The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After they left, Min Xi entered the kitchen and saw Yun Ji kneading dough to prepare the staple food. Today's staple food included buns because the old dough fermented yesterday could be used.

Yun Ji saw him come in and asked, "How is it?"

Min Xi washed his hands and prepared to pack the ingredients: "Are you asking about the hired workers or the baron?"

"Ask them all."

Min Xi said, "The agent said that he would send someone to me today. The baron's grandfather, the Duke, will hold a birthday party for his 80th birthday in half a month. He asked us to cook, and His Majesty the King might also attend."

Yun Ji was surprised and asked, "The king goes to attend the duke's banquet?" This is almost impossible in the Ming Dynasty. How could the emperor attend the birthday banquet of his minister? Isn't he afraid of shortening his minister's life?

Min Xi nodded: "Yeah."

Yun Ji said: "Fulangji is really different from our Ming Dynasty. The king actually attended the birthday banquet of his ministers. In our Ming Dynasty, at most he would just give them a reward."

Min Xi smiled and said, "This may be due to the difference in cultural background, and it also shows that the Duke is highly appreciated by His Majesty the King."

Yun Ji nodded: "But this is an opportunity for us. We can take this opportunity to promote our restaurant."

"Haha, great minds think alike!" Min Xi raised his hand towards Yun Ji.

Yun Ji looked at him in confusion, and Min Xi said, "High five!"

Yun Ji understood and raised his hand to touch his palm. The action was a bit strange, but also very interesting.

Min Xi went to organize the ingredients and made some small adjustments to yesterday's menu. He called Gail and told him what dishes were missing and what were added today. Gail took notes while helping to wash the vegetables.

When there are no customers, he, as a waiter, also has to help in the kitchen. When the staff is complete, his job content will be more simple.

Gail didn't mind working in the kitchen because he knew Min Si's cooking was delicious. As long as he learned some basic skills, he would have the ability to make a living in the future.

After the buns were steamed and baked, Min Xi and Yun Ji started making egg tarts. While they were doing it, Gail was watching from the side. This was almost an unwritten rule in the restaurant. Without formal apprenticeship, the chef could choose not to give instructions, but he could not prevent the employees from watching, as long as it did not interfere with their work.

There are no guests yet, so if Gail wants to come and see, there's nothing wrong with that.

The egg tarts had just been baked for a short while when customers arrived outside. Gail heard the noise and went out. It was the same group of kids from yesterday, even more than yesterday, who came clamoring to buy egg tarts.

Gail said, "Don't worry, it's just been grilled. Come back later."

The children did not leave, but looked around the decorations in the store with curiosity in their eyes: "Can we wait here?"

"Just don't cause trouble. You can only look at the words and paintings on the wall, but not touch them." Gail warned.

After getting permission, the children happily began to walk around the store, looking at the Chinese calligraphy and paintings with curiosity.

Gail went into the kitchen and reported the situation to Min Xi: "It's the same group of kids from yesterday who came to buy egg tarts again."

Min Xi smiled and said, "It seems that we have to bake the egg tarts first in the future." Sweets are very tempting to children.

Yun Ji had good hearing, so he asked, "Those kids haven't left yet?"

Gail said, "No, they are still waiting in the store. I saw that no customers had come yet, so I allowed them to wait."

"Okay, just tell them not to make trouble." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji was still a little worried, so he went out to take a look. He saw several children gathered under a painting called "Persimmons and Ruyi", discussing what it was.

Yun Ji cleared his throat and said, "That's persimmon." Because there are no persimmons in Fulangji, the Chinese pronunciation of persimmon is used directly.

When several children heard his voice, they turned around and saw Yun Ji. Even the shyest children became a little shy. They knew this Oriental man and knew that he was the owner of the restaurant. This man was very handsome, even more handsome than the Virgin Mary in the church mural.

If Yun Ji knew that the children thought of her like this, she would definitely vomit blood. How could she look like a girl?

A brave child asked, "What is a persimmon?"

"A kind of fruit from China." Yun Ji explained.

"Is it tasty?"

“Delicious, very sweet.”

"What's in that picture? Is it fruit too?"

"Yes, a fruit called loquat."

The children were so curious that they asked about paintings and calligraphy, and were very interested in foreign cultures. Yun Ji was a little overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. Just then a guest came to dinner, and Yun Ji hurried to greet him, and the children let him go.

The customer was recommended by someone else. He heard that the food here is delicious, so he wanted to try it. He ordered a fried fish, a mushroom soup, a baked bun, and a dessert. He ordered the dishes as a side dish, just because the person who recommended it said that the staple food and dessert were especially delicious and not to be missed, so he ordered them all.

While waiting for the food to be served, the customer was also curiously looking at the decoration inside the store. Seeing a few furry children, he couldn't help but ask: "What are you doing here?"

Some of the children were brave enough to reply without fear: "We are here to eat, too."

The guest asked incredulously, "Do you have money to eat?"

“Of course, we can afford egg tarts,” several children said unconvinced.

The customer suddenly realized that he came to buy egg tarts. It seems that the egg tarts here are really delicious.

By the time Min Xi finished cooking the dishes, the egg tarts were almost ready.

Gail served the guests food, and several children saw the egg tarts at a glance and said excitedly: "The egg tarts are ready, we can buy egg tarts!"

Gail served the dishes and said to the guests, "Please enjoy your meal. Those of you who want to buy egg tarts, please line up at the door and come one by one."

Gail brought a plate of egg tarts to the counter and collected money from the children one by one to give the egg tarts. These children also learned to spend in moderation and basically each person bought one, or at most two. After buying the egg tarts, they left happily.

The customer was very surprised to see this scene. He didn't expect that this restaurant still sells food like this: "Does your restaurant still sell egg tarts?"

Gail said, "Sir, our restaurant's main dishes and egg tarts are all takeaway. If you order more than six, we will give you a free wooden box."

Seeing that the egg tarts were so popular, the guests ignored the table etiquette and picked up an egg tart to eat. After taking a bite, the crispy and soft textures were all combined at once. It was fragrant and sweet. It was indeed delicious. They could bring some to their grandchildren.

After finishing the egg tarts, he went to eat the dishes and found that the dishes were also delicious, not inferior to the desserts. The staple food tasted very good as well, and could be eaten alone even without the dishes. It seems that this Chinese restaurant is indeed of high standard.

He was eating when another customer came. From his conversation with the waiter, it was obvious that he was a regular customer from yesterday. This restaurant really had that charm. People who had eaten there once would think about coming back to consume again.

Customers came one after another, and Min Xi was busy in the kitchen. There were not as many customers at noon as at night, so it was relatively friendly to him as a chef. However, as a boss, he naturally hoped to have as many customers as possible, so that he could make more money.

There were still about ten tables of guests at noon, and there was also a table in the private room upstairs.

After the customers left, they cleaned up immediately. The agent brought a man and a woman to interview. The man was very young, no older than 20 years old, and very tall. The woman's real age could not be determined, and she was estimated to be in her 30s or 40s.

Min Xi wiped his hands, sat down on a chair, and began to interview two people.

The broker said the woman was a dishwasher and the man was a handyman.

Although the status of lower-class women in Europe at that time was low, they were allowed to work outside the home. However, the families that allowed women to work outside the home were all extremely poor. Any capable man would not let women earn money to support the family.

The woman who came to the job interview today is called Amanda, a 11-year-old widow. Her husband died of illness, and she raised four children alone, the oldest is 4 years old, and the youngest is only . She looks much older than her actual age, and life has worn her out.

Amanda's attitude was very humble. She said she could do anything and was willing to do anything. She was willing to work even if the salary was low, as long as she could stay. She had four children at home waiting to be fed.

The current situation in European countries is that men and women are paid differently for the same work, and women's wages are lower than men's. However, Min Xi did not lower her salary, saying, "I will still pay you 700 Swiss li a month, start work at o'clock, provide lunch and dinner, and have two days off a month. Working in my store, you will get off work later, and you have to wait until all the customers leave and wash all the dishes before you can leave."

Amanda readily agreed: "No problem, I can go to work now." She was very considerate. When she saw Yunji carrying some dishes, she quickly went over to grab them: "I'll do it, I'll do it!"

She snatched the bowl from Yun Ji's hand. He looked at Min Xi, who smiled and nodded: "Let her do it."

The agent said: "Amanda is very capable, hardworking and honest. It is definitely worthwhile for you to hire her."

The other young man was called Anthony. His eyes wandered when he spoke. His words were beautiful, but his tone was not sincere. He looked like a seasoned man. Sure enough, he said after a few words: "I am a man. You give her 700 riyals a month, and I want 800 a month."

Gail, who was wiping the table, pricked up his ears when he heard this.

Min Xi shook his head: "It was agreed that it was 700 a month. I just didn't reduce her salary, but it doesn't mean I have to increase your salary."

Anthony said, "Can I be a waiter too? I'm best at entertaining guests."

When Gale heard this, he suddenly became unhappy. He stood up and looked over.

Min Xi said: "We already have waiters. Now we just need a kitchen helper to help wash and cut vegetables and watch the fire and add coal."

The broker pulled the young man and said, "Anthony, have you forgotten what you promised me?"

Anthony stopped talking, and Min Si didn't want him anymore, so he said to the agent, "He doesn't want to be a handyman, why don't you help me find someone else to do it. Pick a more down-to-earth young man, and it doesn't matter if he's younger."

The broker said, "If he can do it, let him try. If not, I will find another one for you."

Seeing this, Anthony said reluctantly, "I can do it."

Min Xi glanced at him and said, "Okay, let's try it first. It's a seven-day trial. If it doesn't meet my requirements, I won't buy it."