The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Jiu's resurrection shocked the whole street.

When Min Xi and Diego were having dinner at Tang Zu's house, the neighbors crowded around the house, everyone wanted to see Min Jiu and the little foreigner he brought back. People who had seen him said that the foreigner looked very strange, with curly hair, sunken eyes, and a nose so high that it could be used to hoe the ground.

While eating, Min Xi recounted the story of how he fell into the water and was rescued by the Portuguese.

The onlookers asked curiously, "Xiaojiu, why has your accent changed? Can't you speak your home dialect anymore?"

Min Xi also felt strange. He could understand the local accent, but he couldn't speak a word. He could only say, "I've been away for too long and I forgot how to speak it. There was another Beijinger who was rescued with me. In the past few years, we have been speaking Mandarin. Please forgive me. Maybe after a while, I will be able to speak it."

The ancestor said indifferently: "What does it matter! It's good that you are alive. It's the spirit of the ancestors. Your parents are blessing you in the afterlife. You can survive such a big thing."

Min Xi smiled and said, "My great grandfather is right! Thanks to our ancestors for blessing us."

"Go back and burn some incense for your ancestors and your parents." said the great ancestor.

Min Xi agreed: "I also want to visit my parents' graves." This can be considered as showing filial piety on behalf of Min Jiu.

"Go ahead, it's your duty." said Tang Zu.

Everyone gathered around Min Xi, eating the snacks he bought, and chatted until late at night before gradually dispersing. Although there was a curfew in the Ming Dynasty, it was naturally not enforced so strictly in their small town.

The great-grandfather asked his wife to clean up a room for Min Xi and Diego to live in, but Min Xi still insisted on staying in the inn. He said that he could not stay at home for a few days as he had important things to do and would leave soon. He did not want to cause trouble for everyone and would come back tomorrow during the day.

Tang Zu's family was not well-off, so seeing that he was determined to do so, they had no choice but to let them stay in the inn. The inn was only a few steps away from Tang Zu's home, so it was convenient for travel.

Min Xi went to the inn and booked two rooms, one for him and one for Diego. After washing up, he could finally lie down and rest. He felt that everything that happened today was very strange, as if he was playing another person.

But he is indeed Min Jiu. Since he is using Min Jiu's body, he still has to come back for him to reassure those who once cared about him, knowing that he is still alive and living a good life.

When the next morning came, there were still many people watching him and Diego. The people in the small town of Yingtian Prefecture were not shallow in knowledge, but Min Jiu's experience was too legendary, not to mention that there was a rare foreigner.

After Min Xi paid homage to his ancestors, he, accompanied by his uncle, went to visit the graves of Min Jiu's grandparents and parents.

After returning, he bought some snacks again and visited the villagers who had helped Min Jiu in the past. He gave each elderly person one or two taels of silver as a reward for their kindness in raising him. It was not that he did not want to give more, but he really did not have much money now.

However, even if each household received only one or two taels of silver, he had already given out sixty or seventy taels, and he had to keep the remaining money for travel expenses.

There were also those who were thick-skinned and would spend money lavishly when they saw him come back, thinking that he had made a fortune outside. They would shamelessly come up to him to make friends with him, and then complain tearfully about how difficult their lives were and how they wanted to borrow some money from him.

Min Xi was not a sucker, so how could he not know what these people were thinking? They just wanted to get something out of him. Even if they said they wanted to borrow money, it would basically be a one-way trip.

Min Xi naturally had no money to borrow. After two days, Min Xi visited all his old friends, entrusted the crop seeds he brought back to reliable tribesmen, and told them the correct planting method.

I also told them that if anyone wanted these seedlings, they shouldn't be stingy and could give them away or sell them.

The tribesmen had not thought about selling it for money, but after hearing what Min Xi said, they thought it was a good idea. This thing came from a foreign country and no one else had it. If they sold it, they would definitely get a good price. Maybe it could be a way to make money.

But they didn't consider that most people would not be willing to spend money to buy something new that they have never seen before. So if they want to sell it, they have to make it popular. Once everyone is familiar with it and knows how to eat it, people will be willing to spend money to buy it.

Min Xi even went to the county government office to confirm whether his household registration was still there. Fortunately, there were not many people in his family and no one went to cancel his household registration. The Ming Dynasty had not conducted a population census in recent years, so his household registration was still there.

Min Xi also changed his name from Min Jiu to Min Xi, and opened a new pass to make it easier for him to go out.

After finishing all this, he said goodbye to his clansmen and took Diego and Little Overlord with him to the capital. He took a carriage to Zhenjiang, and then took a boat to the capital.

If you can't catch a favorable boat, you can only hire a boat to go to the capital, which is more expensive and not necessarily safe, because you may encounter water ghosts on the way. The grain transport boats are the imperial transport team, mainly used to transport official grain, and they travel in groups, so ordinary scoundrels dare not harass them.

But not all grain transport ships were used to transport government grain. With the development of the economy, they also transported private goods as long as they could afford the money. For example, this time they hired a grain transport ship to transport goods from Quanzhou to Beijing.

The canal boats carrying smuggled goods would not easily allow anyone to hitchhike, as the goods on board were very valuable. If they happened to encounter someone with ill intentions who collaborated with water ghosts, it would be like inviting a wolf into the house.

So the ride on this favorable boat was not very smooth. Min Xi decided that if no one was willing to take them on the next batch of grain boats, he would hire a boat to the capital himself. However, he would have to spend more time choosing the boatman and be more alert when sleeping at night.

Fortunately, he was lucky. The next batch of grain ships he encountered were those transporting grain from Qiantang to the capital. A captain was very curious about the two men and the dog, especially Diego, who looked like a foreigner and the dog did not look like a local dog. When he heard that they were going to the capital, he agreed to let them board the ship for ten taels of silver per person.

The grain transported by the canal boats was divided into official and private. Generally speaking, it was the official boats, because the south of the Yangtze River had two crops a year and the grain output was high. The north was heavily guarded, and a lot of grain was needed to be transported to the border. Even in peacetime, the grain consumption of the soldiers stationed at the border was also very high. This was also the main reason for the construction of the canal. Transporting grain by boat would save a lot of manpower, financial resources and material resources compared to transporting grain by horse.

However, some of it was private grain, which was transported to the capital for sale. Although the capital was located in the north, it was home to many outstanding people from all over the world. Many people from the south served as officials, did business, studied, and took exams in the capital. There were quite a few people who ate rice, and the amount of rice consumed was not small.

The boat that Min Xi was on was carrying private grain. The captain of the boat was a military household, and he was in charge of the entire boat. He was very generous and had a strong interest in Min Xi and his group. He knew that they must have a story, so he let them on board.

As expected, he heard a legend: "What are you going to do in the capital?"

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Go and seek refuge with my sworn brother."

"What does your brother do? Is he from Beijing?" asked the captain.

"Yes." Min Xi didn't want to say more about Yun Ji.

The captain looked at Diego and said, "This foreigner brother of yours followed you from Europe to Ming Dynasty. Will he go back?"

Min Xi said: "We should go to Europe again."

The captain of the ship became interested: "How do we get there?"

"Let's go by boat."

"Of course I know we are going by ship, I am asking which ship. I heard that the farthest our Ming Dynasty ships can go is to the Western Ocean and have not yet been to Europe. However, ships from Europe can reach Ming Dynasty. Is it that our Ming Dynasty ships are not good enough, or is it that our Ming Dynasty people are not good enough?" asked the captain, stroking his bearded chin.

Min Xixin said, "Brother, don't be so good at undermining your own people." But he still said, "I believe the Ming ship will arrive in Europe soon."

The captain laughed: "Brother, I believe you!"

Min Xidao couldn't tell whether this was sarcasm or sincere encouragement.

Although the captain was a bit rough, he was generally nice. Min Xi enjoyed this canal trip very much.

The characteristic of the artificial canal is its calmness. When there is no wind, the water surface is like a mirror. The boatman uses a bamboo pole to break the calm water surface, creating ripples. With the bamboo pole, the boat smoothly cuts through the water and moves forward, which is more stable than any boat they have been on before.

Diego also enjoyed this journey very much. He even helped the boatman to row the boat. He found it very interesting. He said he had never seen such a calm river. It was like a calm lake.

Min Xi told him that this river was dug by man.

Diego's eyes almost popped out of his head. "To dig such a long river? My God, how many people would it take and how long would it take to dig it?"

Min Xi couldn't answer this question. He only knew the general origin of the Grand Canal, but couldn't tell the details. So he asked the captain for help: "Sir, I want to know how long it took to dig this canal and how much manpower it took?"

The captain laughed, "You finally asked the right person. I have made a living on this river for nearly 20 years and I know it like the back of my hand. This river has been dug for a long time, dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period. The section we are walking on now is called Han Canal, which was dug by King Fuchai of Wu. Emperor Yang of Sui dug the Grand Canal, and he dug the longest length, from Hangzhou to Luoyang, and from Luoyang to Beijing. Although he did a good thing that will benefit future generations, because it was dug too long, the people were squeezed too much, so the people complained and rebelled. The Sui Dynasty only had two emperors before it fell; the Tartar emperor of the previous dynasty also repaired a little, mainly in the Beijing area, and gradually, the Grand Canal was built. It is a good thing for us boat workers, otherwise we have to go by sea. Not to mention the danger, we dare not go at night. Look how good this canal is, traveling day and night, and the speed is much faster."

Min Xi then told these translations to Diego, who was shocked and found it unbelievable.

Min Xi smiled and said, "This is the benefit of unification. Can you imagine that the whole country can concentrate its efforts on one thing? You in Europe can't do that, right?"

Diego chuckled and admitted that Min Xi was right: "China is still the best."

Min Xi loves the evening the most, when the setting sun hangs on the top of the western mountain, red like a big fireball, dyeing half the sky pink. The boatmen take out the fishing nets, stand on the bow, and spin a perfect arc on the water. The fishing nets are like a round cover, covering the water surface and the fish under the water. When the fishing nets are pulled up, they can harvest some lively fish and shrimps.

This is ready-made delicacy, real river food.

Min Xi volunteered to cook for everyone, and the captain said, "You can cook? Then come on."

Min Xi grabbed the carp he had just caught, picked up a kitchen knife, and hit the fish's head with the back of the knife. The fish stopped struggling, and Min Xi cut open the fish's belly with the knife.

The captain of the ship saw his movements and said: "Well, you are an expert. It seems that we are in for a treat tonight!"

Min Xi asked, "How do you want to eat it? Braised or sweet and sour?"

"Since it's carp, it should be braised." The captain said as a matter of course.

"it is good!"