The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

When the Baron and his companions went downstairs to leave, Yun Ji was counting the lunch bills behind the counter. When he saw them coming out, he nodded politely and said hello: "Sir, please take care. Welcome to come again next time!"

Lord Melo stared at Yun Ji with burning eyes. The light was strong at noon, and Yun Ji's facial features were clearly visible. This appearance was simply perfect and impeccable. Lord Melo liked her more and more, but he didn't dare to say hello because he had eaten garlic and was afraid of offending the beauty. He could only smile and nod, and left with regret.

When Baron Fernando saw him like this, he couldn't help but shake his head. When would this bad habit of falling in love with every woman he met be cured?

After they left, Min Xi walked to the counter and said to Yun Ji, "Seventh Brother, how much money do you have left?"

Yunji said: "Less than 10 reais."

Min Xi said, "That's enough. Bring the money and let's go make clothes."

Yun Ji said: "Just take them to do it, I will go to paint."

"No, there's no rush to paint. Let's go make two sets of clothes." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji raised his eyes and looked at him: "Are we still doing it?"

"Yes, when we had no money, we just bought two sets of clothes and wore them over and over again. Now that we have money, we should buy two more sets of slightly more decent clothes." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji looked at him and nodded: "Okay." After all, the hotel is positioned at a high level, and there will be more and more nobles in the future. As the front desk manager, he is also the face of the hotel, so he should be more respectable.

So they closed the shop and went to the tailor shop to buy clothes. This time they chose a higher-end tailor shop and made two uniforms for each of the three employees. The two boys had white cotton shirts as the base and a black vest, while Amanda had a black skirt with a white collar.

Min Xi and Yun Ji also had two sets of clothes tailored for them, with the colors trying to distinguish them from the other employees, and the materials were also better.

The ten sets of clothes cost a total of 1 reais, 800 riels, which was so cheap because they were all summer clothes and there were no coats.

But for the three employees, these were the most expensive clothes they had ever bought in their lives. Diego and Amanda felt very sad, thinking that they were not worthy of wearing such good clothes. Diego's clothes were all altered from Sanvis's old clothes, while Amanda wore linen dresses that she sewed herself.

Min Xi smiled and said, "Why are you feeling bad? I paid for it, and you have new clothes to wear, aren't you happy? You represent the image of our hotel, so keep yourselves clean and tidy, and do your job well. This is the best reward for us."

Gail was in the best mood. He said enthusiastically, "Don't worry, sir. I will do my best."

"I have another request for you. It's summer now, so you must take at least one bath every day and maintain good personal hygiene," said Min Xi.

All three of them agreed quickly.

After returning home, Min Xi did not even bother to take a nap. He made use of the time to make spring rolls and egg tarts with several employees. The spring rolls at noon today were well received and many people loved them. Egg tarts have always been an extremely popular dessert. As long as they are returning customers, they will order them, and they often take them away.

Min Xi had to order wooden boxes from the carpenter again. At this rate, hundreds of boxes would be used up in no time. Min Xi planned to find someone who could write Portuguese calligraphy well to write the name and address of the hotel on each box, which would be considered an advertisement.

Several people in the store definitely can't do it. Diego and Amanda are illiterate, and Gail can only recognize a very limited number of words.

Although Yunji can read and write a lot of Fulangji texts, he is still far from the artistic level.

Min Xi, the illiterate character, has just learned to recognize some Chinese characters. He can only speak Portuguese but cannot write it, so naturally he is not good enough.

So we have to ask Baron Fernando for help in this matter. Art is for people like them who have money and free time. We can ask him to recommend someone who can write. You can give him money or give him delicious food as a gift.

At half past four at the latest, Lord Mello came again, and Min Si was preparing their own dinner at that time.

I have to say, this guy is quite persistent. Min Xi looked at Yun Ji and said, "Seventh Brother, that guy is a bit annoying. How about I go and tell him not to come?"

Yun Ji said expressionlessly: "No need, he didn't do anything to me. He is willing to come to dinner, isn't it just to give us money? It's up to him."

"Okay, I'll go and serve them. Amanda, you come and help me make pancakes." Min Xi put down the spatula in his hand, walked to the front hall, and served them personally. "It seems that my cooking skills are highly appreciated by His Excellency the Lord. I wonder what His Excellency the Lord would like to eat tonight?"

Lord Mello glanced towards the kitchen, but did not see Yun Ji, so he asked, "Where is your partner?"

"He is busy." Min Xi answered without thinking, "Isn't your Lordship here for dinner?"

Lord Mello hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I just came here to eat. But I have a strong interest in Eastern culture and have studied art. I heard that these paintings in the store were made by your partner, so I would like to communicate and learn with him." He pointed to the calligraphy and paintings on the wall.

Min Xi chuckled. This method was very common. "Does your Lordship know Chinese characters?"

Lord Mello shook his head: "I don't know him."

"Then do you know what these are?" Min Xi said, pointing to a piece of running script in the store.

Lord Melo took a look and said, "It should be a painting?"

Min Xi said: "This is our Chinese language, written in an artistic form. Your Excellency does not even know Chinese characters, how can you communicate with us? What would your Excellency like to eat? Do you want to order dishes, or do you still want me to cook for you?"

Lord Mello quickly said, "No, no, I'll order it myself."

Min Xi smiled and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

Lord Melo looked at the menu behind the counter. It was filled with dishes he didn't recognize. Of course, the names were all written in Chinese. The Portuguese only wrote the ingredients and cooking methods. For example, for boiled fish, the Portuguese word for it was "boiled fish". Lord Melo looked at it for a long time before finally ordering: "Fried fish, stewed chicken, steamed egg, mushroom soup, no garlic, no chili!"

Min Xi almost laughed out loud: "Okay, I get it, do you want both the main course and dessert?"

Lord Mello nodded: "Both."

Min Xi nodded: "Please wait a moment! Gail, come and pour tea for His Excellency the Lord."

Hearing the sound, Gail hurried out from the kitchen to pour tea for the guests.

Min Xi returned to the kitchen and said to Yun Ji, "He's not stupid. He knew I was teasing him at noon. He even said he wanted to exchange artistic experiences with you."

Yun Ji said, "That's fine. We are just a restaurant. Just come and eat. Nothing else is necessary."

Tonight they had Roujiamo, the meat was pork. The pork belly was blanched, stewed with spices until tender, chopped and sandwiched in the dough. Although it was a little worse than the authentic Roujiamo, it should taste good.

When Min Xi came back, Amanda had already chopped the meat. Min Xi asked everyone to eat first, because if they didn't eat now, they would have no time to eat when guests came later.

He himself was not in a hurry to eat, but instead took the time to cook for Lord Mello.

Min Xi finished his dinner only after Lord Mello's dishes were served. He went to the front hall with two roujiamo (Chinese steamed buns) and wanted to see Lord Mello's reaction.

Lord Mello looked at the dishes that were served. In fact, he still had some doubts whether Min Xi was deliberately teasing him, because the fish he usually ate were fish fillets, but the fish Min Xi fried for him was a whole fish, with the head and tail still there. The chicken in the chicken stewed with mushrooms had bones, and the steamed egg was a bowl of egg custard. Although it was a normal method, Lord Mello had never eaten it before. Looking at the bowl of paste, he did not dare to move the spoon. Only the mushroom clam soup was normal.

Lord Mello was a little hesitant to eat some of the dishes. Normally, for the sake of elegance, he ate boneless food. Today's dish was indeed a bit difficult. In order to pursue beauty, the price he paid was really too high.

However, after trying them, he found that the taste of several dishes was extremely normal, and it could be said that they were more delicious than expected, except that the fish and chicken had bones, which was not as good as expected.

When Min Xi came out, Lord Mello was eating the bowl of egg custard.

Min Xi asked, "My Lord, do you like the food tonight?"

Lord Mello nodded: "Unexpectedly delicious. I wonder what this is?" He pointed at the egg custard. He particularly liked this dish, which was smooth and refreshing, with a light salty taste and a hint of olive oil. The taste was simple but surprisingly delicious.

"This is egg custard. I hope you like it." Min Xi said with a smile, "I didn't know that you couldn't eat chili or garlic. I apologize here."

Lord Melo looked at Min Xi's sincere smile and felt embarrassed to argue: "What's in your hand?"

Min Xi said, "This is my dinner, Roujiamo. But Your Excellency probably won't eat it, because the meat inside is pork."

Lord Mello smiled a little awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

Min Xi said: "I wish you a pleasant meal!"

Lord Mello nodded and tried to fork a piece of chicken with his fork, but the chicken was too slippery and he lost his grip. The chicken flew off the plate and went straight to his front, perfectly leaving a striking oil stain on his white silk shirt on his chest.

Lord Mello looked at his clothes in astonishment for a long time, and suddenly felt a gaze falling on him. He looked up and met Yun Ji's scrutinizing gaze, and his face instantly turned red to the neck: It's over, this is so embarrassing!