The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Now that the boat is in place, it's time to get ready to set off.

The goods have been purchased and just need to be loaded onto the ship. The rest is mainly about purchasing daily necessities and storing fresh water. Min Xi had prepared a lot of dry goods intermittently before, and now the main thing is to prepare staple food and vegetables, fruits and melons.

With two round trips to the sea, I was more familiar with the process. Within a few days, all the supplies were ready.

Min Xi did not have much cargo of his own, because after selling the cargo he brought with him and paying the ship fare, the remaining money was not enough to fill two ships.

As agreed, the Baron gave 20% of the profits to Min Xi and Yun Ji, which was tens of thousands of reais. Although this was an earlier agreement, Min Xi and Yun Ji did not feel at ease taking it. They gave the Tengyun they brought to the Baron. Although it could not be used for long-distance voyages, it was still possible for inland river transportation.

The goods purchased by Min Xi and Yun Ji were placed on the Xingyun, and half of the goods were loaded on the Xiangyun for the Baron. They were all sugar, tobacco leaves, etc. shipped back from the New World. These were to be taken to Africa and Asia in exchange for spices and treasures. This could be regarded as repaying the Baron's favor.

They set off on October 10, nearly half a month later than when they left the year before, but if all goes well, they should not be much later than the last time they returned.

The baron brought his wife and daughter to see them off. He was really reluctant to leave and hugged Min Xi and Yun Ji again and again: "When I think that I will never see you again, I am so sad that I want to cry." The baron made a gesture of wiping his tears.

Min Xi said seriously: "Pedro, whenever you want to come to Daming, we welcome you at any time. When you arrive in Daming, go to Xiangyun and give them the letter. We will definitely arrange someone to pick you up and take you to Beijing."

The baron nodded: "I will definitely go if I have the chance."

Min Xi and Yun Ji finally boarded the ship, waved goodbye to the people who were seeing them off on the shore, and also waved goodbye to Lisbon, not knowing whether they would ever be able to set foot on this land again.

The ships left the dock one after another. This time, their fleet had a total of five ships, Xingyun and Xiangyun, plus Jazz, Harvest and Laurel. These ships were waiting for Min Xi and Yun Ji to leave together. After all, a month or so earlier was not much earlier, and it was safer to go together. Yun Ji gave people a strong sense of security.

This time, their fleet had no shortcomings. It was composed entirely of galleons with not much cargo on board. They were really light and fast. The team was also so large that ordinary pirates did not dare to attack them. What they had to worry about most on this trip were storms and supply issues.

Fortunately, the voyage was very smooth. They did not encounter any storms and were able to resupply at various supply points along the way. When they arrived at St. Helena, they found that the locals already knew how to sell lemons. The news that lemons could prevent and treat scurvy had spread among the ocean-going ships, but the price had increased several times compared to before. You know, when they arrived here the year before last, no one wanted lemons even if they fell on the ground. Min Xi picked a lot of fruits without spending any money.

This is a good thing. Although they have to spend some money, at least it increases the income of the local people.

They received a warm welcome on St. Helena Island. The naval lieutenant stationed there had been promoted to captain. Although he had not yet been transferred from his post, it was considered a promotion and a pay increase. He also received a medal awarded by the king himself, and other naval officers were also commended.

When Min Xi saw him, his medal was still hanging on his left chest.

The sailors warmly entertained Min Xi and others, slaughtered chickens and sheep, prepared a lot of seafood, and held a lively bonfire party. Min Xi, Yun Ji and Diego took the initiative to take on the task of barbecue, and barbecue became the most popular part of the party.

Everyone gathered around the campfire, eating barbecue and getting drunk.

Fortunately, St. Helena Island is located in the southern hemisphere. It is midsummer now, so sleeping in the open air would be fine. However, Min Xi and Yun Ji did not get drunk. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they took a shower to wash off the smell of oil smoke on their bodies, and then went on board to sleep.

They originally planned to stay on St. Helena for two days, but the local garrison was so enthusiastic that they stayed for another day before setting sail again.

When they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope for supplies, Min Xi and Yun Ji found that they were surrounded by other crew members who were also replenishing supplies. Some people were pointing at them, as if they were discussing that they were the ones who destroyed the Seven Demon Pirates. It seemed that they were really famous on this route.

When they arrived in Mozambique, several other ships were preparing to attack the local natives to regain ground for Portugal's local base. But Min Xi and Yun Ji did not want to go to war. Min Xi said, "In fact, you can go to Phoebe Island for supplies in the future, and you don't have to go to Mozambique for supplies. If you really want to go, we will not join you. We will wait for you on Phoebe Island."

In Min Xi's opinion, it was already too much for the Portuguese to occupy the local people's home. It must be because they did not abide by the rules and had conflicts with the local people that the conflict occurred. Otherwise, why would the natives with spears and bows and arrows fight desperately with the Portuguese with guns and cannons?

The ships hesitated for a long time, but finally gave up the plan to attack and followed the Xingyun to Phoebe Island.

Min Xi met the descendants of the Ming family again on Phoebe Island. When they saw Min Xi and others, they showed great enthusiasm and took out their best food to entertain the guests, which was really like the Chinese way of hospitality.

Min Xi gave them the corn, sweet potato, tomato and other seeds that he had specially brought for them, and asked someone who understood the local dialect to tell them how to plant them. These things are all edible and can help them solve the problem of hunger in the future.

They accepted the things, but whether they could grow them is unknown. I hope they still have the farming genes of their Ming ancestors left in their bodies.

The next stop after leaving Phoebe Island was Malindi. Once in Malindi, they began to trade goods, exchanging tobacco leaves, sugar and small commodities brought from Europe with the locals for medicinal herbs and spices.

Min Xi didn't want to buy ivory, rhino horns and other items, but the locals brought out large bundles of them and wanted to trade with them. It seemed that even if they didn't buy, there would still be others who would buy them. Therefore, the fate of elephants, rhinos and other animals being hunted could not be prevented. This was not a situation that Min Xi could reverse alone.

After exchanging supplies, they sailed to the Persian Gulf, which was now completely controlled by the Portuguese, and they could use Portuguese currency to trade here.

There were all kinds of spices, medicinal herbs, jewelry, Persian carpets, Central Asian camel wool fabrics, etc. Min Xi and Yun Ji had spent almost all the money they brought with them, and only left some money for buying supplies.

The Xingyun was loaded with a large shipload of goods. The goods on the Xiangyun were sold and then bought. The tobacco leaves and sugarcane from the New World could be sold at a very high price in Africa and West Asia, and they were exchanged for most of the spices and medicinal materials on the ship.

After leaving the Persian Gulf, the next step is to return home.

The destination of the Harvest and the Goddess is Malacca, while the Jazz is still heading to Macau. After arriving in Malacca, they will separate.

Min Xi and Yun Ji went to the Yongfu to greet Chen the shopkeeper as usual. They had dinner at his place, so it was natural for them to exchange pleasantries. Even Chen the shopkeeper had heard about their heroic feat of fighting the pirates in the South Atlantic.

Shopkeeper Chen said, "I knew it was you as soon as I heard it. Although I am proud of you, I am also worried about you. A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake. You should be more careful in the future. Safety is the most important thing."

Yun Ji smiled and said, "Thank you for your advice, father-in-law. After this trip, we probably won't come out again. This time we go mainly to bring back the galleon we ordered."

"It's better if you don't come out. Your Yunxiang is a big company with a great business. There is no need for you, the young master, to come out and run the ship yourself." Shopkeeper Chen said.

Yun Ji nodded repeatedly: "If my father-in-law returns to Daming in the future and wants to visit the capital, he can come to Yunxianghao to find me."

"No problem!" Shopkeeper Chen answered casually. He would probably never return to Ming Dynasty in his lifetime.

Yun Ji said, "From now on, Captain Leis will be in charge of our ship sailing to Southeast Asia. If you miss any local specialties, you can ask him to bring them back."

"Okay! Thank you in advance!" Shopkeeper Chen agreed readily. In fact, he could find a familiar Ming ship to bring things at any time, but Yun Ji took the initiative to say this, and he felt very touched.

When they arrived in Malacca, it was already March in the Gregorian calendar. The wind direction in the South China Sea had turned to southeast, and the wind was neither too strong nor too weak, which was just right for sailing. They rode on this east wind and had a smooth journey, and soon arrived in Macau.

It was March in Daming, the spring was warm, the grass was green, the flowers were colorful, everything seemed full of vitality, and it was refreshing. The familiar scenery made people feel friendly and relaxed.

The Jazz was still waiting in Macau for the Yunxiang ship to come and hand over the goods, while the Xingyun and Xiangyun continued to head north, waiting for them to unload the goods and bring porcelain, lacquerware and other goods to trade with them.

Captain Almeida followed the Xiangyun to Quanzhou and sold goods on the way.

The speed of the galleon was indeed amazing. A Chinese sailing ship would take seven or eight days to sail, but the Galleon arrived in Quanzhou in about five days.

When the two galleons arrived outside Quanzhou Harbor, the patrolling Yongning Navy immediately came up to greet them and shouted, "Where did these foreign ships come from? This is Ming territory, leave immediately!"

Yun Ji stood at the bow and shouted, "This is not a foreign ship. I am the owner of the Yun Xiang ship in Beijing. This is the ship I bought from a foreign country. This ship is the merchant ship of the Yun Xiang ship."

In fact, the ship had already been marked with the code of Yunxiang, but the navy officer did not dare to believe it. He looked at the Ming people on the bow and began to believe it: "Do you have the customs clearance and trade order?"

Yun Ji said, "Of course there is. We will present it to the officials for inspection after we enter the port."

"But the boat behind us is full of foreigners."

Yun Ji explained: "I bought that ship as a gift to the Ming Navy, and asked a friend of Fulangji to bring it back."