The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

By the time Min Xi and Yun Ji came out, at least a quarter of an hour had passed. Min Xi's hair was already half dry, and he followed Yun Ji out of Xiwei Courtyard with his hair loose, and went to the dining room in front to eat.

Min Xi sighed: "This house is too big. Eating a meal is like going out for a walk."

Yun Ji chuckled, "Let them deliver the food to Xiwei Courtyard in the future. Today is your first day here, and we need to welcome you, so let's be formal and eat in the front yard."

"Your house is so big, but I find there seem to be very few people here." Min Xi expressed his true feelings.

Yun Ji said: "When I came back, the shameless Yun Xiao had already moved in, and the people in the yard were replaced by his. The old people in the family were driven away by various means. I am trying to contact them. Those who are willing to come back can continue to come back to work."

"How dare he be so blatant? Your brother is still here." Min Xi was very angry when he heard this.

Yun Ji snorted coldly, "What can't he do? If the house deed wasn't with my grandfather, it would have been changed hands long ago. After I came back, I drove them all away, and the people who served him in the house were also dismissed. So now there are only a few people in the house, and they were all given by my grandfather. I have a lot of things to do now, and I can't take care of anything else. But these few people are almost enough to take care of us. If you think it's not enough, then go hire a few more people."

Min Xi said: "I don't think there are not enough people to take care of us, but I think such a big house will be easily abandoned if no one takes care of it."

"Yes. I will solve this problem after I finish the lawsuit." Yun Ji said.

"How about I come to help? We can arrange the hired people to clean other courtyards, and we will use the people ourselves or the ones given by your grandfather." Min Xi suggested.

Yun Ji suddenly thought of something, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly: "Okay, then you make the arrangements, let Tao Yan follow you, he is very familiar with the capital."

"it is good."

The two walked into the dining room, and several servants looked at Min Xi with disheveled hair in surprise. To be honest, it was the first time they saw someone so casual when visiting someone's house.

Yun Ji sat down and said to the servants around him: "This is my sworn brother. His surname is Min. You can call him Master Min or Master Jiu. You should treat him as you would treat me. If anyone disrespects him, then it is disrespectful to me."

"Yes!" the servants around said in unison.

Yun Ji added: "Whatever he asks you to do, do it yourself if you can do it, and tell me if you can't do it."

"Yes!" They said in unison again.

It was the first time that Min Xi saw Yun Ji like this. He smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous. I'm not an unreasonable bully. I won't deliberately embarrass you."

Yun Ji patted the back of Min Xi's hand and said, "I know you are kind, but you can't indulge them too much."

Min Xi smiled back at him: "Got it."

The food was already on the table, a full table, but judging by the dishes, they looked like southern-style dishes.

Yun Ji picked up a piece of chicken and put it on the plate for Min Xi: "Try it. This cook was also given to me by my grandmother. He makes dishes with a southern flavor, which are lighter."

Min Xi took a bite and found it tasted okay, but when he tried other dishes, he found that they were actually sweet, and several of them were a bit sweet.

Yun Ji also tasted it and said, "I told you not to put sugar in it, so why is the dish still sweet?"

Tao Sheng said, "Maybe Lao Zhang forgot. I'll remind him later."

Min Xi looked at Yun Ji and asked, "Is your maternal grandfather from Suzhou?"

Yun Ji nodded: "Yes."

"It seems that you prefer sweet taste." Min Xi said with a smile.

"I don't like sweet dishes very much, but my mother likes them. Lao Zhang's cooking skills are pretty good, so let him not put sugar in the dishes in the future." Yun Ji knew that Min Xi was a good cook and had high requirements for taste, but he didn't want Min Xi to cook for him. After returning, he should have a good rest, although he also liked the food cooked by Min Xi more.

After lunch, Yun Ji said, "Ninth brother, go back to your room and have a rest. We can talk about it tomorrow if there is anything."

Min Xi nodded and asked, "Why don't you see Yun An?"

"I assigned him to do something else."

"Have all the goods been sold?"

"It's already been sold. There's no problem selling those goods. Luckily he brought them back personally, and now he needs the money."

"That's good. Diego, go and rest now, I'll take you out for a walk tomorrow." Min Xi said to Diego.

Diego nodded vigorously: "Okay!" He was very interested in Beijing. When he came all the way from Shichahai, the bustling streets had already captured his heart.

Min Xi went to Xiwei Courtyard, and Yun Ji followed him. Min Xi asked him, "What did you do this afternoon?"

Yun Ji said, "I've been tense for so many days since I came back. Now that you're here, I feel much more at ease. I'm going to take a rest."

"That's good. You're thinner now than when you were on the boat. I'll make you something delicious to replenish your body later." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji was delighted, and then thought of something: "I had made up my mind that I would never let you cook when you come to my house."

"What's the big deal? Cooking is my hobby." Min Xi didn't care.

"There is a small kitchen in Xiweiyuan. You can cook a meal there occasionally in the future, but you don't have to cook it often." Yun Ji said.

"Know!"

After returning to Xiwei Courtyard, Min Xi entered his bedroom and touched his hair, which was still a little damp. He planned to sit for a while and wait until it dried before going to sleep. He sat at the table and looked through the four treasures of the study and books on the table. These were all prepared for him by Yun Ji, including the Four Books and Five Classics. It seemed that he really wanted to take the imperial examination himself.

Min Xi took out a copy of "The Analects" and looked through it, and found that there were annotations on the edges. It seemed to be the most popular annotated version at the moment, which was convenient for readers to understand.

Just after reading one page, he heard a knock on the door. Min Xi turned his head to listen and found that it was not coming from the front door, but the door leading to the bathroom. Min Xi put the book on the table, walked to the door, opened it, and sure enough, Yun Ji was standing there.

Min Xi pretended to be serious: "What's the matter?"

Yun Ji smiled at him: "I want to sleep with you."

Min Xi pretended to close the door: "Go back to your room!"

Yun Ji put his hand against the door and said, "Ninth brother, please don't. I'm not doing anything else. I just sleep next to you. I feel at ease and will never disturb your sleep."

Min Xi looked back at the large carved bed and said helplessly, "Why are you like a child?"

Yun Ji knew that he had agreed, so he squeezed in with a look of smug joy. Seeing that there was not a single wrinkle on the bed, he asked, "You haven't slept yet?"

"My hair is still a little wet, so I'll read a book for a while." Min Xi said.

"Then I'll watch it with you." Yun Ji quickly sat down at the table.

Min Xi sat down again and continued to read. Yun Ji took a copy of Mencius and flipped through it quietly. On a spring afternoon, the two of them sat under the window reading. This was a scene that Yun Ji had thought of many times, and now it finally came true.

Min Xi looked at it for a while and suddenly remembered something: "Have you given the seeds I asked you to bring back to your uncle?"

Yun Ji said, "Yes. I kept some and sent them to the farm, and told them how to plant them. The rest was given to my uncle, and he has taken it to the Ministry of Revenue."

"That's good." Min Xi was relieved and turned his attention back to the book, but reading "The Analects" can easily make people sleepy, especially when they are full and tired.

Yun Ji saw him yawn twice in a row, so he put down the book and asked, "Can you understand it?"

Min Xi nodded: "Fortunately, there are annotations. Some of them I have learned before."

Yun Ji was relieved: "When we are both free, let's find a college together, study hard for two years, and then take the county exam. The county exam is simple, just memorize the Four Books and Five Classics and be able to write policy essays. I think the most difficult part may be writing poems."

When Min Xi heard this, he felt a little overwhelmed. He had studied for so many years, but did he still have to continue going to school? "We'll talk about it when the time comes."

"it is good!"

Yun Ji reached his hand into Min Xi's hair and touched it: "We are almost done, go take a rest. You have been traveling so hard these days, you should have a good sleep."

Min Xi put down his book and lay down on the bed. Yun Ji lay down on the outside, and they shared a quilt. Min Xi thought Yun Ji was going to do something, but he did nothing, just pulled up the quilt and slept quietly.

When Min Xi woke up, it was already late and Yun Ji was no longer in bed. He reached out and touched the outside and it was already cold, which meant he must have been gone for a long time.

He slept for a long time and soundly. When he woke up, Diego was already chasing his bully in the yard.

Seeing Min Xi getting up, Diego ran over happily: "Boss, you're up! Boss Yun said that when you get up, we'll go out for dinner at the restaurant."

"Where is he?" Min Xi reached out and patted the little bully's head.

"He went to the shop first. There is a carriage to take us there," said Diego.

"I'll go after washing my face." It looked late, and there should be a curfew at night, so it would be better to go early and come back early.

Tao Yan personally drove the carriage and took Min Xi, Diego Laoxius and the other two to the restaurant, while the Little Overlord stayed at home. When they arrived in Beijing, even though they were home, the dog naturally would not follow them around everywhere.

As evening approached, the streets were still bustling. It was evident that the Ming Dynasty's economy was still very prosperous. Although the imperial court did not encourage commerce, once society developed to a certain level, it could not be suppressed even if one wanted to.

Min Xi thought that with the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty, it should be more confident and cancel the curfew. After all, even the weak Song Dynasty did not have a curfew. If the curfew is canceled, the economy will grow significantly, and the court will have more tax revenue, so that there will be money to allocate in the future when there are droughts, locust plagues, etc.

Tao Yan drove the carriage for about two quarters of an hour and finally arrived at the most prosperous Qianmenwai Street. He originally thought that other places were prosperous, but compared with Qianmenwai Street, they were completely insignificant. There were endless wine shops and singing halls here, and small stalls and vendors could be seen everywhere on the roadside. Although it was approaching dusk, people were still not in a hurry, and they didn't seem to worry about the curfew time. You could hear shouting everywhere.

Diego and old Hughes were so shocked that they were speechless. It turned out that this was the real prosperity.