The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Early the next morning, the two got up to buy groceries, and Diego followed them to move things. He was small, so Min Xi and Yun Ji naturally couldn't ask him to move much, but he had the intention, so of course he had to take it.

After buying groceries, Amanda arrived.

Min Xi said to Yun Ji, "Now the light is good, go upstairs and paint. I'll call you when breakfast is ready. We'll take care of these things."

Yun Ji said: "I will also help you knead the dough to make the staple food."

Min Xi said: "I can do it myself, Amanda and Diego can help me, they can do it."

Yun Ji hesitated for a moment, but still went upstairs. After all, he didn't have much time to paint. His birthday party was approaching, so he had to prepare the gifts in advance.

Min Xi planned to keep breakfast simple, so he made a few scallion pancakes. Although it is simple, it is not easy to make delicious. After kneading the dough, it needs to be left to rest. However, since he was going to make pasta, it was just a matter of convenience.

Min Xi plans to add a new dish to the menu today, fried spring rolls. Spring rolls are one of the earliest Chinese delicacies accepted by Westerners. Because of its crispy taste, it conquered Europeans and Americans in their heyday, let alone Europeans in the Middle Ages.

The dough for the spring rolls needs to be spread separately, which Amanda can do. Min Xi mixes the flour with water and eggs into a paste, then spreads them into spring roll wrappers on a frying pan, rolls in shredded cabbage, shredded green onions and fried pork, and then deep-fries them in a pan.

In addition to cabbage and pork flavor, spring rolls also have bear onion and pork flavor. After trying them, Amanda and Diego were both very impressed and said they were delicious.

Min Xi brought the fried spring rolls and scallion pancakes to the attic. Yun Ji heard the noise and turned to look over: "Why are they brought up here? Tell me to come down and eat when they are ready."

Min Xi stood at the stairs, not going up, and raised the plate in his hand and handed it to him: "I don't want to disturb you, just take it and eat it. I added a spring roll today, you can try it and see how it tastes."

Yun Ji hurried over to take it, grabbed a spring roll and put it in his mouth, it was crispy and delicious: "Delicious! You don't mind the trouble."

Min Xi said, "It's not a big deal. I taught Amanda how to make spring rolls. Isn't she quite skilled? I think she has a lot of talent. She'll learn how to make them after I make a few. After we leave, she might be able to set up a stall or a small shop with these snacks to support her family."

Yun Ji shook his head: "Other bosses keep their skills secret, fearing that their skills will starve to death if they teach their apprentices. But you, on the other hand, don't keep them secret at all."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Actually, skills need to be passed down and communicated, so that the skills can be improved. If you treasure your skills and are reluctant to show them to others, they may be lost. Isn't that a pity?"

"What you said makes sense. But after all, most people in the world are short-sighted," said Yun Ji.

"I don't care about others, I only care about myself. If I hadn't learned from others, I wouldn't be able to do these." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi with admiration in his eyes: "Can you handle it? Do you want me to help?"

Min Xi said, "If you are busy, you can paint first and come back later. By the way, I have something else to discuss with you. The two sets of clothes Diego is wearing are not suitable for running errands in our store. I want to make two sets of clothes for the three of them, the same style, as work uniforms. This will also make our restaurant look more upscale. After all, the people who often come to eat in our restaurant are either rich or noble, and our service level must keep up."

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "What you said makes sense, so let's do it for them."

Min Xi didn't plan to make baked buns for today's main course, but steamed buns instead, because baking buns requires a heated naan pit and sticking the buns to the wall of the naan pit. Yun Ji didn't come to help, so Min Xi was worried and asked Amanda and Diego to do it.

To steam the buns, he only needs to knead the dough and let it rise. Amanda can do things like chopping the stuffing, while Min Xi will make the egg tarts himself, and Diego can help with picking and washing the vegetables.

The agent never came yesterday, and Min Xi was too lazy to look for him. The store is no longer short of staff, and the other party will definitely not refund the money. If you ask him to refund the money, he will definitely send someone else.

At nine o'clock, Gail also came to help prepare the ingredients. Gail also wanted to learn Min Xi's cooking skills, and when he was not busy, he would squat in the kitchen. Min Xi was not shy anyway, so those who wanted to learn could watch.

Even if they only learn one of the snacks he made, it will be enough for them to have no worries about food and drink for the rest of their lives. Those with high comprehension may even become the culinary masters of Fulangji in the future.

Min Xi steamed the buns, looked at the filling, and quickly kneaded the dough to make some dumplings. Since there were no baked buns today, he would fry the dumplings instead.

Yun Ji heard the church bell ringing ten o'clock upstairs, so he hurried downstairs because he was afraid that Min Xi would be too busy.

In fact, the kitchen was really busy, making buns, dumplings, and egg tarts. He came down just in time to help make dumplings.

Min Xi smiled and said, "It's still early, why did you come down?"

"It's getting late, and I'm worried you won't be able to handle it. If you keep busy for a while, it will be time for lunch." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi asked: "What do you want to eat for lunch? If you don't have anything in particular in mind, let's just eat steamed buns."

Yun Ji said, "Okay."

The others naturally had no objection, they just ordered whatever the boss said, because no matter what they ate, it was much better than the black bread they ate. Moreover, in many restaurants in Lisbon, in order to save money, the bosses hired employees who would not eat wheat flour every meal, so they all ate black bread.

Here, the boss doesn't eat black bread, so naturally he won't give black bread to his employees. The few people working here are extremely satisfied, and for the sake of the food here, they can't afford to give up this job.

Min Xi added, "There is one more thing. After all the customers have left at noon, go to the tailor shop and I will make two sets of clothes for you. They are the uniforms for working in the store. Everyone will wear the same clothes. When customers come to our store, they will know who the staff are at a glance and think that our service is very professional."

Diego was the first to know about this. When Gail and Amanda heard about it, they were so surprised that their eyes almost fell out. They came to work and got free clothes? There is such a good boss in the world?

Gail asked incredulously, "You'll make clothes for us for free?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes."

Amanda asked uncertainly, "Me too?"

"Yes, you have one too." Min Xi said, "Make two skirts of the same color fabric."

Amanda almost cried: "Sir, this is too much money for you." Not only are the meals provided, but they also give out clothes.

Min Xi said, "I am also doing this for the image of our hotel. It's settled. I will go after I finish my lunch work."

At around ten o'clock, several people were busy in the kitchen when a guest came to the front hall. It was Lord Simon Melo. The door was open, and he walked in directly when he saw that there was no one in the store. He did not call for help, but looked around the hall, admiring the calligraphy and paintings on the wall one by one, and he looked at them with great interest.

It was not until Gale remembered to go to the front hall and took a look that he realized that a guest had arrived. He hurried over to greet him: "Sir, you are here really early. Are you here for dinner?"

Lord Mello glanced at Gale, nodded, and asked, "Where is your boss?"

"The boss is busy in the kitchen. Are you the only one here? Please sit here. What would you like to eat?" Gail enthusiastically pulled out a chair for a four-person table for Lord Mello. Although the guest's clothes made him look distinguished, he was alone and it would be a bit of a waste if he went to a private room, so he decided to sit downstairs.

Lord Melo was not in a hurry to sit down, so he asked, "Where did you get these Chinese calligraphy and paintings in your shop?"

When talking about this, Gail became proud: "This was drawn by our boss himself." Although he couldn't understand it at all, he just thought it was amazing.

Lord Mello raised his eyebrows and asked, "The one who cooked, or the other one?"

Gail said, "The one who collects the money."

Lord Mello was delighted: "What's his name?"

Just as Gale was about to answer, he heard Min Si's voice: "My Lord, you are here really early. Are you here for dinner? Please sit upstairs."

Min Xi knew that Lord Mello would most likely come today, so he kept an eye on him. When he heard someone coming outside, he hurried out, and it was indeed this peacock.

Lord Melo was dressed up carefully today. His silk shirt was embroidered with intricate and delicate patterns in gold thread, his pants and shoes had exquisite patterns, every strand of hair was carefully curled, and his eyebrows were trimmed without a single unnecessary strand. His body was scented with flowers, and he smelled fragrant all over, just like a peacock with its tail spread out.

He himself is handsome and pleasing to the eye. It is true that when men dress up, women have nothing to do.

Lord Melo was a little disappointed that he didn't see Yun Ji, but seeing Min Xi seemed to make up for some of the regrets. This Chinese man was also good-looking, but when he thought of him cooking in a smoky kitchen with his body covered in smoke, Lord Melo felt a little regretful. Such a beauty should be worshipped, and people should enjoy her slowly by drinking tea, appreciating flowers, and playing cards.

Lord Melo bowed like a gentleman: "I don't know Mr. Min's name yet, you can call me Simon."