The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi and Yun Ji took Zhao Shizhen to a teahouse, ordered tea and snacks, and asked the runner to go to the nearby breakfast shop to buy various breakfasts and fill the table with them.

Seeing this, Zhao Shizhen hurriedly said, "It's too expensive!" He hadn't had such a luxurious breakfast for a long time.

Min Xi said, "We don't usually eat like this, because we usually have breakfast at home. It's rare for us to go out for a meal, so we might as well try them all. Seventh brother, did you also buy soy milk?"

Yun Ji nodded: "Do you want to try it?"

Min Xi had heard people describe the taste of soy milk, but had never had the courage to try it. After hearing what he said, he said, "Let me try it." He leaned over and took a sip. The taste almost made him vomit. However, he had been on a boat and eaten worse food, so he swallowed the soy milk. It tasted a bit like spoiled food, with a sour and smelly taste.

"I'm not used to it. I won't drink it anymore. You drink it." He pushed the bowl of soy milk he had drunk towards Yun Ji.

Yun Ji naturally took a sip from the bowl he had drunk from and swallowed it without changing his expression.

Min Xi looked at his expression and asked, "Don't you think it's unpalatable?"

“It’s actually okay once you’re used to it,” Yun Ji said.

Zhao Shizhen was eating breakfast, watching the two of them drinking a bowl of bean juice as if no one was around, and suddenly realized something, but he just glanced at the two of them, without showing any emotion. After all, in the capital, in the Imperial College, what strange things have you not seen? Two men, it's nothing strange.

Min Xi ate a piece of fried dough to relieve the bad taste in his mouth, and then said to Zhao Shizhen: "Yesterday I went to the palace to see the emperor and presented the calligraphy you wrote for us to his majesty. His majesty liked your calligraphy very much and said that after the palace examination is over, you can go to the palace with us to see him."

Zhao Shizhen listened to Min Xi talking about such an important matter in a normal tone without even pausing, and he was so shocked that the teacup in his hand fell over, spilling tea all over the table.

Min Xi and Yun Ji calmly called the waiter to wipe the tea off the table.

Zhao Shizhen watched nervously, and after the waiter left, he asked uncertainly, "Just now, Brother Min said that he would take me to the palace to meet the emperor?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes. Perform well in the palace, and maybe His Majesty will assign you a job."

Zhao Shizhen took a deep breath, trying not to lose his composure. He stood up and bowed deeply to Min Xi and Yun Ji: "Thank you so much for your promotion. I never thought I would have the chance to see you again."

Min Xi said: "I have seen the small ornaments in your room, and I know that you are a man of great ambition. You have great talent and should not be buried. We also want to discover talents for the court."

"Those were just things I did for fun. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, brother," said Zhao Shizhen.

"No, compared to me, I think your hands-on ability is much stronger. I also have a lot of ideas and draw a lot of pictures, but none of them can be turned into reality. After seeing the little gadgets made by your brother, I really feel ashamed and I have to learn from you." Min Xi shook his head.

Zhao Shizhen's eyes lit up: "Brother Min, do you also like to make small things? We can exchange ideas with each other."

Min Xi said: "Those are not small things, but big things. I really need to find someone to make them real. If you are interested, we can do it together."

"Great! What has Brother Min done?" Zhao Shizhen was very interested as he rarely found someone with the same interests as him.

Yun Ji listened to them discussing design and crafts, and knowing that he could not get a word in, he just drank his tea and ate quietly, refilling their tea from time to time.

Min Xi and Zhao Shizhen had a very good chat, and finally the topic turned to muskets: "I saw that among the things my brother made, there seemed to be muskets."

"Yes. When I was in my hometown, I saw those soldiers who fought against the Japanese invaders using muskets. I thought it was very interesting and always wanted to study it. Unfortunately, I could only look at it but never touched it. After coming to the capital, I often saw people from the Shenjiying carrying muskets. I also looked at them up close, but still didn't have a chance to use them. To be honest, I really want to take it apart to see how it was made." Zhao Shizhen is definitely a natural military enthusiast. His eyes light up when he talks about firearms.

Min Xi looked at Yun Ji and smiled, "We are fortunate enough to have used muskets and cannons."

"Really? Is it used on the Fulangji? I know that all the merchant ships over there are equipped with muskets and cannons." Zhao Shizhen knew a lot about ships.

"Yes. I know the detailed structure and can draw it. Come to my house later and I will draw it for you," said Min Xi.

"Okay. It would be nice if I could see the real thing with my own eyes." Zhao Shizhen said.

Min Xi and Yun Ji naturally kept the spring-wheel shotgun and the short musket, but these were contraband items and were not allowed to be kept privately, so they could not be openly mentioned outside. When Zhao Shizhen came home, perhaps they could show them to him. If Zhao Shizhen modified the spring-wheel shotgun and the short musket, perhaps their performance could be improved.

After breakfast, Zhao Shizhen, who didn't drink any alcohol, looked like he was drunk. His face was flushed with excitement and he was gesticulating as he walked. It was obvious that he was too excited.

Before leaving, Min Xi called Zhao Shizhen and said, "My dear brother, when you go back, write a few pieces of calligraphy, both large and small, and bring them to the palace when the time comes."

"Okay, I'll remember it! Thank you Brother Min for your advice." Zhao Shizhen bowed again to express his gratitude.

Yun Ji asked, "Brother Zhao, do you have enough money? Do you need me to lend you some money?"

Zhao Shizhen hesitated for a moment and said, "It's OK. I can handle it."

Seeing this, Min Xi took the purse from Yun Ji's waist, took out two ingots of silver from it, and threw them to Zhao Shizhen: "Take this and spend it."

Zhao Shizhen took the two ingots of silver in a panic: "This is too much!"

"Use it first. I will need your help in many areas later. After my seventh brother passes the palace examination, I will come to you to make something for him." Min Xi said.

"Okay, then I'll borrow this silver first. Thank you, two brothers!" Zhao Shizhen clasped his fists again to express his gratitude.

On the way back, Yun Ji said, "I'm a little envious of Zhao Shizhen."

Min Xi smiled and asked, "Why?"

"He can actually chat with you so well. I can't even get a word in." Yun Ji sighed.

Min Xi laughed: "What's there to envy? This is probably the only topic that tech geeks can talk about."

"What is a tech geek?" Yun Ji asked.

“I just like working with technology, but I don’t like dealing with people.”

"Don't you like dealing with people?" Yun Ji asked.

"It's not that I don't like dealing with people, I'm talking about Zhao Shizhen. The only thing he and I can communicate about is technical issues, but there are so many things I can talk about with you: ancient and modern times, China and the West, astronomy and geography, poetry and songs, food and clothing, and even feelings, hehe." Min Xi couldn't help laughing when he said this.

Yun Ji also laughed. Yes, they could talk about anything and there was really nothing to envy.

The palace examination was on March 15th, about half a month after the results were announced. Yun Ji needed to prepare for the palace examination during this period, so he rarely went out. Min Xi completely let himself go, stopped reading, bought a set of carpenter's tools, and started tinkering with models at home.

Of course, his carpentry skills are still far from enough to make models, and now it can only be regarded as the training stage. If Zhao Shizhen does it, it will definitely be different, so Min Xi is looking forward to working with Zhao Shizhen.

Soon it was time for the palace examination, which lasted only one day and was held in the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the palace. It would be held outdoors on sunny days, but would be moved inside the palace if it was rainy or windy.

The weather was very good on the day when Yunji and his classmates took the exam. It was sunny and windy. It was mid-March and Beijing was not that cold. Although it was a little windy, it was still gentle and pleasant.

Three hundred candidates lined up in front of the hall, and the scale was not small. Wanli personally sat in the hall, drawing questions for the candidates and accompanying them in the examination. He scanned the whole place from a distance, and he recognized Yun Ji among the three hundred people very quickly. There was nothing he could do, he was young and looked too outstanding, he really stood out from the crowd, too eye-catching.