The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Knowing that he could not go home for the New Year, Doctor Qiao was depressed for two days, but he quickly adjusted himself. If he could not go home for the New Year this year, he could still go home next year or the year after. After all, home was very close, and he would be able to reunite with his family soon, just a few days later.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were also a little homesick, thinking about their families and worried about what might happen in the capital. Of course, Yun Lin was the one they were most worried about. They had been gone for more than a year, and only sent a letter back when the first batch of merchant ships returned to Daming. It had been a year since then, and there had been no news for a year. Yun Lin was a sensitive child, and I didn't know how he had survived.

After the canal boats crossed the Yellow River, the weather became increasingly cold. The entire north was now freezing cold, and the surface of the canal was frozen. Fortunately, there were always canal boats passing through the canal, and there were special people responsible for clearing the ice, so the boats could sail normally, but the speed would definitely be affected.

The weather was extremely cold and the space on the boat was cramped, so there was nothing to do except warming yourself by the fire.

Fortunately, the grain ship was moving relatively smoothly, so Min Xi and Yun Ji took this opportunity to write a memorial in the cabin, recording their journey and presenting it to Emperor Wanli after returning.

Min Xi and Yun Ji both wrote, Yun Ji wrote memorials, and Min Xi wrote travel notes. Although Wanli was an emperor, he had only been out of the palace a few times since he was a child. He was fascinated by the outside world, but he could not go there. Min Xi planned to write down their experiences for him to read, as a consolation.

Every time Min Xi wrote a paragraph, he would show it to Yun Ji and ask him to help revise and polish it. His own writing skills were average, and although he could express himself clearly, the writing of an engineering student was dry and not very readable, which was not as good as Yun Ji who graduated from the Hanlin Academy.

The two had the same experience, but they looked at the problem from different perspectives. After reading it, Yun Ji would revise and polish it based on Min Xi's work. Min Xi would then take his revisions to read, and the two of them would get together to recall and discuss, which was quite interesting. Time passed quickly without them noticing, and by the time the travelogue was almost finished, they had already arrived in the capital.

After all, we spent this New Year on the boat, because when traveling, we can only celebrate it simply.

The day they arrived in Beijing was the fourth day of the first lunar month. When they arrived, it was already dark, and there was heavy snowfall from the sky. The snowflakes fluttered and fell to the ground with a rustling sound. The entire capital was covered with snow, and it was so white and clean that even the wharf of Shichahai was deserted, with carriages and horses that usually solicited passengers.

They didn't tell anyone in advance when they would be back, so no one came to greet them. When everyone got off the boat, Doctor Qiao looked at the thick snow and wondered, "What should we do? Should we walk home?"

Min Xi said: "Don't worry, I will definitely let you return safely, just wait a moment."

The servants of the Yun family had already gotten off the boat and ran to a nearby carriage shop to rent a carriage. There might not be anything else near the pier, but there was definitely no shortage of inns, restaurants, and carriage shops, all of which were prepared for the merchants coming and going. Doctor Qiao had never left Beijing before, so he didn't know about these things, but Min Xi and Yun Ji were frequent visitors here, so they knew it all too well.

Soon, the servants returned with several carriages. One was for Doctor Qiao and the two craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, responsible for sending them back, and the others were for their own use. After returning from overseas, they could not return empty-handed, so the ships were full of things and goods they brought back from overseas.

Min Xi and Yun Ji only sorted out some gifts for their families and the emperor and loaded them onto the carriage, and went home first. They left the rest to the servants to watch over and send them to the Yunxiang's warehouse after they were loaded.

The carriage passed through the quiet streets. Besides the clatter and rumble of the horses and carriages, the occasional sound of firecrackers could be heard. Those were children setting off firecrackers for fun.

Min Xi and Yun Ji sat in the carriage, leaning against each other and holding each other's hands. Min Xi said with emotion: "We are finally home!"

"Yes, you've become so thin after this trip. You should go home and take good care of yourself. It hurts my hands to hug you." Yun Ji smiled and touched Min Xi's shoulder.

"You are the same, big brother, don't dislike the second brother!" Min Xi reached out and poked his chest.

Yun Ji grinned and said, "I don't mind, but you still need to eat more, gain more weight, and keep your body healthy."

Min Xi nodded: "Yes."

The carriage finally stopped, Yun Ji opened the curtain and looked out: "We're home!"

It was dark, almost night, and the front door was closed. Yun Ji jumped out of the car and knocked on the door. After a while, the doorman answered the door: "Who is it?"

Yun Ji didn't reply, but continued to knock on the copper ring. The doorman opened the door, caught a glimpse of Yun Ji, and shouted in surprise: "Master, you are back!!"

He hurried to open the door, shouting: "Master is back! Master is back!"

Soon, there was a burst of hurried footsteps and cheers from inside the door, and everyone in the family came to greet the master. Everyone was so happy to see the master that some of them were quick-witted and even wished Yun Ji a happy new year.

Min Xi jumped out of the car when he saw someone coming out: "The stuff is valuable, please move it carefully."

Yun Ji and Min Xi stood at the gate, watching the servants move things, and only went into the house after confirming that nothing was left behind. As they walked in, a small figure ran out of the yard and pounced on Min Xi, stretching out its tongue to lick Min Xi. Min Xi caught the Overlord with his hands, dodged its tongue, and laughed happily: "Overlord, don't lick, okay, don't lick!"

Following closely behind Overlord was a tall and thin figure. Before the person arrived, the voice had already been heard: "Big brother! Second brother!" There was even a hint of crying in the voice.

"Lin'er!" The two looked at their younger brother. They hadn't seen him for more than a year. Yun Lin had grown from a little boy into a tall young man. The change was so great that not only had his height grown a lot like bamboo shoots after a spring, but even his voice had changed and he was trying to warm up.

When you see Yunlin, you can see the shadow of Yunji’s childhood. The two brothers look 70% similar.

Yun Lin's emotions were not as outward as when he was a child. He ran to his two brothers, but did not rush over to hug them. Instead, he reached out and held their hands: "You're finally back!" As he spoke, tears had already fallen.

"Why are you shedding golden beans again?" Min Xi raised her hand to wipe away the tears on his face. "I'm sorry, we were away for a long time this time and made you worried. Lin'er has grown so much taller, taller than me. This is too fast. What did you eat?"

Yun Ji patted his brother's shoulder and said, "You've grown a lot taller. You've become an adult now. But you're too thin. You need to eat more and gain some weight."

Yun Lin smiled sheepishly: "I eat a lot, but I don't gain weight."

Min Xi rolled his eyes at Yun Ji and said, "He's still growing, how can he grow both vertically and horizontally? Don't worry, take your time, let's grow first, catch up with your brother, or even be taller than him."

Yunlin admires his eldest brother the most: "It's enough to be as tall as him."

Yun Ji said, "Let's go. Don't stand at the door and talk. It's windy. Let's go back inside and talk."

So Yunlin took his two brothers' hands and walked into the yard. Bawang followed behind, wagging his tail happily. It hadn't seen its two masters for a long time.

Yun Ji asked about the situation at home: "Is everything okay at home? Are my grandmother and uncles okay? Are Baron Fernando and his family okay?"

Yun Lin answered as he walked, "Everything is fine at home. My eldest cousin sends money and things every month. We take care of food, clothing, housing and transportation. My grandmother was ill last year and her eyes were almost blind. She can only see a little shadow when the light is the strongest in the day. I have consulted many famous doctors, but there is no improvement. My uncles are all fine. My second uncle has been reinstated. Baron Fernando and his family are all doing well. The baron bought a shop on Qianmen Street and opened a Western-style teahouse. Business is booming. They even came to visit us yesterday."

"Then let's go to pay New Year's greetings to grandma tomorrow." Yun Ji and Min Xi were both a little worried about their grandmother's health.

Yun Lin hesitated for a moment and said in a relatively low voice, "I failed the provincial examination last year. The teacher said that I was not ready yet and needed to hone my skills for another two years."

Upon hearing this, Min Xi and Yun Lin quickly patted the back of his hand to comfort him: "If you didn't win, then you didn't win. We are still young. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Min Xi said, "You know, when Zhang Ge Lao first participated in the provincial examination, he was also deliberately blocked by the governor because he was too young, saying that he needed more training. Look, he has now become the prime minister. You are still young, so it is necessary for you to train more."

After hearing this, Yunlin's uneasiness disappeared: "I will definitely continue to work hard!"

"Come on, my brother and I are very optimistic about you." Min Xi patted his shoulder to show encouragement.

"Big brother, have you found the New World? How far is it from Ming Dynasty? Is it fun?" Yun Lin asked his two brothers about their diplomatic mission.

Min Xi and Yun Ji chatted with him about their experiences in Australia.

After a while, they returned to Xiweiyuan.

Yunlin said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, you guys take a rest first. I'll arrange for someone to prepare food for you. There's water in the bathing pool, you can take a bath first, and then you can eat later."

"Okay!" Yun Ji agreed, "Go ahead."

Min Xi had people put all the things in the main hall of Xiwei Courtyard. What they brought back were basically valuable items such as gold, pearls, corals, etc. Some of these things were to be presented to the emperor, and some were to be given as gifts, so they were all placed here.

While Min Xi was counting things, Yun Ji was preparing some clothes for them. When he was done, he came out and saw Min Xi still counting, so he said, "No more counting. Go take a shower and warm up. Come back later. Anyway, you won't be able to run away."

Min Xi did not insist, closed the account book, and followed Yun Ji to the bathhouse at the back. As soon as they came back, they had hot water to bathe, mainly because Xiweiyuan needed floor heating in winter, and hot water was boiled under the bathhouse every day, so they could bathe at any time in winter, which was convenient for them.