The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi translated what he heard to Yun Ji, and after listening to it, Yun Ji asked him to ask Francis whether he could be trusted.

Francis said, "I have been doing business with Mr. Martin for many years. I bought all the woolen fabrics I sold to Portugal from him, and there has never been any problem, so I think what he said is true. If he tells a lie, tell me when you come back, and I will make it impossible for him to do business in France!"

Martin also said: "Look, I am using my reputation as a guarantee, and I am absolutely not lying. As long as you take care of the woolen fabric as I say, you will have no problem using it for three to five years."

Min Xi translated his words to Yun Ji, and then said, "It's only been three to five years, isn't it a little short?"

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "About the same. Those who can afford this kind of fabric will not go three to five years without changing their clothes. Those who wear silk and satin will buy new clothes almost every year or even every season."

"Since you said so, let's take it, shall we?"

"He said he would sell it to us at the lowest price, so let's buy it. We don't have that much money to fill two ships with goods."

So they actually bought Martin's backlog of goods at cost price, and together with the ones they had selected before, they had more than 900 pieces, spending a total of reais. The total of these goods was more than jin, or about tons. They bought some to test the waters. If they sold well, when Captain Reis returned to Europe, he would ask him to contact Francis and exchange the Ming goods for woolen fabrics from Francis.

After settling the bill, the sailors pulled the cloth onto the ship, and the fabric was considered purchased.

Francis also felt that he had accomplished his mission, and said, "I probably won't go to Lisbon again in the second half of the year. If I have to go, it will be in the spring of next year. So I can't go back with you. You should be careful on your way back and try to avoid those groups of fleets."

"Thank you, we'll remember that." Min Xi took out the lavender he bought and asked Francis, "Do you recognize this?"

Francis nodded. "Of course, it's lavender. Many families in Provence grow it for medical treatment. Do you need it?"

"Yes, but the quantity is very small. I only bought a few kilograms. If you have lavender in the future, you can sell it to us and we will buy it in large quantities." Min Xi said.

Lavender has the effect of calming, relieving pain and soothing the nerves. Even if the pharmacy doesn't need so much, it can be used to make essential oils. Min Xi plans to take the lavender back and try to grow it. If it can be grown in China, it will save the trouble of importing it from Europe in the future. However, he has seen a popular science video that it took a long time for lavender to take root in China because it needs time to slowly adapt to the climate in China, and he doesn't know if he can grow it successfully.

Francis thought for a moment and said, "I can have someone grow some and sell it to you when the time comes."

"it is good!"

"Would you like to buy anything else?" Francis asked.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "No more. Next we are ready to set sail and leave."

Francis hesitated to speak.

Min Xi asked: "Mr. Francis, do you have anything else to say?"

Francis rubbed his nose with his fingers and said a little embarrassedly: "I haven't tasted your cooking skills, Mr. Min. I don't know if I will have the chance to taste it in the future."

Min Xi slapped his head and said, "Oh, yes, I almost forgot about this. I will definitely cook you an authentic Chinese meal before leaving France. But it is not very convenient to do so on our ship. Can you find a place to cook?" Francis helped them so much, it was not too much to cook a meal for him.

Francis smiled brightly. "Of course, come to my house. My house is in Marseille."

"Okay, then let's do it tomorrow at noon. I'll go buy some groceries, and you can pick us up at the dock. It'd be better if you bring a carriage. I need to bring some kitchen utensils with me. Because many dishes can only be made with Chinese utensils." Min Xi said.

Francis said, “Can I invite a friend to dinner?”

"Of course. Please tell me how many people are going to eat there so I can arrange the menu." He can drive one sheep or a flock of sheep, so he doesn't mind how many people are eating there. The worst that can happen is that he can just cook two more dishes.

Francis thought for a moment and said, "There are seven people in my family, plus two friends, a total of nine people."

Min Xi said, “No problem.”

The next morning, Min Xi and Yun Ji went to the market near the pier to buy vegetables. They bought the freshest seafood, chicken, duck and beef. There were four of them, and they could cook for more than a dozen people. These ingredients should be more than enough.

Francis drove a carriage to the dock to pick people up and saw the things that Min Xi and his team had moved off the ship. There were two or three pots alone, and all kinds of bottles and jars. The preparations were really complete.

Min Xi and Yun Ji loaded the things onto the carriage. Francis looked at Min Xi, Yun Ji, Reis, and Diego and said, "My carriage can't hold so many people. I'll go get another one."

Min Xi didn't say who would not go, and let him go to call a taxi. After waiting for a long time, Francis finally found a carriage. Diego and Reis rode in Francis' carriage, and Min Xi and Yun Ji followed in the hired carriage.

Marseilles was not a big place, and the carriage took less than half an hour to arrive at Francis's house. Francis's house was very grand and it was also a large manor. He employed servants, cooks and grooms, which showed that he was really rich. The seven people in his family he mentioned did not include these servants. He had four children, his wife and mother-in-law. Living with his mother-in-law was rare in foreign countries, but Min Xi did not ask about it.

The guests he invited had not arrived yet, and the whole family, young and old, were looking at Min Xi and Yun Ji from the East with great curiosity, because they looked so different.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were already accustomed to the way Europeans looked at them, so they greeted them gracefully and went to prepare lunch.

Yun Ji and Min Xi killed chickens and ducks together, and Diego kneaded dough to make staple dishes and desserts. Captain Reis really couldn't cook, he came here specifically to eat.

Francis's cook watched the three men cooking together with curiosity. She felt it was really eye-opening. It was the first time she saw men cooking.

Two chickens, one for boiled meat and the other for beggar's chicken, the duck for three-cup duck, the beef stir-fried with asparagus and then braised, the seafood includes steamed turbot, baked lobster, and seafood soup, the staple food is steamed beef buns, and the dessert is custard buns.

The three of them worked so hard that they prepared ten dishes, including desserts and main courses, to make it perfect.

It was almost noon when Francis' two friends finally arrived. Min Xi brought all the prepared dishes to the table. Although French cuisine also adopts the system of separate meals, it was still eaten according to the Chinese way. All the dishes were served on the table, and people used public cutlery to pick up what they wanted to eat. In fact, it was a bit similar to how Westerners eat together around the table on Christmas Day, and the main dishes are also served on the table.

Everyone has a strong interest in and great expectations for Chinese food, so when they actually tasted it, everyone was amazed. The French understand gourmet food, and they kept praising it while eating, saying it was particularly delicious.

The one who was most convinced was Francis. He felt that Marseille cuisine was delicious enough, but in terms of taste, texture and richness of cooking methods, it was indeed not as good as Chinese cuisine.

"I am convinced by Mr. Min's cooking skills! It is indeed better than our Marseille cuisine." Francis admitted in front of everyone at the dinner table.

"Thank you for your compliment, but Marseille cuisine is indeed among the best in Europe." Min Xi said with a smile.

"I can only say that I haven't been to enough places and don't know enough about this world." Francis laughed and tried to smooth things over.

The meal was a great success for both hosts and guests. Before leaving, Francis gave Min Xi and his friends the best French red wine as a thank you gift.

The woolen fabrics were purchased, and the next step was to leave France. As to whether to go to Italy or return to Lisbon, Min Xi and Yun Ji took Captain Reis to discuss what goods in Italy were worth buying.

Captain Reis said: "Italian food is good, and the leather shoes are also well made, but there seems to be nothing else. We have wine in Portugal, too, but it is not a specialty."

"Then let's not go." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi nodded: "Okay, let's not go, let's go back to Lisbon!"

So they set sail from Marseille and the Xingyun sailed into the Mediterranean. This time they were not very lucky. As soon as they left the French waters, they encountered several ships from unknown countries. However, there was only one galleon among them, and the rest were smaller ships.

Captain Reiss knew at first glance that it was an old galleon with only three masts and eight gun turrets on the entire ship, so it was nothing to be afraid of.

He was experienced and calmly directed the Xingyun to sail away from the threat range of those ships. Although the sailors on the ship did not cooperate well and the instructions had to be conveyed through Min Xi and Yun Ji, the Ming sailors still reacted quickly. In addition, the cargo on their ship was not much and very light, which did not affect the ship's turning and sailing speed. The ship sailed away from the threat range of those ships without any danger.

When the other ships saw the Xingyun circling around them, they became interested and set sail to chase it.

Upon seeing this, Captain Reis said, "Attack the men's cabin, go up to the gun platform, and prepare for the attack." He was still very confident in the Xingyun, because the ship was no more than five years old and all its configurations were the best. The only disadvantage was that the sailors had only participated in one naval battle and were not main gunners. Their main role was to assist. Now was a good opportunity for them to practice and train them into real warriors.