The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yun Ji smiled a little embarrassedly: "I saw that you did it simply, and it didn't seem difficult. But when I did it, it didn't seem so difficult. Why does it feel more complicated than carving?"

Min Xi said, "The image of the three-legged crow is more complicated than that of the jade toad, and no one knows how the three legs of the crow will grow. If the proportions of the body parts are not harmonious, it will not look good. It is too late to change it now. Let's go eat. After dinner, His Majesty should come out."

"it is good."

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the palace will hold a royal family banquet. It won’t be too early for the emperor to finish his meal and leave the palace, so Min Xi and the others don’t need to rush.

They had dinner, and it was dark, but the moon had not yet risen. Min Xi brought out the mooncakes and cut a double yolk lotus seed mooncake: "Come, eat the mooncakes, and it will be considered as the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Yunlin picked up a mooncake and took a bite, then asked, "Second brother, why do we cut the mooncakes into pieces before eating them? Is there any particular reason for this?"

"No. Why do you ask?" Min Xi looked at him.

Yunlin said: "When I eat mooncakes at my grandparents' house, they don't cut them up before eating."

Min Xi pointed at the mooncakes in the box and said, "Look at the mooncakes I gave everyone. There are many flavors in one box. If each person gets one, they can only eat one flavor of mooncake, but if they are cut into pieces and eaten separately, they can taste more flavors. And the mooncakes are too sweet. Eating one or two pieces is enough. Eating a whole one will make you choke."

"So that's it!" Yun Lin suddenly realized.

After eating the mooncakes, Yunlin lit up his Jade Toad Lantern, which looked even more beautiful in the night. Yunlin couldn't contain his excitement, as the Jade Toad Lantern was so fun. By turning the horizontal bar, the four legs could move, making it look like it was alive. The key point was that the candle inside would not fall over, and it was very stable.

Yun Lin proudly walked around the yard, and couldn't wait to go out to the street to show off his lanterns: "Can we go out now? Second brother, do you think I should bring two more candles with me? I'm afraid the candles will burn out after a while. Without the light, the effect of the lanterns will be much worse."

Lanterns are made of paper, and to ensure safety, the candles are made very short, which will not burn the lantern paper, but it also means that the candles in the lanterns cannot burn for too long.

Min Xi smiled and said, "If you want to take it, take it with you."

"Then I'll get two more candles. Big brother, can you help me get the lantern?" Yun Lin stuffed the lantern into Yun Ji's hand and went to get the candles himself.

Yun Ji held the lantern and said with a smile, "How long do you plan to play for?"

Min Xi replied as he packed his things: "Let him be. He can only go out two nights a year."

He packed a food box with snacks for the emperor. There must be many people buying snacks at the Lantern Festival tonight, and the emperor would definitely want to eat. But they didn't dare to give the emperor food from outside, so every time the emperor came to see them, Min Xi prepared food himself, for fear that he would get sick from eating outside, which would be a sin he couldn't bear.

Yunlin quickly brought two candles, and the three of them carried their things and went to the door to wait for the emperor. Although the emperor was the most powerful, they couldn't really go into the palace to wait for someone. Wanli wanted to go to the lantern festival with them, so he could only go to Yun's house to meet them first.

Wanli came out after the moon rose. He was dressed in casual clothes, like a scholar, holding a paper fan in his hand. He waved at the people who were about to salute and said, "Forget about it. The moon has risen. The Lantern Festival should be very lively now. Let's go quickly."

So the three brothers got on the carriage and followed the emperor's carriage. The Lantern Festival was held on Qianmen Street, less than three miles away, but it was impossible for the emperor to walk three miles.

Cars and horses are prohibited on Qianmen Street tonight. The guards led the carriage to stop in an alley. Everyone got off the carriage. Yun Lin held a lantern in his hand. Min Xi picked up the food box, and Yun Ji took it over again. His movements were very natural.

Wanli noticed what they were holding. He stared at the lantern in Yunlin's hand and said, "This lantern is really interesting. Is it a toad that can move?"

"It's the Jade Toad, its legs can move." It was not the first time Yun Lin had met Wanli. They had played together on the farm before. He was not afraid of his identity and took the initiative to show Wanli how to play with the Jade Toad Lantern.

"Interesting, let me see it." Wanli stretched out his hand towards Yunlin.

Yunlin was ten years old. In the ancient times when people could get married at the age of thirteen or fourteen, he was already a teenager and should have been sensible. So when faced with the emperor's request, he did not hesitate at all and handed over the lantern: "Here!"

Wanli took the lantern, played with it for a while, and thought it was quite interesting, so he said, "Can I hold it for a while?"

Although Yunlin was a little reluctant, he still agreed: "Okay!"

Wanli held the lantern and turned to walk towards the street, surrounded by plainclothes guards. Min Xi and Yun Ji surrounded him in the middle. Yun Lin walked beside Min Xi, glancing at the lantern in Wanli's hand from time to time. Min Xi noticed his expression and raised his hand to touch the back of his head to comfort him.

Qianmen Street was brightly lit, and the whole street was filled with colorful lanterns. Beautiful lanterns were hung in front of each store to attract customers. The street was crowded with people, and vendors on both sides of the street shouted to attract customers. There were all kinds of food and small toys, which made the children unable to walk. The most popular items were lanterns of various colors. Wanli looked at those lanterns, then looked at the lantern in his hand, and thought his was the most interesting.

As expected, the lantern in his hand attracted many people's attention. Many children stared at the movable jade toad lantern in his hand, and some even forgot to walk.

Wanli was very proud when he saw so many people staring at his lanterns. He looked up high and felt inexplicably happy. He was also very interested in the small vendors on the street. He would take a look at anything he found new and buy anything he liked, but he couldn't eat it, so the things he bought soon filled the hands of the people around him.

Yunlin was not idle, he ate the food he bought while walking. When he was young, he was weak and had to be well-fed. Later, Min Xi and Yun Ji took care of him, not only strengthening his exercise, but also regulating his spleen and stomach. Now he is in good health and rarely gets sick.

Wanli walked for a while and looked at Yunlin who was eating grilled lamb skewers beside him. The aroma was so tempting. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes did have some resentment.

Min Xi noticed his disappointment and suggested, "Sir, let's go to Yunxiang Restaurant to guess lantern riddles, and take a break and drink some tea. I brought some food from home, you can try it."

"Okay!" When Wanli went out, his companions would never dare to let him eat the food outside, especially the things sold by small vendors. If something went wrong, they would lose several heads. Therefore, every time Wanli went out, he could only satisfy his cravings and could not eat.

They followed the bustling crowd and finally moved to Yunxiang Restaurant. The entrance of Yunxiang Restaurant was full of colorful lanterns. Whoever could guess the lantern riddles could win the lantern. So since the first batch of lanterns were hung up, the entrance of Yunxiang Restaurant was crowded with people guessing lantern riddles. The lanterns had been replaced several times, and new ones were hung up when the batches were won.

Min Xi said to Wanli: "Sir, would you like to guess too?"

Wanli looked at the dense crowd in front of the lantern stand and said, "How can we see the puzzle clearly?"

Min Xi said, "Which lamp do you like? We'll have someone take it down and guess it."

Wanli thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then let's take the dragon lantern."

Coincidentally, this batch of lanterns showed the twelve zodiac animals, and most of them had been won, but the dragon lantern was not won.

Yun Ji said, "You guys go upstairs to the private room first, I'll be there in a minute."

So Min Xi took the food box from Yun Ji and went upstairs with Wanli first. They had asked the restaurant to reserve a private room next to the window so that they could rest while watching the street view downstairs.

Min Xi opened the food box he brought with him and took out boxes of snacks, all of which were made by him. Moon cakes and dim sum were of course indispensable. In addition, there were also many braised dishes, including dried tofu, bean curd sheets, lotus root slices, kelp, beef, pig ears, duck necks, duck tongues, duck intestines, etc.

Wanli was stunned. Everything else was fine, but they brought duck necks, duck tongues and duck intestines. Were they for himself to eat?