The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The Baron and his family obtained legal residence rights. The next step was to deal with his property and then buy a house in Beijing to settle down.

Min Xi and Yun Ji accompanied them to find a real estate agent to look at houses first, to see if they could secure a house before going to Macau, so that they could move in directly when they returned from Macau.

The price of houses in Beijing is rising every year, but no matter how much it rises, it does not affect the Baron's purchase of houses. His property is enough for him to buy a street in Beijing. Of course, because he left in a hurry, the property he could bring was limited, but it was enough for them to spend for several lifetimes.

If price is not an issue, buying a house will be easy.

The Baron was very satisfied with the first house the broker showed them. It was a typical Chinese courtyard with carved beams and painted buildings, brackets and flying eaves, and various corridors. There was no need to worry about getting your shoes wet even if it rained. There were also gardens with pavilions, rockery and lakes. It was simply the Baron's family's dream house.

The baron immediately said to Min Xi: "Buy this, we like this."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Why not look at other houses? There are more choices."

The baron was a straightforward person. He was puzzled and asked, "Why? We all like this house very much. We just chose it. Please ask me how much it costs. I can afford it."

"I can ask about the price for you first, but you can't act like you particularly like it," said Min Xi.

"Why can't you show that you like it? We all think this house is great."

"Because he sees that you like it very much, he will ask for a sky-high price. We have to find some faults and bargain." Min Xi explained patiently.

The baron nodded, not quite understanding: "Then I'll leave it to you, Min!"

Min Xi patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, leave it to me."

Min Xi asked the broker about the price, and the other party directly quoted a price of 100,000 taels of silver.

Min Xi glared at him: "You are trying to rob me! This house looks old and has been neglected. I don't know how long it has been since anyone has lived here. If we really want to live here, we need to repair it. How much time and money will it take!"

The broker smiled and said, "I am conveying the owner's intention. Sir, you can make an offer. If it is suitable, we can talk about it."

Min Xi was unmoved: "Take us to see the next house."

"Are you not satisfied here? I see those customers like it very much." said the broker.

"It's me who wants to buy the house. It doesn't matter whether they like it or not." Min Xi certainly wouldn't say that it was the Baron who bought the house.

The broker had no choice but to take them to see the next house. This broker probably knew a little about psychology. The second house was far inferior to the first one. Not only was it small, but the architecture also had no special features. The Baron shook his head as soon as he saw it, and Alice and Bella both said they didn't like it.

Min Xi insisted that the agent take them to see other houses. They looked at four or five houses. Although there were some nice houses later on, the Baron and his family were impressed by the first one.

So Min Xi pretended to be struggling between the last and the first set, and the broker said, "I think the first set is the best. It has a large yard and the best location. The neighbors are all wealthy families, not like the small families who are fussy about money. They want to live a quiet life."

Min Xi said calmly: "That house is nice, but the price is too expensive. Please give me a real price."

The broker said, "How much are you willing to pay for the house? Just name your price and I'll talk to the owner. If he's interested, I can arrange for you to come together for a meeting."

Min Xi thought for a moment and held up a finger: "For your house, I will pay at most 10,000 taels."

"That's too little!" The broker shook his head vigorously. "You don't really want it."

"How can I not be sincere? If I didn't want to buy a house, why would I follow you to so many houses, and bring my wives and children with me. Do you think we are just here for fun? It's not like I don't know the housing prices in the capital. You are asking for an exorbitant price. Do you think I will really give you 100,000 if you want? This is my price. Tell the owner of the house. If he really wants to sell it, ask him to come and talk to us in person." After Min Xi finished speaking, he didn't want to linger and dragged the baron's family away.

Within two days, the broker came with the owner of the house. After bargaining, the two sides finally bought the house for 16,000 taels of silver.

The baron was very satisfied with the price because the reais was more valuable when converted into silver, and this price was far below his psychological price.

Min Xi decided to give the Baron a complete set of window glass and install it before winter.

After buying the house, Yun Ji started to help the baron buy land. After all, if he wanted to survive in the Ming Dynasty, he still had to buy some land.

The Baron felt that his choice to settle in the capital was the right one, because with Min Xi and Yun Ji's protection, they received all-round help and care, so that they rarely felt the strangeness and uneasiness of being in a foreign country.

Min Xi didn't expect to be able to decide on a house before the Baron went to Macau, but he didn't expect that the efficiency was higher than expected, and he bought the house smoothly. After inviting craftsmen to repair the house, Min Xi went to Macau with the Baron and Captain Reis, and Alice and Bella stayed in the Yun family and were taken care of by Yun Ji.

Min Xi also found Diego and asked him to come to the house often to accompany the Baroness and Bella to eliminate their anxiety and teach them some Chinese.

Yu Liang and Zhao Shizhen were originally going to wait until the galleons arrived at Longjiang Shipyard before going on their business trip. When they heard that Min Xi was going to Macau to pick up the ships, they were also tempted and went to Macau with him. For them, if it weren't for this opportunity, they would never have the experience of sailing in their lives.