The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After packing up their things, the three of them got into the car and the driver drove to Lisbon Prison.

Fernando was invited in by the prison guards with a visitation order. Someone came out to greet them and politely led them to a room with tables and chairs, asking them to wait there.

Why are they not allowed to visit directly in the cell? That's because they are afraid that the filth in the cell will offend the nobles.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the prison guard who had just left came back, followed by a man whose face was covered by his hair and beard. He was dirty and skinny, and there was no trace of the Captain Reis who always maintained his image.

He raised his eyes from his messy hair and looked at the three guests in the room. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Seeing him like this, Min Xi couldn't help but feel sad: "Captain Leis, we are here to see you."

Captain Reiss stammered, his voice hoarse: "Thank you!"

Min Xi took a step forward, and he took two steps back and said, "Don't come near me, it's too dirty."

Min Xi pulled a chair for him and said, "Please sit down."

"I won't sit on it and make the chair dirty," said Reis.

Yun Ji said, "Captain Leis, we learned that you will be going to the Azores soon, so we came to see you and brought you some clothes. You can take them there to change and wash them."

"Thank you." Reis' eyes were a little moist. He didn't expect that the people who cared about him in the end were Min Xi and Yun Ji.

Yun Ji said to Min Xi, "You stay here and talk to the captain. I'm going to go out and find a pair of scissors to cut the captain's hair."

Fernando said, "I'll go, you two stay here and talk."

Reis looked at Fernando and knew from his clothes that he was of high status. He saluted him and said, "Thank you, sir!"

Min Xi pointed to the package on the table and said, "Captain, this is what we prepared for you. This package is clothes. The weather over there shouldn't be cold, so we only prepared single clothes for you. We also prepared two pairs of shoes for you. I don't know your size, so you can try them on later. If they don't fit, we'll change them for you. These two packages are food, which I made for you to eat on the way, or you can give some as gifts."

After he finished speaking, he nodded to Yun Ji, who took out a cloth bag and put it in Reis's hand: "Here are 20 reais, with a lot of change in it. You should be able to use it during your three years there. If you need to pay, just pay. Don't be stingy with your money if you can buy something."

Leisi bowed his head deeply, clenched his fists, and burst into tears: "I can't have it."

Min Xi took Reis's hand, took the purse, and put it in his hand: "Take it, spend it when you need to. This is what we lent you, and we didn't give you a penny as a reward for saving us."

"Yes, three years is not a long time. You will be free soon." Yun Ji said, "When you come out, you can still set sail and go anywhere you want. You can also come to Daming. I will receive you in person then."

Reis choked up and nodded: "Thank you."

Min Xi said: "Captain, there is still a long life ahead of us. We must look forward and cannot be trapped in the past."

Reis looked at them and asked, "Will I ever see you again?"

Min Xi said, "Yes, maybe we will still be in Fulanji when you come out, or we may come to Fulanji in the future, or you can come to China to find us. The Yun family has contact points in major ports in China, and their business name is Yunxiang."

"Yunxiang." Reis repeated it several times, as if he wanted to engrave the name in his mind.

Min Xi said: "If you can write letters in the Azores, you can also write to us. We are at No. 46 Magellan Street, and the name of the restaurant is China Restaurant."

Captain Reiss nodded vigorously.

At this time Fernando came in with a pair of scissors in his hand.

Min Xi was about to take it, but Yun Ji took it away: "Let me do it. Captain, let me cut your hair."

Fernando stood a little further away and said, "It's fine to cut close to the scalp. You won't have many opportunities to cut hair in the future. Captain Reiss, it was Min and Yun who pleaded with His Majesty, so you were sentenced to only three years within the scope of the law. You should thank His Majesty and them, and reform yourself. Three years will pass quickly."

Captain Reiss only then realized that there was such a thing. He stood up, bowed deeply to Min Xi and Yun Ji, and choked up and said, "Thank you!"

"Captain, please don't do this!" Min Xi said as he tried to help him up, but Yun Ji had already helped him up.

Yun Ji said, "Captain, please take a seat. I will help you cut your hair."

Captain Reiss was forced to sit on a chair, and his dirty beard and hair were cut as short as possible.

After the haircut, everyone could see his appearance clearly. He had become so thin that he looked completely unrecognizable. His eyes were sunken and his cheekbones were high and protruding, which was very uncomfortable to look at.

Min Xi said, "Captain, you must take care of yourself. Eat well and spend money where you can."

Fernando said: "I will ask someone to look after Captain Reiss so that his days in prison will be easier and no one will bully him."

Min Xi and Yun Ji both thanked Fernando. To be honest, they became friends because of food. The Baron was a sincere man who really treated them as friends. Not only did he think of him for all kinds of good things, but he was also willing to help when something happened. It was their blessing to make a friend as righteous as the Baron.

Captain Reis bowed to them again: "Thank you very much! God bless the three kind gentlemen!"

When the prison guard took Captain Reis inside, Yun Ji stuffed an 800-Reis silver coin into the prison guard's pocket to thank him for taking care of Captain Reis. At least before Captain Reis left Lisbon Prison, he wouldn't be harassed too much.

After coming out of prison, Min Xi and Yun Ji felt relieved. At least Captain Reis’s matter had come to an end for the time being. They hoped that he could regain his love for life and living, live well, and start a new life after being released from prison.

When they came back, it was still early, so Fernando asked, "Are you still open in the evening?"

Min Xi shook his head: "No, we didn't prepare any food today, let's take a break for half a day."

"Is there anywhere you want to go?" Fernando asked.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "I want to go to the University of Coimbra."

Fernando was stunned: "You are going to Coimbra?"

"Is it far?" Min Xi asked.

Fernando thought for a moment and said, "If we leave now, we should be there before dark. What are you going to do at the University of Coimbra?"

Min Xi scratched his head. This was totally unexpected for him: "The University of Coimbra is not in Lisbon?"

"Of course not, it's in Coimbra. That's the old capital of France. It's about a hundred kilometers away from here. If you want to go there, you'll need to prepare at least two days for the round trip." said Fernando.

Min Xi smiled bitterly: "Forget it, I thought it was in Lisbon. A few days ago, two professors from the University of Coimbra came to my hotel for dinner. One of them was a biology professor. He welcomed me to visit their school to see the plants."

"If you are going to open the store tomorrow, you should go another day," said Fernando.

What could Min Xi do? He could only ask: "Is there any university in Lisbon?"

"We have a higher education school, but our best university is still the University of Coimbra," Fernando said. "The biology of the University of Coimbra is really good. It is a subject that His Majesty supports and has allocated a lot of funds."

"Okay then, let's go another day. Seventh brother, is there any place you want to go?" Min Xi asked Yun Ji.

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "Not yet. Why don't we go back first?"

Fernando suggested: "If we have nothing to do in the afternoon, let's go hunting."

When Min Xi heard this, he quickly asked, "Do you use a gun to hunt?"

"Of course, what else can we use?" Fernando laughed.

Min Xi's eyes lit up: "But we don't have guns, and we don't know how to shoot."

"I have several at home. You will be able to use them after some practice. Let's go to my house to get the hunting gear and bring my dog ​​with us." Fernando was very excited.

Min Xi said: "If we catch prey, we can have barbecue. Then bring some seasonings and I'll grill it!"

So the carriage went straight to the baron's manor. It was lunch time, so of course they had to eat lunch. Since Min Xi was there, he, the chef, would definitely be involved.

At noon, I made noodles in the Baron's kitchen. The noodles were kneaded by Yun Ji, and the noodle soup was made by Min Xi. Fish and mutton were stewed to make the noodle soup. It was a simple meal.

Fernando also showed off his chopstick skills, but it was too difficult for him to pick up the soup noodles with chopsticks. He tied a napkin around his neck, but it still couldn't stop the soup from splashing on his face. Finally, he had no choice but to use a fork.

"I just don't understand why you can use chopsticks so well!" Fernando said somewhat unconvinced.

"Practice makes perfect. We have all been using chopsticks since we were young." Min Xi said with a smile, "But you are the best foreigner I have ever seen using chopsticks."

Fernando was quite happy at first, but then he thought that except for Min Xi and Yun Ji, he was the only one in the entire Fulangji who used chopsticks, so it was the same as not praising him at all.

After lunch, Fernando took them into his collection room.

The collection room is filled with a wide variety of items, including porcelain and silk fabrics from the East, snuff bottles and uncut gemstones from the New World, Indian ornaments, ivory and lion skulls from Africa, etc.

Fernando opened a wardrobe and said proudly, "Come and see my treasure!"

There were guns of all kinds in there, both short guns and long guns, including flintlocks, matchlocks, spring-loaded shotguns, and all the other types of guns that were available.