The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Qiao Zhilian was completely stunned.

Min Xi said: "In addition to bringing honor to our ancestors, the purpose of our studies must also be to 'establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a life for the people, inherit the lost knowledge of the past sages, and bring peace to the world for all eternity.' The natural conditions in northern Shaanxi have always been harsh, and crops depend on the weather. The local people live a hard life. These crops are drought-resistant and high-yielding. You can take them to the local people to plant. You can sow them in every corner, which can increase the yield for the people so that everyone will not go hungry. But please note that potatoes cannot be eaten after they sprout, as they are poisonous. There are also a few other things. Tomatoes can be used for cooking, peppers can dispel cold, and peanuts can be used to press oil. If needed, take them all over."

Qiao Zhilian swallowed his saliva and asked: "How many crop seeds did you bring back?"

Yun Ji smiled and said, "There are several species, all of which are here. These are actually what my ninth brother wanted to take. In order to collect these crop seeds, we traveled to several European countries and were even captured by pirates."

Feng Hao's eyes widened. "Really? You were captured by pirates, so how did you escape?"

Yun Ji then told the story of how he was captured by pirates in the English Channel that year. Actually, this incident had been mentioned before, but not in detail. Now listening to him talk about what happened, it was really full of dangers and climaxes.

After listening to their experiences, Qiao Zhilian said, "I can only say that you are so wise and far-sighted, Brother Min. Otherwise, how could you have thought of bringing back such good crops? These crops will save so many lives in the future."

Min Xi said: "I just brought them back. The real help depends on you. We need officials like you to promote these crops and help people."

"Don't worry, I will do my best to promote these in Mizhi." Qiao Zhilian promised.

Sun Hua sighed and said, "I thought Brother Min was a good eater, but I didn't expect him to care about the jobs of the people in the world. I am not as conscious as him."

Feng Hao also looked at Min Xiduo a few more times. He originally thought that he was just a cook who cooked well, but he didn't expect that he could say "establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a mission for the people, carry on the unique knowledge of the sages, and create peace for all generations." He was definitely not an ordinary person, not to mention that he had already put it into practice and brought back so many useful crop seeds.

Feng Hao asked: "Where is your boat? Did you bring it back? Didn't you say you were going to present it to the court?"

Yun Ji said: "It has been sent to Longjiang Shipyard."

"Already offered it?" Feng Hao asked in surprise.

"Yes, we sent it to Longjiang Shipyard not long after we returned to Quanzhou."

Feng Hao slapped his thigh and said, "You donated a ship worth one or two hundred thousand taels of silver without any notice. Didn't the court give you a commendation or something?"

Yun Ji shook his head: "We just wrote a donation letter."

Feng Hao shook his head: "This matter is done, your money is not money, right? Even if it is donated to the court for free, at least the court should issue an imperial edict or something. You should know that you are from a merchant family. If you have this imperial edict, your future career will be much smoother. If you don't think about yourself, think about Brother Min at least."

Min Xi said: "It doesn't matter, since we have done it, let it go."

Yun Ji also said, "Mr. Yu from the Shipyard Customs Office said he would write a memorial to report the matter."

Feng Hao said, "That depends on his conscience. Your uncle is in the Ministry of Revenue. It would be great if he could send someone to report the matter."

Qiao Zhilian interjected: "In fact, since the Lord writes the memorial, the effect will be better than that of his uncle, Lord Tao, provided that he can really write it."

As they ate, they chatted about what Qiao Zhilian would encounter soon as an official. Feng Hao's father was a military commander, and he himself had been in the officialdom for several years, so he knew the ins and outs of the officialdom very well, and taught Qiao Zhilian a lot of experience in dealing with superiors and subordinates.

Min Xi and Yun Ji also benefited a lot from listening to it. Although they might not be able to put it to use, at least they learned how to understand the psychology of their colleagues and superiors.

Feng Hao was still on duty, so he left after dinner.

Min Xi asked Qiao Zhilian when he would leave, and before he left, he would prepare the seeds and send them to him, and also write down for him the specific planting methods of those crops.

Qiao Zhilian said, "I will leave on the 12th of this month."

"I'll have someone prepare something for you and give it to you when the time comes. You can take it to Mizhi."

Qiao Zhilian clasped his fists and said, "On behalf of the people of Mizhi, I would like to thank you, my dear brother."

Sun Hua smiled and said, "Brother Min is so concerned about the country and the people. If he becomes an official, he will definitely be a good official."

"Excuse me, I'm afraid I can't be an official." Min Xike didn't think he could pass the imperial examination, let alone become a Jinshi.

After everyone had left, Yun Ji said to Min Xi, "I'll have someone go to the farm to prepare the seeds, but you can only go and give them to Brother Ming Jie when the time comes. I can't come back from the academy."

"It's okay, leave it to me. You're going to see your elder brother, so go quickly, or you'll be caught in curfew when you come back late. It's too pitiful that you don't have a moment to relax after two days of vacation." Min Xi shook his head with some sympathy.

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi aggrievedly: "Yes, it's so tragic!"

Min Xi suppressed his laughter and patted his back: "Get in the carriage, take me back first, and then you can go to my brother's place."

The two of them got on the carriage, ignoring the hot weather and without lifting the curtain, Yun Ji leaned his head on Min Xi's shoulder: "Let me rest for a while."

Min Xi didn't push him away, but let him lean on her until they reached the door of his house, then he pushed him away: "Okay, I have to go back, Lin'er is still waiting for me, come back early when you are done, you have to go to the academy early tomorrow morning."

"Okay!" Yun Ji responded a little tiredly. He was really tired. In fact, he just wanted to spend more time with Min Xi and Yun Lin after he came back, but he didn't expect that he would be busy for two days.

After Min Xi returned home, he saw Yun Lin taking a nap and did not wake him up. He went into the study to make a list and called Tao Xing over: "I have written a list. You can send it to the farm later. Have someone prepare these things according to my list and send them over around the eighth day of the first lunar month. You go there in person and say that these are for an adult to use as seedlings. Let them pick the best ones."

Tao Xing took it, looked at it, folded it and put it in his sleeve pocket: "Yes, Master Min."

After Tao Xing left, Min Xi wrote down the specific planting methods of those crops one by one, including how to plant, when to plant, how long it would take to harvest, how to eat them, when they should not be eaten, how to store them, etc. He wrote them down clearly.

When Yun Ji came back, it was already dark. Yun Ji was about to arrange people to go to the farm to prepare seeds. Min Xi told him that he had already arranged people to prepare the seeds.

Yun Ji asked: "Isn't it time to harvest rice and sweet potatoes yet?"

"Well, there are also peanuts. It's not yet harvest time. I will explain the situation to Brother Mingjie when the time comes. We will arrange for someone to deliver them after the autumn harvest."

Yun Ji looked at him: "He has been busy since he came back. He has no time to spend with you and Lin Er. He has already fallen asleep."

"He was talking about you before he went to bed. We can have breakfast together tomorrow morning and then go out together."

"Okay. Thank you for your hard work. Help me take care of him."

"Isn't this as it should be? He is also my brother."

When Yun Ji heard this, he smiled with relief, opened his arms and gave Min Xi a hug.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the things that Min Xi had specifically requested were delivered by the farm. The most abundant items were potatoes, because all the potatoes had been harvested and stored in the cellar. There were also pepper and tomato seeds, but the other three were not available because they could only be delivered after autumn.

On the ninth day of the lunar year, Min Xi asked his teacher for half a day off and sent the things to Qiao's house first.

Qiao Zhilian's father was a minor official in the government. Among his friends, his family was the most difficult. Although they had enough food and clothing, compared with Feng Hao, who came from a family of military generals, Sun Hua, who came from a declining family, and Yun Ji, who came from a wealthy merchant family, his family was indeed poor. Among them, he was also the most diligent and the only one who studied for the imperial examination.

It was rare that the four of them became friends. There were many stories in between, and Yun Ji also told Min Xi about them. In short, they became friends through fighting and had similar personalities.

Of course, Yun Ji now also plans to take the imperial examination, but compared with Qiao Zhilian, he has not taken the first step yet.

Qiao Zhilian's family was also preparing his luggage. When they saw him delivering a cart of potatoes, they were shocked: "So many?"

"It's not much, just three or four hundred kilograms. You are in charge of a county. The more seeds you have, the faster you can promote it. If you don't have a horse-drawn carriage, just send this carriage over as well. After the sweet potatoes and corn are harvested, I will ask someone to deliver the rest. You can store them in the cellar. Don't let them freeze. You can start planting in the spring." Min Xi said.

"Okay! Thank you!" Qiao Zhilian agreed readily.

Min Xi thought about it and couldn't help but say, "The environment in northern Shaanxi is bad, the land is barren, the grain yield is low, there are few good years and many bad years. Once there is a drought or flood, it is easy to get hungry. I hope these crops can relieve the pressure. However, these crops are not durable in storage. If there is a good year, the government can store more durable grains such as wheat and beans to prepare for emergencies."

Min Xi pondered over this for a long time, wondering whether he should remind him to store food. It seemed too early to store food from now until the drought occurred in the late Ming Dynasty, but if Qiao Zhilian could repair the granary during his tenure and make storing food a tradition of the local government, it might be able to alleviate the pressure of natural disasters in the future.

Of course, it is not enough to store grain relying on the strength of one county alone, and there is no guarantee that the subsequent county magistrate will maintain the tradition, but human efforts must still be made.

Qiao Zhilian looked at Min Xi and smiled: "I really think you are suitable to be an official. I will remember your advice."

Min Xi clasped his fists and said, "Then I wish Brother Mingjie a safe journey and a bright future in advance!"