The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yun Ji went home to do what he had to do, and Min Xi also had things he had to do. He had to sell the goods on the Jazz as soon as possible. After all, spices, medicinal materials and other goods could not be stored in the humid Macau for a long time in this season.

After returning from the dock, Min Xi went directly to Yun An to discuss the delivery of goods. Yun An said, "Although I am in charge of the Quanzhou branch, the funds here are not enough to absorb a whole shipload of goods. I have to go to Yuegang to discuss with Manager Xu. Now Yunxiang mainly relies on the Zhangzhou branch for its purchases."

Min Xi asked: "Is Manager Xu considered the Second Master's man, or the eldest brother's man?"

Yun An shook his head: "I can't be sure either. After Dad left, the people who contacted Manager Xu were all Second Master's people."

Min Xi thought for a while and said, "Do you have any familiar merchants in Quanzhou who can buy large quantities of goods?" Most of the cargo on this ship was purchased by him and Yun Ji. The quality is absolutely excellent. Although he cannot buy it all, it is a pity. Now he can only regret it.

Yun An thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I have some friendship with the owner of Feng Long. His business is quite big and he has his own ship sailing to Southeast Asia. I think he should be able to handle these goods."

Min Xi said: "Okay, let's go find him."

The owner of Fenglonghao is from Yangzhou, and he has branches from south to north, and his business is no smaller than that of Yunxianghao.

Yun An took Min Xi to visit Feng Long's shopkeeper Wang. After hearing Min Xi's background, Wang looked at him in disbelief: "Is what you said true? Did you really come back from Europe?"

"Am I trying to lie to you? This is the little brother I brought back from Portugal." Min Xi said, pointing at Diego who was sitting next to him.

Shopkeeper Wang turned his head to look at Diego. Although his hair was black, it was curly, with a high nose and deep eyes. His skin was obviously much whiter than the people of the Ming Dynasty. His eyes were not pure black, but light brown. "My friend, your experience is really legendary. You didn't die in the shipwreck and went to Fulangji. It's very interesting."

Min Xi got down to business: "Manager Wang, are you interested in taking over the goods of my friend Fulangji together with Yunxiang? Those goods were selected by me personally, and they are all top-quality goods, but we need to go to Macau to pick them up."

Of course, the goods were not chosen by him, but by Yun Ji. He was a seaman before, and Min Jiu was just a sailor, so they had no idea about the quality of the goods. But Yun Ji had been exposed to these things since he was a child, and he naturally knew which goods were of good quality through what he saw and heard.

Shopkeeper Wang frowned: "Why is it in Macau, not in Luzon or Penghu?"

From this we can see that Manager Wang usually deals more with Spaniards.

"The Fulangji people have obtained the right of residence in Macau, so it is legal for the ship to stay in Macau. It is illegal anywhere else. For safety reasons, you need to travel a little further, but this is much more convenient than going directly to Southeast Asia, isn't it?" said Min Xi.

Shopkeeper Wang stroked his beard and said, "What kind of goods do you have and what are the prices?"

"Of course we have everything. Please take a look, Manager Wang." Min Xi showed the other party the list. The list of goods was counted by Min Xi and Yun Ji on their way back to China. The price was discussed by the three of them after meeting Yun An these few days. The price was set according to the market price, and it was even slightly cheaper than buying goods in Quanzhou. After all, it would take a few days to pick up the goods in Macau.

When Shopkeeper Wang saw the cargo on the ship, he found that it had a wide variety of goods, including not only goods from Southeast Asia and the Kingdom of Mecca, but also goods from Malindi, and even goods from the New World and Europe. He was indeed tempted: "Are these goods real?"

"Of course it's real. Most of them are bought by me personally. I guarantee they are of good quality and low price." said Min Xi.

Shopkeeper Wang still didn't trust Min Xi because he looked too young, so he asked Yun An, "Shopkeeper Yun, how did you get to know this young man?"

Yun An said: "To be honest, Brother Min is a survivor of the sinking of the Yunxiang ship a few years ago."

Shopkeeper Wang's eyes widened: "Are you serious?!"

Yun An nodded, "It's absolutely true! He was on the same ship as our young master at the time. He was lucky enough to grab a piece of driftwood and wait for rescue on the sea. Instead of waiting for our own ship, he met a ship returning to Fulanji. He followed it to Fulanji and lived there for more than three years. Only then did he save enough connections and money to return to Daming."

Shopkeeper Wang nodded repeatedly: "So that's how it is, so that's how it is! My friend is really blessed with a good life, I didn't expect that there are still survivors. I wish your young master could be so lucky!"

Yun An sighed, "Yes, he is really lucky! Although the shipwreck was not caused by us, we, the Yunxiang, owe him a huge favor. Now he is back with a shipload of goods and has found his former employer. I think I have to help him no matter what. What's more, the price is fair. It is actually a good deal for us, the Yunxiang. But you also know how big the Quanzhou Yunxiang is. It can't handle a shipload of goods, so I want to come to you to buy it together."

Shopkeeper Wang looked at Min Xi and said, "It is a great fortune that you can return to the Ming Dynasty alive! In this case, I will go to Macau with Shopkeeper Yun to buy the goods."

Min Xi hurriedly stood up and clasped his hands together: "Thank you, Manager Wang!"

Since they were going there, they certainly couldn't go empty-handed. The two shopkeepers discussed it with Min Xi, and finally decided to load the porcelain to Macau, which would not only save them from going empty-handed, but also serve as collateral for payment.

The Yunxiang had not sailed for several years and had rarely dealt with foreign porcelain merchants, so he was not very familiar with the current market situation of porcelain. He bought porcelain through Wang, the shopkeeper of Fenglong, and got the most favorable price. As for the style, it was selected by Min Xi. He had lived in Europe for several years and had come into contact with many dignitaries, so he naturally knew what kind of porcelain they needed most.

It took some time to purchase the porcelain, load it onto the ship, and raise money. By the time the ship set off for Macau, it was already a week later.

During this period, Min Xi took the time to sow all the remaining seeds. After all, it was already March, and it would be a bit late if he didn't sow them.

The two ships we went to this time were both Fuzhou ships. Zheng He's voyages to the West were mainly to promote national strength, unlike the Europeans who mainly colonized and plundered. The Ming government spent a lot of manpower and financial resources, and the input and output were completely disproportionate, which caused a huge financial burden, so it was unsustainable later. In addition, with the issuance of the maritime ban, all the ships that sailed to the West at that time were destroyed, and the ships that were rebuilt today can hardly reproduce the original glory. Today's Fuzhou ships are not only small in scale, but also inferior to galleons in speed, technology, and quality.

Min Xi and Diego took the Little Overlord onto the Yunxiang ship and returned to Macau.

Diego sat next to Min Xi and turned to look at the sail of the Fu ship, finding it very strange.

Min Xi asked him in Chinese: "What are you looking at?"

Diego also replied in Chinese: "Fan, it's different from us."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Yes, they are different. Our sails can be operated by one person, but yours requires many people to operate. But your sails can carry more wind, so the boat will go faster."

Diego nodded as if he understood, and changed the subject: "Go to Macau, come back, are you going to look for Yun Dongjia?"

"Yes, after returning from Macau, we will go to Beijing to find Yun Dongjia. That is our imperial capital, and it is much larger than your Lisbon. But it is very, very far away, so you have to be mentally prepared." Min Xi said.

Diego was actually mentally prepared. When he first arrived in Macau, he heard his boss say that he had returned to his country. However, they still took many days of boat ride to Quanzhou and found Yun Dongjia's family. He thought he was finally home, but was told that this was just a shop in Yun Dongjia's family. It would take at least another month's journey to reach his home.

Diego was shocked: "The Ming Dynasty is too big!"

Min Xi smiled: "Yes. The Ming Dynasty is about the same size as Europe. You are all small countries. Many, many years ago, we were also divided into small countries just like Europe today. Then a very powerful emperor appeared and destroyed all those small countries and unified them into one country."

Diego said, "But it's too big. We have to walk a long way."

"That's better than having too many small countries and frequent wars between countries. Once a war breaks out, the most unlucky ones are civilians like you and me." Min Xi explained patiently.

Diego thought about it and it seemed to be true. The fleets of Portugal, Spain, Britain and France were fighting each other on the sea. If they were all the same country, there would be no need for war.

Min Xi asked Diego: "What do you think of Ming Dynasty? Are you used to it?"

Diego smiled and nodded: "We are used to it! The Ming Dynasty is great! The food is delicious, and we even use porcelain to eat."

He discovered this when he was dining at Yongfu Restaurant in Malacca. At the time, he didn't know it was porcelain. He just thought the bowl was so smooth and heavy. It was only when old Hughes told him that he realized it was porcelain. He thought Yongfu Restaurant was so rich that they actually used porcelain to entertain guests. In Lisbon, only wealthy nobles like barons could afford porcelain.

Later, when he arrived in China, he found that porcelain was used everywhere for eating, even street vendors used porcelain to sell porridge and soy milk, although those porcelains looked rough and not as smooth as those in restaurants. Diego then realized that porcelain was as common as wooden bowls in Europe in the Ming Dynasty, and that the people of the Ming Dynasty were really rich.

This time, he went with the company to purchase porcelain, which opened his eyes. There were so many exquisite porcelains with beautiful patterns on them. The patterns were so colorful that it was really dazzling. The boss said that these beautiful porcelains were sold to Europe, no wonder they were sold at such a high price.

Min Xi rubbed his head: "It seems that you like Ming Dynasty very much. Don't you want to go back to Portugal?"

Diego shook his head, "No. The people here are very friendly to me. Although they like to be around me, their smiles are very sincere. I like them."

"That's good!" Min Xi smiled. Diego had been looked down upon since he was a child. In this strange country, the warm and hospitable Chinese people made him feel at home. No wonder he didn't miss home.