The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After returning home, Min Xi entered the room and remembered that he was going to visit Yun Ji's grandparents' family and his younger brother tomorrow. He had not prepared anything, so he had to get up early tomorrow to go shopping for gifts.

After thinking it over, he decided to go talk to Yun Ji about this. As soon as he opened the door to the bathroom, he ran into Yun Ji who was walking towards him with an oil lamp.

Yun Ji's face lit up with joy: "Ninth brother, are you waiting for me?"

Min Xi turned back to his room, knowing that this guy would definitely push his luck. This was the reason why he arranged for him to stay here. "I wanted to talk to you for a few words. Now that you are here, that's just right. Tomorrow I will go to visit your grandfather and brother, so you must bring some gifts. I haven't prepared anything. Go out early tomorrow, go to the street and buy some gifts."

"Okay!" Yun Ji followed him in, closed the door, and put the lamp on the stool beside the bed. "Go to sleep."

Min Xi walked to the table and sat down: "I slept too much in the afternoon, I'm not sleepy yet. I'll read a book for a while."

"Then I will accompany you."

Compared with the books that Min Xi had studied, the Four Books and Five Classics were only a few thin books, but for thousands of years, people have studied these classics to great lengths. There are a thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers, and there are more than a thousand readers of the Four Books and Five Classics. You think you have read them thoroughly and have your own opinions, but when you take the exam, although your answer is not unique, you have to please the examiner, otherwise you will fail.

When Min Xi first read these classics, he found them obscure and difficult to understand. He yawned repeatedly while reading them. He had not felt sleepy at first, but now he was dozing off.

Yun Ji noticed his state and suggested, "If you're sleepy, go to bed early."

Min Xi rubbed his face helplessly and said distressedly: "Seventh Brother, what should I do? I feel sleepy when I read this book. Maybe I am not cut out for studying."

"Did you feel sleepy when reading your books before?" Yun Ji asked.

Min Xi shook his head: "I would only want to sleep if I was really sleepy. Maybe I haven't seen the benefits of this book yet."

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the academy and listen to the teacher's explanation. It should be much better."

Min Xi sighed: "After all, I am old now. I am not as efficient in going to school as I was when I was a kid."

"Let's try it anyway." Yun Ji was worried that he couldn't continue reading and didn't want to read anymore.

"Okay." The best age to study is before the age of 20, when you can remember things quickly and firmly. After this age, you need more time, but fortunately, your comprehension ability is stronger. Min Xi also felt that he couldn't be defeated by such a small difficulty. After all, he was a serious undergraduate. If he couldn't even pass the exam to become a scholar in ancient times, it would be too embarrassing for modern college students.

Min Xi was back in the college entrance examination room in his dream. Half of the questions that he had memorized by heart were incomprehensible to him, which frightened him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat. When he opened his eyes, it was already daybreak and Yun Ji had already gotten up. The sounds of Diego and the little bully playing could be heard faintly from outside the window.

Min Xi looked tired as he thought of that already vague dream. He hadn't dreamed of taking the college entrance examination for a long time. Perhaps it was because he was worried that he wouldn't be able to read those books when he was reading last night, which put invisible pressure on himself.

He was still trapped in that horrible dream when he heard a knock on the door and Yun Ji's voice outside: "Ninth brother, are you up? It's getting late. Didn't you say you wanted to go shopping?"

Min Xi replied, "I'm up, I'll be there soon."

Min Xi lifted the quilt, and the cold air gave him a start, and he woke up immediately. He quickly got up and put on his layers of clothes. Loose Taoist robes were popular in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and they only looked good on tall people, such as Yun Ji. Min Xi was only of medium height, so he had to wear a belt around his waist, otherwise he would look bloated.

Wearing a cloak over the Taoist robe is the clothing for this season. Because the season of wearing coats and fur coats has passed, in order to keep warm, you have to wear four, five, six, or seven layers. This is only for the rich. Who among the poor can afford so much cloth?

After finally getting dressed, Min Xi opened the door. Yun Ji was flipping through an account book in the hall outside. Seeing him come out, he said, "Are you up? I've prepared a toothbrush and salt for you. Rinse your mouth and wash your face. Do you want to have breakfast before going out, or go out to eat?"

Min Xi held her long hair with one hand and a comb with the other: "If it's ready at home, eat it at home. If it's not ready, go out and eat."

Yun Ji came over, took his comb, and combed his hair. Min Xi did not fight with him, turned around and let him help comb his hair. When he was in Europe, he just combed his hair into a bun on the top of his head and put on a hairpin. At most, he would wear a futou when he went into the kitchen. But it was quite troublesome when he returned to Ming Dynasty. After tying his hair, he had to wear a net scarf. This was the rule. Not wearing a net scarf was considered uncivilized behavior.

In weather and climate like Beijing, you need to wear a hat in addition to a scarf, first to block the wind, and second to prevent dust. After all, it is too dry. If you don’t wear a hat, your head will be covered with dust at the end of the day. Washing your hair every day? Isn’t that life-threatening?

Tao Sheng came over with hot water and was startled to see Yun Jimin with her hair tied up and wearing a net scarf. He quickly put down the pot in his hand and said, "Master, I'll do it, I'll do it!"

Yun Ji said: "It doesn't matter, I can do it for him."

Tao Sheng stood there at a loss, feeling that he had failed in his duty.

Min Xi took the hat from Yun Ji and put it on, then asked him, "Is it straight?"

"It's just right!" There was approval in Yun Ji's eyes, and he obviously liked it very much.

After washing up and having breakfast, Min Xi and Yun Ji went out together, without taking Diego and Old Zeus with them. They arranged for Tao Xing to accompany them shopping. After all, they didn't speak the same language, and they couldn't just wander around in Tao's house. It would be a very boring day, so it would be better to let them go out to the streets to watch the fun.

Yun Ji took Min Xi to his shop and picked out some gifts. When Min Xi was paying, Yun Ji said to the shopkeeper, "Put it on my account."

Min Xi looked at him in astonishment: "I am here to visit you, why should I ask you to pay?"

"Have we divided our money?" Yun Ji glanced at him.

Min Xi thought about it and realized it was true.

Yun Ji smiled and said, "You chose the gift, that's enough."

What else could Min Xi say? "I have to buy the gift for your brother myself."

"Okay!" Yun Ji readily followed suit.

Min Xi planned to buy Yunlin some gold jewelry such as a longevity lock. After all, he was less than three years old, and the food, clothing and toys he had were not high-end enough. It was too early for him to have the four treasures of the study. After much consideration, gold and silver jewelry were the most suitable.

Min Xi looked at the shop across the street with the sign "Yunxiang Gold Shop" on it and said, "Isn't that yours too? Let's go there to buy it. After all, it's good business."

Yun Ji shook his head: "No. You didn't notice that the door was closed. It has been sealed."

Min Xi took a closer look and saw that there was indeed a seal on the door: "Bought by your clansmen?"

"Yes, I bought the whole shop for one thousand taels of silver."

Min Xi couldn't help but curse: "Damn! Such a big gold shop on Qianmen Street only sells 1000 taels of silver?"

"The shop alone is worth more than 1000 taels of silver. There are also inventory, the Yunxiang signboard, and goldsmiths who have been employed by my family for generations. I can only say that they actually gave money instead of robbing directly." Yun Ji sneered.

"This is almost like robbery. If we can't win this lawsuit, it means there is no justice under the emperor's feet." Min Xi said.

"It's not a question of whether we can win the lawsuit, but I'm worried that after the lawsuit, those shops will be left with only empty shells. They must have already transferred most of the inventory, craftsmen, and customers." Yun Ji frowned.

This is indeed a headache. Yun Ji has not been at home in the past few years and is not clear about the account books. The defendants will definitely take the opportunity to destroy all the previous account books, leaving no evidence for the accounts and only an empty shell for Yun Ji.

"It can't be like this for everyone, right?" Min Xi refused to give up.

"It was only after I met Yunxiao and checked the accounts with him that I found out about the sale of the shop. Although I reported it to the authorities immediately, they had enough time to transfer the goods. I estimate that there is not much left in the shop." Yunji said.

To be honest, Min Xi had not thought of this at the beginning, otherwise he would have asked Yun Ji to make preparations in advance, conduct a secret investigation, and directly report to the authorities to seal up the store. Who would have known that those relatives who were willing to eat and feed others would be so greedy!

"Is there no one in your tribe with a conscience?" Min Xi asked.

"Of course there are, but I don't have much say."

Min Xi patted his back and comforted him: "It's okay, at least we got back in time before they completely destroyed the house. We will definitely win the lawsuit, but I don't know how long it will take."

This kind of lawsuit involving misappropriation of family property is the most difficult to win, especially since Yun Ji doesn't know much about his family's financial situation.

Yun Ji sighed: "Don't think about that. Money is just a thing outside of our body. We can earn it again if we lose it. But we must not let those people have an easy life!"

"That's what I thought too! We can't let those people get away with it, they have to go to jail!" Min Xi said.

As they talked, they arrived at another gold shop. Min Xi looked around and finally picked a gold necklace for Yun Lin. He estimated that someone must have already bought the longevity lock bracelet and the like for him. The possibility of a duplicate necklace was small, and it was large enough to show sincerity.

This gold collar emptied Min Xi's purse. He held the bag containing the collar and said, "My sworn brother is really sincere. The gift is big enough to bankrupt me."

Yun Ji couldn't help but snorted after hearing this: "You are really good to that brat! You bought him such a big collar without even meeting him."

Min Xi glanced at him and said, "You wouldn't be jealous of your little brother, would you?"

Yun Ji curled his lips and said nothing.

The two of them went to the study and bought some study supplies to take as gifts for Min Xi's grandfather and uncles, and then drove the carriage to Tao's house.