. They were occupied by Portugal after 1420 and have since become a supply point for Portugal traveling between Africa and Asia. Many Portuguese have migrated here.

In order to open up the route to Asia, Portugal occupied many islands along the way, or seized strongholds from local indigenous peoples on the African continent in order to provide supplies for the ships. Of course, there are huge risks in seizing strongholds on the African continent, so they prefer to occupy some sparsely populated islands and build them into supply points.

After passing the Madeira Islands, the next supply point is Cape Verde, and further ahead is St. Helena Island. You can replenish water, meat, vegetables and fruits at these places. Further ahead is the Cape of Good Hope. After replenishing at the Cape of Good Hope, the next stop is Phoebe Island.

There are three supply points along the west coast of Africa, so the supply pressure on the sailboat is much lighter, which is why Min Xi dares to cook in different ways for everyone. On the east coast, the distance to the supply point is very far. After passing Phoebe Island, you have to cross the Red Sea to reach the Kingdom of Tianfang for supply.

On the morning of the sixth day after the sailboat left Lisbon, the captain informed everyone: They will dock at Madeira Island for supplies this afternoon, stay for one night, and set off tomorrow. If you have something to do, you can get off the ship, but you need to apply for leave and register, and be back on the ship before ten o'clock tomorrow. If you are late, you will bear the consequences at your own risk.

Although the crew members have adapted to the life of drifting on the sea, they are still willing to go ashore if they have the opportunity. Who can resist the sense of security of being down to earth? Moreover, the temptation of eating fresh meals on shore is irresistible to most people.

Before the ship docked, the number of people who wanted to go ashore had been registered. Except for those who stayed on the ship to watch the ship, everyone went ashore. Of course, some of them had tasks to do and needed to purchase supplies, while some wanted to go to the island to move around freely.

Min Xi and his four companions also got off the boat, but they did not plan to spend the night on the island. They went ashore to buy some things, then found a hotel to take a shower, and then returned to the boat to sleep at night.

The Madeira Islands belong to North Africa. The indigenous people on the island are Moors. Like Europeans, they are white, Catholic and speak Portuguese.

When the local residents learned that a sailboat was approaching the port, they all took out their local specialties and set up stalls. This is a feature of the island. No matter the time, as long as it is broad daylight, there are people setting up stalls here. Some stay here all the time, and some rush over from home when they see the boat coming.

The most common items at the market are live poultry and livestock, seafood, meat, fruits and vegetables, dried fish, shrimp and shellfish. There are also people selling firewood and charcoal, and even water.

Of course, fresh water is available to the locals as they please, but for foreign sailboats like them, it is a precious and indispensable resource, so they have to pay for it here. Although the price is not expensive, they still have to pay.

However, sailboats have fixed sellers for purchasing fuel and water, so the quality is better guaranteed, and there are also dedicated people responsible for delivering them to the ship, so you don’t have to carry them yourself.

Min Xi and Yun Ji bought a lot of wheat flour, fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and eggs at the market, as well as some charcoal and water. They wanted to cook their own food, but of course they couldn't take advantage of the ship owner, even though the ship owner, the baron, wouldn't mind them taking advantage of him. But they had to convince the other people on the ship, otherwise the captain would be embarrassed, which would make the crew angry and would be detrimental to his management.

After buying the things and sending them back to the boat, several people got off the boat again. Min Xi and Yun Ji wanted to find a place to take a bath, learn about the local customs and see if they could buy some local specialties.

The island is very small, with a population said to be only a few thousand, but it has everything it needs. There is a town hall, hotels, restaurants, and even a brothel, which mainly serves the sailors passing by.

They saw several familiar figures at the door of the crowded brothel. They were all crew members of the Jazz. When they saw them, they did not dodge and looked calm, as if they were doing something natural.

Min Xi warned Diego: "Don't ever go into a place like that in your life. It's full of dirty diseases! Once you get infected, you'll never be able to get cured!"

The Portuguese and Spanish brought syphilis back from the New World, and it spread throughout the world, even the European royal families were not spared.

Diego blushed and said, "I'm not going!"

Min Xi said, "I mean don't go there in the future."

Yun Ji found it funny after hearing this. He really looked like an old father at this moment.

I asked the hotel, but they didn't provide shower service. There is a bathhouse on the island, but it was closed because there were too few people. It seems that I can only go on the boat to boil water and wash.

It was getting dark when they got there, so Yun Ji bought some local specialties, such as beads and shells, intending to take them back as gifts for his family.

As they were about to go back to the ship to make dinner, they saw someone running towards them. It was a crew member on the ship: "Mr. Min, you are here. The captain is looking for you."

Min Xi said, "What's the matter?"

The man smiled and said, "The captain invited the captains of the Goddess and the Harvest to have dinner on our ship, and asked you to go back and cook."

"Oh, okay, I'll go back now." Min Xi said.

Most likely, the captains of several ships met after disembarking, and Almeida took the initiative to introduce himself. The two captains heard that he was the owner of a Chinese restaurant and wanted to eat the food he cooked.

Min Xi, Yun Ji and others hurried back and bought some fresh shellfish from the stalls on the shore. The captain of the Goddess and the captain of the Harvest were indeed on the ship, their first mates were also there, plus their own people, it seemed that this meal could not be simple.

Fortunately, there were not many crew members eating on the boat tonight, and everyone went off the boat to eat fresh food. There were only Min Xi and the other four people who stayed to guard the boat, plus the captain and the guests he invited.

When the two captains saw Min Xi and Yun Ji, they shook hands with them enthusiastically. "We went to the Chinese restaurant to eat when we were in Lisbon, but it was probably not cooked by you yourself, but by your apprentice, and the taste was quite good. The apprentice cooked so well, the master's cooking must be even better. So we shamelessly came here to eat, and hope we didn't cause you any trouble."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Thank you for your compliments. I will go cook for everyone now. The conditions on the boat are simple, so I will just make a few dishes. Please don't be disgusted."

It’s said that you can just do a few things randomly, but of course you can’t do it randomly.

Yunji and Diego came to help, killing chickens, kneading dough, and washing vegetables, while Min Xi went to kill fish and cut vegetables by himself.

I was busy until dark, making boiled chicken, stir-fried lamb with green onions, braised fish, fried shrimp, oysters with garlic, and stir-fried clams. I mixed the vegetables into salads, and the staple food was pancakes. I basically used methods that were easier to cook.

Everyone lit lanterns and sat on the deck to eat together. A simple home-cooked meal made the group feel like their souls were about to ascend to heaven.

The captain of the Goddess said: "Almeida, you really know how to enjoy yourself. You can eat delicious food made by the chef every day. This is not just sailing, it's enjoyment!"

Almeida smiled and said, "This trip is indeed much happier than before, thanks to Mr. Min taking our boat."

The captain of the Harvest said, "Mr. Min, you can come to our ship and cook. I will pay you double the salary that Almeida offers you."

The captain of the Goddess said, "I'll pay three times as much!"

Min Xi smiled and said, "Thank you for your appreciation! I can only cook when I have ingredients. If I don't have ingredients, I can't do anything. From now on, every time we arrive at a supply point, I can cook for everyone when they go ashore to resupply."

The two captains knew that the robbery was a joke, and they were very happy to hear him say, "It's a deal. From now on, every time we arrive at a supply point, we will come and eat for free."

The happiest person that night was Captain Almeida. He owed a favor to the two ships for going out to sea. Although the three ships could help each other when they went together, it was their first time and they had to rely on the guidance and care of the other two ships. So as soon as they arrived at the port, he hurried to visit them and invited them to dinner on the ship. With Min Xi's help, he successfully got close to them.

How could Min Xi not understand what Captain Almeida meant? He was just trying to contribute his effort to help the Jazz and the other two ships get closer. This would be a good thing for him as well, so why not do it?