The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Meng Jia's case had both witnesses and evidence. Despite Yun Nongzhang's many defenses, he still couldn't escape the accusation of the two witnesses. Yun Nongzhang finally confessed his crime, saying that he wanted to buy Yunxiang Gold Shop, but Meng Jia obstructed him in every way and refused to sell it, so he thought of killing him to silence him.

He did not tell the rest of the Yun family and took the blame alone. Yun Ji and Min Xi both felt that he did not kill just for a gold shop.

Yun Nongzhang was finally sentenced to death by beheading for intentional homicide.

However, because the Yun family spent a lot of money to get around in the court and won the forgiveness of the victim's family, they compensated the Meng family with another 1000 taels of silver and their sentence was commuted to exile in Qiongzhou, with no right to return to Beijing for the rest of their lives.

As an accomplice, the accountant of the gold shop insisted that he did not know that Yun Nongzhang was planning to kill someone intentionally. He was eventually beaten with a stick 100 times and exiled to Lingnan for three years.

Yun Nongzhang's servant was also an accomplice, but he was the direct murderer of Meng Jia, so he was also sentenced to beheading. However, no one stood up for him. His wife and children at home hated him for buying a house for his mistress and were unwilling to help him. In the end, only one servant died in this case.

Although Yun Nongzhang saved his life, it was no different from death to his family. This served as a sufficient warning to the Yun family members, and some of the timid ones quickly took the initiative to return the shop they bought at a low price to Yun Ji.

Of course, there were also those who tried to get away with it, hoping to make some profit from it. Yun Ji could sue him, but at worst, he could just return the shop to him. He had been away from home for so many years, and he had not been the head of the family before he left, so he had no idea about the details of the shop, and he would not know if he had to pay back a little less.

After Meng Jia's case was settled, the Yun family's lawsuit for misappropriation of property was also put on the agenda, because Meng Jia's death was caused by the Yun family's misappropriation of property.

Every day Yun Ji followed the officials to estimate the value of the sealed shops. For those shops that were sold to outsiders, since they were illegally sold without the help of the owner, they were obliged to come out to testify and provide transaction details and deeds.

Feng Hao's father's birthday was coming, and he personally came to pick up Min Xi to go home and cook. Yun Ji was busy, so he didn't go.

Diego was busy in the pastry shop, so Min Xi found two chefs from Yunxiang Restaurant to help him. Yunxiang Restaurant was closed for renovation recently, so Min Xi kept an eye on the renovation progress while teaching the chefs how to cook.

These chefs are veterans and are not slow in learning to cook new dishes, but they have already formed cooking habits and it takes some time to change them.

Min Xi did not hide his secrets, and selected dozens of recipes and taught them to them without reservation, after all, he would not be able to open a restaurant in the future. The dishes he selected included Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Boiled Cabbage, White-cut Chicken, Roast Chicken, Beggar's Chicken, Roast Duck, Twice-cooked Pork, Boiled Pork Slices, Boiled Fish, Pot-fried Pork, Spicy Chicken, Tomato and Egg, and various potato recipes, etc. Yes, the peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes that Yun Ji had planted on the farm could be harvested, and they were growing very well.

Dishes like peppers, tomatoes and potatoes are something that others cannot learn to make even if they want to because the ingredients are not available.

However, it is only a matter of time before they spread. After all, they have already taken root in the capital, and it is only a matter of time before they branch out and spread. The Chinese are about to usher in a taste revolution.

Although before chili peppers were introduced to China, Chinese people had already used dogwood, mustard and ginger to cook spicy food, compared with chili peppers, the spiciness of these foods was not as pure.

Some of the dishes he selected were already available in the Ming Dynasty, but his recipes were improved by later generations and tasted only better.

When Chef Liu heard that he was going to cook at Feng's house, he volunteered to go with him. Min Xi didn't want to take him with him at first, because he felt it was a bit embarrassing for him, a chef at his age, to help him. However, he didn't mind and was very humble, admitting that Min Xi was better than him and didn't take advantage of his seniority.

Min Xi had no choice but to take him with him, along with a clever kitchen helper. The three of them went there before dawn, because many dishes needed a long time to prepare, and even in order to catch up with the birthday lunch, big dishes like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Boiled Cabbage had been stewed at home the night before, and when they went in the morning, they took the jars and stew pots with them.

Min Xi prepared a sumptuous birthday banquet for Feng's father. Because the guests invited by the Feng family all had light tastes, the dishes Min Xi cooked were also mainly light. In addition to Fu Shouquan and boiled cabbage, he also cooked beggar's chicken, Wensi tofu, braised lion's head, squirrel mandarin fish, sweet and sour pork, fried mushrooms, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, etc.

The table was full of dishes that most of the guests had never seen before, which opened their eyes and also satisfied their appetites.

The guests at the dinner table asked where the Feng family found such a great chef, and why the dishes he made were so ingenious, not only delicious but also very beautiful.

Generally speaking, the best chefs in Beijing are not in restaurants, but in the kitchens of the backyards of dignitaries. They are not available in the market. If you find that a friend's chef is good, you will invite the friend's chef to cook at home when you hold a banquet to entertain important guests.

Feng Hao's father, Feng Zheng, was the commander-in-chief of the capital, a second-rank military officer. Although the status of military officers in the Ming Dynasty was not as high as that of civil officials, they were also powerful figures. Today was not a birthday party, but there were still people coming to congratulate him, so two tables were set up, and all the people who came were well-known figures.

This meal earned Feng Zheng a lot of face. He smiled and said, "Today's meal was not prepared by our family's chef. It was prepared by my son's friend, who is good at cooking. He was invited to come to my house to prepare a birthday banquet for me."

When everyone heard this, they were a little disappointed. Since he wasn't a family chef, it would be difficult to invite him, so they ate this meal and didn't have the next one.

Feng Hao interrupted and said, "But don't be disappointed, uncles and aunts. My friend has a deep connection with Yunxiang Restaurant, and now the chefs of Yunxiang Restaurant are learning to cook from him. When Yunxiang Restaurant reopens, everyone will be able to enjoy such delicious food."

This made everyone excited: "Is it really like that?!"

"It's strange that when I passed by Yunxiang Restaurant, I found it closed. I thought it had gone bankrupt, but it turns out they were preparing to reopen?" someone said excitedly.

"That's right. Yunxiang has a new owner. He is taking this opportunity to redecorate and reopen the store." Feng Hao said.

"Is the new owner of the Yunxiang the same one whose ship capsized in the South China Sea and was rescued by the Flanji people and taken to Europe?"

"That's him! This person's experience is amazing. He is so lucky to have survived!"

"Then I'll wait for Yunxiang Restaurant to reopen. If the food tastes this good, I'll eat there often."

Feng Hao smiled and said, "Today's dishes were made by my friend. The chef of Yunxiang Restaurant learned from him. It all depends on the apprentice's comprehension. The uncles can go and test it when the time comes."

"Okay! I'll definitely go then."

Min Xi didn't know yet that Feng Hao had already started promoting Yunxiang Restaurant.

When the lawsuit between Yun Ji, Yun Xiao and others was settled, Yun Xiang Restaurant happened to be open for business, which was a double happiness.

The Shuntian government office ordered that all the shops purchased by members of the Yun family at low prices should be returned to Yun Ji. Not only did Yun Ji not have to pay back the money for buying the shops, he was even fined 1000 taels of silver per person, because they had no idea how much property they had secretly transferred after they knew Yun Ji had returned.

Yunxiao, the elected acting head of the family, is from a side branch. Not only is he unfriendly to his clan members, he openly embezzles and sells the family property of the direct line, without any regard for clan values ​​and destroys clan unity. His nature is extremely bad and his influence is extremely bad. In addition to returning Yunji's property, he also confiscated the property and gave him 50 strokes of the cane as a punishment.

The people of Beijing all applauded the verdict. Although this was a family feud and had nothing to do with ordinary people, Yun Xiao and the others were too greedy. Even if Yun Ji didn't come back, didn't the Yun family still have a young son? This was too much of a disregard for the direct lineage. In order to embezzle the family property, they even killed people to silence them. It was simply outrageous.

Fortunately, Yun Ji came back in time, otherwise the Yun Xiang would have been emptied quietly. When Yun Lin grows up, how much would be left after he brought it back?

Upon receiving the verdict, Yun Ji immediately announced that he would donate a Western-style sailing ship worth 200,000 taels of silver to the Ming Navy.

This was the result of a discussion between him and Min Xi. The purpose of their buying this ship was to bring it back for Ming Dynasty shipbuilders to study. Now they could take this opportunity to donate the ship with justification and gain a good reputation.

Although the ship has not been brought back yet, it has been registered with the Ministry of War. Once the ship returns from Portugal, it will be directly handed over to the Ming Navy.

As soon as the news came out, Yun Ji was called over by his grandfather. His grandfather, uncle and cousins ​​were all there. They looked at Yun Ji and Min Xi as if they were in a trial. Tao Hong said, "You should discuss this important matter with us."

Yun Ji said: "We have already told my grandfather and uncle about this matter. The purpose of buying the ship is also for the Ming Navy to study."

Tao Lizhi looked at his nephew helplessly: "You should tell me about this. I can write a memorial on your behalf and submit it directly to the court. At least let His Majesty know about this. In the future, you will take the imperial examination and become officials in the court. At least His Majesty will have an impression of you."

Yun Ji was stunned for a moment, he looked at Min Xi, and they both smiled helplessly. It turned out that they were still too young and did not understand the officialdom.

Yun Ji asked: "Uncle, can you still write a memorial now?"

"You can write, but the effect will be greatly reduced." Tao Lizhi shook his head helplessly.

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't matter. We donated the boat not for fame or gain."

Tao Hong sighed, "Well, just do good things without worrying about the future. Maybe there will be unexpected surprises."

Min Xi said, "Actually, there is one thing that I need my uncle to help report to His Majesty."

Tao Lizhi asked hurriedly: "What's the matter?"

Min Xi took out a wrinkled letter and said, "This is a letter from Queen Elizabeth of England, who asked me and my seventh brother to present it to your Majesty. They hope to establish friendly trade and mutually beneficial relations with our Ming Dynasty."