The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

It was Min Xi’s first time to spend the winter in the north and he was very afraid of the cold. He and Yun Lin were both wearing fox furs, wrapping themselves up very bulky, and sitting in the dining room to have breakfast.

While eating, Min Xi reminded Tao Xing: "Seventh Brother will be back today. Ask someone to buy some vegetables. We will have hot pot tonight. Buy more mutton. Let's all have hot pot."

Tao Xing readily agreed: "Okay, Master Min!"

When Yun Ji was not at home, Min Xi was the head of the family. He treated the servants very well, never put on airs, and was always polite. If there was anything delicious, he would share it with everyone, and did not deliberately distinguish between the master and the servants.

It's the end of the month again. Yun Ji, who has been training in the academy, can finally go home. Naturally, I have to make a good meal to comfort him.

That afternoon, Min Xi came out of the school with Yun Lin in his arms, but he didn't see Yun Ji waiting for them at the old place. Yun Lin, holding the hand warmer, asked, "Second brother, isn't the eldest brother on holiday today?"

Min Xi said, "That shouldn't be the case. Go and ask if he's back."

The two walked to the front yard and asked the doorman, who said, "The cousin is back, and he has already gone in."

"Maybe he went to his grandmother's place." Min Xi said to Yun Lin, "Let's go find him."

As a result, before they even reached the backyard, they saw Yun Ji hurried out. Seeing them, he looked delighted and asked, "Is school over?"

"Yes, have you paid your respects to your grandmother?" Min Xi asked.

"No, my uncle came to talk to me. Let's say hello to grandma and go back." Yun Ji took Yun Lin from Min Xi, "Ah, why is he so much heavier? Have you gained weight recently?"

Yunlin chuckled, "I've been eating a lot lately. Second brother prepared a hot pot, so we'll have something delicious tonight."

Yun Ji smiled: "Okay, then we should eat more."

After they had greeted him and returned to the car, Yun Ji said, "My uncle wants us to meet someone tomorrow."

"Who is it?" Min Xi asked curiously.

"It is said that it was his boss, but we don't know who it was exactly. It seems that it was because of our donation of seeds and ships." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Oh, do I have to go too?" Tao Lizhi's boss must be at least the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, or even the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

"Of course, we did all this together. I can't take all the credit alone." Yun Ji said as a matter of course.

"Okay." Min Xi wondered in his heart, who would want to see them?

The next morning, the two got up, wrapped Yunlin, who was still sleeping, in a quilt, and let him continue sleeping.

Min Xi tidied up and erased all traces of Yun Ji staying overnight here, so that the wet nurse who came later to help Yun Lin get dressed and get up would not notice anything.

After breakfast, the two of them took a carriage to Tao's house, because Tao Lizhi asked them to go to his home to find him.

The two were dressed rather simply today. Normally, they would wear fox fur to keep warm, but today, since they were meeting with court officials, they did not want to be too ostentatious, so they only wore cotton robes. Of course, they wore warm clothes made of woolen fabrics brought back from Europe, so they were not cold.

As expected, that batch of woolen fabrics sold very well. It was warmer than cotton and was also lighter. It was just a bit expensive, but for the rich and powerful, price was no big deal.

Tao Lizhi saw how they were dressed and saw that they knew how to behave. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "Let's go. Just follow my carriage."

The government office was closed today, so Tao Lizhi did not take them to the government office. Min Xi and Yun Ji were not aware of this and thought they were going to the government office.

It was not until they reached their destination and the carriage stopped and they got off that they discovered that they had arrived at a teahouse.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were full of doubts. Weren’t they going to meet Shangguan? Why were they in a teahouse?

Tao Lizhi had already gotten off the car and said, "Follow me."

The two hurried forward, and Yun Ji asked in a low voice: "Uncle, why are you here?"

Tao Lizhi said: "The Prime Minister is very interested in your experience, but he usually works in Wenyuan Pavilion, and it is inconvenient for you to enter the palace, so he changed to this teahouse."

Min Xi and Yun Ji were shocked when they heard this: The Prime Minister wants to see them? !

Min Xi thought, who is this Prime Minister? Zhang Juzheng? Oh my god, is he really going to meet the legendary boss?

Tao Lizhi lowered his voice and said, "The Prime Minister is very busy, and it's not easy for him to find time to see you. You should be careful about your words and actions. There are some things you can say and some things you can't say. Think it through in your mind before you say anything."

"Got it." The two of them responded obediently.

Min Xi thought he had to go in and wait for the adult first, but he didn't expect that he was already there. After Tao Lizhi arrived, someone rushed inside to report, and a voice with a slight accent came out: "Come in." Typical Lianghu Su Pu.

Tao Lizhi and the two young men walked in through the door opened by the servant. Min Xi lowered his head and did not dare to look around.

After Tao Lizhi entered, he bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Master Zhang. I have brought the two juniors here. Yun Ji, Min Xi, quickly pay your respects to the Master."

Sir Zhang, could it really be Zhang Juzheng?

Seeing Yun Ji taking the lead in kneeling, Min Xi did not dare to stand out, so he also knelt down and kowtowed: "I, Min Xi (Yun Ji), greet you, Your Excellency!"

"No need to be polite, stand up and talk." The person in the higher position said casually.

When Min Xi stood up, he looked ahead and noticed that there was a handsome middle-aged man sitting in the middle of the tea room. He had a good appearance and temperament, and he was a handsome uncle with a long beard. He didn't look at them, but was looking at a memorial in his hand. There were also a pile of memorials next to him, which showed that he was really busy.

Min Xi followed Yun Ji and sat down behind the tea table, not daring to move. A servant came up to pour tea, and after a while someone brought snacks.

The superior said, "You guys drink tea first, I'll finish reading these memorials."

Tao Lizhi hurriedly said, "Please go ahead, sir."

Seeing this, Min Xi had no choice but to pick up the teacup and drink tea. In addition to Chinese cakes such as pea yellow, Dingsheng cake and osmanthus cake, there was also a plate of boiled sweet potatoes, a plate of boiled potatoes, a plate of boiled peanuts and a boiled corn, all of which were still steaming, presumably they were just out of the pot.

Min Xi took a sip of tea, peeled a sweet potato and ate it. Tao Lizhi, who was sitting opposite him, winked at him, but he didn't see it.

Tao Lizhi could only sigh helplessly. This child was born in poverty after all. He didn't even understand the polite words of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was tolerant and should not blame him for his rudeness.

Min Xi only ate one sweet potato and stopped eating. He looked at Tao Lizhi opposite him and saw that he was looking at his nose and his heart, as if he was in a state of meditation. Then he looked at Yun Ji beside him, who was also sitting upright and very respectful.

Min Xi did not stop looking up. He saw that the Prime Minister was not wearing an official uniform. He wore a square scarf on his head and a black sable fur coat on his body. He was not low-key at all.

Min Xi remembered that one of the reasons Zhang Juzheng was impeached and his property was confiscated after his death was because of his extravagant lifestyle. Zhang Juzheng was born into an ordinary military family and did not have much wealth. As for why he lived such an extravagant life later on, it was definitely not due to his salary, but naturally due to the filial piety of his subordinates. Min Xi could understand that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish.

There was a blazing charcoal fire in the room, so it didn't make people feel very cold, but it was indeed boring to just sit there. However, since the person I was meeting was the second-in-command of the Ming Dynasty, it was reasonable for me to just wait.

Min Xi looked around the house from top to bottom. He found that the doors and windows were closed and there was no ventilation, so he stood up, opened the door, and changed the air inside.

Before Tao Lizhi and Yun Ji could stop him, they saw him get up and leave. They thought he was going to the toilet, but he just opened the door, stayed by the door for a while, closed the door again, returned to his seat and sat down again.

The Prime Minister put down the brush in his hand, put down the memorial he had just read, and looked at Min Xi: "Did you want to go out just now?"

Min Xi said quickly, "Your Excellency, I didn't want to go out, but I saw a charcoal basin burning in the room, and the doors and windows were closed, so I was worried about carbon monoxide poisoning, so I opened the door to get some fresh air."

"Carbon poisoning?" the Prime Minister asked curiously.

Min Xi explained: "Yes, if charcoal is burned in a confined space, it will produce a colorless and odorless toxic gas. When there is too much toxic gas, people will suffocate to death without knowing it."

"Where did you hear that?"

Min Xi glanced at Yun Ji, who was also looking at him nervously. Min Xi replied calmly: "Your Excellency, I heard about it during my trip to Europe." He knew that no matter what he said, Yun Ji would not expose him.

The Prime Minister pondered for a moment after hearing this: "No wonder every winter, people often die in their sleep for unknown reasons. I'm afraid it's because of burning coal for heating. Is ventilation the solution?"

"That's right. The room where charcoal is burned for heating must have ventilation gaps or windows to ensure that the coal is fully burned and no harmful gases are produced," said Min Xi.

"Interesting. What's your name? Where are you from?"

Min Xi replied respectfully: "My name is Min Xi, and I live in Jurong County, Yingtian Prefecture."

"So you brought back sweet potatoes, rice, potatoes, and a galleon from Europe?" the Prime Minister asked, pointing at the things on the table.

Min Xi said, "I brought it back with my brother. I only paid a small part of the money for the boat, and the majority was paid by my brother Yun Ji."

The Prime Minister chuckled and nodded: "How did you come up with the idea of ​​bringing these back?"

"Food is the most important thing for the people. I grew up eating at many people's homes, so I'm interested in everything that is edible. I heard that Europe brought back local grain crops from the New World, and they were very productive, so I wanted to bring them all back to Ming. If Ming has an abundant food supply, then children like me in the world will no longer go hungry in the future." Min Xi said seriously.

Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister murmured, "'I wish I had thousands of mansions to shelter all the poor people in the world and make them happy'. My friend, you have already reached the level of the poet."

Tao Lizhi and Yun Ji both looked towards Min Xi with joy in their eyes. What an honor it was to receive such praise from the Prime Minister!