The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi walked forward slowly. Yun Ji had already finished talking to Yun Lin. He looked at Min Xi with a smile: "How is it? Can you adapt? Is your grandfather strict?"

Min Xi nodded with a smile: "Not too strict, quite good, the class is better than yours."

Yun Ji laughed: "Of course he is. He taught the late emperor before. How can he not be better than me?"

Yun Ji carried Yun Lin on his shoulders: "Let's go, let's say hello to grandma and go home." Yun Lin giggled happily.

The three of them went to pay their respects to Old Madam Tao. Old Madam Tao looked at Yunlin with concern and said, "I heard that you fell ill after returning from playing outside?"

Yunlin said loudly, "Grandma, I'm fine now! It was so much fun outside the city. We picked a lot of wild vegetables and brought them back. We even boiled eggs with shepherd's purse."

Yun Ji quickly said, "It's just that we played too hard, Lin'er is exhausted, we will pay attention next time, grandma."

"Shepherd's purse boiled eggs are good." Old Madam Tao touched Yun Lin's head and said to Yun Ji, "You have to be careful. Your brother is born weak, so you have to pay more attention to him. But I think he is in good spirits and likes to laugh. It seems that it is not bad for him to live with you."

"Well, I will take good care of him, grandma, don't worry!" Yun Ji promised.

After saying goodbye to Mrs. Tao, they went home. Yunlin sat in the car and chattered with his eldest brother about the happy things he had done in the school today: because his second brother was there, those annoying guys in the school no longer dared to bully him; his grandfather checked his homework, and he memorized it very well. His grandfather also praised him, saying that he was very self-conscious and that this was how learning should be done.

Min Xi asked him, "Do you have any friends of the same age who are good friends with you in the school?"

Yunlin said, "Brother Chun and I play well together."

"Is it the fat kid sitting behind you?" Min Xi asked.

"Yeah. No one wants to play with him. They say he is the fat kid and I am the skinny kid. They say we are a fat and skinny combination, the two of us." Yun Lin said angrily, "But Chun is a good person. Although he is always bullied by everyone, he still helps me."

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "It could be one of my cousins' children. I haven't been around for quite a few years, so I don't know which of my relatives has a child. I'll ask my grandmother later."

Min Xi touched Yun Lin's head and said, "You didn't go to play with Chun Ge'er today, so he was left out. You should take the initiative to talk to him tomorrow and introduce him to your second brother."

"Okay!" Yunlin agreed happily.

"Today, my grandfather told me that with my level of study, I would need two or three years to take the Tongshi exam. He also said that Yingtian Prefecture is full of talented people and I would have a lot of competition. This really put a lot of pressure on me," Min Xi said with emotion.

Yunlin said: "Almost. We will take the children's exam together then."

"You're waiting for me to take the exam together? There's no need for you to wait so long!" Min Xi said.

"This is not something I can control. We have missed this year's county exam. Next year is the year for the big exam, so the county exam will be suspended and will only be held the year after. You will study for two years this year and next year, and we will take the exam the year after next." Yun Ji explained.

Min Xi then realized that the examination for the title of scholar was not held every year. The county examination was suspended during the year of the imperial examination, and it was held twice in three years. "Then I will work hard and try to take part in the county examination next year."

Min Xi felt that this was not going to be easy. He hadn't even finished reading the Four Books, nor had he practiced his calligraphy, let alone writing essays. How could it be so easy to pass the examination to become a scholar?

"Seventh brother, I'd rather not take the exam and just go to the Ministry of Industry to be a craftsman." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji looked at him and said, "You have to give it a try first. Maybe you are suitable for studying."

"That's right, we have to try first." Min Xi also thought it made sense. There were only a few books anyway, and it couldn't be harder than the college entrance examination. "When do you plan to go to the academy? Have you found one?"

Yun Ji said, "I talked to my uncle today, and he asked me to go to Wenchang Academy. My cousins ​​all studied in Wenchang Academy, which is the best academy in Beijing in recent years. However, Wenchang Academy is in the suburbs, and you have to live in the academy. You can only rest for two days a month and go home. I think I should find an academy in the city, where I can go home every day."

Min Xi knew that he wanted to take care of Yunlin at home. He thought for a moment and said, "Can't I learn from my grandfather?"

"His knowledge is more than enough to teach us, but he is old now, and I don't want to overwork him."

"Why don't we ask first? Maybe grandpa agrees. Then the three of us can go to school together."

As soon as Min Xi finished speaking, Yun Lin quickly asked, "Brother, do you want to go to class with us?"

Min Xi touched his head: "Not sure yet."

Yun Ji said: "I am mainly worried that I will tire my grandfather and my uncles will be unhappy. When I mentioned it to him today, he didn't ask me to learn from my grandfather. I think he must have this concern as well."

Min Xi shook his head: "That may not be the case. Maybe your uncle wants you to go to the academy to make more friends with your classmates so that you can expand your network for your future career."

Yun Ji thought about it and felt that it made sense. All of his former classmates had either passed the imperial examinations or had given up on taking them. He was the only one who was still striving hard at this age.

Min Xi thought of something else: "Go and ask what kind of disciples the Wenchang Academy accepts. Does it accept children? If so, we will take Lin'er and the other two to the academy to study after the New Year."

"Okay, I'll go and ask around!" Yun Ji smiled.

Yunlin got excited when he heard this: "Will you take me to study too?"

"You're so young, people may not accept you." Min Xi teased him.

"But I'm very smart!" Yun Lin raised his chin proudly.

"Wait for your eldest brother to go and ask. If they don't accept you, I will stay here with you to study with your grandfather." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi and Yun Lin, feeling a little reluctant to let them go. The three of them were finally reunited, were they going to be separated again?

Yunlin didn't know what it felt like to be sad, as long as his second brother would accompany him to school.

Two days later, Yun Ji heard from Wenchang Academy that the academy would not accept children under the age of 10. It was said that the academy did not allow students to bring servants to school, and except for clothes being washed by special workers, everything else had to be done by themselves.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "There are people doing the laundry, so what else do we need servants for?"

"Wash and dress, serve tea and water, and serve writing."

Min Xi thought about it and realized that combing hair was indeed a hassle for young children. "Well, what you said is also a problem. Why don't you go ask your grandfather if he can teach you at the same time?"

"Forget it, I'll just go to Wenchang Academy by myself. Your classes are different from those for children, and with me, grandpa might be too busy to handle it."

Min Xi nodded: "Indeed."

Although Yun Ji was reluctant to part with them, he decided to go to the branch academy to study alone. If he did not distract his grandfather's attention, he could focus more on guiding Min Xi, and Min Xi would make faster progress.

"Let's do this. I'll go to Wenchang Academy to study, and you take Lin'er to study with his grandfather. I'll come home every month during the holidays. If there's anything, send Tao Xing or Tao Sheng to tell me." Yun Ji said.

So, Yun Ji and Min Xi went to school separately. Wenchang Academy was a boarding school, and there were people who helped with the laundry. It was an aristocratic school. Yun Ji had experienced all kinds of hardships, and this aristocratic boarding school was very good for him. Min Xi believed that he could handle it.

However, he himself was not quite used to the days without Yun Ji around, and it took him a few days to adjust. Fortunately, the little guy Yun Lin was there to keep him company, distracting him a little. In addition, his homework was also stressful. Every day he was either reciting books or practicing calligraphy. He also started to learn to write articles. He was so busy that he worked day and night, but the days passed by like flowing water.

It was the end of the month, the day when Wenchang Academy closed for the holidays. Yunji came back with his younger cousin Tao Yuan.

Tao Yuan passed the examination last year and is now preparing for the Autumn Examination in August this year. Tao Hong and Tao Jingzhi both thought that he was not ready and should study for two more years before taking the examination, but his teacher thought that he could experience the atmosphere of the provincial examination first. So now is the time for him to study hard.

Thirteen or fourteen years old is the age for growth. Tao Yuan worked hard in the academy, but life in the academy was not as good as at home. The little money he got was not enough for physical growth and brain use. He became as thin as a bamboo pole.

Min Xi saw Yun Ji and greeted him. Before he could talk about their reunion, Tao Yuan grabbed his wrist in surprise: "Brother Jiu, you're back. I missed the boiled cabbage you made so much. I don't know when I can eat it again."

Min Xi smiled and said, "You've become so thin, it's time to get some extra nutrition. I'll make you something delicious tomorrow."

Tao Hong knew that his grandson and granddaughter were on holiday, so he also gave the school a holiday so that the brothers and sisters could spend some time together.

"Really? That's great! I'll go to my cousin's house." Tao Yuan said.

"No need, we'll come to your house tomorrow to cook, and everyone can try my cooking together." Min Xi said.

Tao Yuan grabbed his arm and shook it violently: "Brother Jiu, you are such a nice person!"

Yun Ji knew that he wanted to take this opportunity to honor his grandparents, so he whispered in his ear, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's okay. Cooking is a way of relaxation for me. It's much easier than studying." Min Xi said with a smile.

So the next morning, Min Xi and Yun Ji went out to buy ingredients. After buying the vegetables, they went to Tao's house and started working in the kitchen.

The main course takes the most time. Seeing that they came so early, the people in the Tao family thought they could have a hearty lunch at noon, but they didn't expect that there were only a few simple side dishes at noon, and they were told to save their stomachs for dinner. This made everyone's stomachs even more hungry.