The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi returned home and told Yun Ji about Marquis Melo's request. Yun Ji said with guilt, "I'm sorry, I let you hit a snag."

Min Xi waved his hand nonchalantly: "How can this be considered a setback? We have a clear conscience and have done nothing to let Lord Mello down. The Marquis also asked me politely, and he also knows that it is his son's own problem and has nothing to do with us."

"That's fine, I don't want to see him anyway." Yun Ji sighed helplessly.

Min Xi smiled and said, "Yes, it's a good thing for us." At least we don't have to worry about whether to visit in the future.

In the following days, they settled the matter of buying guns. The Portuguese barons had 50 quotas for armed forces, so Yun Ji bought 50 guns. Some would be kept on the ship for the sailors, and the rest would be donated to the navy or the Ministry of War. Perhaps it would attract the attention of the Ming Dynasty, build a powerful musket force, and enter the era of hot weapons earlier.

Min Xi even thought about going to the Ministry of Industry or the Ministry of War. He was an engineer, and although he had not studied machinery in depth, he had studied courses such as ship principles and basic mechanical design. Although the current technological level of the Ming Dynasty could not manufacture such complex machinery, it was possible to make steam engines. The principles of firearms did not seem that complicated either, and he might be able to improve them. After all, compared to people today, he had seen the real thing, and even if he had not built it, at least he had a direction to work towards.

But to enter the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of War, one must pass the imperial examination, or enter as a craftsman?

There is another way. If you can't get into the Ministry of Industry or the Ministry of War, just do it yourself as a civilian scientist. Yun Ji has the financial support to do this, so he will definitely agree.

Of course, these were just what Min Xi thought in his own mind and he didn't tell Yun Ji.

As time went by, Min Xi had memorized the Analects and Mencius by heart, though he still couldn't fully understand them. He also made significant progress in writing, although his handwriting was still not very vivid, but at least it was no longer crooked, and he could recognize most of the traditional Chinese characters.

The progress of the new ship's construction was also very encouraging, and it seemed that it might be delivered ahead of schedule. Worried that the shipyard would delay delivery until the last minute, Yun Ji gave Nunes 100 reais privately and promised him that if the ship could be delivered ahead of schedule, he would give him another thank-you fee.

This was not a problem for Nunes; he just had to keep arranging for the workers to work overtime until the ship was completed.

As long as the delivery date is not delayed, Nunes can ask the workers to finish overtime early, so that he can save overtime pay. This money will belong to the shipyard at that time, and it is unknown how much he will get. But the thank-you fee promised by Yun Ji belongs entirely to him, so Nunes naturally knows what to choose.

They were relieved to know that the ship would be delivered on time or even ahead of schedule, and now they needed to sort out the crewing of that new ship.

Reiss can be the captain of the new ship, and he will also need to recruit a whole ship's crew. After all, no matter how powerful Captain Reiss is, he cannot drive a ship by himself.

Min Xi and Yun Ji asked Captain Reis how to recruit sailors. Captain Reis said, "I heard that many of the original crew members of the Shark no longer go to sea. I will go and look for them to see if there are any who are willing to go to sea with me. In addition, we need to recruit now. Both experienced and inexperienced people are welcome. Of course, the more experienced people, the better."

So Min Xi entrusted the experienced Captain Reis to recruit crew members, as he was more professional in selecting crew members.

However, recruiting crew members in Portugal was not an easy task, because Portugal itself had a small population and the mortality rate for ocean voyages was too high. Once a storm, pirates or scurvy occurred, the chance of survival was very small. This was why there were only a dozen people on a galleon. Reducing costs to reduce the burden on the ship was one aspect, and not being able to recruit so many people was also an important reason. Usually, the ship would set off after being equipped with basic staff.

Captain Reis wrote letters to his former crew members one by one, and he personally went to find some of the ones who were close to him. That year, the Shark encountered a storm that caused scurvy, and many sailors on the ship died. The health of many people was also seriously affected. After returning to Portugal, many people returned to their hometowns and no longer went out to sea.

The Shark remained idle in the port of Lisbon for a year because it could not find its captain and crew. As a last resort, Sanves and his partners sold the Shark. The ship has now changed its route and is heading to the New World, no longer taking the Asian route.

Captain Reiss had a good appeal. He contacted the surviving crew members, and more than half of them responded, most of them were willing to go out to sea with him. These crew members were willing to go out to sea, firstly because they trusted Captain Reiss, and secondly because poor people like them who relied on hard labor did not have much capital to live off their savings.

Among the crew members who did not go, some sought other jobs, while others could not go to sea due to health problems.

A total of six people agreed to come, which is only about one-third of the number for a large galleon. If the ship is to depart on time, at least 10 people must be recruited.

In order to recruit enough sailors, we have to offer high prices.

Min Xi and Yun Ji both agreed that the price for a veteran could be as high as 150 reais per one-way trip, which is 300 reais for a round trip. The price for a trainee sailor was slightly lower, at 100 reais per trip, which is 200 reais for a round trip. After making one round trip, they would be considered veterans.

This price is indeed attractive enough, because a round trip takes about one and a half years from October of the first year to February or March of the third year. This income is much higher than that of ordinary people and much higher than the previous income of seafarers.

There will always be brave men when there is a big reward. Once their recruitment information was announced, it attracted many people who came to Lisbon looking for opportunities to sign up enthusiastically.

With more people signing up, Reis has to select carefully. He will not accept those who look cunning or spoiled. After all, everyone on the ship is doing the hard labor. If you can't endure hardship and can't work, then others will have to work harder, which is bound to cause dissatisfaction among everyone and is not conducive to crew unity.

After Reiss has selected the crew members, he will take them to the dock to work for a day. The money they earn belongs to them, and then he will select those who are strong and willing to work.

After the number of people was selected, they were all taken to the Xingyun for training, teaching the new crew how to maintain the ship, how to operate the sails, and how to use cannons and guns.

After October, Min Xi and Yun Ji had no interest in studying anymore, so they simply moved to Setubal. Every day they went to the shipyard to supervise and watch how the crew put the finishing touches on their new ship.

Min Xi also taught the Setubal Shipyard how to use eyelets on the canvas. After all, this was their own ship, and they had to do their best.

For this, Nunes thanked Min Si on behalf of the shipyard. Min Si did not hide it, because he could not figure out whether this thing came from the East or the West.

The new ship was delivered in mid-October, more than ten days earlier than the date on the contract, so it is easier to get things done if you are willing to spend money.

Before the new ship was delivered, they called Baron and Captain Reis over. Captain Reis was knowledgeable and helped check the ship inside and out to confirm if there were any problems. If there were any, they would rectify them as soon as possible. All in all, Captain Reis was quite satisfied with the ship, although not 100% satisfied.

The new ship was named Xiangyun, and Yunji wrote the name himself. This ship was to be donated to the navy, and it was hoped that the navy could still use this name when the time came. After all, it was not excessive for the donor to have the right to name the ship.

The ship was officially launched on October 10, and they went to meet them in the Xingyun. Captain Reis brought his recruited sailors and Ming sailors over. The Portuguese sailors disembarked at the port of Setubal and then went to the shipyard to board the new ship.

Min Xi, Yun Ji and the baron also boarded the ship. As the dock's shelves were removed layer by layer, the galleon fell into the water. The ship shook violently for a few times, and then stopped steadily in the water. People on the ship and on the shore cheered to celebrate the birth of a new ship.

Min Xi and Yun Ji shouted in unison: "Raise the sail!"

As the temporary owners of the new ship, they started a life of sailing against the wind and waves for the new ship.

The sailors who were in their positions received instructions, lowered their sails and set sail.

The Xiangyun slowly left the dock of the shipyard and sailed into the port of Setúbal, where it met the Xingyun. The Ming sailors were also shocked when they saw the new ship, which was even larger than the Xingyun.

Both ships departed from the port at the same time and returned to Lisbon.

After getting off the boat, Captain Reiss said excitedly: "This boat is really great." To be honest, it was his first time driving a new boat. Although there were many things that needed to be adjusted, the performance of the new boat was obviously better than other boats.

Seeing his reaction, Min Xi couldn't help but whisper to Yun Ji, "Should we tell him that he won't be driving this boat in the future?"

Yun Ji raised an eyebrow: "How about we keep the new ship and give the Xingyun to the navy?"

Min Xi shook his head: "How can that be possible? We must give the navy the latest ships. The navy of the Ming Dynasty can only build the best ships by researching the latest models."

"Okay." Yun Ji smiled and shook his head.

Min Xi knew that Yun Ji could not understand the century-long humiliation that China had suffered due to its backward technology and being beaten. He knew this, so he wanted China to have the best things and get rid of the fate of being backward and beaten.