The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

On the way back, Min Xi thought again that they didn't need to find someone to write the box, they just needed to find someone to write a template. They could practice with the design template and then write it themselves. After all, they needed a lot of them, and they couldn't always ask someone to write for them.

After returning, he told Yun Ji his thoughts.

Yun Ji understood this approach very well. Their Yunxianghao also had its own logo, but it didn't have the address on it. Yunxianghao was a reputation and fame accumulated over generations, and it was not on the same level as their unknown little restaurant. Now they wanted to quickly increase their popularity, and this method was undoubtedly appropriate.

"If you want to do this, you can try it." Yun Ji agreed with his approach.

Min Xi hesitated for a moment: "I asked the Baron to help me find someone, and he actually recommended Lord Mello to me. I didn't think he was suitable, so I didn't agree."

Yun Ji showed an expression of disbelief: "He is a son of a marquis, is he willing to help others do this?"

Min Xi said, "Yes, I also think it is impossible, but the Baron said that it is very likely that he will help. I want someone to write one or two samples, and then we can copy them and write our own."

Yun Ji nodded when he heard this: "That's not impossible."

"But Lord Mello's intentions are not pure, and I'm afraid you will feel uncomfortable. In fact, I won't owe him a favor. I can treat him to a few good meals as a reward for his help in writing." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji raised an eyebrow: "If you think it's okay, then go ahead and do it. So far, he hasn't done anything particularly annoying." I just think it's quite funny that he got his clothes dirty and then ran away.

Min Xi smiled and said, "You agree? I'll tell the Baron the next time he comes."

Before going to bed that night, Min Xi began to soak the ingredients he had prepared. The next morning, he got up early to kill chickens and ducks to prepare Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Although it was difficult to gather all the ingredients, Min Xi prepared more than a dozen of them, trying to reproduce them as closely as possible.

When Yun Ji came back from buying vegetables, Min Xi had already stewed the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in a clay pot. The Duke's Mansion would also have to use clay pots to stew it, and the quantity could not be small. After all, there would be hundreds of people eating it, and each person would have a small bowl, so at least ten pots would have to be stewed.

Today, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall stew occupied a stove, so I couldn't steam the buns for the main dish, so I made baked buns. Baked buns are more popular than steamed buns, but baking buns is more troublesome than steaming buns. Yunji needs to bake them and watch the fire all the time. It's very smoky and hot. It's very painful to stay by the naan pit all day, so Min Xi tries to make less baked buns.

Looking at it this way, three stoves are still a bit too few, but the kitchen is only this big and more won’t fit. So I’ll build two more stoves in the backyard as backup.

By the evening, the slow-cooked Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was finally cooked. In fact, the biggest feature of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is that it contains a lot of collagen. Fish lips, fish skin, fish glue, and tendons are all gelatinized and very thick when stewed.

After stewing, Min Xi served out two small bowls and he and Yun Ji tasted one each.

This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is stewed for a long enough time that most of the ingredients are very soft and rotten, and it tastes very smooth. Because it contains a lot of seafood and meat, it is naturally delicious.

Yun Ji took two bites and said, "It's rich and mellow, and it's really top quality. But for those who live a life of luxury, they'll get sick of it if they eat too much."

Min Xi smiled slyly: "That's why we only give each person a small bowl. Just taste it and don't be greedy. It's best if they eat until they are satisfied and can't forget it."

Yun Ji smiled and nodded: "That's the way it should be."

Min Xi said, "Let's have dinner quickly, the guests will be here soon."

Tonight they had seafood noodles, which was the main dish prepared for the Duke's birthday party.

The noodles are kneaded into a very chewy texture and pulled into thin strips. The noodles are cooked directly in chicken soup. After being cooked, they are taken out and put into the cold chicken soup again. Freshly fried crab meat and shrimp are then added. The crab meat and shrimp are chopped into small pieces and fried while hot. Pour the noodles directly into the noodle bowl and stir them together so that each noodle is covered with crab and shrimp meat. This is seafood noodles.

Crabs are cheap, so Diego and his friends enjoyed themselves tonight. They ate a bowl of premium seafood noodles and almost swallowed their tongues.

Yun Ji ate the noodles and sighed, "You still know how to eat it. Where is this made?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "I got inspiration from Suzhou's three shrimp noodles and improved it myself. Isn't it delicious?"

Yun Ji sighed: "You have made me so picky."

Min Xi said, "If you run a restaurant, you can't treat yourself badly. How much do you think you would charge for a bowl of noodles like this?"

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "It should be at least 50 Swiss francs." A bowl of three-prawn noodles costs 100 cents.

"Anyone want to eat 50 ris?"

"I think so."

"Then we don't need to open a restaurant, we can just open a noodle shop. Opening a noodle shop is convenient, and you don't have to prepare so many ingredients, so the cost is greatly reduced." Min Xi smiled.

Yun Ji said, "I think it's okay. If you open a noodle shop, I can be of great help. You just need to prepare the noodle soup and toppings, and I will help you knead and pull the dough."

Min Xi smiled and shook his head: "Forget it, noodles are too simple. If a noble entertains guests, would it be more classy to have a large table of dishes or to have a bowl of noodles? You can sell seafood noodles as a staple food, selling a bowl for 50 riyals. If a customer orders, most likely they won't just order one bowl, so I think you can still make a lot of money."

Yun Ji looked at him and said, "The more tricks you use, the more you will suffer."

Min Xi smiled and said, "It's okay if you're tired, as long as you can make money."

When Baron Fernando came over in the evening, besides his two brothers, there was Lord Merlot and two beautifully dressed ladies, the wives of the Baron's two brothers.

Gale led them directly to the private room on the second floor. Baron Fernando went to the kitchen to greet Min Xi. Lord Melo was too embarrassed to follow him. He came with the Baron today to try the dishes. If he didn't come today, all the dishes would be tried. He missed the boneless roasted chicken yesterday, which was so delicious even with the bones. He regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. He followed the Baron here today, just to take this opportunity to find a way out, otherwise he would be embarrassed to come.

When Min Xi saw them arrive, he asked, "How many people came tonight?"

The Baron said, "Six. My two brothers and sisters-in-law are here, as well as Lord Mello."

"Your Lordship is here too?" Min Xi was very surprised that he would come.

"Yes, he came with us to taste the food. Since you want to write in artistic style, it's a good opportunity for him to do it for you," said the baron.

Min Xi said, "Sure, I can talk to him later when I'm free, or he can come tomorrow at noon. There will be fewer customers then, and I won't be so busy."

"Then come at your own time; he has plenty of free time," said the Baron.

Min Xi said, "The dishes you want to try are already prepared, but since there are so many of you, you should order a few more dishes. I will serve them to you when they are almost ready."

"Then please serve me a few dishes. Don't try to use flavors that are too unique, as this is the first time for the two sisters-in-law to come here. But the sweet and sour pot-fried pork is good. Serve us one," said the baron.

Min Xi knew that he meant not to make it too spicy or too garlicky. After all, ladies are more concerned about their image. "Okay, no problem."

For guests who come for the first time, Min Xi usually prepares lighter dishes for them.

Soon, the sweet and sour pork was ready. Gail served the sweet and sour pork to the Baron's private room first. When he came down, Amanda had already divided the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall into six bowls.

Fortunately, Min Xi didn't let Diego and the others taste it, otherwise it wouldn't be enough for the Baron and his men.

When the pot-fried pork came up, Lord Melo hesitated for a moment. He didn't eat pork, but he didn't expect the baron to order this dish. But the baron's two brothers and sister-in-law ate it without any burden and praised it highly. If he didn't eat it, it would seem too fake, so he had to bite the bullet and eat a piece.

Just after finishing the meal, the door of the private room rang again, and more dishes were served. Gale's tray was filled with six small bowls: "Sir, this is the dish we want to try today, Fu Shou Quan. This dish has been stewed since this morning. The boss asked you to taste it and tell him your opinions."

He placed the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in front of everyone. Everyone looked at the thick soup in the bowl and a few unrecognizable ingredients, and it was a bit difficult to start. The Baron took the spoon first and said, "Let me taste it first." He knew that this was definitely not a prank dish, after all, it was made for his grandfather's birthday party.

He scooped up a little soup and tasted it, his eyebrows dancing: "Oh wow! No wonder it takes so long to make, you guys try it quickly, it tastes the most delicious I've ever tasted!"

After hearing what he said, the others tried it carefully and were all captivated by its delicious taste. Even Lord Mello agreed with the Baron's statement, saying it was truly the best thing they had ever tasted!