The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

On the first day of the new year, Min Xi dressed Yunlin up like the good boy Shancai: he wore a big red coat, a red hairband on his head, and a red dot between his eyebrows. He looked very festive.

The little guy had fair skin and delicate features, like a girl. He looked 80% like Yun Ji. When boys and girls are little, it is really hard to tell the difference between boys and girls if they are not distinguished by clothes. So it was reasonable for Yun Ji to be treated as a girl by his peers when he was a child.

Yun Ji took his brother to pay New Year's greetings to the elders of the family. Although he had fallen out with many people in the family because of the embezzlement of family property, there were still some reasonable people in the family who did not interfere in the matter.

Min Xi naturally didn't need to go to pay New Year's greetings, so he and Diego prepared delicious food at home.

When Yunlin, dressed in festive red, came back from outside, his pockets were stuffed with gold and silver beans, which were all New Year's money given by the elders.

"Second brother, all the New Year's money I earned will be spent on you!" Yun Lin took out money from his pocket all at once.

Min Xi reached out his hand to help him catch it, and smiled so hard that his eyes could not see: "Are you really going to give all the flowers to me? Not to my brother?"

Yun Lin looked up at Yun Ji and said, "Big Brother is rich. He also gave out a lot of gold beans today!"

Yun Ji laughed: "You know that big brother gave out a lot of gold beans today, so why don't you quickly compensate big brother for his losses today."

"I will give it to my eldest brother because he has money. I won't give it to my second brother because he has no money." Yun Lin said seriously.

Min Xi patted his little head and said with relief: "It is our Lin'er who is considerate of the second brother. He knows that the second brother is poor and wants to give him money to spend."

Min Xi certainly couldn't be poor. Yun Ji gave him one-third of the profits from the goods shipped back from Europe. Min Xi didn't want it at first, but after thinking about it, he decided to keep half of it. After all, he was just contributing, and the capital was all from Yun Xiang. He used the money to buy a house and a shop in the capital. He didn't rent out the house, so he hired someone to look after it. He rented out the shop and collected rent.

I thought that if something unexpected happened in the future, I would have a way out.

He also held the title of manager of Yunxiang Restaurant. Yun Ji would transfer 5000 taels of silver to him as dividends every year. He was the biggest contributor to the prosperity of Yunxiang Restaurant and Western pastry shop.

His daily expenses are not that high, and most of them are paid by Yun Ji, so he is considered a wealthy man now.

So when Yun Ji heard what he said, he just laughed and didn't say anything.

On the first day of the New Year, there is nothing to do except eating, drinking and having fun. After all, if the beginning of the year is busy, then the whole year will be busy.

In the afternoon, Min Xi and Yun Ji were playing the game of pitching pots with Diego and Yun Ji. Min Xi and Diego were in one group, while Yun Ji and Yun Lin were in another. They were having a hard time. Suddenly, they heard a servant come to report that someone had come from Tao's house.

Yun Ji was startled and quickly put down the arrow in his hand: "But what's the matter?"

The Tao family are the elders, so they should go to the Tao residence first to pay New Year's greetings. It's only the first day of the new year, so why are there people here? Could it be that something happened to my grandparents? They were clearly fine before the New Year.

Yun Ji went out to greet him and found that it was Tao Gui, the butler of the Tao Mansion. He was dressed in festive clothes. Yun Ji felt relieved: "Uncle Gui, Happy New Year! But what's the matter? Why did you come today?"

"Happy New Year, cousin, what a great celebration!" Tao Gui's face was full of joy and he bowed to congratulate Yun Ji.

"What's there to be happy about?" Yun Ji was confused.

Tao Gui said, "Today, the master and the eldest uncle went to the palace to pay New Year's greetings to His Majesty and the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother asked about the story of the young master and Master Min. His Majesty is very interested in your experiences and wants to summon you to the palace tomorrow to meet him. Oh, and also call Diego the Flanagan. You wait at home tomorrow morning, and a carriage will come to pick you up and bring you to the palace."

Min Xi and Yun Ji looked confused. They were going to the palace to see the emperor? Diego came up and asked, "Should I go too?"

Tao Gui nodded: "Yes. There are some etiquette rules. The master and the uncle asked me to tell you about them."

So next, they followed Tao Gui and learned the palace rules and etiquette for half an afternoon.

After Tao Gui left, Min Xi still found it a little unbelievable: "Are we going to see the emperor now?" After all, Wanli is only a child of ten years old. When he enters the palace tomorrow, he will have to kneel down and kowtow to a child. Min Xi still felt a little uneasy. What a wicked old society!

Yun Ji said: "I just went to tell him a story. I guess he is probably interested in Diego and wants to see what Diego looks like."

Diego blushed: "I'm nervous."

Min Xi patted his shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid. Try to speak as little as possible. Just respond to whatever the emperor says."

Diego nodded, but couldn't help but touch the tip of his nose.

Yunlin was having fun, but was taken away by the nanny. Seeing that the guests had left, he came over and pulled Minxi's hand: "Second brother, let's continue to play pot tossing."

"Okay, let's go and play tossing pot!" Min Xi pulled his hand to play tossing pot.

That night, Min Xi thought a lot while lying in bed. At Wanli's age, he should be in the rebellious adolescence. He was forced by Zhang Juzheng and Empress Dowager Li to learn how to be a wise ruler. He was studying under pressure every day. He must have been bored. When he heard something new, he asked someone to go to the palace to cheer him up.

He had never expected to have the chance to meet Wanli. This was their first meeting, so he tried to leave a good impression on him. Maybe he would have a chance to meet him again in the future, so he could give him some guidance and make him less gloomy. But he was just thinking about it. Changing a person's character is not something that can be done with just a few words.

After daybreak, Min Xi and Yun Ji both got up, washed and dressed. Although they didn't have to dress like girls, they still had to look neat and tidy.

Diego was so nervous that he couldn't even put on his clothes properly. This was not their King, but the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was not very familiar with the hairstyles and clothing of the Ming Dynasty. In the end, Tao Sheng came over to help, and only then did he comb his fluffy curly hair into a decent shape and put his clothes in order.

Not long after breakfast, a carriage arrived from the palace, and a eunuch named Yao came to pick them up. Min Xi and Yun Ji patted Yun Lin's head and said, "We are going to the palace to see His Majesty the Emperor. You stay at home and listen to your nurse. We will be back soon."

"Then come back for lunch?" Yun Lin asked. He also wanted to go with his brothers, but he also knew that the palace was not something that could be visited whenever one wanted.

"I don't know about that. Maybe the Emperor will want to keep us for dinner." Min Xi said.

"Well, you will definitely be back in the evening, right?"

"I'll definitely be back in the evening." Min Xi assured him.

Yunlin reluctantly bid farewell to his three brothers, fortunately, Overlord was with him.

The snow was not heavy on New Year's Eve and stopped early on the first day of the new year. Every household had already swept the roads in front of their doors, and people were arranged to clear the snow on the main streets to prevent pedestrians and vehicles from slipping and falling.

In the carriage, Eunuch Yao personally explained to them in detail the etiquette and rules for entering the palace.

The carriage rattled through the streets and alleys and arrived at the gate of the Forbidden City. Tao Lizhi was already waiting there, and when they arrived, he went with them to the palace to meet the emperor.

Min Xi had been to the Forbidden City, but the Forbidden City at that time was larger than the Forbidden City. After passing Zhengyang Gate, it was the main gate of the Forbidden City, Daming Gate. The carriage stopped outside the Daming Gate and people had to walk in.

Behind the Daming Gate is a long corridor formed by palace walls. On both sides of the high palace walls are the offices of various government offices. On the east side are the six ministries, and on the west side are the Jinyiwei and Taichang Temple.

The distance from Daming Gate to the Hall of Supreme Harmony was nearly two miles. There were few people along the way, and even if there were, they were all guards with serious faces. It was conceivable how cold it was to be on duty in the palace in such weather, so it was normal for them to have cold faces.

Eunuch Yao led them through Tiananmen Square and Duanmen Gate, bypassed the three main halls, and went directly to the Qianqing Palace.

Normally, Emperor Wanli summoned his ministers in the three main halls, but today was the second day of the New Year and all officials were resting and not attending court, so the emperor stayed in his residence, too lazy to go forward.

When Min Xi and his companions arrived, Emperor Wanli was sitting upright at his desk practicing calligraphy. His face was tense and serious, without any childish expression.

Tao Lizhi took the lead in kneeling and bowing: "Your Majesty, I, the humble servant, pay my respects to you. Long live the Emperor!"

When Wanli saw them coming, he paused with the pen in his hand, then continued writing after a moment, saying as he wrote, "Stand up!" in a clear voice.

Tao Lizhi took the lead and stood up, taking a step to the side. Min Xi and the others followed suit and stood as close to the side as possible. They stood there, waiting for the little emperor to finish practicing calligraphy.

Min Xi finally understood the source of Wanli's bad temper. He was not allowed to rest during the New Year and had to practice calligraphy. Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng were simply inhumane. Wanli naturally did not dare to vent his anger on his mother, so he must have vented his anger on Zhang Juzheng.

After waiting for a long time until Emperor Wanli finished practicing calligraphy, he finally spoke: "Master Tao, which one is your nephew?"

Tao Lizhi quickly introduced: "This is my nephew Yunji, this is his sworn brother Minxi, and this foreign friend is the one they brought back from Fulangji, his name is Diego."

Wanli looked at them carefully one by one, and finally his eyes fell on Diego. Diego had his hair tied up and wore Ming Dynasty clothes. Because he was less than 20 years old, he did not wear a net scarf or a hat. It can be seen that his brown hair was also different from that of the people of the Ming Dynasty. His face was even more different from that of the people of the Ming Dynasty. His facial features were particularly abrupt and looked a little weird.

Wanli asked curiously, "Can Diego speak Ming dialect?"

Diego said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I will tell you."

Wanli laughed: "What a strange accent!"