The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi and Zhao Shizhen visited blacksmith shops in the capital separately, bought the best steel tools from each shop, and then brought them back for hardness and toughness tests.

The person who did the test was naturally Yun Ji, because he was the only one who could swing the heavy hammer to smash the fine steel. Moreover, the fragments ejected when the equipment broke were too dangerous, and Min Xi and others could not avoid them.

After careful selection, they finally chose a blacksmith shop in the south of the city to make bicycles. Min Xi put forward his requirements to the other party, gave the drawings and dimensions, showed the model to the other party, and asked the other party to sign a confidentiality agreement, not to disclose his plan to others, not to make it privately, otherwise he would have to pay a huge compensation.

Although the conditions were harsh, Min Xi offered generous compensation and promised that if they were successful, he would do more for them in the future.

Because it was his first time, Min Xi did not dare to be careless and went to the blacksmith shop to supervise almost every day. In order to save costs, the triangular bar of the bicycle was made of iron pipes, which required the iron sheet to have good ductility, which seemed to be easy to achieve. Although it was not as light as alloy, it also made the bicycle as light as possible. Solid iron bars were too heavy and expensive.

The tires were a problem, because there was no rubber, so we had to use wood as wheels like a horse-drawn carriage. Wooden wheels were not as light and flexible as rubber tires, but under these conditions, there was no choice.

The most difficult part was the chain. Min Xi and Zhao Shizhen thought of many ways before they solved the problem of the mold.

This purely handmade bicycle took three months to make from the prototype to the first finished product, with many modifications and problems to be solved. The total cost was nearly twenty taels of silver.

This bicycle was very clumsy and different from the bicycles that Min Xi had imagined. It looked clumsy and ugly, but Min Xi was very happy. He specially picked a day off to let Yun Ji and Yun Lin come to witness the first bicycle they made.

Yun Ji looked at the clumsy and ugly two-wheeled vehicle and still found it hard to believe: "Can this thing really run?"

"Of course!" Min Xi patted the handlebars proudly, "I'll ride it for you to see."

Min Xi pushed the bike, slid on the pedals for a while, then got on and strolled slowly in the yard.

Yun Ji stared with wide eyes, he didn't expect that he could really ride it. Yun Lin clapped happily: "Second brother is awesome!"

Min Xi felt that it was a bit sluggish to pedal at first, not as flexible as the bikes he rode in his time. After all, this bike was put together with great difficulty, and it was the first bike built entirely by hand, not as neat as industrial products. But fortunately, it still played its due role and could run, but it certainly could not go fast.

Min Xi walked around the yard, then returned to Yun Ji and Yun Lin, and supported himself by tapping the ground with his feet: "How is it? I didn't lie to you!"

Yun Ji nodded: "It's a real bicycle. It doesn't need to eat grass, it can move just by pedaling, and it's quite fast, much more cost-effective than raising horses. The cost is just the price of an inferior horse. I just don't know how long it can last."

Min Xi said: "If it is well maintained, the service life will not be less than ten years."

"That's really good, a good deal." Yun Ji said, "Let me ride it."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Wait a moment. Carry Lin'er onto the bike and I'll take him for a ride first. Put him on the crossbar." He patted the crossbar of the bicycle.

When Yunlin heard that he was going to be taken out to play, he was very excited: "Okay, okay!"

Yun Ji picked him up and put him on the beam. Yun Lin excitedly grabbed the handlebars and shouted excitedly under Min Xi's guidance: "Oh - oh - it's so fun! It's just like riding a horse, but more stable than riding a horse."

Yunlin is nine years old. He has been exercising with Yunji in recent years and has become much stronger. This year, Yunji began to teach him riding and archery, and also bought him a short Mongolian horse.

"Right! A bicycle is more stable than a horse. I will make you a small bicycle later, and you can ride it to school by yourself." Min Xi said.

"Really? You want to make a small car for me? Then when I ride the bike to my grandparents' house, there will definitely be a lot of people watching me." Yun Lin felt happy just thinking about it.

"Haha, let everyone come and watch. You are the most handsome guy in the whole capital." Min Xi laughed.

Min Xi took Yun Lin for a walk and came back, stopping beside Yun Ji. Yun Ji picked Yun Lin up and said, "Let me try."

Min Xi got off the bike and handed it to Yun Ji: "Try to ride it by yourself. I don't think I need to hold you up, and you won't fall." Not to mention that he is agile and quick to react, it would not be easy for him to fall just by looking at his long legs.

Yun Ji followed Min Xi's example and sat on the bike, then stepped on the pedals and started riding. However, the bike did not move forward steadily like Min Xi did, but began to fall to one side. He stretched out a foot and touched the ground to stop the fall.

Min Xi said: "Just give it a try, don't be too anxious."

Yun Ji nodded, and this time he used one foot to support the ground and the other foot to step on the pedal, slowly sliding forward. After sliding for a while, he pulled the other foot up and rode steadily. He learned so quickly that Min Xi was shocked: "You learn too fast!"

Yun Ji even turned back and raised his eyebrows proudly.

Yun Ji rode back after a circle, propped himself up with his feet, and said, "Not bad! This bicycle is great. If we make more and sell them for tens or hundreds of taels of silver, I'm sure many dignitaries in the capital will buy them."

Min Xi smiled and nodded: "Yes, we can make them and sell them. It will also be a good opportunity to give Chang Ji some dividends to thank him for helping me for so long."

"Hasn't he seen the finished product yet?" Yun Ji asked.

"I've seen it, but I haven't ridden it. I said I'd come back to learn how to ride it." This was naturally Min Xi's excuse. Why would he need to learn how to ride a bike? "I'll ride my bike to him right now and let him see how amazing the bikes we make are."

Yun Ji smiled and said, "Go ahead. I'll go with you."

Yunlin shouted, "I want to go too!"

Min Xi said, "Okay. Then you guys take the carriage and I'll ride the bike, and let's see who's faster."

"it is good!"

Min Xi rode his bike out of the yard, but soon discovered the disadvantages of the big mansion. There were too many thresholds, and he had to stop at each threshold to carry the bike out. It seems that it would be more convenient to put it in the front yard in the future.

After they went out, Yun Ji asked someone to arrange the carriage, while Min Xi carried the carriage out and set off.

Yun Ji said: "A horse-drawn carriage needs to be harnessed, but a bicycle can be carried out and traveled, which saves more time."

The horse-drawn carriage set off, and Min Xi rode along on a bicycle. Their starting speeds seemed to be about the same, but soon the bicycle's lightness was revealed, and it easily surpassed the horse-drawn carriage. After all, the speed of a carriage is related to the speed of the horse. Under normal circumstances, unless it is driven in a hurry, the speed of the carriage is neither fast nor slow. Moreover, horses cannot gallop in the city, so the speed is limited.

Bicycles, on the other hand, are not restricted and are flexible and light. When they came out of the alley of their house and onto the street, this strange bicycle attracted the attention of people on the street. They saw Min Xi riding on a strange object consisting of two front and rear wheels, and his speed was not slow, and he was even faster than a horse-drawn carriage. What kind of monster was he riding?

Many people wanted to see what this thing was, so they chased after it to see what it was.

Min Xi did not stop either. He continued to ride forward. As a result, the people in front of him also discovered this strange bike. Soon, they were attacked from both sides by people on the street and were surrounded.