The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Returning to the capital from Yingtianfu, Min Xi felt a sense of being back home and relaxed completely. It was not only because of the cool weather in Beijing, but also because of the freedom and relaxation that came from deep in his heart. Unconsciously, he had already regarded Beijing as his home.

As soon as Min Xi got off the boat, he heard someone calling him, "Master Min, you're back. The carriage has been waiting for you for a long time, please get in."

Min Xi looked over and saw Tao Sheng. He asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"My cousin said that you should be back in the next two days, and he asked me to pick you up at the dock." Tao Sheng reached out and helped Min Xi get off the boat.

"Seventh brother, you are such a fool. I can just call a carriage to go back by myself. Why did you come here to wait for me? How many days have you been waiting?" Min Xi asked.

"It didn't take long, we just waited for two days." Tao Sheng helped Tao Xing take the luggage.

Min Xi stood on the dock and said to Zhao Shizhen, "Chang Ji, get in our car and I'll take you back."

Zhao Shizhen smiled and said, "Forget it. It's not on the way. I can just call a carriage to go back."

"What does it matter? After I get home, I will ask the driver to take you back." Min Xi signaled Tao Xing and Tao Wang to help Zhao Shizhen carry the luggage.

The two men were also very considerate and quickly took the initiative to move Zhao Shizhen's luggage to their own carriage. Zhao Shizhen had no choice but to say goodbye to his colleagues in the Ministry of War and said they would see each other again when he returned to the yamen tomorrow.

After Min Xi got home, he asked the coachman to take Zhao Shizhen home.

He quickly took a shower and changed his clothes to wash away the dust and fatigue on his body. After washing, before his hair was dry, he was so sleepy that he dozed off on the chaise longue.

When Yun Ji came back, he saw Min Xi sleeping on the chaise longue, covered with a thin quilt. Tao Xing came to bring him walnut curd and found that he was asleep, so he covered him with the quilt.

Yun Ji looked the man up and down and found that he was safe and sound. He then felt relieved and picked up Min Xi's arm and stuffed it into the quilt. He touched his hair and found it was still wet. He couldn't help but shake his head slightly and went to sleep with wet hair without worrying about a headache.

Yun Ji picked up the handkerchief and did not disturb Min Xi's sleep. Instead, he squatted beside him and gently wiped his hair.

Yunlin ran in with Bawang from outside and shouted excitedly from a distance: "Second brother, second brother——"

At this moment, Yun Ji suddenly stood up and opened the door: "Shh——" and made a gesture to keep quiet.

Yun Lin saw his eldest brother's actions and quickly swallowed what he wanted to say. He ran to the door and asked in a low voice, "Where's my second brother?"

Yun Ji raised his chin towards the house and said, "He fell asleep. Take the little bully to play somewhere else first, let him rest for a while, and we will have dinner together later."

Yunlin nodded and tiptoed away with Ba Wang.

Yun Ji turned around and prepared to continue to help Min Xi wipe his hair, but he met a pair of clear eyes. Min Xi grinned at him, and Yun Ji walked over: "Did I wake you up?"

Min Xi yawned: "Actually, I woke up when you were drying my hair."

Yun Ji walked over, Min Xi raised his hand and stretched it out to him. Yun Ji walked over, pulled him up and sat him down, then sat down next to Min Xi and said to him, "Lie down, I'll help you dry your hair."

Min Xi lay down on his lap as he said.

As Yunji wiped his hair, he said, "Don't go to bed with your hair wet. You'll get a headache and get sick."

Min Xi yawned sleepily: "I also want to dry my hair before going to sleep, but this towel doesn't absorb water well, and there's no hair dryer, so my hair won't dry in a short time, it's so troublesome."

"Don't try to save trouble. If you can't wipe it clean, just ask someone to help you." Yun Ji said.

"Tao Xing and the others are clumsy, I don't want them to help me dry my hair."

"Then wait until I come back to wash it."

"But I don't want to see you dirty."

"What does it matter? I've seen you when you were dirtier, and I don't dislike you."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wash your hair later when you're home. Do you know who I met at the Longjiang Shipyard?"

Yun Ji thought for a moment and asked, "Is Master Yu Liang still in the shipyard?"

"Yes. He is the chief officer of the battleship."

"What is a battleship?" Yun Ji asked curiously.

"They asked me to name the new ship, but I couldn't think of a name and didn't want to keep calling it a galleon, so I named it a battleship. That was what our capital ships were called at the time."

Yun Ji understood a little: "You mean, this kind of ship will be called a battleship in the future?"

"Yeah. What do you think?"

"Very good. Is that ship much different from a galleon?"

"It doesn't look big, but the hull is a bit narrow. However, the bottom cabin uses our watertight bulkhead technology, which is a combination of Chinese and Western technology. It is safer and more flexible than a galleon."

"It looks like it will perform better than a galleon."

"Of course! I think it can be used as the main warship of the Ming Navy in the future. When we replace the warships later, they will gradually be replaced with battleships. By then, our Ming Navy will be the strongest navy in the world." Min Xi was looking forward to that day.

"The cost of a battleship is much higher than the original Fu ship, right?" Yun Ji was more concerned about the cost issue.

"Yes, a ship is at least 10,000 taels of silver more expensive than a Fujian ship. This is something the court needs to worry about. Lord Zhang will implement tax reforms nationwide in the next two years, right? Once the tax reform is implemented, the Ming Dynasty's treasury will be full, and there will be plenty of money to build ships." Min Xi was still very confident. After all, Zhang Juzheng single-handedly extended the life of the Ming Dynasty for several decades. The effectiveness of the Single Whip Law was not false. What's more, Zhang Juzheng might not be promoting the Single Whip Law now, but the land-based tax system.

"Are you asking me to guess who is Lord Yu?" Yun Ji continued the previous topic.

"No, we ran into the Yongning Guards who came to retrieve the boat."

Yun Ji suddenly realized: "I know, it's General Han Songhan?"

"Yes, that's him."

"I should have guessed it. He really liked that galleon at the time. He must have asked the shipyard for the Xiangyun, right?"

"Yes, haha, you know him too well. He did ask, but the ship was taken by Zhejiang Jinxiang Guard, so they didn't get it. On the day of the trial voyage, they wanted to test fire the guns, but in the end they failed to do so because there were too many ships traveling on the Yangtze River and it was not safe. So they went back immediately the next day. They were so impatient." Min Xi couldn't help laughing when he thought of Yongning Guard's actions, "They named the new ship Yongning, after the guard station."

"Yongning? What a nice name. With these battleships, the waters of the Ming Dynasty will be peaceful forever. Well, our hair is almost dry. Shall we go eat something?" Yun Ji threw away the handkerchief, inserted his fingers into Min Xi's hair, and fiddled with it for him a few times.

Min Xi half closed his eyes, raised his hands to wrap around Yun Ji's waist, turned his head to the side, and buried it in his abdomen: "I don't want to move, let me lie down for a while."

Yun Ji let him do it, and continued to play with his hair from time to time: "Have you returned home?"

"Yes. I told my clan that I would bear the cost of education for the children in the town. I will pay for most of the tuition, books, pens, ink, paper and inkstone." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji asked, "How many children of school age are there in the town?"

"There are probably 20 or 30 of them, maybe even more, and it would cost several hundred taels of silver a year."

"That's not bad. We can afford it. This is to accumulate merit for you."

"Yeah, I thought that since I won't get married or have children anyway, and the money I earn won't have any other use, it's good to use it to help with my studies."

"Yes. Just do it. If you don't have enough money, I have some here." Yun Ji said gently.

Min Xi rubbed his abdomen vigorously: "Seventh Brother, you are so nice!"

Yun Ji raised the corner of his mouth and gently twisted his earlobe with his hand. Min Xi hurriedly grabbed his hand and threw it away: "Okay, I won't lie down anymore, get up and eat."

Yun Ji looked at his slightly red ears and tried hard to purse his lips to prevent himself from laughing.

Min Xi threw back the quilt and stood up, straightened his clothes, and scratched his hair: "Let them send the food to Xiwei Courtyard. I won't go out with my hair disheveled."

"Okay." Yun Ji walked out the door and said to Tao Xing who was waiting in the yard, "Go to the kitchen and see if the food is ready. If it is, send it here."

Tao Xing hurriedly agreed and left. In fact, everyone in the family knew about the relationship between Yun Ji and Min Xi, but since he was the head of the family, no one dared to comment. Although it was hard to understand why they didn't get married for a man, they didn't dare to gossip about it. First, he was the head of the family and both were officials appointed by the court, so his status was there. Second, the masters of this family were very gentle and tolerant to their servants, so they were reluctant to gossip about it and helped to cover it up.

Yun Lin, who was teasing Ba Wang in the yard, saw his eldest brother coming out to arrange dinner, and hurried over: "Big brother, is the second brother awake?"

"woke up."

Yunlin ran over quickly: "Second brother! You're back? I missed you so much."

Min Xi was packing the luggage he brought back. When he heard Yun Lin's voice, he turned around and hugged the little cannonball-like body: "Haha, slow down."

Yun Lin hugged Min Xi's legs and lifted him off the ground. Although it was only for a short moment, Min Xi was shocked: "Lin'er, you can even hold our second brother? That's amazing! It seems that you have been eating a lot during this period."

Yun Lin chuckled: "Yeah, I've made a lot of progress recently. Do you think I've grown a little taller?"

Min Xi looked at him carefully and nodded: "Yes, he has indeed grown taller."

"After the New Year, I will definitely be able to carry my second brother on my back," said Yunlin.

Yun Ji said at the door: "He has definitely grown taller recently, and his appetite has also increased a lot."

Min Xi smiled and rubbed his head: "Not bad, you have to eat more, eat more meat, and drink more milk to grow taller."

“In the future, I will grow as tall as big brother, and learn martial arts to be as powerful as big brother. If anyone dares to bully second brother in the future, I will teach him a lesson for you.” Yun Lin said with great pride.

"Okay, okay, second brother's love for you is not in vain. By the way, I brought gifts for you." Min Xi took out gifts from the luggage and gave them to the two brothers. He brought Yuhua tea and a folding fan for Yun Ji, and a box of Yuhua stones for Yun Lin.

Yun Lin took the box of Yuhua Stones, opened it and asked curiously, "What is this? Stones?"

"Yes, this is the very famous Yuhua Stone in Yingtian Prefecture. It has various patterns and is particularly beautiful when soaked in water. You can imagine its picture based on the patterns on the stone. Many local literati and poets love to appreciate it, and some even write poems for it," Min Xi explained.

Yunlin took a rain flower stone and examined it carefully, then said in surprise: "This feels like a bright moon rising from the sea, which is really interesting."

"Yes, it is a bit like that. Go find a beautiful white porcelain basin and soak them in clean water, and then you can enjoy them slowly later."

Yun Ji looked at his gift, opened a folding fan and shook it. The paper was tough and it was obviously a fine product. "Why did you bring me so many fans?"

Min Xi grinned and said, "A dozen, twelve. I can bring a different fan every month."

Yun Ji chuckled helplessly and shook his head: "You're still holding a fan in the middle of winter. Isn't that what you said you were pretending to be?"

Min Xi laughed: "It's okay, your temperament is there, if you carry a fan with you, no one will laugh at you for being pretentious."

"There's no need to carry a fan with you when you go out in the winter. We can use it together." Yun Ji put the fan and tea leaves on the table. He usually lived here, so there was no need for him to take the gifts away.

Tao Xing came in from outside, holding a food box in his hand: "Gentlemen, it's time to eat."

Yunlin said, "Then I'll take Shitou back to the room first and come back for dinner later."

Min Xi and Yun Ji also went out to wash their hands and prepare for dinner.

Yunlin came back as fast as he left. He washed his hands in a basin and sat down at the table. Yunji picked up some food for Minxi, who said, "I can do it myself. You pick it up for Liner, as he can't reach some of it."

Yun Lin chuckled: "Big brother, just hold it for me. I will stand up if I can't reach it."

Min Xi had no choice but to let Yun Ji pick food for him and asked casually, "I've been away for such a long time, nothing happened in the capital, right?"

Yun Ji was stunned for a moment and said, "It's okay, everything is the same as before."

Yunlin bit his chopsticks, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Min Xi saw this and asked, "What's the matter?"

Yunlin looked at Yunji and shook his head: "It's okay."

"If you have something to say, just say it. If you don't say it, are you trying to suffocate me or yourself?" Min Xi teased him.

Yunlin said, "It's not a big deal. It's just that during the time you were away from home, someone came to propose marriage to my eldest brother."

Yun Ji said quickly: "I have already refused!"

"Who?" Min Xi asked curiously. In the past two years, there have indeed been many matchmakers for them, but they were usually rejected by the Tao family. Those who approached them directly were usually colleagues in the court, and they were often rejected in person.

Yun Ji said, "Mr. Lu, the Hanlin scholar."

"Why would he arrange a marriage for you?" Min Xi was very surprised. If there was a girl of the right age in the same yamen, she would have been proposed to long ago, and would not have to wait until now.

"He came to act as a matchmaker for someone else. Princess Furong, the daughter of Prince Ning, came to Beijing a while ago. I don't know where she saw me. When she heard that I was not married, she asked Lord Lu to act as a matchmaker. I directly rejected Lord Lu." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi suddenly felt a sense of crisis and couldn't help but frown: "Princess? Didn't she go to His Majesty to grant you a marriage?"