The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

It would take at least twenty days to go to Longjiang Shipyard to watch the new ship being launched, and Yunji really couldn't take so much time off.

Although the Hanlin Academy was not an important government office, it was very close to the emperor. All the imperial edicts, memorials, imperial decrees and other documents were drafted by the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy also gave lessons to the emperor and taught him classics and history.

So Yun Ji couldn't go with them to Longjiang Shipyard this time. It's not like they haven't been apart before. Min Xi went back to take the county and provincial examinations, and they were apart for a longer time. But this time is different. This time they are going to see the new ship. Yun Ji personally delivered the ship to the shipyard. Now that the new ship is finally built, it means that their efforts have paid off. How can they not want to witness this exciting moment with their own eyes?

Min Xi advised Yun Ji: "Why don't you ask for leave from the Imperial Academy? Tell them about the situation, they will understand. If it really doesn't work, ask for leave from His Majesty."

Yun Ji pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head: "Forget it, I won't be in the limelight. As a person, especially as an official, you should keep a low profile."

Min Xi thought about it and felt that it was true. The officialdom was extremely dangerous. The Hanlin Academy was not a hopeless government office like their Honglu Temple. It could directly reach the emperor's ears and could even be in charge of the cabinet in the future. The competition was fierce. If you showed off too much, you would be easily tripped up by others in secret. "Well, I'll go and check it out for you."

It was much easier for Min Xi to ask for leave. He had nothing to do in the yamen anyway. Even if he needed to compile some books on the four barbarians, he would not be needed. He was really an idle person.

Min Xi personally baked some snacks and brought them to the Honglu Temple, delivering them to his colleagues in the yamen one by one.

There were dozens of people in the entire Honglu Temple, but there were only five people with higher positions than Min Xi. Together with those at the same level, as well as the two secretaries, Master of Ceremonies and Master of Guests, there were only about ten people in total, and everyone got along well.

Although Min Xi did not go out to drink and listen to music with everyone on weekdays, he also ate together. For example, when he joined the company or on his birthday, he would invite everyone to eat at Yunxiang Restaurant. In addition, other colleagues in the Honglu Temple could also enjoy a 20% discount when they went to Yunxiang Restaurant to treat others to a meal.

This was a big discount for the officials of the Honglu Temple. After all, there was really not much money to be made in such a low-paying government office. Although there were some wealthy idlers who just wanted to get by, most of them were appointed by the court through the imperial examination and were not very rich. The discount at Yunxiang Restaurant could save them both face and money, so everyone liked Min Xi, who was a good person.

When everyone saw the food he brought today, they were a little surprised and said, "Master Min, what good thing is going on today? You're giving us snacks. It's such a waste of money."

Min Xi smiled and said, "This is not bought, I made it myself. Please taste my cooking skills."

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites looked at Min Xi, then at the snacks in the box: "Do you have this ability?"

Min Xi said: "To be honest, when we were stranded in Fulangji, we made a living by running a restaurant. These snacks are made by the methods we learned from the locals."

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites was surprised and asked, "You actually opened a restaurant in Fulangji?"

Min Xi nodded: "That's right."

The Minister of the Honglu Temple picked up a puff and took a bite. He was immediately surprised: "Your puff is more delicious than the one in Yunxiang West Shop."

"Because the master of the west shop was also taught by me." Min Xi smiled.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites put down the puffs and clasped his fists: "So the real master is here. I'm so sorry! You gave me this snack, I'm afraid you have something to tell me, right?"

The Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple said with a smile, "Needless to say, you must have something to ask for."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Nothing can be hidden from the adults. It's like this. When we came back from Fulangji, we bought a galleon and presented it to the Ming Navy. We sent it to the Longjiang Shipyard for the shipbuilders to imitate it. Finally--"

"Wait, I've heard about this. Were you the one who donated the ship back then?" The Minister of the Ministry of Rites knew that Min Xi was appointed by the emperor to the Ministry of Rites because he was proficient in many European languages, but he did not connect him with the donation of the ship. Now that he thinks about it, it makes sense. Apart from people who have been to Europe, who else would have the opportunity to buy a galleon?

"This is presented by me and my brother. My lord, the Longjiang Shipyard has built a replica of the galleon, which will be launched for sea trials next month. We brought the ship back, so I want to witness this important moment. I have come to ask for leave, my lord. Please grant me permission." Min Xi said as he bowed to the Minister of the Honglu Temple.

The Minister of the Honglu Temple looked at Min Xi. This kid had just come to the government office and he had already learned to slack off and leave early. At first he thought it was because he had a strong backstage, but he didn't expect that he had so many sides. It seemed that he was indeed a strange man. He thought for a while and asked, "You are going to Yingtian Prefecture. How long will it take to go there and back?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "It will take about 20 days. So I will ask for a month's leave from you, sir. I will not receive this month's salary, and I will distribute it to my colleagues in the government office. If there is any official business that I missed, you can assign more work to me next time."

Recently, apart from a few Korean and Japanese students coming to the government office to handle some matters, there really wasn't much official business. The Minister of the Honglu Temple said, "Well, you should tell the other chief clerks about it, so that your official business won't be left unattended."

Min Xi bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your consideration, sir!"

Min Xi turned around and clasped his fists towards his other colleagues: "Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

The other clerks ate snacks and said, "Master Min, just go ahead. We will take care of the things here."

A colleague asked curiously: "Are you really the one who donated the boat? How much did you pay for the boat?"

Min Xi said vaguely: "It's not cheap, but it's not particularly expensive either."

"That must be at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Lord Min, you are really rich!" A colleague patted him on the shoulder.

Min Xi said: "In fact, the one who paid the most is my brother-in-law, he is the owner of Yunxiang."

When it comes to Yunxiang, everyone will understand. After all, who in Beijing doesn’t know about Yunxiang?

A chief clerk said, "Master Min, just go and rest assured. I will do all the work assigned to you by the government this month."

"Thank you, Lord Wang!" Min Xi thanked him.

The chief clerk Wang laughed and said, "You made a really good snack. When you come back from Yingtian Prefecture, please make me another box."

Another colleague laughed and said, "Master Wang, you are so cunning that you have spared a box of snacks. Anyone who sees it gets a share. We want some too."

Min Xi laughed and said, "No problem, I'll treat everyone to a meal when I come back. Of course, snacks are also a must!"

This is probably the advantage of a clean government. There is not much conflict of interest among everyone, so the interpersonal relationships are simple, and colleagues usually have harmonious relationships and laugh and joke around.

Yun Ji was very envious and happy for Min Xi when he learned that he had successfully applied for leave. Min Xi did not have much future in the Honglu Temple, but at least he had no pressure there and got along well with his colleagues. At least he was happy, which was good. A family did not need two people to bear the pressure.

Min Xi quickly packed his luggage and brought some gifts to the elders of the clan. He couldn't just go home after traveling thousands of miles. After all, he was now an eighth-rank official, and an official was still an official. He also had to send some money back. He promised to help the clan run a school.

The Ministry of War was originally going to send another official to the shipyard, but the assigned official did not want to leave Beijing. In addition, Zhao Shizhen took the initiative to ask to go to watch the ceremony, so the Ministry of War assigned the task to him.

On the day of departure, Yunji had to go to the government office and Yunlin had to go to school. They got up early in the morning, had breakfast, and sent Minxi to the dock to take the boat, but they couldn't wait until the boat left. After sending Minxi, Yunji reminded him: "Be careful on the road, carry a musket and a dagger with you for self-defense. Write to me before you come back so that I can pick you up."

"Can you still come to pick me up?" Min Xi looked at him with a smile.

Yun Ji said, "Even if I can't come, I will send someone to pick you up. Try to come back as soon as possible."

Yunlin also said, "Second brother, come back earlier. I won't be used to you not being at home, and my eldest brother won't be used to it either." The child is growing older and has become sensible. He is precocious and knows what's going on with his eldest and second brothers, but he accepts it very well. On the contrary, if a sister-in-law comes back, he might not be able to accept it.

Min Xi patted his head and said, "I know. Try to come back as early as possible. You also have to be good, eat well, and exercise well."

Yunlin smiled and said, "Second brother, why aren't you worried about my studies?"

"I'm not worried. If you want to study, you can study more. If you don't want to study, you can do business. If you don't want to do business, it's also good to be a rich and idle person." Min Xi said.

Yun Lin wrinkled his nose: "Second brother, you have very low expectations of me."

Min Xi smiled and said, "We have a mine at home, so as long as you live happily, that's all. Don't do evil, don't be unkind because of your wealth, this is the bottom line I ask of you."

"This is too easy to do." Yun Lin said.

Yun Ji looked at the two of them with a smile. Min Xi's ideas were always different from others. Who doesn't want their children to succeed? But he was different. Yun Lin was obviously very talented, but he didn't ask for anything at all.

The key is that he himself feels that Min Xi's idea is correct. With their family's current conditions, Yun Lin really doesn't need to do anything deliberately. As for the family business, Min Xi said that if Yun Lin is not interested, he can just find someone who can manage it to help manage it. It is better than messing around and squandering the family fortune.

Yun Ji said, "Okay, hurry up and get on the boat. We have to go and report to the government office."

Min Xi waved his hand: "You guys go, I'll wait for Chang Ji."

Yun Ji took his brother into the carriage and left, not forgetting to look back again and again.

Captain Reis also went with Min Xi, and he was going south to Quanzhou again. Min Xi and Yun Ji asked him to write a letter in Portuguese to Baron Fernando on their behalf, comforting the baron and saying that if he didn't want to stay in Portugal, he could follow Reis to Ming Dynasty.

Of course, this was just a polite invitation. The Baron had a large family and wealth, so there was no way he would give up his huge fortune and come to settle in Ming Dynasty.

Zhao Shizhen arrived later than them. In addition to him, the head of the Arsenal, the Ministry of War also sent several subordinates to follow him. Otherwise, it would have seemed too shabby for the Ministry of War to go to the ceremony alone.

They were all on grain ships. After all, the grain ships were under the control of the imperial court, and it was their job to transport people and goods for the government.

Min Xi and Lei Si were used to boats, so they naturally had no reaction after getting on the boat. Zhao Shizhen was from the south and was also used to boats, but several of his colleagues vomited bile after getting on the boat. They were all from the north and had never traveled far on a boat, so they were seasick. When they were vomiting, they thought of the person in charge who refused to go to the shipyard, and then they understood why he refused. It turned out that he was afraid of seasickness.

Zhao Shizhen was very curious about Leis and asked him about many things. Leis's Chinese was a bit stiff, but he could still communicate with him. The journey was not boring at all.

Min Xi was not idle either. He found the feeling of going out to sea again and took the initiative to cook for everyone. Of course, it was mainly because the cooks on the boat were too rough and the food was not to their taste. Everyone on the boat enjoyed the feast.

Time passed quickly, and a few days later, they arrived in Zhenjiang. After arriving in Zhenjiang, Reis separated from them and went down the Yangtze River, while Min Xi and others went upstream and took a boat directly to the Longjiang Shipyard.

When they arrived, the new ship had not yet been launched and the final finishing touches were being done.

Yu Liang, the director of the Ministry of Industry, has not left his post yet and is still in charge of the construction of Longjiang Shipyard. He received them, and when he heard that Min Xi was the other person who donated the ship, his attitude instantly became enthusiastic: "Are you Yun Ji's sworn brother Min Xi? I have heard of your name for a long time! I didn't expect to meet you one day!"

"I heard from my brother-in-law that you are proficient in building ships. He was right. You actually built a galleon." Min Xi said with a smile.

"Shame on you! It took us several years to build the galleon, but I hope you will be satisfied with the new ship. We have made some improvements on the original one."

"I believe Lord Yu has definitely optimized the function of the galleon. I am looking forward to the appearance of the new ship." Min Xi was indeed very much looking forward to the new ship.

Yu Liang said: "It is getting late today. I will arrange for the adults to settle down first, and then accompany them to visit the ship tomorrow."

"Okay!" said Zhao Shizhen.

At night they stayed in an inn outside the shipyard. Yu Liang led several shipyard executives to have dinner with the officials from the capital. At the dinner table, they talked about the process of making new ships in recent years. Although there was a model, they encountered many difficulties and how they tried to overcome them one by one.

In fact, the biggest difficulty was the funding issue. The amount of money allocated by the court to the navy each year was limited, and building a galleon required a lot of money. Due to the lack of money, the project was delayed until now.

Min Xi was deeply moved after hearing this. He had never expected that the Ming treasury was so empty that even the military expenditure had been reduced to such an extent. It was a good thing that there was no major war, otherwise how could the Ming Dynasty, with its empty shell, cope with it.

It seems that the implementation of the Single Whip Law is imminent. Without money in the treasury, even if there are thousands of ambitions, they cannot be implemented. How can we build a powerful new navy without money?

Even Min Xi's idea of ​​using the navy to escort the ships out to sea requires financial support. If the imperial court has no money, it probably will not agree to send the navy to support them. They have to find a way themselves.