The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yesterday they went ashore after dark, so not many people saw them. Today it was daytime, and as soon as they went out, they were surrounded by people.

The adults stared at them intently, and the children looked at them and followed them, and discussed in front of them. Some said that they were dressed in rags and must be beggars, some said that their facial features were so flat, maybe they were crushed by a millstone, and their hair was so long, maybe they were witches.

These are obviously malicious statements. You should know that in modern Europe, witch hunting was very popular and countless innocent women were persecuted to death.

Min Xi stopped and looked at the group of little brats, threatening them: "I can understand everything you said! If you say another word, don't blame me for being rude to you."

The group of little brats immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Although Yunji didn't understand Portuguese very well, he knew from the expressions of the children that they didn't say anything nice, so he asked, "What did they say?"

Min Xi said, "It's nothing, little brat, don't pay attention to it."

Yun Ji looked at him and suddenly smiled: "I find that sometimes being deaf is not a bad thing."

"Of course, it will save me a lot of trouble." Min Xi shrugged.

The two men looked along the street and found that there were all kinds of shops on the street, including banks, pawnshops, restaurants, hotels, taverns, clothing stores, shoemakers, grocery stores, bakeries, etc.

The two went to a clothing store first. When the owner saw them, he came up to greet them warmly: "You two gentlemen don't look like locals. What can I do for you?"

Min Xi asked: "We each need two sets of clothes, from inside to outside, how much do you need?"

The boss asked, "Are there four sets from inside to outside?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes."

The boss said pretentiously: "Look at the materials of our clothes. We use the best fabrics and the workmanship is also first-class. You won't find better tailors in Europe. A coat is 1 reais, a shirt is 500 reais, and pants are 300 reais. A set of clothes is 1 reais 800 reais, and four sets are 7 reais 200 reais. After rounding off the decimals, I will charge you 7 reais."

The Flanki brought back a large amount of gold and silver from the New World and the colonies in Asia. The currency was silver coins with a very high silver content. The units were reis and reals. 1000 reis equaled 1 real, which was equivalent to the copper coins and silver in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the 10 reals given by Reis was not a small amount of money.

When Min Xi heard this, he knew that this man was asking for an exorbitant price.

Yunji asked about the price and said, "It's too expensive! We only paid 300 reais for a month's stay in the hotel, but they charge 300 reais for a pair of pants and 1 reais for a coat. It's a rip-off. Let's go somewhere else."

Although Yun Ji was born into a wealthy family, his family was engaged in business, from the nobility to the peddlers, from birth to death. As the heir to the head of the family, he had been immersed in the ways of business since he was a child, and was familiar with his family's industries. He was not a playboy who was detached from the world.

Min Xi nodded. He saw that this shop didn't seem to be visited by rich people. He guessed that the owner was taking advantage of them because they were foreigners and asking for exorbitant prices. So he said, "The clothes here are beyond our budget. Let's go look somewhere else."

When the boss saw them about to leave, he quickly stopped them and said, "Sir, you can bargain."

Min Xi said: "We need two sets of clothes each, a total of four sets, the total price is less than 1 reais."

The boss looked embarrassed and said, "This, this is too cheap." This price reduction was too harsh.

Min Xi said, "If we can't sell it, we'll go to another store."

The boss called them and said, "Sir, please add a little more. 500 riyals."

"Just 1 reais." Min Xi pulled Yun Ji's arm and walked out.

"Add 200 riels. Don't the fabric and workmanship for making clothes cost money?" The boss still didn't give up.

Min Xi and Yun Ji have already walked out of the store.

The boss said, "Damn it, I have such a difficult customer this early in the morning. OK, OK, just 1 reais!"

Min Xi and Yun Ji smiled at each other. In fact, even at this price, Min Xi felt that it was expensive. They bought clothes that ordinary people needed to keep warm and cover their shame, not fancy clothes. But this was the pre-industrial era, the industrial revolution had not yet begun, and the handicraft industry was the main industry. The productivity was low, so the price was naturally higher.

They went back to the store and started to choose clothes. Yun Ji had been living a life of luxury since childhood, and now he had fallen into such a state, and had experienced the misery and hardship of several lifetimes in just a few months. Naturally, there was nothing to be picky about now, as long as it fit him.

After choosing for a long time, they finally picked out two sets of clothes, the shirt and trousers were made of cotton, and the coat was made of wool, which was a reasonable price. Under the guidance of the owner of the hat shop, they went to buy shoes from an old shoemaker named Hughes, who said that his shoes were sturdy and cheap.

The owner of the clothing shop did not lie to them. The old shoemaker was very old, with his eyebrows and beard connected together. He set up a stall in the gap between two houses, which was no more than one meter wide. The shelves in the alley behind him were full of shoe patterns, soles and shoes.

He sat there with his head down, digging into the soles of his shoes, completely immersed in his own world, as if the hustle and bustle around him had nothing to do with him.

Min Xi and Yun Ji stood there and watched for a long time. The other party ignored them, so Min Xi had no choice but to speak: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Xius, the shoemaker? We would like to buy two pairs of shoes from you."

The old man finally raised his head and was stunned when he saw the two of them. It was probably the first time he saw Oriental people.

Min Xi said, "He and I want to buy a pair of shoes, and we want something lighter. What size do you think we should wear? Do you have them in stock, or do we need them custom-made? If we do, how long will it take to get the shoes?"

Hughes finally came to his senses and looked at the tattered boots on their feet, which obviously didn't fit them. Their own shoes had been lost in the sea long ago, and they had been barefoot all the way. The boots were the discarded boots given to them by the sailors on the ship when they were about to get off the ship.

"What size feet?" Old Hughes finally spoke.

Min Xi sat down on a small stool nearby, took off his ill-fitting boots, and said, "I don't know. We are from China, and the standards there are different from yours. Can you measure them for us?"

When Old Hughes heard this, he raised his head and stared at them: "China? The China that's very close to Luzon?"

Min Xi saw that he looked a little excited and was surprised. He nodded and said, "Yes. Do you know Luzon?"

Old Hughes' eyebrows and beard trembled: "Not only do I know, I've been there. Our captain, Mr. Magellan, was the first navigator to circumnavigate the world. Unfortunately, he was beaten to death by those Luzon people!" Tears flashed in his eyes.

Min Xi was shocked. He didn't expect that this humble shoemaker was one of the first crew members to sail around the world: "Are you one of the first adventurers to sail around the world?" That must have been at least forty years ago.

When Old Hughes said this, his face lit up, as if he recalled his past glory: "I was the youngest navigator in the country at the time, only seventeen years old. Those natives killed our captain and broke my leg. I could never go out to sea again! I had no choice but to inherit my family's shoe stall and became a hapless shoemaker! This small shoe stall trapped me for more than forty years."

"You are so amazing that you became a navigator at the age of seventeen!" Min Xi really admired him. You know, the navigator is an important person second only to the captain. He needs to know a lot of knowledge, such as depth measurement, drawing nautical charts, identifying directions, observing the weather, being familiar with routes, and leading the ship to avoid risks.

Old Hughes snorted, "I started going to sea when I was eleven years old. I followed my godfather, who was a navigator and taught me this skill. I dare say that I am still the youngest person to become a navigator in the Flanger!"

Min Xi's heart moved: "Then you must still remember the route you took at that time."

"Need I say more? It's all engraved here. It will disappear only when I die." Old Zeus tapped his temple with great pride, but put his hand down in frustration. Even though he had a lot of skills, he had no place to use them.