The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Kum searched for the whole afternoon but found nothing, feeling discouraged. The next morning, when the native father and son proposed to go back, Kum was reluctant and wanted to find a piece of gold to exchange for a knife before leaving.

Min Xi saw what he was thinking, called Kumu over, and gave him a small knife as a token of his gratitude for accompanying him along the way. He also taught them to identify many edible fruits and wild vegetables. Kumu was overjoyed, and he jumped for joy holding the small knife.

Min Xi gave the father and son a piece of cloth and some needles and thread to thank them for their guidance. The father and son were naturally overjoyed to get something again, and the three of them were all very happy and went back happily with the things.

Everyone searched for a long time but didn't find much gold. Although this was where the gold beads were found, it was not the location of the gold mine. Min Xi and Yun Ji had no choice but to lead everyone to continue looking for the source of gold. They went up the stream and walked for another four or five days before finally finding the gold mine.

In the past few days, people in the team have been finding gold, and those who are lucky have even picked up a gold nugget the size of a fist.

Yun Ji was very lucky. He didn't go looking for gold, but he still picked up a piece of gold nuggets the size of an egg. Min Xi was also lucky. Although he didn't see any large pieces of gold, he picked up several pieces of gold, ranging from the size of beans to the size of copper coins.

Of course, there were also some people who were very unlucky. They ran all the way with everyone but didn't pick up a single grain. They had no choice but to use a gold pan to scoop up the gold sand and wash it. They finally got some fine gold sand, but it was not as big as a bean. Min Xi couldn't bear it, so he gave him a small piece of gold, which finally calmed his almost unbalanced mentality.

After finding the gold mine and marking the location, they headed back. They could not go back the same way, so they had to move forward according to the direction on the compass. Along the way, they encountered two more indigenous tribes, one of which was migrating westward. They had domesticated emus as a means of transport and used them to carry their luggage.

This gave Min Xi a new idea. He was thinking of bringing cattle and horses from Ming or Southeast Asia to help with mining, but it would take at least several years to grow the number of cattle and horses to replace manual labor. The emu was about the same size as an ostrich, so it shouldn't be a problem for it to carry more than 100 kilograms. They could also domesticate the emu to temporarily replace cattle and horses as a foot carrier.

They stopped for a while at another indigenous tribe, but since it didn't rain, they didn't stay overnight in the tribe.

They did not return by the original route, but only knew the general direction, so it took them a lot of trouble to return to the bay and join the main force. It took them a total of 40 days from the departure to the return. The time was so long that the three captains thought they had encountered an accident and would not be able to return.

But everyone finally chose to believe in Min Xi and Yun Ji's abilities. They had traveled in Europe for so many years and were able to return safely. Yun Ji was so skilled, and they had weapons with them, so nothing should happen here.

But everyone was still uneasy. After all, if they encountered a plague, no matter how good their skills were, it would be useless. Doctor Qiao was worried about him these days. He should have gone with Min Xi and Yun Ji, and should not have agreed to go with Min Xi when he asked him not to. If something happened to them, how would they report to the emperor when they returned?

Several captains discussed whether to send people out to look for them, but finally decided to wait a little longer. The main reason was that the area was too wide. Not only was there no road, there was no destination either. They only knew the approximate location, so they had no way to find them. Even if they asked someone, they wouldn't be able to find out.

So when Min Xi and his companions returned to the bay, they heard cheers coming from the boat: "The master is back! The master is back!"

At once everyone ran out to greet them. Soon, Min Xi and the others were surrounded by everyone. "My lord, you are finally back. What took you so long? The general is about to arrange for people to look for you, but he doesn't know where to start."

Yun Ji said, "I'm sorry to have worried everyone. We walked a little far. Has the other team returned?"

"They are back. They were only gone for twenty days. My Lord, you have been gone for forty days."

"I'm sorry, we went to the west first, but didn't find the gold mine, only a coal mine. So we turned east to look for it, and finally found the gold mine. However, this time took a lot longer. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time." Min Xi explained to everyone apologetically.

"Sir, have you found a gold mine again? Sir, you are so awesome! We didn't find a gold mine, we only found a copper mine." said the craftsman leading another team.

"The copper mine is not bad either. It is also a very valuable mineral. Have you written down the locations?" Min Xi asked.

"I've made a note of it. It's not far from here, just six or seven days' journey," said the craftsman.

"Okay, it's also a credit." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi said, "Everyone, please stop crowding around. We are all fine. Are you all right? Did anything happen? What happened during the time we were away? Let's talk about it slowly when we get on the boat."

Back on the boat, everyone sat together and began to talk about what they had seen and heard during this period. The other team had a mediocre experience. They went north without encountering anything special. They also saw indigenous tribes, but because they could not communicate, they did not get any useful information. They could only try their luck in searching, but after searching for a long time, they found nothing. Finally, on their way back, they found a mountain with a lot of malachite. Although it was not as valuable as a gold mine, it was still a gain.

Min Xi and his friends told them about their dealings with the natives, how they found gold beads from the native children, and how they found the gold mine based on these.

"That place is about half a month's journey from here. If there is no one to lead the way, we may not be able to find the gold mine." Min Xi said.

In fact, the gold mine was in the direction of the other team. If the other team had continued to go north for a few days, they might have found gold. Unfortunately, they did not persist to the end and returned early. It can only be said that they still have to follow the two adults to find gold. Everyone was envious of the gold brought back by the members of this team. In the future, they must follow the two adults to find gold.

The people who stayed on the ship had become very familiar with the local natives during this period. They even learned a lot of each other's language and were able to communicate in a simple way. Unfortunately, the natives here had neither gold nor pearls, so it was really hard to get any benefits from them.

Min Xi said: "We can communicate now, right?"

"Yes, we can communicate simple meanings."

"That's good too. Let's leave some of the potato and rice seeds we brought with us and teach them how to farm. If they come again in the future, we'll have staple food to eat instead of having to eat meat every meal."

When everyone heard this, they thought it was true: "Then I will go find those natives tomorrow."

Min Xi shook his head: "Let's go find them. Potatoes can be planted this season and harvested in spring. Let's save the rice seeds for them to sow in spring."

Everyone gathered together that day to celebrate the safe return of Min Xi and others.

In the evening, Min Xi and Yun Ji took a luxurious hot bath. The people who stayed in the bay were bored, so they did a lot to improve their lives. They built a wooden house on the shore for cooking, heating water and bathing, and also built a toilet. When drifting on the sea, they had no choice but to solve the problem on the boat, but when they got to the shore, they could not be like barbarians, sticking their butts everywhere to solve the problem of defecation and urination. Civilized people should behave like civilized people.

Although it wouldn't take long, Min Xi thought their decision was quite correct. Now, they got to benefit from it. At least they could take a comfortable hot bath, which was also the most comfortable bath they had taken since going out to sea.

Inspired by this bathroom, they made a large bathtub on each ship. Even if it was not needed on the ship, they could use it to take a bath when they docked at the port. The most important thing was to take it back to the gold mine in the northwest. There was a severe shortage of wood there, and making such a bathtub was a luxury.

The next day they picked out the rice and sprouted potatoes, took hoes and other tools and got off the boat, and went to find land near the indigenous village to sow seeds.

The naval officers who were able to communicate with the locals made their intentions clear to them, called the natives to observe how they farmed, and told them that the potatoes should be harvested after the branches and leaves withered in the following year. The harvested potatoes can be boiled or roasted, but they must remember to save the seeds for future planting. They were also told that potatoes that have sprouted cannot be eaten.

After planting potatoes, they were given rice seeds and told to plant the rice after the potatoes were harvested and harvest it after the rice bore fruits.

In order to let these natives farm well, Min Xi even gave them a hoe as a gift. Although he could not get any return, it was also an initial investment.

But Min Xi was not sure whether it could succeed. After all, the natives here all lived by gathering and hunting, and had no idea of ​​farming at all.

After planting potatoes, things here are almost done. When Min Xi and his companions didn't come back, the people on the ship had already prepared the supplies and were ready to leave at any time. If they hadn't been waiting for them, they would have left long ago.

So on the third day after returning to the bay, they weighed anchor and set sail. The local natives came to the shore to see them off, and the crew on the ship also waved goodbye to the people on the shore reluctantly.

Min Xi and Yun Ji sat at the stern of the boat, watching the reactions of the crew and naval officers and soldiers on board. Some of them even wiped away their tears, and it seemed that they really couldn't bear to leave those simple natives.

Min Xi smiled and said, "It seems that they did not gain nothing. At least they gained something very precious."

"Yes. These natives are quite simple and honest, and rarely encounter bad people." Yun Ji said, "Where are we going next? Are we still looking for gold mines?"

Min Xi shook his head: "I remember there are few gold mines in the east, but there may be more coal mines. Let's go to the northeast corner to look for pearls. There are also many corals there."

"Sounds like he's pretty rich."