The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After the Baron left, Min Xi washed his face and went upstairs to rest.

Yun Ji was trying to drill holes in the beads. Although he had carved the beads into an oblate shape as much as possible, they were not completely flat. If they were not fixed, it would be a bit difficult to drill holes in them.

Because pulling holes requires the use of both hands at the same time, the beads can only be placed on the ground. If the beads are not flat, they cannot be fixed with force.

Yun Ji tried a few times, but before he could drill a hole, the beads flew away. He retrieved the beads, looked around, and tried to find something to fix the beads.

Min Xi heard the noise and looked up and asked, "Seventh Brother, what are you doing?"

Yun Ji said, "I am drilling holes in the beads."

Min Xi got up from the bed: "Have you carved the beads? Let me help you."

Yun Ji said, "No need for help, I can just find something to hold the beads in place."

Min Xi took a look and said, "I have a solution."

He ran downstairs, found two wooden boards, and stuck the abacus beads in the middle: "Is this okay?" He brought these two wooden boards back when he went to the carpenter to look for wood to make a drill.

Yun Ji said: "Okay, I'll try."

This way, it was indeed much easier, and soon he drilled out the first abacus bead.

Min Xi looked at the drill and said, "Seventh Brother, let me try. I'll drill the hole."

Yun Ji nodded: "Okay, you come."

Min Xi's drill was better than Yun Ji's. When Yun Ji was using force to clamp the beads, he found that both hands needed to use a lot of strength. From this perspective, the person who was drilling the holes actually used even less strength.

Min Xi became interested and drilled several abacus beads in one breath.

Yun Ji said, "Okay, go and rest, I'll do the drilling."

"How are you going to do it alone?" Min Xi asked.

Yun Ji sat on the ground and placed his feet against the outside of the board: "I'll just use my feet to hold it in place, go to sleep!"

Seeing that he could do it alone, Min Xi stopped insisting and lay back on the bed. He looked at Yun Ji busying himself, yawned, and said, "The Baron told me today that we should not do everything by ourselves, but learn to use people, otherwise we will not make a fortune."

Yun Ji said: "He is not wrong. But it takes time to train a chef."

Min Xi said, "What do you think of Diego? He has a pretty good understanding of dim sum."

"Yes, he baked the egg tarts very well, and the cake is also okay." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi said: "This child is persistent and hardworking, and he learns things whenever he has the chance. He is better than Gail." The key is that he did not interfere with his main job at all, and he also learned how to make snacks.

"Correct."

"If we open a snack shop and let Diego take care of it alone, can he take care of it?" Min Xi asked.

"It might be a bit difficult for him to handle it alone. We can help him in the early stage and find him an assistant." Yun Ji said.

"Then I have to teach him how to make a few more dim sum dishes. If he wants to open a store, he has to find a shop near us, not too far away," said Min Xi.

"You can't be too far away. Keep an eye out and see if there are any shops nearby."

Min Xi was thinking about what kind of snacks he should teach Diego to make, and fell asleep while thinking about it.

When he woke up, Yun Ji had already drilled half of the abacus beads. In two days, he would probably be able to use them.

Sure enough, Yun Ji had drilled all the beads that night. Min Xi didn't know what time he stayed up, but when he woke up in the morning, all the beads were ready.

After staying up for two nights, there were red bloodshot eyes.

Min Xi looked at him with some worry: "Seventh Brother, there's no need to be so anxious. What's wrong with being one day late?"

"I've been thinking about this all the time, so it's better to finish it sooner. I'll go to the carpenter this afternoon to get the outer frame and beams done, so I don't have to worry about settling the bill tonight." Yun Ji's face was full of anticipation.

It was the first time that Min Xi saw him so persistent about something, so he naturally supported her: "Then I'll go with you. Bring the drill with you, as the beams also need holes drilled."

"Well, bring them all."

After lunch, the two took all the accessories and tools to the carpenter. The carpenter was still taking a nap, so Min Xi and Yun Ji borrowed his tools and made the outer frame and beams themselves.

Although they were not carpenters, the Chinese still had the cultural advantage. Instead of using nails, they used mortise and tenon joints to firmly fix the outer frame of the abacus.

After finishing the abacus, Min Xi danced with joy: "Great! Long live the mortise and tenon structure!"

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi, who was as happy as a child, and couldn't help but laugh: "The mortise and tenon structure is the most solid and the most convenient."

The carpenter was awakened by the noise they made. Of course, it was almost time for him to wake up. He looked at the strange object in Min Xi's hand and asked, "What is this?"

Min Xi introduced: "This is our Chinese abacus. It is specially used for calculations."

The carpenter looked at the abacus in confusion: "How do I use it?"

Min Xi said, "Seventh brother, show it to the master." He really didn't know how to do it, as he had never learned abacus.

Yun Ji took the abacus from him, gave the carpenter a brief introduction, and then demonstrated the algorithms of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to him.

The carpenter was stunned: "Is this your Chinese calculator?"

Min Xi nodded with a smile: "Yes, it is our Chinese calculator. No matter how complicated the number is, it can calculate it!"

“That’s amazing. By the way, how did you put it together?” asked the carpenter.

Min Xi said: "It was also spliced ​​together using Chinese carpentry techniques."

"Can I take a look?" The carpenter looked at the abacus curiously. He could not find any obvious signs of splicing, which showed the ingenuity of the craftsmanship.

Min Xi was not afraid of him seeing it. Skills need to be exchanged and there is no need to be strictly guarded. It was like he also wanted to learn other people's shipbuilding technology.

It was unknown whether the carpenter could figure out anything or not. The two did not stay for too long and hurried back because it was very troublesome for a novice to make the grooves of the mortise and tenon structure. After they finished, it was already late and they had to go back to make dinner.

Yun Ji was in a very good mood. With the abacus, he was no longer afraid of complex numbers. Some small details of the beads were not perfect yet, but don't worry, they can be improved slowly.

Min Xi also knew that he was happy, so he said, "Seventh brother, I don't know how to use an abacus, can you teach me?"

"Of course. Just memorize the abacus formulas first. It will be much easier once you're familiar with them." Yun Ji said.

"I must learn it!" Min Xixin thought, it can't be harder than memorizing words.

Yun Ji said, "I'll write it to you when we get back, and you can recite it when you have time."

Yun Ji cherished this hard-earned abacus very much. He even wished he could hang it on his body with a rope. He found the sound of the beads clacking pleasant to the ears.

Min Xi laughed at him: "Seventh brother, you look like a kid who has just entered school." It's understandable. He usually behaves very steady, but in fact he is just a boy in his twenties. In fact, he is still a child.

"Haha, I'm even more excited than when I first entered school. Maybe it's because I made this abacus by myself and it was so hard to come by, so I feel it is particularly precious. I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself, ninth brother." Yun Ji felt a little embarrassed himself.

"I am not making fun of Seventh Brother. You have achieved everything bit by bit by yourself. Of course you should be proud of it. You will bring it back to Ming Dynasty in the future." Min Xi said.

When Yun Ji heard this, his mood suddenly improved. Min Xi really understood him!

When settling the bill with the guests in the evening, Yun Ji took out his abacus, and in front of the guests, the abacus beads clattered and the amount was quickly reported.

His performance also attracted the customers: "Boss, what are you holding?"

Yun Ji said: "Our Chinese calculator, the abacus."

"You mean it can calculate numbers?" the guest asked.

Yun Ji nodded: "Yes. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are all fine."

"Can it also do multiplication and division? No matter how complicated the numbers are?" The customer was a little skeptical.

Yun Ji smiled: "You can tell me a number and I will calculate it for you."

The guest thought for a moment and said, "50 times 4123."

Yun Ji fiddled with the abacus and gave the answer after a moment: "This is simple, the sum of the two numbers multiplied is."

The guest thought for a moment and said, "Let me do the math. Can you lend me some paper and pen?"

Yun Ji lent him a goose feather pen and draft paper. The customer calculated for a long time before saying, "It's really this number. Your abacus is really interesting. I'll ask my friend to come and discuss it with you later."

Yun Ji smiled and said, "Welcome to give me some advice!"

Yun Ji was in a good mood the whole night. After seeing off the last table of guests, he immediately summed up the bill for the day.

Min Xi smiled and said, "With the right tools, it really is possible to get twice the result with half the effort."

Yun Ji raised his eyebrows: "Ninth brother is also unexpected, he speaks eloquently."

Min Xi smiled and said, "What's the saying when you're with Brother Seven? What's black and what's red?"

"He who keeps company with bad people becomes bad, and he who keeps company with good people becomes good." Yun Ji completed the article.

"Yes, this should be called "Birds of a feather flock together"? Min Xi said with a smile.

Yun Ji patted his head and said, "Yes, I'll go get you some water. You should take a shower early. You still need to wash your hair today."

Min Xi said, "Yes. Seventh brother, I want to cut my hair to the same length as the Frangipani, so that washing my hair won't be so troublesome."

Yun Ji turned his head and looked at him. After a long while, he said, "It is said that we should follow the local customs, but we are still strangers here. What if we go back and our hair hasn't grown back yet? We can cut it shorter, but it would be better if we can tie it up."

"Okay, then you can trim it for me. It's too long and difficult to wash." Min Xi said.