The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

"Is it okay to tie the horse at the door at night?" Min Xi came in after feeding the horse and said to Yun Ji who was counting the bills behind the counter.

"It's okay, the attic window is open and I can hear any noise." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi lay on the counter, resting his head on his hands, looking at Yun Ji who was counting: "Seventh Brother, I find that being with a martial arts master doesn't make me feel too safe!"

Yun Ji raised his eyelids, looked at him, and swept his face with the feather of the goose feather pen: "I am not an expert, your seventh brother. Go take a shower. The water is ready for you."

Min Xi was not in a hurry. He saw that Yun Ji had almost calculated the total income for this week, but the beads were not yet finished. Yun Ji did not know how to do vertical calculations with Arabic numerals, so he had to rely on mental arithmetic, which was really difficult for him.

Min knew how to do it, but Yun Ji was afraid that it would be too hard for him, so he didn't let him do it.

"How many did you sell this week?" Min Xi asked.

He felt that it would not be too few, because there was a new dish scoring activity and there were quite a few customers coming to eat every day.

The new dishes launched this week still scored the highest, and there were a few other dishes that scored 9 points, but none of them scored higher than fried mushrooms. It seems that fried foods are indeed the most unifying of human tastes.

But there are two dishes that scored below 9 points, namely sweet and sour pork and barbecued pork, because they are made from pork. Although they are sweet dishes loved by foreigners, they have not received unanimous praise. Some people like them and some don’t. The main reason is that the pork smells too strong and many people don’t like it.

As long as the dishes score no less than 9 points, they will have a chance to be on the menu in the future.

Yun Ji wrote the last number on the draft book and said, "This week, we sold 169 reais in total, which is more than % more than last week."

Min Xi's eyes lit up: "That's great! This new dish scoring activity can also boost attendance. It's a great idea. I have to thank the Baron very much."

"The more guests you have, the more tired you will be." Yun Ji looked helplessly at Min Xi who couldn't stop yawning, "Hurry up and take a shower and rest early."

"Yes, sir!" Min Xi jumped up and went to the back.

When Yun Ji finished washing up and went upstairs, Min Xi had already fallen asleep. He glanced at Min Xi, sat down under the lamp, and continued carving abacus beads. He carved for ten days, carving a few every day. He was almost finished, with only the middle of the bead yet to be drilled.

Min Xi had already prepared a pull drill for him. This device is a traditional drilling tool used by Chinese carpenters. When Min Xi was a child, he was playing in his hometown and found such a tool in his grandfather's old house. He was so surprised that he used it to drill holes everywhere. When he was drilling the drill head, he broke it, which made him regret it for a long time.

A few days ago, he made another one based on his memory. When he learned that Yun Ji wanted to make an abacus by himself, he planned to make the drill by himself.

The abacus beads carved by Yunji are not so regular and round, because it is impossible to make them round with a carving knife. He has no choice but to do it this way. He does not have high requirements, as long as it can be used.

I will finish carving the last few beads tonight and start drilling the holes tomorrow. It will be finished soon.

He never imagined that one day he would have to make an abacus himself. In this life, he experienced many things that he had never imagined.

After Yun Ji finished carving the last abacus bead, he blew out the candle that was almost burned out and gently went to bed.

As soon as he lay down, he heard the person lying next to him move: "Seventh Brother, did you put out the candle?"

"Why did you wake up?" Yun Ji asked.

Min Xi said, "I woke up because I had to pee. I drank too much tea when I was chatting with the Baron last night. I'll go get some water." After saying that, he got up rustlingly and prepared to jump over Yun Ji to get out of bed.

In the darkness, Min Xi didn't know where to put his hands and feet. He only felt his hands on the warm body, and he quickly moved forward. As a result, he didn't know where his feet stepped, but it was a soft place anyway.

Yun Ji cried out in pain. Min Xi was startled and quickly moved his feet away. He lost his balance and fell sideways on Yun Ji. Min Xi quickly propped himself up and apologized: "I'm sorry, Seventh Brother, did I hurt you?"

Yun Ji's forehead was covered in sweat. The boy's kick was not light, but he couldn't say anything to him. He gritted his teeth and said, "It's okay. Just light it carefully. There is no light. Do you want me to light it for you again?"

"No need, there's a moon tonight and I can see." It was too troublesome to light a lamp, and Min Xi didn't want to go through so much trouble. His eyes adapted to the darkness, and the moonlight pouring in from the window was enough for him to see.

"Okay, then you be careful." Yun Ji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

After Min Xi went downstairs, he suddenly remembered Yun Ji, the ruthless man. When he corrected his bones, he just groaned a few times. It was probably because he stepped on an unspeakable place just now. Min Xi raised his hand and slapped his forehead. It was really a sin.

When Min Xi came upstairs, Yun Ji had already moved to the bed and lay down.

Min Xi lay down again. He was too embarrassed to mention what happened just now, so he said, "Seventh Brother, do you know why the Baron hasn't come to dinner recently?"

"Why?" Yun Ji didn't really care, he just followed his topic and made a joke.

"The Baron's family has arranged a marriage for him, with the daughter of a British nobleman, and he has been accompanying his fiancée recently," said Min Xi.

"Oh." Yun Ji responded again.

Min Xi asked, "Do all the children of you big families have to marry through family alliances?"

Yun Ji opened his eyes, then said "hmm" very reluctantly.

Min Xi raised his voice: "Really? Then my sister-in-law is also a marriage of convenience?"

Yun Ji said, "I am not married yet."

"Then the marriage must have been arranged." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji was silent. He couldn't deny that as the heir of a big family like him, his family elders had already found a suitable girl for him a long time ago. After all, she was the future mistress of a big family, so she must be a girl with outstanding family background, character, appearance and talents.

It was not easy to pick one, who was four years younger than him. They could have gotten married, but her father passed away and she had to observe mourning for her father for three years. Yun Ji couldn't object, it was the right thing to do, so he followed the fleet. If they got married, he wouldn't be able to leave so easily.

Not denying it was a tacit agreement. Min Xi became interested: "How did you meet my sister-in-law? She must be very beautiful, right?"

Yun Ji thought about it. It wasn't that he was a complete stranger to his fiancée. Her family was wealthy and she was a salt merchant. She was pretty, but she was always shy when she saw him. They never said anything. They didn't understand each other, and of course there was no love between them.

Yun Ji thought at the time, as long as she didn't dislike him, it would be fine. After getting married in the future, they would naturally develop feelings for each other after spending time together. Even if there were no feelings, they could still live by treating each other with respect.

But now, he couldn't help but wonder, could he really accept such a marriage?

Min Xi raised his elbow and bumped Yun Ji: "Seventh brother, are you asleep?"

Yun Ji said: "The two families have business dealings, and my parents chose me."

"Then you must have met each other before, right? Have you gotten to know each other? However, the children of you big families are all bound by the rules of ethics and morality, and I'm afraid you can't fall in love before marriage. Most of you are probably like the Baron, getting married first and then falling in love." Min Xi sighed.

Yun Ji felt a little irritated for no reason when he heard him say that: "Aren't you sleepy? Go to bed quickly, you have to get up early."

Min Xi yawned: "It's time to go to bed." Although he sympathized with Yun Ji and the Baron, in fact, how good could he be? In this era, who would show their faces in public if they were girls from good families? If he married, it would be just like buying a lottery ticket. It would be great if he could go back to modern times, but what would it matter if he went back? With his job, he would be drifting on the sea all year round. Which girl would be willing to be with him?

Min Xi thought about it for a while and soon fell asleep.

Yun Ji, on the other hand, was disturbed by him. Things that he used to take for granted were no longer so easy to accept after he had escaped death. He understood the value of life and how hard it was to live. So, in this limited life, he did not want to be arranged by others. He stared for half the night before he could barely fall asleep.

The next day, Min Xi looked at Yun Ji's dark circles and asked in surprise, "Seventh Brother, why do you have such dark circles? Did you not sleep well?"

Yun Ji didn't say anything, but just silently carried the basket.

Min Xi felt that his aura was a little low, so he stopped making noise and followed him quietly to buy groceries.

As for Diego, he had already run a long way. This kid was really persistent, and he actually persisted for so long. But Gael was a bit of a mediocre guy, and he was a guy who only worked for a short time.

Yun Ji was used to Min Xi talking a lot, but today he suddenly stopped talking, and he felt very uncomfortable: "Why aren't you talking?"

"If you ignore me, what can I say?" Min Xi's tone was also bad.

Yun Ji took the initiative to find a topic: "What new dish are you going to make today?"

"I don't want to make a new dish today. Let's save some tricks for later. The private restaurant hasn't opened yet. I think we can introduce a new snack today. How about fried dough sticks?" Min Xi asked.

Yun Ji nodded: "Sure, I can help with this."

"Our Chinese cuisine is profound and extensive. If we really make it, we can make different dishes every year," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji said, “In fact, I have never heard of many of the dishes you cook, let alone eaten them.”

Min Xi chuckled: "That's right. Our China is vast and has a long history, and each place has its own special food. I work in a restaurant, meet chefs from all over the place, and learn a lot from them." He cooks cuisines from all over the country, with hundreds of years of historical accumulation and optimization. Nowadays, many ingredients and condiments are incomplete, and many cannot be made, otherwise there will be more surprises for him.

"It's thanks to your good comprehension that you can learn how to cook so many kinds of dishes." Yun Ji sighed.

"It means I was born to do this job." Min Xi stretched lazily.

Yun Ji nodded: "You are right!"