The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

A few days later, Lord Mello saw the cursive advertising slogan he designed appeared on the snack box. He was very surprised after reading it. Although it was not his handwriting, it was still very well written and the connected strokes looked very smart.

Lord Melo asked curiously, "Who wrote this?"

Min Xi said, "Sir, this is what I wrote."

"Have you ever practiced artistic bodywork?"

Min Xi shook his head: "No, I didn't know the Fulangji characters before, I just practiced according to the template you gave me."

Lord Mello couldn't help but look at him twice more: "Are you really illiterate?"

Min Xi nodded: "Really."

Lord Mello has always been very satisfied with his talent, but he was a little shocked at this moment. You know, it took him several months to practice artistic body language. He didn't expect that Min Xi, an illiterate person, could write like this in just a few days. Although it was copied, his talent should not be underestimated.

For the first time, Lord Mello felt that there is always someone better than you.

Ever since he wrote the advertising slogan for Min Xi, he dared to come to the restaurant alone again. However, he still didn't have the courage to get close to Yun Ji. He just met Yun Ji a few times and became familiar with him.

Yun Ji didn't care too much about Lord Mello. He just did what he had to do. At least he didn't dare to offend him with words or actions, so it didn't cause any trouble to him.

Fernando was very efficient. After tasting the dishes, he prepared all the necessary ingredients according to Min Xi's requirements. As for the cooking utensils and stoves, he also prepared them according to Min Xi's requirements. He even picked up Min Xi in a carriage on the way to inspect the results.

The Duke's Mansion had plenty of money, so even disposable stoves were made with great care. Of course, Min Xi, the cook, had no objection, as this was perfect for him.

In Min Xi's original plan, they would close the shop every Sunday because most locals would close their shops and go to church on Sundays, and few would go out to do business. This way they would have time to do their own things.

But later I thought, four days off a month is a bit too much. I was in debt at the beginning of my business, so it was not the right time to rest! So I changed it to two days, one day off every half a month.

Yun Ji was amazed at the custom of Fulangji to rest every Sunday. Every Sunday, men, women, young and old, regardless of status, would stop what they were doing, dress neatly and decently, and go to church with the elderly and children to worship, listen to God's gospel, and thank God for everything they have given them.

There were also Buddhists and Taoists in the Ming Dynasty. They would go to temples and Taoist temples to burn incense on the first and fifteenth days of each month. However, they were not like the Fulangji people who all believed in Catholicism. In order to worship, they would stop doing anything else, whether it was farming or doing business.

He also often saw people in the store praying before eating, thanking God for the food.

The influence of Catholicism on the Frangi people has penetrated into every aspect of life. For example, during the fasting period, the Frangi people cannot eat the meat of hot-blooded animals, such as pork, beef, mutton, chicken, duck, goose, etc., but they can eat seafood because these animals that live in water are cold animals.

Min Xi and Yun Ji didn't understand this at first, until they went to the market to buy vegetables and found that these meats were not available. They asked and found out what was going on. It turned out that Friday was the Sabbath, and fasting was required on this day. And in April, the whole month of Easter, fasting was required.

Min Xi had to change his plan and replaced the originally prepared staple food, baked buns, with seafood buns and noodles.

Fortunately, the Duke's birthday was not on Friday but on Sunday, otherwise he would have to readjust the menu.

On the second Sunday after opening, the restaurant was closed because there was no time to rest the next Sunday because everyone had to go to the Duke's palace to help.

After breakfast in the morning, Min Xi said to Yun Ji, "I'm going to take a walk outside the city and visit the fields. You can stay at home and paint."

Yun Ji looked at him: "Are you going alone?"

"What's wrong with me being alone? Are you worried?"

Yun Ji nodded: "I am worried."

"But you haven't finished the painting yet. The Duke's birthday is in five days."

"It doesn't matter. I'll go with you once you finish the painting." Yun Ji was indeed a little worried about him. The key point was that Diego also went to church today.

Min Xi said: "If you can arrange to come, then let's go together."

When they went out, Yun Ji picked up a hoe, while Min Xi took the big basket for buying vegetables from home, an axe, and a bundle of ropes.

Yun Ji asked, "What are you bringing these for?"

Min Xi said, "Last time, I said I wanted to make straw paper. I went outside the city to see if I could gather some wheat straw."

"Where's the axe?"

"If there is no straw, it would be good to cut some and peel off some bark if you come across one that is suitable."

Yun Ji thought it was funny: "Okay."

Min Xi glanced at him: "What's that expression on your face? Now that you're here, you have nothing. You can only rely on yourself."

Yun Ji put the basket on his back: "It's nothing, I'll help you to be self-reliant."

At this time, everyone was heading towards the church. The two outsiders, who were not religious, looked a little different as they were walking out of the city.

At this time, Min Xi was actually very glad that he was Chinese. If he were from another country, he would probably be treated as a pagan. There was no other way. The religious struggles of this era were too serious.

The two men left the city and found that the wheat fields in the suburbs had been harvested, leaving only bare land.

"The wheat has been harvested. Let's go to the farmers' homes and ask for some wheat straw. Let's try making a little first. If it succeeds, we'll do more." Min Xi said.

"Okay, let's go to the fields first." Yun Ji said.

The two went to the vegetable garden first. Since the restaurant opened, they rarely went to the garden. Occasionally they went there to pick vegetables, such as ripe peppers and tomatoes. The garden was full of grass, and they were in a hurry every time, so they didn't have much time to weed.

They came here today to weed. After planting the vegetables, they seldom watered them. Fortunately, both crops prefer dryness and hate moisture, so they don't need frequent watering. Moreover, they are planted next to a stream, so they are not killed by drought and are growing well. They have produced quite a few fruits, but because not much fertilizer is used, the fruits are not very big.

After arriving at the vegetable garden, Min Xi put down the basket and started picking vegetables, picking the ripe tomatoes and peppers and taking them back. Yun Ji then took the hoe and started weeding.

After picking the tomatoes, Min Xi looked back at Yun Ji who was weeding and said with a smile, "You really look like a farmer, not a pampered young master."

Yun Ji said without even looking up: "What's wrong with farmers? The scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are all members of the nation. Agriculture is the foundation of the country. His Majesty the Emperor personally tills the land and sows seeds every year to encourage agriculture and sericulture."

After hearing this, Min Xi sighed: "Sure enough, farming is in our genes."

"What is gene?" Yun Ji heard this new word for the first time.

Min Xi came back to his senses: "Oh, this is what Yingtian Prefecture said. It is a kind of talent. Everyone in our Ming Dynasty can farm, no matter if he is an official or a businessman. It depends on whether he wants to farm. Even if he doesn't farm, he has to grow some flowers and plants."

Yun Ji thought about it and nodded: "It seems to make some sense."

Min Xi picked all the red peppers, took them home to dry and set aside for later use. They are indispensable for hot pot soup base in winter.

Min Xi was not very satisfied with the yield. He planned to keep more seeds and hire a farmer to grow some peppers and tomatoes for him next year. After all, he did not have much time to farm. At least he could not guarantee watering, fertilizing and weeding. How could he guarantee the yield?

After picking the peppers, Yun Ji hadn't finished weeding yet. Min Xi tried to pull out the weeds with his hands, but Yun Ji stopped him: "Don't pull it out, won't it hurt your hands? I'll finish it in a moment."

Min Xi withdrew his hand and looked towards the place where he had picked bear onions before. Wow, the bear onions had all rotted.

He said to Yun Ji, "I'll go pick two handfuls of bear onions from the vegetable stand."

Yun Ji just raised his head and saw Min Xi had already jumped to the other side of the stream: "Be careful, it's so hot, beware of worms."

"Don't scare me. Insects are also afraid of people. They would have run away long ago when they heard the noise. Wow, the chives are so tender!" Min Xi exclaimed happily, "Pick a few and stir-fry them with meat. They will be delicious."

Min Xi didn't care about Yun Ji, and started to pick the chive stalks, picking the thick and tender ones: "Wait for it to bloom in a while, and then pick the chive flowers. The chive flowers can also be used to make sauce."

Yun Ji laughed when he heard that. He was happy when he came across something delicious.

After Yun Ji finished weeding, he also went to help Min Xi pick two handfuls of chive sprouts.

Min Xi saw that it was almost done and said, "That should be enough. Let's go find some more straw." There must be a lot of mushrooms in the woods at this moment, but Min Xi didn't plan to pick them up, because the locals would also pick them up. If he needed them, he could just go to the market and buy them because there were plenty of them and they weren't very expensive.

"Okay." Yun Ji carried the basket on his back. As for this kind of physical work, he would usually take the initiative to do anything he could do. After all, he was much stronger than Min Xi.