The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Anthony didn't go to work right away and said he would come tomorrow.

Amanda went to work that day. She washed the dishes and chopsticks thoroughly, cleaned the pots and pans in the kitchen, and cleaned the dining tables upstairs and downstairs and even the window frames outside. She was a woman with a lively eye.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were both very satisfied with her performance.

While Min Xi was taking a nap, Yun Ji was writing and drawing at the table.

Min Xi woke up and saw Yun Ji still sitting at the table writing something. How diligent! He stood up and tiptoed behind Yun Ji. Looking over his shoulder, he found that Yun Ji was not learning Portuguese, but drawing: "What are you drawing?"

Yun Ji was not frightened by him and said, "I was thinking, since we have accepted the Baron's favor and we were invited to cook for his grandfather's birthday, we should give him some gifts. We don't have anything good to show off. The Baron likes the landscape painting I drew for him very much. It happens that I still have a piece of rice paper he gave me last time. I want to draw a birthday picture for his grandfather. What do you think?"

"Sure, that's a pretty good idea! Don't they like oriental things? This is definitely a unique gift, they will definitely like it." Min Xi put his hand on his shoulder, leaned on his back and looked at the sketch on the paper, "Are you going to draw the South Pole Immortal or Magu offering longevity?"

"Let's paint Magu offering longevity. I have painted a picture called 'Magu offering longevity' for my grandmother before. It will be faster to paint it again. Otherwise, this little time will not be enough to conceive it." Yun Ji said.

"Well, thank you for your hard work, Brother Qi." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji pointed to the pen and paper beside him and said, "You should practice calligraphy."

"Okay!" Min Xi also had a task every day, which was to learn a few characters. It was a pity that he was a college student who had studied for more than ten years. In ancient times, he was at least a scholar, but he had to start from "天地玄黄" again. However, there were indeed some things he needed to learn, because he learned simplified Chinese characters. He could understand most of the traditional Chinese characters, but he could not write them.

In Yun Ji's eyes, Min Xi's learning ability was astonishingly strong. He could remember all the words he had learned after writing them twice. This made him more talented than any other person he knew.

This also happened to confirm the statement that Min Xi had a high talent for languages, so it did not arouse Yun Ji's suspicion. He just lamented that such a good talent was wasted. If he had started learning since childhood, he would probably have won the top three places in the imperial examination by now.

Yun Ji once even mentioned: "When we return to the Ming Dynasty, I will send my ninth brother to a private school. If he works hard for a few years, he should be able to pass the examination and become a scholar. Maybe by the time he is forty, he can even pass the examination and become a Jinshi."

Min Xi was shocked by this and quickly refused: "Seventh brother, please don't make fun of me. I just have a good memory and can remember things quickly. Scholars and juren cannot be achieved by just memorizing books. My biggest wish in this life is to be able to support myself. I have learned to read and count from you, and I will be able to calculate and understand accounts in the future when doing business. That's enough. I don't dare to hope for anything else."

He didn't want to take the examination to become a scholar. He studied science and engineering, and writing was not his strong point. Asking him to write eight-legged essays would be like asking him to die.

Yun Ji said, "Well, studying is hard work, and you now have the ability to make a living, so you don't have to study to have a future. The status of merchants in our dynasty is not low nowadays, so it's not a bad idea to go back and buy some land and become a free landlord and merchant."

This is true. With the development of social productivity, the status of merchants in the middle and late Ming Dynasty was much better than that in previous dynasties and the early period of this dynasty. Their social status was also greatly improved. The children of merchants were able to take the imperial examinations and serve as officials in the court. There were even officials in the court who were engaged in business.

Min Xi was a person with a modern mind. Naturally, he had no aversion to doing business and thought it was not shameful to make money with his own hands.

After practicing calligraphy for a while, Min Xi got up and went downstairs to work. He could make the main course and dessert first. Desserts were especially popular, and many customers would take a box away after dinner. In addition to egg tarts, he also had to make a few more desserts.

Bake some small cakes. Small cakes are easier to make than egg tarts, and the fluffy and soft chiffon cakes should also be very popular.

These pastry molds are all pottery, customized by Min Xi and pottery craftsmen. They come in all sizes and are very convenient for making pastries.

Min Xi tried making a small cake today and it was also very successful. After Yun Ji ate it, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Where is this made? I have never eaten it before."

Min Xi lied to him: "It's the way it's made in Yingtian Prefecture." This is a Western-style pastry, and no one in Yingtian Prefecture knows how to make it. Yun Ji probably wouldn't go looking for someone to verify it.

Min Xi also knows how to make some Chinese pastries, but the raw materials are scarce and not as convenient as Western pastries. It just so happens that he is in Europe, so making Western pastries is perfect for him.

Just after five o'clock, guests came to eat, and they brought their families with them. Judging from the situation, there will definitely be a lot of people coming tonight.

As expected, before Min Xi finished cooking the first table of dishes, the second table of guests arrived. They didn't have time to eat yet, so they could only eat some buns to fill their stomachs and eat after they were done.

As a result, there were so many customers that night that they cooked all the dishes they bought today. The last customers couldn't order dishes, so they could only make whatever ingredients were left. The staple food and desserts were also sold out. Min Xi had to cook noodles for the guests, and the guests thought they were delicious.

When Baron Fernando arrived, it was almost nine o'clock. He had been attending a banquet at someone else's house. When he came out, he felt hungry, as if he had not eaten anything, so he went straight to the Chinese restaurant. When he arrived, Min Xi was cooking noodles in the kitchen.

This time the noodles were not cooked for the guests, but for them to eat themselves. They started working at five o'clock and did not have lunch until nine o'clock. In the middle, everyone only had two meat buns.

On Amanda's first day at work, she worked hard and helped Min Xi a lot, doing everything from washing and cutting vegetables. Min Xi even wanted to change his mind and asked her to cook for him and find someone else to wash the dishes.

But the guy named Anthony will be here tomorrow, let’s see how he performs first.

Fernando pushed open the half-open door and came in: "It's all closed, already closed?"

Yun Ji was counting the bills behind the counter. He looked up when he heard this: "Yes, Your Excellency the Baron, we are closed. You are here so late, are you going to eat?"

"Yes, is there anything to eat?" said Fernando.

Yunji said, "All the vegetables we bought today are sold out. Min is cooking noodles and we haven't had dinner yet."

Fernando raised his eyebrows and said, "Business is good. I'll go tell him to make a bowl for me too." Then he walked towards the kitchen.

When Min Xi learned that Fernando also wanted to eat noodles, he said, "There aren't many dishes, just simple noodles with a fried egg."

"No problem, I'll eat whatever's available," said Fernando.

Soon, Min Xi cooked the noodles, and the only things to go with them were scallion oil and fried eggs.

Fernando took a bite of the scallion oil noodles and raised his eyebrows in surprise. The plain-looking noodles were surprisingly fragrant: "Min, what's in this? It tastes great."

Min Xi said, "Scallion oil."

"You are such a genius!" Fernando exclaimed. He suddenly discovered something else and asked in amazement, "What are you holding in your hands?"

Min Xi looked at the chopsticks in his and Yun Ji's hands and said, "Chopsticks."

"Is this the utensil you Chinese use to eat?" Fernando asked curiously.

"Yes, these are the chopsticks we have been using since we were young," said Min Xi.

Fernando asked, "Why don't you use a knife and fork?"

Min Xi said, "It's not convenient. Our ancestors probably used knives and forks two or three thousand years ago, but they found it inconvenient, so they switched to chopsticks. I'll give you a pair so you can practice. In the future, you will have no problem eating noodles, vegetables or beans. It will be convenient for you to eat whatever you want."

Fernando said, "What about soup?"

"We also have spoons for drinking soup." Min Xi said with a smile.

"Okay, give me a pair so I can practice," said Fernando.

Min Xi washed a pair of chopsticks for him and demonstrated how to use them. Fernando picked up the chopsticks and started practicing, but found that he couldn't pick up anything at all.

Min Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, practice slowly. Our Chinese children start practicing when they are two or three years old, and it won't take long for them to be very proficient in using it."

Fernando refused to give up and decided to practice using chopsticks.

On her first day at work, Amanda made up her mind to work hard here, because the boss was kind, the salary was high, the food was good and she ate with the boss. She had never eaten food made with wheat flour in her life, but she didn't expect to eat it here, not only crab meat buns, but also egg noodles.

Amanda started to cry while eating. She wished the children could have some too.

Min Xi inadvertently saw Amanda turning her face away and quietly wiping tears, and couldn't help asking: "Amanda, what's the problem?"

Amanda looked up in panic, "No, no, sir, I just miss the kids a little."

Min Xi said, "You can go back after you have dinner. If you have any difficulties, I can give you an advance on your salary."

Amanda looked at Min Xi in surprise, and then tears flowed.

Min Xi found that she was crying even more sadly: "Did I, did I say something wrong?"

Amanda hurriedly wiped away her tears: "No, no, sir, you are so kind, I am just so touched."

"It's okay. If you come to work in my shop, you are my employee. I will try my best to help you if you have any difficulties. As long as you do your job well, we will not treat you unfairly." Min Xi said.

Amanda sobbed and said, "Thank you, sir. I will do my best."

Fernando saw this scene and said nothing.