The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yunlin sat on Min Xi's shoulder, his big eyes full of novelty and surprise. This was his first time visiting a night market. He felt that his eyes were not enough to see, there were too many new and interesting things.

Min Xi and Yun Ji brought their two children, who loved crowds and wanted to squeeze in wherever there were many people. They watched lantern shows, magic tricks, bought fruit, and made sugar figurines and dough figurines.

Soon, both children's hands were full. One hand held the lamp and the other held food. Their eyes were still rolling around, looking for new things everywhere.

Tao Yu and the younger brothers of the He family also joined in the fun and watched the show. Tao Shu accompanied his fiancée and her sisters and followed Min Xi and Yun Ji for a while, but found that they could not keep up with them. The girls and the two children were interested in different things, so they had to fall behind and accompany the girls to watch the lanterns and guess lantern riddles.

Min Xi and Yun Ji did not play very late. Although the two children were in high spirits, they were young and lacked energy, so they got tired early. Yun Ji held the sleepy Yun Lin in his arms and took the two children home first.

After Tao Yu finished shopping with the girls, he found that the Yun family's carriage had already left.

The day after the festival, everyone went back to school.

At the end of the month, Yun Ji came back from the academy and went to the Tao Mansion to pick up Min Xi and Yun Lin again. As soon as he arrived, he was invited by the servants of the Tao Mansion to meet Old Madam Tao.

Yun Ji went in and greeted his grandmother. Old Madam Tao said, "Sit down and talk to your grandmother."

Yun Ji had no choice but to sit down.

Mrs. Tao asked, "How old is Ji-ge'er this year?"

When Yun Ji heard this, he knew something was wrong: "To answer grandma, your grandson is twenty-six this year."

Mrs. Tao said, "It has been three years since your father passed away, and the mourning period has ended. You have no other elder relatives, so your marriage can only be decided by your grandmother. You are not young anymore, it is time for you to get married."

Yun Ji said with a stiff upper lip: "Grandma, I haven't finished my studies yet, how can I start a family? At least I have to wait until I finish high school."

Madam Tao said helplessly: "Getting married and studying are not in conflict. Your second uncle also passed the imperial examination after getting married."

"But my grandson is still a bachelor, not even a student. I don't want to delay my studies because of other things. Please forgive me, grandma!" Yun Ji said sincerely.

Madam Tao sighed: "You are already this old, and you still haven't married or had children. If your parents knew about this, they would be so worried!"

Yun Ji lowered his head and remained silent.

Madam Tao paused with her cane and said with deep sorrow, "You are so stubborn, just like your grandfather!"

A childish voice came from outside the door: "Grandma, is my eldest brother here with you?"

When Mrs. Tao heard Yunlin's voice, she immediately smiled: "I'm here, I'm here! Is Lin'er done with school?"

Yunlin rushed in like a gust of wind, greeted his grandmother first, and then hugged Yunji: "Brother, shall we go home?"

"Oh, you don't even want to stay with your grandma for a while longer. I wonder if there's something delicious waiting for you at home?" Old Lady Tao teased the child.

Yun Lin looked at Min Xi who came in behind him and said with a smile: "Second brother will make delicious food for me."

"I thought so. The food at grandma's house isn't as delicious as yours, right?" Mrs. Tao laughed, and then said to Min Xi, "It's hard for you to cook for him every day."

Min Xi said, "Hello, Grandmother. I have no other skills, but I can do this. Lin'er will eat more and be stronger, and we will have less worries."

Old Madam Tao reached out and pinched Yunlin's chubby little face: "That's true, it's obvious that you've gained weight and grown taller. I didn't expect that a grown man like you would be so good at raising children." The old lady was still very satisfied with Min Xi.

"Thank you for the compliment, grandma." Min Xi said with a smile.

Yun Ji took the opportunity to say, "Grandma, let's go back first."

Madam Tao sighed: "You really need to think carefully about what I said!"

"I said, I won't consider it until I pass the imperial examination." Yun Ji picked up his brother and walked out.

Min Xi listened and roughly guessed what it was. He felt something was wrong on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Sure enough, the Tao family was arranging a marriage for Yun Ji. He sighed secretly in his heart.

After getting on the carriage, Min Xi and Yun Ji tacitly agreed not to mention the matter. Yun Lin was five years old and had begun to understand things, so those things could not be mentioned in front of him.

The three of them talked about the school and the academy. After returning home, Min Xi cooked dinner himself and the three of them ate together.

After Yunlin finished his meal and fell asleep, Yunji took the initiative to bring it up: "Grandma asked me to discuss marriage today, but I declined on the grounds that I had not completed my studies."

Min Xi looked at him and said, "What if you finish your studies?"

"When the time comes, I will say that I have secretly decided to spend my life with someone. A gentleman's word is one that he will keep throughout his life." Yun Ji looked at him with a smile.

Min Xi's face was a little hot: "Anyway, I won't help you out, you have to figure it out yourself."

"Of course, this is my problem. I will never cause you any trouble." Yun Ji said.

In the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the crops on the farm were harvested and stored in the warehouse. This year's corn, sweet potatoes and peanuts were all harvested in abundance. Min Xi took advantage of the cold wave and had two carts of seeds sent to Mizhi. This way, the people delivering the seeds could return to Beijing before the ice and snow froze the area.

Tao Yuan returned to the capital on the eighth day of the ninth lunar month. At the end of August, the results of the provincial examination were announced, but he failed to make the list. He packed his bags and returned to the capital the next day. He was still young, only 14 years old, and it was normal for him to fail the exam in Jiangsu, which was highly competitive. There were many talented people in Jiangnan, especially in Jiangsu.

The boy was calm and didn't show any disappointment about failing the exam. He said he would try again in three years. He also said Suzhou cuisine was too sweet and he couldn't get used to it. He wanted to eat Min Xi's dishes. It seems that although the Tao family's ancestral home is Suzhou, their tastes have changed a lot after coming to Beijing.

Min Xi readily agreed and cooked for him to comfort his injured stomach.

Diego also arrived in Beijing at the same time as Tao Yuan. Captain Reis went to Macau at the end of August, which was the end of September in the Gregorian calendar. It was October when he arrived in Macau. There were fewer typhoons at this time of year, so sailing was safer.

Yun Ji arranged for a Ming Dynasty steward and several Ming Dynasty sailors to accompany Captain Reis. The steward could speak some Nanyang dialect, and the sailors were selected from the sailors who followed them to Portugal last year. They knew some Portuguese and were easier to communicate with.

Diego was obviously very excited after returning to the capital. In fact, he hesitated for a long time between following the Xingyun back to Portugal or coming to Beijing, and finally decided to come to Beijing. Although Portugal was his hometown, there were no people like Min Xi and Yun Ji who cared about him, and he liked the cleanliness, wealth and prosperity of the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

After Diego came back, he still lived in Zizhuyuan as before. Min Xi asked him whether he should continue to work as a dim sum chef in Aunt Luo's shop or do something else on his own. This was equivalent to giving Diego the opportunity to start his own business.

Diego thought about it and said he still wanted to work in Aunt Luo's shop.

After Diego left, Aunt Luo and her husband made their own pastries and called their daughter and son-in-law to help run the store. The young people were willing to learn. The son-in-law has now learned how to bake Western-style pastries and is thinking of going out on his own because Western-style pastries are very popular. Even if he doesn't make a fortune, it's not difficult to have enough food and clothing.

But Aunt Luo and her husband strongly opposed it. They thought that starting a new business right after learning the skills would steal the business from the boss.

Min Xi also heard about his family's situation and knew that it was only a matter of time before he started his own business. He did not object, but only made a request: since he was learning here, he should follow the traditional rules and serve as an apprentice for at least three years before he could quit and start his own business.

In comparison, Diego seems to have no ambition. However, Min Xi and Yun Ji said that since Diego still wants to work in the dim sum shop, he can be handed over to him in the future. After all, Aunt Luo and her husband are old, and it is unknown how long they can work. When the time comes, let Diego take the lead.

Min Xi also kept a watchful eye and told Diego to make the existing styles in the store and wait for Aunt Luo's daughter and son-in-law to go out and start their own business before adding new varieties. After all, they will be competitors in the future, and as a master, he always has to retain some advantages.

Diego returned to the pastry shop, and the happiest person was Aunt Luo. She really liked this child named Diego, firstly because she felt sorry for his background, and secondly because she liked his down-to-earth and hardworking character.

It was only the tenth month of the lunar calendar, but the weather in Beijing was already very cold. The biggest worry for restaurant owners was that the dishes would be completely cold before the customers had finished their drinks.

Yunxiang Restaurant is not worried about this problem. Since the beginning of winter, they have launched hot pots, including those with clear soup, sour soup, spicy hot pot, and even double-flavored hot pots.

There have always been ways to eat hot pot, but only Yunxiang Restaurant has such a variety of ways to eat it. This is of course Min Xi's credit.

Yunxiang Restaurant's business is more prosperous than others. Although their hot pot soon became popular throughout the capital and was imitated by other restaurants, it was still difficult for the imitators to surpass Yunxiang Restaurant.

In winter, there were two consecutive heavy snowfalls. The weather became increasingly cold, and the business of Yunxiang Restaurant became even more prosperous.

The cold weather was too hard for Min Xi and Yun Lin, who had to get up early to go to school every day. Even though the floor heating in the house was on and Yun Lin helped Min Xi warm the bed, it was still difficult for them to get out of bed every morning.

Min Xi didn't know how Yun Ji managed to survive in the academy. There was no way that Wenchang Academy had floor heating, and it was said that they were not allowed to use hand warmers. He could only rely on his righteousness to get through it.

That morning, Min Xi opened his eyes and crawled out of the quilt with difficulty. He put on his clothes first, then fished the lazy bug out of the quilt and put his clothes on.

Yun Lin closed his eyes and refused to cooperate. Min Xi put clothes on him and said, "Yun Xiaolin, how did you become a soft noodle? Grab this end and the other end will go down."

Yun Lin chuckled with his eyes closed: "I want to eat noodles!"

"Okay, ask the chef to make noodles. I'll eat the soup dumplings I made yesterday." Min Xi wrapped him in three layers inside and three layers outside, like a rice dumpling.

"By the way, we have soup dumplings today! I don't want to eat noodles anymore, I want to eat soup dumplings!" Yun Lin suddenly became energetic.

Min Xi slapped him on the butt and said, "Okay, go down and put on your shoes."