The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi didn't know how to comfort the old man, so he changed the subject: "I see you have a lot of shoes here, can you help me choose two pairs of suitable shoes?"

Old Hughes took their shoe sizes and went to find shoes for them to try on. He was almost bankrupt because he only took a small deposit for making shoes for people. As a result, many people ordered shoes but did not come to pick them up, so the shoes were piled up. Custom-made shoes were difficult to sell, so the piles were getting bigger and bigger.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were not picky about the style, as long as they fit their feet, they tried several pairs and finally found two pairs of boots that fit their feet, each pair of boots cost 120 swiss. Min Xi did not bargain, because he could see that the old man was not good at business, but a real craftsman, and because he had been an admirable navigator.

The two men gave the old boots to old Hughes, perhaps the leather could be used to make a patch for him.

Old Hughes took the old boots, looked at them and said, "The soles are not broken, and part of the leather is still good. It can be patched up. I will give you 20 riels."

Hearing this, Min Xi was moved and said, "If the soles of these boots are still usable, can you help us make two pairs of lighter shoes, either leather or cloth? We can wear them when the weather gets warmer. I'll give you whatever you want."

Old Hughes looked at them and said, "I can't make cloth shoes, I can only make leather shoes. The shallow-mouthed leather shoes are 70 riels. You have to bring your own soles. I'll charge you 100 riels for two pairs of shoes. Come back in a week to pick up the shoes."

"Okay, thank you sir." Min Xi agreed readily.

He handed over all the money, and old Hughes said, "Pay me more after you get the shoes."

Min Xi said, "Take it. We just arrived and haven't settled down yet. We don't know if we can come to pick up the shoes on time. You can keep the money first. Anyway, your stall will always be here."

Old Hughes didn't refuse and said, "Okay, as long as I'm not dead, you can definitely get the shoes."

This made Min Xi a little sad. Counting his age, Old Hughes is already 60 years old. At this age, he is really old enough to be buried up to his neck. Such an old sailor, with the whole world in his heart, can only be trapped in this narrow stall of three feet square to make shoes. It is really sad to see him grow old like this.

After leaving the shoe stall, Yun Ji asked what they talked about: "I only understood Luzon and China, and I think Magellan."

Min Xi said: "The old shoemaker used to sail with Magellan's fleet and was a navigator. Unfortunately, his leg was broken in Luzon and he could only make shoes for a living. I feel a little sad that the hero has become old."

"Really? There are really many hidden dragons and crouching tigers here. There are all kinds of people here." Yun Ji said.

"Of course. Who would have believed that an insignificant old shoemaker was one of the first to prove that the world was round?"

Yun Ji said, "It seems that knowing the local dialect is really important. Min Jiu, I really envy your language talent. You are really good at everything you learn. You are from Yingtian Prefecture and have never been to the capital, but you can speak standard Beijing dialect. You can also speak Fulangji dialect so authentically."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Maybe I really have some talent for languages. In the future I will learn the language of Greater Luzon, as well as English, German and French." Get a vaccination in advance to avoid being surprised.

The two bought clothes and shoes, and felt very hungry. They didn't even look for a place to take a shower, but went to fill their stomachs first.

Last night they had eaten a piece of black bread in the tavern of Sandvis. The taste of black bread was really not good. It was sour and a little salty. It was hard and rough. There was a lot of bran mixed in it, just like chewing sawdust. This was completely different from the soft black bread that Min Si had eaten in Germany. This should be the most common food for the poor in this era.

In this era, wheat flour was a staple food that only the rich could afford, while the general public could only eat rough rye and oats. In addition, the processing methods were limited, and the food cooked had only one function, which was to fill the stomach.

The two found a small restaurant and a short, fat, middle-aged woman with rosacea came out and said in Portuguese with a heavy accent, "What do you want to eat?" As they got closer, they could smell strongly of alcohol and it seemed that she was an alcoholic.

She was probably still drunk, so she had no curiosity about the foreigners. She just leaned against a greasy table and burped.

Min Xi said: "This is our first time here, can you recommend any delicious food?"

The woman said, "Then you must try our signature soup."

Min Xi said, "Okay, let's have a bowl of thick soup, and meat or fish?"

The fat woman called inside: "Old Sosa, are there any fish today?"

A curse came from inside: "Bitch, where did the fish come from? You overslept and missed the fish market at the dock."

The fat woman didn't feel guilty at all and said to Min Xi, "There is no fish."

Min Xi said, "Then let's have two more staple foods. Do you have wheat bread?"

"No! Only black bread and oatmeal," said the fat woman.

Min Xi said, "Then let's have two pieces of black bread." Thick soup with oatmeal porridge, how can it fill the stomach? So the only choice is black bread.

Yun Ji listened to their conversation and learned to speak Fulangji language.

Soon, the food they ordered was served. The thick soup was made by stewing vegetables and meat together. It had become a paste and it was impossible to tell what was in it. He thought that the black bread in the restaurant must be better than the one in the pub, but he was wrong. The ingredients tasted exactly the same and might have been bought from a bakery.

The taste of the thick soup was also very strange. One could only taste that a lot of spices were added. Min Xi identified several of them, including star anise, nutmeg, rosemary, cumin, bay leaves, etc. Most of them were shipped from the East. They really put whatever they could get. It was a bit similar to curry, but without turmeric, the main ingredient of curry. It was not ground finely, and you could taste the spice residue.

Some meat was added to the soup, but it was so mushy that I wasn't sure what kind of meat it was, but it should be pork. Min Xi was picky and could tell that the meat had a fishy smell. Pork that hadn't been castrated always had a strong smell. They added so many spices to get rid of the fishy smell, but unfortunately the effect was not significant.

Min Xi asked: "How do you feel?"

Yun Ji tasted a little and frowned slightly: "It's edible."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Yeah, it's just edible, so just eat it. The black bread is too hard, it's better to eat it with soup."

When we paid the bill after the meal, they were charged 100 riels.

Min Xi regretted not asking the price in advance: "Why is it so expensive!"

The fat lady boss yelled in a loud voice: "We use the best spices, and that's the price! Black bread is 5 ris per piece, and I haven't charged you yet."

Min Xi felt extremely distressed, why did he come here to eat spices?

After paying the bill, Min Xi complained to Yun Ji: "It's such a rip-off! Just a bowl of thick soup costs 100, it's a rip-off. The black bread is also expensive, 5 reis each."

Yun Ji said, "I thought the prices here were about the same as in Ming Dynasty. It seems that these 10 silver coins are not enough to support our return trip. We have to find a way to make some money."

Min Xi looked back at the shabby little restaurant. It was so rip-off, but it hadn’t closed down yet. What did the locals eat?

Min Xi asked: "Is your arm okay?"

Yun Ji pinched his left wrist with his right hand and said, "It shouldn't be a big deal, just don't use too much force. We are unfamiliar with the place and don't know what to do. Let's go back and ask the tavern owner if he can give us some advice."

The two of them returned carrying their newly bought clothes and saw little Diego standing outside the tavern wiping his tears with his sleeves.

Min Xi quickly asked, "What's wrong Diego?"

"I didn't watch the fire carefully and burned the food, so Mr. Sanvis hit me." Diego said sobbing.

Min Xi saw Sanvis standing at the door with a pipe in his mouth, and threw his shoes at Diego in annoyance: "I got up early in the morning and bought a lot of seafood to entertain the guests, but you almost burned through the bottom of my pot, and the cook was so angry that she left. I must skin you alive today!"

Diego was a boy of only twelve or thirteen years old, and he was very thin. Min Xi couldn't bear it, so she quickly went up to him to smooth things over: "Sir, I can cook, I wonder if there is anything I can do to help."

Sanvis looked at Min Xi and said unhappily, "There are only a few codfish left. Can you help me cook four dishes?"

"Take me there first."

Min Xi followed Sanvis to the kitchen, looked at the remaining cod, and asked, "How many people are eating?"

Sanvis said, "Four people, plus me, five."

Min Xi looked at some eggs, onions and carrots nearby and said, "It should be no problem. Leave it to me. I'll make you a whole fish feast."