The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi rolled his eyes and said jokingly, "Then give me a back rub."

Unexpectedly, Yun Ji readily agreed: "Okay, lie down on the bed and I'll give you a massage."

"Hehe, really? Then I'd better obey your command." Min Xi lay on the bed.

Yun Ji sat on the edge of the bed and began to give Min Xi a relaxing massage.

Min Xi felt his technique, which was obviously professional. He was a little surprised and asked, "How do you know this?"

Yun Ji said, "When I first started learning martial arts, I often had aches all over my body, and Uncle Zhong gave me massages like this to relax me." When he said this, his voice lowered.

Min Xi was keenly aware of his mood changes: "Homesick?"

"Uncle Zhong has watched me grow up since I was a child, and he went out to sea with me." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi propped himself up and looked at Yun Ji: "You mean, he also fell into the sea?"

Yun Ji nodded: "We are on the same boat."

That was probably a bad omen. Min Xi was silent for a moment and said, "Maybe he was rescued by another ship."

Yun Ji didn't tell him that he was watching Zhong Bo disappear in front of him: "I hope so. Lie down quickly, I'll give you a massage."

Min Xi lay down again and said sullenly, "Forget it. I'll get my strength back after a good sleep."

Yun Ji ignored him and continued to massage him to relax. Min Xi wanted to struggle a bit, but soon fell asleep. I don't know if it was because he was too sleepy or Yun Ji's technique was too good.

After waking up from a nap, I found Yun Ji studying at the table. He is such a hardworking and self-disciplined person. His spoken Flungji may not be as good as Min Xi's, but his reading and writing skills are definitely better than his.

"What time is it?" Min Xi asked.

Yun Ji said, "The clock just struck 15." The bells of the Fulanji Church rang every hour, and it took him a long time to finally adapt to the 24-hour timekeeping method.

Min Xi stretched and said, "It's still early. Didn't you get some sleep?"

Yun Ji said: "I dozed off for a bit and then woke up."

Min Xi looked at the words he had written on the wooden board with goose feathers dipped in water. The words were already half dry, so he said, "Let's buy some paper to practice. Although it's a bit expensive, it's not unaffordable."

Yun Ji raised his eyes and looked at him: "No need, the effect of writing on paper and on a wooden board is almost the same, in the end you have to write it down here." He tapped his temple with his hand.

Min Xi said, "But a good memory is not as good as a bad pen. If you write it down, you can look at it again and again. Just buy less."

Yun Ji said: "I'm still in debt."

Min Xi looked at Yun Ji and smiled helplessly: "How about we try making our own paper? Although the paper we make will definitely bleed ink, it's better than nothing, and it can also be used as toilet paper. What do you think?"

Yun Ji raised his eyebrows: "Can you make paper?"

Min Xi said, "It shouldn't be difficult. It's nothing more than soaking the bark and wheat straw in water, then beating them into pulp, and then scooping them out and drying them in the sun. I know all the steps, but I can't say what the result will be. I should be able to do it after trying a few more times."

Yun Ji had never thought that one day he would have to make paper himself, so he said, "That's fine."

"Let's go downstairs and prepare dinner. I see the baked buns and egg tarts are selling quite well, so we can make some more in advance." Min Xi said.

"I think it's okay. I can mention it to the customers when they are paying the bill and they can take the egg tarts and baked buns to go," said Yun Ji.

"it is good."

Before they got downstairs, they heard a lot of chattering coming from downstairs, which sounded very lively. When they got downstairs, they saw Gail chatting with a group of children. When he saw them coming down, Gail hurriedly said, "The boss is coming down. I'll ask for you."

Min Xi walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Gail said: "These kids all live nearby and they wanted to eat our egg tarts and asked if they could buy one individually."

Min Xi said, "It's not baked yet."

A boy with big eyes asked: "Can we sell them after they are baked? I have some change, can I just buy one?"

Min Xi looked at the children with eager eyes and said, "Of course, but if you buy less, there will be no boxes."

"No problem, we don't want the box, we just want the egg tarts!" several children shouted.

Min Xi said, "Okay, then wait a moment. I'll go make the egg tarts. Please don't make loud noises or cause trouble in the store, otherwise he is not welcome to buy egg tarts."

The children lowered their voices and stopped making noise.

Min Xi and Yun Ji entered the kitchen and began to prepare staple food and desserts. Min Xi made egg tarts while Yun Ji kneaded dough to make steamed buns.

Min Xi said: "Egg tarts are so popular, we can make them and sell them as a sideline for the restaurant."

Yun Ji sighed: "But no one else can do it, only you can do it, wouldn't you be exhausted to death?"

Indeed, Min Xi said, "Let's take a look first."

About an hour later, the egg tarts were finally baked. The group of children outside couldn't wait to buy the egg tarts. Min Xi held the first batch of baked egg tarts and said, "Don't worry, just line up. Everyone will get one. Go wash your hands before you get the egg tarts." These egg tarts were not supported by tin foil. They were placed directly on the tray right after they were taken out of the mold.

Min Xi spoke gently, unlike other adults who had a bad attitude towards children, so his words were very convincing. Everyone happily washed their hands and lined up, and bought the egg tarts they had been craving for. At 4 reeses each, it was not cheap, but it was sold at this unique monopoly price.

After the kids who bought egg tarts left, Min Xi also started to prepare dinner. He took out the ingredients hanging in the well and checked them. Sure enough, they were still fresh.

Yunji has already baked the steamed buns over there, and they should be almost ready by the time the guests come to eat.

The first table of guests that evening was Colonel Ed, his wife and children, his parents-in-law, and his wife's two brothers and their families, a total of 11 people, including three children.

Their family entered the largest private room. There was a child who was still in swaddling clothes and needed to be held by an adult, so all ten seats were filled.

Just as Gale was about to order for them, he heard Colonel Ed say, "Your main courses and desserts should have been prepared first, can you give us two desserts first?"

Gail asked, "Large or medium?"

Colonel Ed asked, "How big is a large portion?"

"The large portion is 8 pieces, 32 reeses."

"Then I'll have two large ones first."

When the mother-in-law heard the price, she waited for Gale to leave and said, "Bernardo, why are the things here so expensive!"

Colonel Ed said, "It's not cheap, but it tastes great. You'll know when you try it. The boss has some connections with my friend Baron Fernando. The restaurant opened today, and the boss invited us to dinner at noon and gave me a portion of egg tarts. Even Sco, who is always picky about food, ate two. When he saw his sister eat the rest, he cried for a long time until I promised him to come back to eat egg tarts tonight. He stopped crying."

Sco is the colonel's son. He is a very picky eater and very thin. Everyone in the family is very worried about him.

The mother-in-law was very happy to hear that her grandson was no longer picky about food: "Then Scott will have to eat more later."

Little Sike clapped his hands on the table excitedly: "Egg tarts, egg tarts!"

The Colonel's wife said, "We've eaten the food cooked by this boss at the Baron's house, and it tasted quite good. Bernardo said that what we ate today was even more delicious than the last time we ate at the Baron's house, so it should be not much different."

When everyone heard her say this, they all looked forward to it: "That shouldn't be bad."

Soon, Gale came in with two egg tarts: "Sir, this is the dessert you ordered, please enjoy it slowly."

The freshly baked egg tarts exude an enticing aroma. The browned bottom layer and the tender yellow top layer complement each other and look very delicious.

Colonel Ed said, "You guys eat first, I'll order first."

He turned around and asked Gail to order food. Gail came with a menu, and the customer would choose one of the brands of the dishes he selected, so as not to miss any. Of course, this was only necessary for large tables of guests. If it was a small table with three or five dishes, this would not be necessary.

After he ordered the food, he found that there was only one egg tart left out of the two large ones, and it was specially left for him.

Colonel Ed looked at the egg tart and smiled, "How does it taste?"

Except for the children, most people only ate one egg tart. They were obviously a little unsatisfied and nodded, "It's really delicious."

Little Sike stretched out his little hand: "Dad, I want more!"

The colonel picked up the last egg tart and said, "Scott, there will be more delicious food later. Dad will eat this for you, and you can save some space for other delicious food later."

Xiao Sike had already eaten two, and when he heard that there was something more delicious, he stopped arguing: "Okay."

My mother-in-law said: "It's really good, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the sweetness is acceptable."

"I didn't lie to you, did I?" the colonel said with some pride. "This is just a dessert. The dishes and staple foods here are all very good. You'll know in a moment."