The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yun Ji couldn't help but blush when he heard the praise: "Thank you for your praise, but it's still far from a masterpiece."

Min Xi said at the side: "Seventh brother has been working day and night for this screen this month. He has spent almost all his time and energy on it, hoping to make a gift that will satisfy His Majesty so that His Majesty can show it off."

Fernando said, "Don't worry, I guarantee that your Majesty will be very satisfied. I dare say that even the King of Spain has never seen such a beautiful Chinese gift."

Yun Ji said, "I don't know when the team delivering gifts will set out. This screen has not been treated with anti-corrosion. If you have time, you'd better brush the frame with anti-corrosion oil."

Fernando said, "That's no problem. I'll go back and tell your Majesty. Thank you for your hard work during this period. To be honest, you put so much thought into this gift. We originally only wanted one Chinese painting, but who knew we would get four paintings, and they were inlaid in this way. This must have greatly exceeded your Majesty's expectations."

Yun Ji added: "Your Majesty, don't you think the gift I gave him last time was too simple?"

"How could that be? Your Majesty likes the painting of Galloping Horses very much and hangs it in the bedroom." Fernando said, "If Your Majesty really asks, I will say that I was in a hurry at the time and didn't have time to make a frame."

Min Xi said: "Chinese paintings only have frames when they are made into screens, and single paintings are only made into scrolls. At that time, time was tight and there was no time to make scrolls, so they were only roughly framed and sent over."

"Okay, I understand. I'll tell Your Majesty this." Fernando nodded.

Min Xi asked, "Would you like to stay for lunch?"

"No, I'm going to deliver the gift to the palace right now. Please help me carry the painting downstairs," said Fernando.

"Okay. Let us carry it. You go down first, sir." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji said, "No need to lift it, just walk behind and pass it to me." As he said this, he folded up the four screens, moved them to the stairs, and went down first.

Min Xi was holding the screen from above, and then he heard Yun Ji say from below: "Okay, ninth brother, pass it down, slowly."

Min Xi carefully moved the screen to the stairs and put it down carefully. The rosewood had a dense texture and was quite heavy, but Min Xi often cooked and exercised, so his arms were very strong, so he was able to move it.

Soon, Yun Ji caught it and said, "Okay, ninth brother, let go."

"Seventh Brother, please be careful, don't step on empty space." The stairs in the attic are steep and narrow, and it is very inconvenient to carry things up and down. This is also because there are not many things in the attic. Large items need to be disassembled and brought up for assembly, which is too troublesome.

"Don't worry, I'm already down." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi watched Yun Ji walk down the stairs safely, and hurried down as well. When he caught up with Yun Ji, they were already outside the store, and Yun Ji had already put the screen into the carriage.

Fernando stuck his head out of the car and said, "Thank you. I'm leaving now."

Watching the carriage leave, Min Xi said, "Finally the mission is completed. Brother Qi, you can have a good rest now."

Yun Ji let out a long sigh: "I hope I can get the job done. You've worked hard this month. Not only can I not help much, but I also asked you to do my laundry."

Min Xi smiled: "I have only been helping you wash the paintings for a few days, but you have been helping me wash them for such a long time. The painting issue has finally come to an end. Let's go to Coimbra next week. We said we would go a long time ago, but we haven't set off for two months."

"Okay." Yun Ji agreed readily.

That afternoon, Fernando returned to the store to give feedback on the king's attitude: "His Majesty was very satisfied and said that this screen was worth far more than 500 reais. He asked me to add 200 reais for you. Here, take it." He put a purse in Yunji's hand.

Yun Ji didn't expect that the people selling paintings were worried that their paintings were not worth the price, while the buyers thought that the paintings were sold too cheaply and wanted to increase the price. What a good business!

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward!" said Yun Ji.

Fernando said, "You deserve it. To be honest, if this screen was shipped from Ming Dynasty, someone would be willing to pay one or two thousand reais for it."

Yun Ji couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth when he heard this, and he couldn't help but think of what Min Xi said about things being valuable because they are rare.

Min Xi came out of the kitchen and saw Fernando: "Your Excellency is here? Is His Majesty satisfied?"

"I was very satisfied. He even asked me to give Yun an additional 200 reais," said Fernando.

"Your Majesty is so generous!" Min Xi looked at Yun Ji with a smile. If there were more golden masters like this, wouldn't their wish for a galleon be realized sooner?

Yun Ji asked: "Would you like to have dinner in the restaurant tonight?"

Fernando said, "Yes, I haven't come to eat for a few days, and I miss you. What's good to eat?"

Min Xi said: "If you want to eat, I will make you a meatball soup and a braised meat dish."

Fernando asked, “Is this a new dish introduced today?”

Min Xi smiled and shook his head: "That's not the case. We eat this dish ourselves. Thank you for your hard work for us. We will treat you tonight."

"It's free, so I'd like to eat more." Fernando said with a smile.

"Sure, just order whatever you want to eat and I'll make it for you." Min Xi said readily.

The dishes served to Fernando included not only beef ball soup and braised beef, but also a plate of beef jerky.

Fernando tasted a meatball, the meat was firm and elastic, very chewy, but surprisingly delicious, different from the fish balls he had eaten before, and unlike the meat he usually ate. He stopped Gael who came to serve the food and asked, "What kind of meatball is this?"

Gail said, "It's beef meatballs."

"Where did the beef come from?" Fernando was very curious. It's not like he had never eaten beef before, but it didn't taste like this.

Gail said, "It was given to me by a friend of the host."

Fernando thought about it and decided that it was most likely sent by Simao.

After eating and drinking, Fernando ran to the kitchen and asked, "Are those meatballs you gave me really beef meatballs?"

Min Xi said while busying himself: "Yes. What's wrong?"

“It tastes different from any beef I’ve ever had.”

Min Xi said: "This meatball is of course different from other meatballs. It is very difficult to make. The fascia in the meat needs to be completely removed, and then pounded into meat paste. The pounding alone took us an entire afternoon. Gael and Diego's arms are still sore. After pounding the meat into paste, squeeze the meat paste into a ball, put it in a pot of cold water, and slowly heat it until it is cooked. Cook it when you want to eat it."

Fernando stroked his chin. "It sounds complicated. No wonder it tastes so good. How much beef did Simon give you?"

Min Xi said, "About twenty pounds. The cold meat slices and the plate of dried meat you had today were both made of beef, and we're out of stock now."

Fernando said: "Beef is indeed much more delicious than pork, but it's a pity that we can't eat it often. But my family usually slaughters a cow during the New Year, and we will give you some meat at that time. Please make me some beef balls."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Okay. I will treat you to something better then." As he expected, these noble families raised cattle specifically for meat.

"What is it?" Fernando asked.

"The secret cannot be revealed. It would be no fun if it were. You can just wait and see." Min Xi said.

Fernando nodded: "Okay, I'll wait then."

This Sunday happened to be the hotel's day off, so Min Xi and Yun Ji discussed it and decided to close the store on Saturday, go to Coimbra, and come back on Sunday.

Coimbra is more than 100 kilometers away from Lisbon, and it takes about five or six hours to get there by horse carriage. They set off early in the morning and arrive in the afternoon, so they can meet the two professors and return the next day.

They hung up the closing sign in advance, and the diners were very surprised. They just closed a few days ago, so how come they had to close for two days again? They asked if there was anything wrong.

Min Xi explained to everyone that he had to go on a long trip for some matters and would be closed for two days, and would resume business when he returned.

Fernando saw that they were going to close for two days, so he asked, "Are you going to the University of Coimbra?"

Min Xi said, "Yes, we have an appointment with two professors from the University of Coimbra to meet them. I thought we would be able to meet them soon, but I didn't expect Coimbra to be another city."

"How do you plan to get there?"

"Let's rent a carriage." Min Xi said.

Fernando suggested: "How about I lend you the carriage and you can drive it yourself."

"But we don't know the road." Min Xixin thought, since they have lent me the carriage, why don't they lend us the coachman as well?

Fernando said: "The road to Coimbra is very easy to recognize. Go north out of the city and the widest road leads directly to Coimbra. It used to be the capital of our country. Although the capital has moved to Lisbon, there are still many old nobles living in Coimbra. Otherwise, how could the best university in France be the University of Coimbra? It is the result of the strong support of His Majesty the King."

Min Xi suddenly realized: "I see. All right, we'll drive there ourselves. Thank you for your carriage."

Yun Ji was very happy to learn that he could drive his own car. They could drive their own car and set off whenever they wanted, go fast or slow as they wanted, and it was very comfortable.

Diego learned that they were going to Coimbra and wanted to go too: "Boss, can I go with you?"

Yun Ji touched his head and said, "Diego, we need you to stay and look after the house. Although there is nothing valuable in the house, you need to be here, or else bad guys will come and destroy the store again."

Diego naturally remembered the incident of the broken glass: "Okay, I understand. I'll stay and look after the house."