The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi was really too tired. Yun Ji helped him wipe his hair, carried him upstairs, and massaged his arms, but he didn't wake up and slept until dawn.

He was awakened by the eight o'clock bell. When he sat up, he found that it was already bright outside and the sun was high in the sky. He was the only one in the room. He quickly got out of bed and ran downstairs in a panic: "Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother!"

Yun Ji looked up and replied to him from downstairs: "What's wrong?"

Min Xi saw Yun Ji and said, "I overslept and didn't go shopping! The seafood market may have closed down by now." It just opened yesterday, so it shouldn't be closed today.

Yun Ji said, "I've already bought it. I saw that you were too tired, so I didn't call you. Come down and have breakfast."

Min Xi was relieved when he heard this: "You bought it back? Why didn't you wake me up?"

Yun Ji said, "I can buy the food, I want you to sleep a little longer. How do you feel? Is your arm still sore?"

Min Xi raised his arm and said, "It's not so sore anymore. It's okay. What vegetables did you buy?"

Yun Ji said, "I bought some of what I saw was fresh. Let's see what you can do and we can adjust the menu."

"Okay. Is today's quantity more than yesterday's?" Min Xi asked.

"It's about the same as yesterday. I feel it's good enough as long as we can sell them all. You are cooking by yourself now, so the quantity can't be too much. You need to adapt to it. We also need to find a kitchen helper for you." Yun Ji said.

"Yes, we need two more people in the kitchen, one to help me and one to wash the dishes. I'll go find the dentist later." Min Xi said.

After all, it was because of his lack of experience in opening a restaurant that he thought two or three people could handle it. In fact, if there were more than 80 seats, at least two chefs would be needed to handle it, but now only Min Xi could cook, so someone had to help in the kitchen.

Yun Ji said, "Then have breakfast first and then go after that."

"Yeah. I'll go wash my face first and come make breakfast later." Min Xi walked into the kitchen and saw the boiling water and noodles on the chopping board. He said in surprise, "You made the noodles?"

Yunji said, "Yes, I made some simple noodles. Try it and see how it tastes."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Of course, you can cook for yourself. You won't be hungry when I'm not around anymore."

Yun Ji looked at him: "Where are you going?"

Min Xi was stunned for a moment, then said: "I didn't go anywhere. I just assumed that you can take care of your own meals."

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi who was washing up with water and said, "After I went upstairs last night, I didn't see you in the room. I looked for you everywhere, but you didn't answer me. I searched for a long time and found that you fell asleep on the balcony on the second floor. I was shocked!"

Min Xi scratched his head: "You made me go back to bed?"

"I can't wake you up no matter what I do. I can't let you sleep on the balcony." Yun Ji said, "Next time, tell me where you are going in advance, so that I don't have to look for you anymore."

Min Xi nodded: "Yeah. Actually, if I were going out, I would definitely tell you. If I didn't, I must still be at home. Thank you for moving me to the bed."

"It's okay, it's just a little heavier than cigarettes. It's not a burden to hold you. You still need to eat more, you're too thin." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi covered her eyes with her hands, turned her face slightly, and said awkwardly: "You carried me upstairs?"

Yun Ji said, "Your weight isn't so heavy that you need to be carried up the stairs."

Min Xi wanted to say, I can still carry it on my back, but he swallowed the words back and thought, forget it, there is no point in saying it now.

It was Yunji's first time cooking, and the noodles were very chewy because he was strong and kneaded the dough well, but the toppings were just average. He hadn't mastered cooking yet, and he made mushroom and clam soup, but he put too much salt, so it was too salty. Min Xi had to add water and boil it again, and added some other seasonings to reduce the saltiness, but the clams and mushrooms became old and not fresh enough.

Yun Ji sighed: "It seems that cooking is more difficult than I thought."

Min Xi said: "It's my first time making it, and I've done it very well. Salt brings out the five flavors, but be careful, add salt slowly, too little is fine, but too much will make it difficult to resolve."

"I remember it." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi said, "I forgot to ask you how much you sold yesterday?"

Yun Ji said: "Yesterday at noon, it was 1024 riyals, and in the evening, there were 76 guests, a total of 4307 riyals, and the total income for the day was 5331 riyals."

Min Xixiang listened and said, "It's less than I expected. This is a 6000% discount. If it weren't for the discount, it would be more than 200 reais, which is about reais a month."

Yun Ji looked at him and said, "You are really good at calculating. Your mental arithmetic ability is better than I thought."

Min Xi was stunned, and almost forgot that Min Jiu was illiterate. He coughed lightly: "Really?"

Yun Ji did not doubt him, but just said: "Yes, it is very impressive. It has just opened and is not well-known yet. It is normal to have a small number. There will be more in the future."

Min Xi nodded: "I believe it too."

After dinner, Min Xi went out to find a broker, intending to hire two people who could start working immediately. This was Min Xi's first time dealing with a broker, and Gail recommended himself, saving the agency fee.

Min Xi planned to hire an apprentice and a dishwasher. Dishwashers were easy to hire as long as they were diligent, but apprentices were a bit troublesome. He wanted to teach his skills to someone who was honest and reliable, so he told the broker that he was looking for a handyman, not an apprentice. He had to see the other person's character first before deciding whether to teach him his skills.

Gail is a smart guy, he also plans to learn cooking, Min Xi is currently observing him.

Min Xikai's salary is 700 Swiss francs per month, including two meals. This salary level is the same as that of local handymen, and is even relatively high because many jobs do not include meals.

Min Xi paid the broker 200 Swiss francs as a commission and said he needed the person that same day. Seeing that he paid readily, the broker agreed to send the person that same day.

When he returned to the store, Min Xi found a carriage parked outside the store. There was a laurel emblem on the carriage, which clearly belonged to some nobleman. Min Xi thought, who would come to eat so early? It was not even ten o'clock yet, it was too early.

Min Xi stepped into the store and saw Baron Fernando and another man who looked like him drinking tea in the store. Yun Ji was not accompanying the guests, and Gail was wiping the tables. The two men were enjoying themselves and looked very relaxed.

Min Xi quickly greeted him: "Your Excellency the Baron, you arrived really early today."

The baron put down his teacup and said, "Min, you are back. Let me introduce you, this is my elder brother, Lord Fernando."

Min Xi bowed to the lord and said, "Dear lord, welcome to our shop."

The baron's elder brother is the future heir to the duke. If he does not have a title before inheriting the title, he is usually called a lord. The baron's grandfather, the old duke, is still alive, so his father is also a lord.

The baron said, "It's like this. My grandfather's birthday is in half a month, and I would like to invite you to be the chef for my grandfather's birthday party. Last night I brought my eldest brother and cousin to taste your cooking. They were very satisfied with your cooking and agreed to invite you to be the chef. Do you have time to come?"

Min Xi said, "Thank you for your appreciation. The Baron has done me a favor, so I should help you. I don't know the exact date, but I will close the shop for a day to help the Duke's birthday party. In addition, I want to know how big the scale is, what kind of banquet it is, and what special requirements there are. If there are too many people, I can't cook all the dishes. I need other chefs to work with me, so that we can combine Chinese and Western cuisine."

The lord said, "This year is Grandfather's 80th birthday. Your Majesty may come to Grandfather's birthday party. We need to treat it with extra caution, so one day may not be enough to prepare. We need you to prepare one more day. As for the cost, I will definitely satisfy you."

Min Xi was shocked. He was going to cook for King Fulangji? This status was indeed very noble. But for him, it was a good opportunity. He could take this opportunity to promote Chinese food, and then more rich people would come to his restaurant to eat.

Min Xi said, "Okay, then I will close the business for two days and prepare a birthday party for His Excellency the Duke."

Because the king would be coming, the standard of the banquet was naturally the highest. In addition to inviting Min Xi to cook, they also invited the best chef in Lisbon. Min Xi only had to be responsible for a few dishes, which meant that he would not only cook, but also compete with the famous chefs in Lisbon. Min Xi was determined to show off his skills and cook a few state banquet-level dishes to open the eyes of the nobles of Flanji.

The baron said: "We will provide all the food and ingredients. You just need to come over when the time comes."

Min Xi said, "Okay, but because it's Chinese food, I need to prepare some ingredients myself. If you're worried, the Baron will go with me to buy and prepare them."

The baron said: "That's no problem, just call me when the time comes." After all, they were hosting a banquet for the king, so they could not lack this kind of security awareness.

Min Xi added: "I will also bring my cooking utensils, because Chinese food is cooked differently from Western food, and your cooking utensils cannot cook my dishes."

"That's no problem. I'll send a car over to pick up what you need," said the Baron.

"Okay, once I decide what dishes to cook, I'll confirm the menu with you." Min Xi said.

The baron nodded and said, "Sure, you can come to my house to see me at any time. If I'm not here, let Jody tell me. This is settled for now, and we'll leave first."

Min Xi asked, "Are you not going to have lunch here before leaving?"

The Baron shook his head: "We have something else to do. We'll come back later."