The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The Tao family is a scholarly family. Although their official positions are not high, they have been officials in Beijing for three generations. Yunji's cousins ​​are also studying, and one of them passed the imperial examination last year. The family tradition should continue.

Min Xi asked curiously, "Your mother is a daughter of an official from a scholarly family. How could she be interested in your father who is from a merchant family?"

Yun Ji laughed when he heard this: "My father and my uncle were classmates and friends. They often came to my grandparents' house. He was good-looking and had good character. My grandma was pleased with him and promised my mother to him."

"Hahaha, it turns out that it's the mother-in-law visiting the son-in-law!" Min Xi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Yun Ji smiled but then his expression turned lonely again: "Although my mother married a man of lower status, she and my father were in perfect harmony, like a couple made in heaven. What a pity..."

Min Xi put away his smile and patted his shoulder to comfort him.

When they arrived at Tao's house, Yun Ji's mood had calmed down. As soon as the two got off the carriage, a servant came to meet them and took the things they brought.

The scale of the Tao Mansion is not as large as that of the Yun Family, but it is not small. Although the Tao Family is not a high-ranking official, they are also a well-established family. They have been operating for generations and have a small fortune in Suzhou. They bought a house in the capital early on, and their conditions are much better than those officials of the same level in the capital. Rice is expensive in the capital, and many fourth- and fifth-rank officials have difficulty supporting their families with that little salary. They can't afford to buy a house and can only rent one.

Min Xi followed Yun Ji into the gate of Tao Mansion and was led to the study by the servants.

Tao Hongtao is over 60 years old. Although it is time for him to retire, he will definitely stay in the Hanlin Academy if he is in good spirits. Although the rank of Hanlin Bachelor is not high, he is responsible for drafting imperial edicts and is involved in the most core affairs of the dynasty. When the emperor issues decrees, he will inevitably ask for his opinion. In fact, he is equivalent to a prime minister without rank and is a powerful official.

After Yunji's accident, his mother and father passed away one after another. The old scholar was devastated and fell ill. He was not as energetic as before. In addition to some other reasons, he took the initiative to resign. Now he is idle at home, reading books, writing articles, tending flowers and plants, and guiding his children and grandchildren's studies. He is quite comfortable.

When Min Xi and Yun Ji arrived, Old Master Tao was painting in the study.

Yun Ji bowed respectfully, "Grandfather!"

Hearing this, Old Master Tao put down the pen in his hand, looked up, and said with a pleasant face: "Ji'er is here?"

Min Xi quickly bowed respectfully: "Hello, Mr. Tao!"

Old Master Tao looked Min Xi up and down and said, "Are you the sworn brother that Ji'er mentioned? What's your name? Where do you live? How many people are there in your family? What books have you studied?"

Yun Ji must have told the old man about this information, but Min Xi still answered: "My name is Min Xi, and I live in Jurong County, Yingtian Prefecture. My parents died early, leaving me alone. I have never been to school, but I learned some characters from my seventh brother."

Old Master Tao stroked his beard and smiled: "Ji'er said that you have extraordinary knowledge and insight. I think you are smart. Thanks to you for taking care of him all these years."

"I don't deserve it. Seventh brother takes care of me more." Min Xi was very respectful and did not dare to act rudely in front of his elders.

Old Master Tao said, "Please sit down and have some tea. I still have a few strokes left to finish this painting. I'm just getting inspired. Please wait for a moment."

"Mr. Tao, please make yourself at your own convenience." Min Xi did not feel that he was being neglected, as this showed that the other person was not being polite to him.

Old Master Tao nodded: "Don't be so rigid, you and Ji'er are sworn brothers, you can just call me grandpa."

"Yes, grandpa!" Min Xi readily followed suit.

Old Master Tao picked up the paintbrush again and continued to paint the small freehand painting of flowers and birds.

Yun Ji and Min Xi stood aside and watched. After watching for a while, Min Xi discovered that Yun Ji must have learned painting from his grandfather.

Not long after, Old Master Tao finished counting the last few willow buds, put away his brush, told the servant to wash the brush, looked at it with satisfaction, and said to the two young men beside him, "What do you think?"

Yun Ji smiled and said, "Grandfather's painting skills are becoming more and more perfect."

Min Xi smiled and said, "I don't know how to paint, but I just feel that the vitality jumps out from the paper, which makes people happy."

Old Master Tao nodded with satisfaction: "This is the basics of painting. It can make people feel joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. Let it dry for a while. The sun is nice today. Let's go for a walk in the garden. Lin'er must be playing in the garden right now."

Min Xi asked as he walked: "Grandfather, did my seventh brother learn to paint from you?"

"Have you ever seen him paint?" Old Master Tao asked in surprise.

Min Xi smiled and said, "I have seen him before, more than once. His paintings have sold for a lot of money in Europe."

"Really? You are more promising than your grandfather. Your paintings can all be sold for money. How many taels of silver did you get?" Old Master Tao asked with interest.

Yun Ji's face flushed. "I was forced into a situation where there was no tiger in the mountain, so the monkey became king. I'm sorry to make my grandfather laugh. I can bluff foreigners who know nothing."

Min Xi continued to laugh: "It must have been sold for several hundred taels of silver. Oftentimes, we don't know what to give as a gift, so Seventh Brother would paint four scrolls or carve a folding screen for the person as a favor, saving a lot of money."

"Haha, not bad, not bad, better than your grandfather. No one buys my paintings yet." Old Master Tao said with a smile, stroking his beard.

Yun Ji said hurriedly: "That's because grandpa doesn't need to sell his paintings."

As soon as they arrived at the garden gate, they met a graceful old lady leading a little boy wearing a tiger-head hat. To be precise, the little boy was pulling her hand out, saying "brother". When she turned around, she saw Yun Ji and immediately cheered loudly: "Brother!" He let go of his grandmother's hand and rushed over here.

Yun Ji squatted down, opened his arms, and caught the running child: "Run slowly, be careful not to fall."

Mrs. Tao looked at the scene and smiled, "Now that I have a brother, I don't need my grandmother anymore."

Yun Ji bowed to Madam Tao and said, "Grandma. I brought my brother Min Xi to visit you and Grandpa."

Min Xi hurriedly bowed respectfully: "Greetings, old lady!"

Although Mrs. Tao is over sixty years old, she is still an exquisite old lady. It can be seen that she was also a beauty when she was young. She smiled and nodded gently to Min Xi: "Ji'er often mentioned you to us, saying that life in a foreign country was hard. Fortunately, she had you by her side, so she could survive and return home. Thank you for taking care of Ji'er."

"You are too polite, old lady! My seventh brother has also taken good care of me."

Everyone walked into the garden together. There were more flowers and plants in the Tao family's garden than in the Yun family's. Perhaps literati and scholars loved to tend to flowers and plants more. It was only April, but the garden was already full of February orchids. Some of the magnolias, crabapples, and apricot flowers had already bloomed, while others were about to bloom. It was very lively.

The garden is not big, but there are many flowers, but they are not too crowded. Instead, they are arranged in an orderly manner, with a different scene at every step. It really took a lot of thought to design it.

As soon as Yun Lin threw herself into Yun Ji's arms, she tightly wrapped her arms around Yun Ji's neck, buried her head in his shoulder, and said coquettishly, "Brother, why did you come just now? I haven't seen you for three, four or five days. I missed you so much."

Yun Ji kissed him on the cheek: "Brother, you have something to do. I came to see you after I finished my work."

Yunlin lingered on Yunji for a while before looking up. Seeing Minxi following behind his grandfather, he asked quietly, "Who is that?"

Yun Ji turned to look at Min Xi and said with a smile: "This is Brother Min, your sworn brother. You can call him Second Brother."

Min Xi looked at the child, his eyebrows and eyes were beautiful, his lips were red and his teeth were white, he looked like a smaller version of Yun Ji, he smiled and greeted him: "Hello, little Yun Lin."

Yunlin saw him and smiled shyly: "Second brother."

Min Xi took out a gold necklace wrapped in a red silk bag from his sleeve pocket and said, "This is a gift from my second brother."

Yunlin looked at the gift and didn't dare to take it until Yunji said, "Take it. Thank you, second brother."

Yunlin stretched out his little hand to take it, and said crisply: "Thank you, second brother!"

Min Xi reached out and pinched his little face: "You're welcome." It turned out that Yun Ji looked like this when he was a child. He was so adorable.

Although Yunlin is young and lives with his grandparents, he is not spoiled at all. This is probably the case with all children without mothers. They lack a sense of security. No matter how much love their grandparents give them, it cannot fill the void in their hearts. Min Xi himself is like this. He has always been a little inferior and envious of children who grew up with their parents. Although he did not lose his parents, he is almost the same, not to mention Yunlin who lost his parents at a young age.

When his grandparents were basking in the sun and admiring the flowers in the garden, Yunlin hugged his brother's neck and whispered to him, but he didn't dare to speak loudly for fear of disturbing others. Living under someone else's roof at such a young age will have a great impact on the child's personality.

Min Xi could see Yun Lin's attachment to Yun Ji, and knew that if he stayed with Yun Ji, it would be better for his growth. However, given Yun Ji's current situation, he couldn't be brought with him. He had to wait at least two years. Unless Yun Ji didn't go to Europe and went alone, but this was probably impossible. Even if Yun Ji didn't let him go, he wouldn't let him go to Europe alone to take risks.

As the saying goes, a child's character can be seen at the age of three. Min Xi was actually quite worried about Yun Lin's personality. He didn't know if he could change for the better in the future. He hoped that Yun Ji, his poor little brother, would be healthy, both physically and mentally.

Near noon, Tao Lizhi, who was working at the Ministry of Revenue, came back. He was Yun Ji's uncle, and also a deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue. When Tao Lizhi saw Min Xi, he was also very enthusiastic: "Are you Min Xi who is determined to collect grain seeds?"

Min Xi didn't know what Yun Ji had told his uncle, so he quickly said respectfully, "Sir, it was my seventh brother who collected them together with me."

Tao Lizhi waved his hand: "Don't be so reserved, just call me uncle like Yunji. How did you come up with the idea of ​​collecting grain seeds?"