The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Chapter 284: 1 Ginseng

When Sanvis came back, he saw Min Xi and Yun Ji and excitedly went up to hug them: "I just heard in the city that the hero of the Ming Dynasty arrived yesterday. It was you, right?"

Min Xi laughed and said, "Don't get excited, Sanvis. Be careful not to drop things."

Sanvis suddenly remembered something and looked around: "Where's Diego? He's not back?"

"He's back. He's guarding the boat at the dock." Min Xi said.

"I'm glad you're back, I'm glad you're back!" Sanvis nodded vigorously, then thought of something, "Where's old Hughes?"

Min Xi said with some regret: "Old Hughes died of illness when we returned to Europe. We were going to bring him back, but he didn't make it back. He died just after going out to sea."

Sanvis sighed and said, "At his age, it's already great that he can make it to Asia. I thought he might not come back, and sure enough! Well, the sea is his home, and he won't have any regrets if he dies at sea."

Reiss asked, "Who are you talking about?"

After several people explained, Reis nodded: "When do you plan to leave?"

Sanvis also came back to his senses: "Yes, you will go back. When will you leave?"

"The ship we ordered has not been completed yet. We will go to the shipyard in a few days to check on the progress. It should be delivered within this year." The Baron helped pay the interim payment, saying that there was no delay in the progress and it should be delivered on time. Min Xi and Yun Ji planned to go and take a look. If possible, they would add some money to let the shipyard speed up the progress. They did not want to delay the departure time due to progress issues.

"Then you should stay in Lisbon for a few months, right? You should live here. There is an empty room here." Sanvis missed Min Xi's cooking skills.

Min Xi shook his head: "We brought a boatload of people here, and there are more than a dozen sailors on board. We want to rent a bigger house. This place is not big enough to live in. Sanvis, can you help me find out if there are any empty houses for rent nearby that can be moved in directly? Houses in the city are also fine, as long as the price is right."

With so many people, renting a house is definitely cheaper than staying in a hotel.

Sanvis said, "That's no problem. I'll go find out for you."

At noon, the two stayed at Sanvis's place for lunch, which was naturally cooked by Min Xi. It was the first time for Captain Reis to eat Min Xi's food properly. It was not like he had never eaten his food before, either on the ship or in prison. This meal made him understand why Sanvis was obsessed with Min Xi's cooking skills. When the kitchen utensils were suitable and the seasonings were complete, the dishes made by Min Xi were simply delicious.

After dinner, Min Xi and Yun Ji did not stay long because they had too many things to do. Maybe the Baron had already helped them find a buyer.

Before returning to the Baron's house, they went to the hotel to see how the sailors had their lunch.

The sailors had already eaten, but they did not go to the Chinese restaurant, but to a small restaurant near the hotel. When they saw Min Xi and Yun Ji, the first thing they did was to complain to them: "Boss, you are right, the food here is really terrible! We should have listened to you and gone to the Chinese restaurant."

"The pork we had for lunch today was terrible. It was uncastrated pork!"

Min Xi laughed after hearing this: "I told you to go to a Chinese restaurant, it's more to your taste. But the food in Fulangji is actually pretty good. If you go to England, it's really unpalatable. Qiushi here also has castrated pork. You're unlucky to have eaten uncastrated pork."

One sailor said: "We thought that eating in a restaurant like a Chinese restaurant would be expensive, so we wanted to save some money for our host, but we didn't expect it to be so bad."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Next time when you order food, don't order pork, order seafood. The seafood here is very cheap and cooked well. Let's eat cod. The salted cod here tastes pretty good."

"We remember that," the sailor replied.

Min Xi said, "Since you can all find a place to eat by yourselves, we won't come here for the next two days. Is the money enough? If not, I can get you some more."

"It's enough for now. But we all want to find a place to take a shower, and there's no place to take a shower in the hotel." The sailor expressed his distress.

"People here rarely take showers, maybe once or twice a year. There must be no bathroom in the hotel. Let's wait a little longer. I will rent a house in a few days, and then we can boil water for washing ourselves." Min Xi said.

"No wonder the locals smell so strong, it turns out it's because they don't take a bath! It's really eye-opening." The sailors suddenly realized.

After leaving the hotel, they returned to Baron Fernando's house.

The Baron has returned, and there is a guest in the Baron's house. It is none other than Lord Mello, whom Min Xi met at the door of the China Hotel yesterday.

When Lord Melo saw Yun Ji, he stood up and politely saluted: "Mr. Yun, long time no see!"

Yun Ji also returned the greeting: "Your Excellency, long time no see!"

Lord Mello looked at Yun Ji and said, "I heard that Mr. Yun was injured. I wonder if he has recovered."

"Thanks to you, I'm much better now." Yun Ji nodded politely and sat down on the sofa with Min Xi.

Lord Mello pushed a box over and said, "I have also heard about Mr. Yun's feat. He captured two pirate ships by himself. Your bravery is truly admirable. This is the medicinal material I gave to Mr. Yun to nourish his body. I hope it can help you."

Yun Ji declined, "Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. I am fine now, and I don't need you to spend any more money."

The baron at the side said with a smile: "I think you should open it and see what it is, so as not to disappoint Ximang's kindness."

Min Xi was very curious. He had never heard that Westerners knew about nourishing the body. What on earth was the gift? He opened the box and took a look. He was very surprised to find a ginseng inside. "This thing is too expensive!"

Ginseng is not produced in Europe, this must be imported from Asia, I don't know if it came from Ming Dynasty or Korea. There was no artificial cultivation of ginseng in those days, all were wild ginseng, even in Ming Dynasty it was a rare commodity, sold at a very high price, not to mention it was shipped across the ocean to Europe, I'm afraid there is only one ginseng in Europe, I don't know how expensive it is.

Yun Ji closed the box after taking a look and pushed it back: "Thank you, but it's too valuable and we can't accept it!" He knew a lot about ginseng. Even if this old mountain ginseng was not a hundred years old, it was at least seventy or eighty years old. It was extremely precious.

Lord Mello pushed back: "I heard that this thing can nourish the body, but we don't know how to use it. It comes from the East, and I think you must know how to use it."

"This thing can save lives. If you are very weak, you can cut a piece and hold it under your tongue. Or you can use it to make chicken soup. Brother Qi is almost recovered now, so we won't waste this ginseng." Min Xi closed the box and pushed it to Lord Melo. "Your Excellency, please keep it. This thing is very precious, but it is not difficult to buy it in our Ming Dynasty. But in Europe, I'm afraid there is only one. Please keep it well. It may save lives in the future."

Lord Mello felt very embarrassed that he had given a gift but failed to deliver it.

After sitting for a while, Min Xi stood up and went back to the room to take out the gifts he brought for Lord Melo: "This is the gift we brought from our hometown for you. The tea set is for the Marquis, the silk scarf is for the Marquise, and the tea and folding fan are for you, Your Excellency. I hope you will like them."

Lord Mello now felt even more embarrassed. He didn't give out any gifts, but ended up receiving a lot of them.

Yun Ji said: "These are not rare items in our Ming Dynasty, but you don't have them here, so I gave them to you as a souvenir. Please accept them."

Lord Melo was embarrassed to accept the gifts, but wanted them, and finally accepted them after being persuaded by the baron.

Europeans have the habit of opening gifts in person. The Baron stretched his neck to watch Lord Mello open the gift box and saw that the tea set was made of white porcelain, as white as jade and indeed beautiful.

Yesterday, Min Xi and Yun Ji also sent him a set of tea sets and asked him whether he wanted porcelain or purple clay teapots. He didn't know, so he asked which one was more valuable. The answer was of course that purple clay teapots were more valuable, so he asked for purple clay ones. Today, when I saw this porcelain set, I also thought it was very beautiful, and I regretted not having this porcelain set.

But Captain Almeida said that they brought back a lot of porcelain, maybe there were tea sets, even if not, we can just bring back a few sets of tea sets next time. Thinking of this, I no longer envy them.

Lord Melo liked the gift very much and thanked him again and again.

Min Xi asked casually, "My Lord, who was the lady I met at the entrance of the hotel yesterday?"

Lord Mello had a very unnatural expression on his face, but he didn't know how to answer.

Baron Fernando said, "That must be Miss Moreira, Simon's fiancée."

Lord Mello looked obviously embarrassed, and whispered, "It's a candidate for a family marriage."

Hearing this, Min Xi smiled and said, "Miss Moreira is very beautiful, and she and His Excellency are a perfect match."

Lord Melo lowered his head, not daring to look at Yun Ji. Seeing this, Min Xi said, "Something happened at home. After coming here this time, we probably won't come to Europe again."

Lord Melo raised his head and looked at Yun Ji and Min Xi: "You won't come again in the future?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes. But we should arrange ships to come here for business, but my seventh brother and I will not come again. We have a business to take care of and relatives to take care of. We have a lot of things to do."

The reason why he said this was to make Lord Mello give up completely. Anyway, they would never see each other again, so there was no need to worry about it anymore.

The baron couldn't help but sigh: "That's such a pity! But fortunately, at least you will stay here for a few months, and I can taste Min's cooking more."

"No problem, I'll make whatever you want to eat." Min Xi agreed readily.