The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

When they went downstairs, Yun Ji was counting today's bills behind the counter.

When Lord Mello saw Yun Ji, he was like a very shy little girl. He didn't dare to look at her for too long and just glanced at her quickly.

Yun Jiluo greeted generously: "Welcome to come again next time."

Lord Mello blushed and walked away quickly.

Min Xi was very surprised when he saw his reaction from behind. Didn't he always want to know Yun Ji's name? Why was he so shy when he met her in person? He was too naive, which didn't fit his image of a beauty hunter.

Min Xi walked to the counter, folded his hands on the counter, rested his chin on the back of his hands, and looked at the account book: "How is it today?"

"It's 800 more than yesterday." Yun Ji asked, "Did he agree?"

Min Xi looked up at him and nodded: "I agreed. He wanted to exchange your signature for your name, but I refused and gave him a 10% discount."

Yun Ji raised an eyebrow and looked at him: "Why don't you agree?"

"Do you agree?" Min Xi asked unexpectedly.

Yun Ji smiled: "I thought you would agree."

"Of course I can't agree to it. Isn't that selling out friends for fame?" Min Xi snorted.

Yun Ji put down the goose feather pen in his hand and rubbed the top of his head: "Thank you for putting me before interests."

Min Xi's hands were pressed by his chin, and he couldn't move his hands away, so he let him touch him and continued to hum: "Of course, we are friends for life and death, how can I betray my friend for such a small profit."

Yun Ji rubbed it twice more and said, "The water is ready, go take a shower and rest early."

"Okay." Min Xi stood up, stretched, and went to take a shower.

The next morning, Min Xi and Yun Ji Diego arrived at the seafood market earlier than usual. When they arrived, many fishing boats were approaching the shore one after another, and the noise of fishermen was everywhere. Some were joking with others, while others were cursing. Those who were joking meant that they had a good harvest, while those who were cursing must have been unlucky and had not caught much.

Min Xi stood on the dock, selecting the seafood he needed from the fishing boats that had docked.

He wants all the croakers because of their maws. The fish meat is also very versatile and can be boiled, steamed, or pan-fried. It's a pity that there is no soy sauce, otherwise it could be braised.

Min Xi recently planned to make his own soy sauce. Since there was no soybean, he used broad beans instead. He didn't really understand the specific method. He had only seen a few clips on food shows. It should be cooked and fermented, and then salt and water were added, stirred evenly, and then put into a jar and exposed to the sun. He was not sure how long it would take, but it would not be short, at least a few months.

Summer is not over yet, the temperature is high enough, and fermentation is easier, so we have to hurry up and make it.

Min Xi was selecting seafood while thinking about how to make soy sauce. After they finished selecting, Baron Fernando finally arrived. When he saw Min Xi and Yun Ji, he couldn't help yawning.

Min Xi smiled and said, "If the Baron doesn't come again, I will leave."

Fernando said, "Have you bought it yet?"

"We have almost finished buying the seafood. I will tell the Baron what seafood we need to prepare, and you guys prepare it according to the quantities required for the banquet." Min Xi pointed at the seafood he bought and told Jody who was beside the Baron, asking him to write down what kind of shellfish was needed, the approximate quantity, how much croaker was needed, how many shark fins and fish lips were needed, etc. Jody hurriedly wrote them down one by one.

Min Xi said, "Fu Shou Quan needs not only seafood, but also chicken, duck, and deer tendons. If deer tendons are not enough, use pig tendons instead. In addition, eggs, mushrooms, etc. are also needed. Let's go to the vegetable market to check. Seventh brother, you and Diego go back with the seafood first, and I will go to the vegetable market with the Baron to buy vegetables."

Fernando said, "Get in the carriage, I'll take you back together."

Min Xi said, "We bought a lot of seafood, which has a strong fishy smell. It's better not to dirty your carriage."

Yun Ji also said: "Thank you for your kindness, we will go back by ourselves. Ninth brother, I will go back to clean up first, you can buy the remaining vegetables."

"Okay." Min Xi got on the Baron's carriage.

They drove to the vegetable market, a place Fernando had never been to in his life. It was extremely dirty and messy. Before he even entered, he smelled an unbearable odor and quickly took out a handkerchief to cover his nose.

Min Xi smiled and said, "Sir, you'd better not go in. Qiao Di and I will go in. In fact, you don't have to come. You can just arrange for Qiao Di to come."

Fernando couldn't help rolling his eyes: "Why didn't you say so earlier."

Min Xi smiled and said, "I didn't expect that you didn't expect it yourself, Baron. But your attitude of doing things yourself is very admirable."

Fernando was too embarrassed to be angry after being flattered. He leaned against the wall of the carriage with his arms folded and said, "Go ahead. I'll wait for you here. We can have breakfast at your restaurant."

"Okay, then please wait for us for a moment, sir." Min Xi and Qiao Di entered the vegetable market one after another.

While Min Xi was shopping for the ingredients he needed, he was also instructing Qiao Di on what kind of ingredients he needed to buy, which ingredients were the most suitable, etc. Qiao Di was a qualified housekeeper and wrote down everything Min Xi told him.

This time, he saw a lot of broad beans, so he bought them all. He happened to have a horse carriage, which saved him a lot of effort. Min Xi also saw a farmer selling duck and goose eggs, which looked very fresh, so he bought them all.

It was the first time that Qiao Di saw Min Xi buying groceries. She didn’t know how much he usually bought, but she just thought he bought a lot.

So when they returned to the carriage with the purchased ingredients, Fernando frowned and asked, "Why did you buy so much?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "Today I happened to have the convenience of a horse-drawn carriage, so I bought some more."

"So they're treating me as a coachman." Fernando said this, but his tone was very relaxed and he didn't look reluctant.

"Sir, I have something I want to ask you." Min Xi met him often in the past few days, but they didn't have many opportunities to be alone together. Today was a good opportunity.

Fernando said, “You say.”

"You know Captain Reis, right?" Min Xi went straight to the point.

Fernando nodded: "Yes, it's the Reis who saved you."

"Yes, he is now in court and in prison. I heard from Mr. Sang Wei that he is in Lisbon now, but we don't know where he is being held. Yun and I have both received a lot of kindness from him, and we can't pretend to be ignorant, so I want to ask you about his whereabouts and situation." In fact, he had wanted to find out about this for a long time, but he just didn't find the opportunity.

“In the prison in Lisbon,” said Fernando.

"Can we go visit him?" Min Xi asked.

Fernando shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not possible. He is a serious criminal and has not yet been sentenced. He needs a client designated by him to visit him."

"Has he not been sentenced yet? How long will he be sentenced to? Can I visit him in prison after the verdict?" Min Xi asked.

"I estimate that he will be sent to the Azores for imprisonment. I will arrange a meeting between you after the verdict," said Fernando.

"Thank you, sir!" Min Xi knew the Azores, which was an overseas territory of the Flanders. When the Shark came back, it went to one of the islands for supplies. It was a lush island. Captain Reis probably didn't think at the time that he would be imprisoned there one day.

Min Xi asked again: "How long will he be imprisoned?"

Fernando shook his head: "That's unknown."

Min Xi no longer talked about this matter. Logically, he was a person from a society ruled by law, and crimes should be punished, but emotionally, he still hoped that Captain Reiss would be given a light sentence.

Back in the store, they unloaded the things from the carriage. Yun Ji was surprised to see so many eggs and broad beans: "Why did you buy so many eggs and beans?"

Min Xi said: "The beans are used to make soy sauce, and the eggs are used to make salted duck eggs."

Yun Ji was even more surprised: "You can also make soy sauce?"

Min Xi said, "No, let's try. There are too many restrictions when cooking without soy sauce."

Yun Ji smiled and shook his head: "You are amazing."

Fernando didn't understand Chinese and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Min Xi said: "Let's discuss how to make a Chinese delicacy."

"Is it tasty?"

"Of course it's delicious."

"Then hurry up and try it."

Min Xi said, "We'll have to wait a few months. When it's ready, I'll let you taste it."

"So long! What kind of delicacy needs months to be cooked properly?" Fernando was a little bit unbelievable.

"It's hard to say now, you'll be able to taste it when it's ready. We Chinese have a saying that goes 'Good food is never too late'. If you want to eat delicious food, you'll need a little patience." Min Xi said as he went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

For breakfast, he had seafood noodles. Although it wasn't as delicious as last night's seafood noodles, it was much better than the bread the Baron usually ate.

"Min, can you teach my cook how to make noodles? I'm really tired of eating dry bread." Fernando said. Although bread is eaten with milk and fried eggs, it is far inferior to this bowl of delicious and juicy noodles.

Min Xi thought for a while and said, "Making noodles sounds simple. It's just adding water and kneading flour. But it's not easy to make them well. You can ask your cook to try more." In fact, the noodles are not the key, but the noodle soup and toppings are the key.

Min Xi actually doesn't quite understand why foreigners developed baked bread, while Chinese people developed steamed buns, boiled noodles, fried dough sticks, and baked and pancakes. It may be because of the different ways of thinking that different food cultures have developed.

Fernando guessed that since he had opened a restaurant, he was not willing to pass on his skills to others, but he couldn't force him, so he said, "It would be nice if we could have breakfast here, too."

Min Xi smiled and said, "I always have breakfast here, it just depends on whether you can get up or not."

Fernando thought for a moment and said, "Can I ask someone to pick it up?"

Min Xi said: "If you eat noodles, by the time you bring them from my place to your house, the noodles would have become mushy and wouldn't taste good." The main reason was that there were no refrigerators in those days. If you made some buns or dumplings, you could store them for a few days and eat them after processing. That would be much more convenient.

Fernando shrugged: "Forget it, if I can get up, I'll come and eat."