jdhmnovel Chapter 443 Visiting the Market
Chapter 443 Visiting the Market
Upon learning that there were durians, Min Xi became excited and decided to get up early tomorrow to go to the market and buy more durians so that everyone could experience this stinky fruit.
He and Yunji found a local Chinese and bought fresh vegetables, fish, shrimp, eggs and live chickens from their homes. They took them back just in time to prepare dinner.
Yun Ji's fight with Zhang Meng not only conquered the navy officers and soldiers, but also the sailors on the merchant ship. Admiring the strong is the nature of nature, and humans are no exception. So after Yun Ji got on board, he found that the sailors on the ship were respectful and polite to him. Although they were respectful before, it was never from the heart like now.
Min Xi entered the kitchen, where the cook was preparing dinner for everyone. When he saw them coming, he quickly asked, "My Lord, are you hungry? Is there anything you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
"I want to cook two dishes by myself. You just do your thing and don't worry about me. I can do it myself." Min Xi put down the ingredients he brought back, rolled up his sleeves and prepared to cook.
The cook wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and said, "How can your Excellency cook for you personally? I will cook whatever you want to eat."
"No, I just want to eat the food I cooked." Min Xi refused and turned to Yun Ji and said, "Seventh Brother, please help me kill this chicken. We'll have boiled chicken tonight."
"Okay." Yun Ji agreed readily, picked up the chicken, took the kitchen knife and went out.
This move shocked the cook. The two adults actually wanted to cook for him personally. This really refreshed his cognition. Min Xi and Yun Ji ignored the cook's surprise and went about their own business. In other words, this cook was new. The old people on the Xingyun had eaten the food cooked by Min Xi before.
Min Xi cooked boiled chicken, steamed fish, braised shrimp, scrambled eggs, smashed cucumbers, and watercress soup, and invited Captain Reis, the first mate, and the navigator to come and eat together. He did not invite the people from other ships because there were too many people and a few home-cooked dishes were not enough. Anyway, Min Xi and Yun Ji no longer needed to win people's hearts with delicious food.
This meal was the most comfortable one they had had since they set out. After finishing the meal, it was not yet dark, but the setting sun had already sunk into the sea level, and the western sky was full of colorful clouds, reflecting the water and the sky into one color. Min Xi and Yun Ji made a cup of tea as usual, and the two of them sat by the boat, enjoying the sea breeze and the beautiful scenery.
Luzon is a very hot place. After docking, many sailors could not lie down in the narrow cabin at night and wanted to sleep on the dock. After all, the stable ground is much more stable than the shaking ship. Min Xi did not stop them, but only reminded them to pay attention to safety and arrange people to watch at night to prevent accidents.
"Seventh brother, I found that I might be destined to be a hard worker. Although drifting on the sea is hard, I seem to prefer this kind of life, and my heart feels very peaceful." Min Xi took a sip of tea.
Yun Ji nodded: "Actually, I feel the same way. Staying away from the temple makes me feel more peaceful. Of course, the premise is that I am with you."
Min Xi looked at him and smiled: "Yes, that time when the Baron and I went to Macau to buy a boat, when I was sitting at the bow, I always felt empty inside, and thought it would be great if you could go with us."
Yun Ji stretched out his fingers and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead behind his ear: "I am worried about you going out to sea alone, and I am not used to being separated from you, so I came with you this time."
Min Xi raised his teacup, clinked it with his, and smiled, "We'll be together through thick and thin."
"We advance and retreat together!" Yun Ji smiled.
The next morning, just after dawn, the sound of seabirds chirping came from the sea, and Min Xi and Yun Ji woke up from their hammocks. Min Xi stretched and yawned and said, "Get up, let's go to the market and take you to see the most controversial fruit in the world."
Yun Ji was surprised and asked, "Why is it the most controversial fruit?"
"Didn't the fellow villager say yesterday that people who like it like it very much, and people who hate it hate it very much. Because it is indeed special enough. I don't know if you can accept it, but I feel you should be able to." Min Xi felt that Yun Ji could accept it because they had suffered enough and endured enough pain. They had eaten spoiled and smelly meat and lived in the same cabin with Europeans who didn't take baths. What else could they not tolerate? Durian just has a special smell, and it still tastes very sweet.
"Then I'd like to see it for myself." Yun Ji also showed great interest.
When the two men got off the boat, they called two sailors who had already woken up to help them. There were still many sailors and naval officers lying on the dock who were still asleep, so they didn't want to disturb the others' sleep and walked through the crowd and into the city.
I met a Chinese fellow who came to the city to do business outside the city, and found the largest market in Manila. The market was really lively, and the goods were all kinds of strange and bizarre things, which was really eye-opening.
The fellow villagers were very nice. Knowing that they didn't understand the local dialect, they sent their teenage son to act as interpreter for them.
After arriving at the market, the fellow villager went to set up a stall, and his son Chen Hui took Min Xi and Yun Ji to visit the market. On the way, they asked the fellow villager about the local prices and exchanged some currency with him. Luzon used Spanish copper and silver coins, which Min Xi and Yun Ji were quite familiar with because they had used them in the past.
Min Xi first bought two rattan baskets, because they would be needed later. Then he would try the fruits he wanted to eat and buy some if they were tasty. He bought bananas, mangoes, and a lot of lemons. People in Luzon like sour food, so lemons are a common condiment.
Chen Hui, the son of a fellow Chinese, helped a lot, including translating and negotiating prices. Min Xi liked this clever child very much and wanted to buy him food, but he refused, saying that he had food at home. Min Xi did not insist and decided to give him some money after the shopping, or go back and get him some things he brought from Daming.
After walking around for a while, Min Xi finally saw the jackfruit. Someone was opening a jackfruit as big as a winter melon, scooping out the flesh inside, and piling it on banana leaves to sell. The only bad thing was that because of the hot weather and the jackfruit was too sweet, it attracted a lot of flies.
Min Xi asked for two pieces of clean flesh from the unopened fruit for himself and Yun Ji to taste. The flesh was smaller and thinner than what he had eaten before. It should be a more primitive version that has not been improved. The core is large, but the flesh is still sweet.
The stall owner looked at them and asked in the local dialect: "Do you want it?"
Min Xi didn't understand, but he could guess what he was saying, so he said in Spanish: "We want all four of yours. How much?"
The stall owner pointed with his finger: "1 reais."
When the fellow villager Chen Hui heard this, he started yelling, "Sir, he's trying to blackmail you. He wants 1 real for four Tuliang! It's worth 1 peso at most!"
Min Xi also knew that the stall owner was asking for an exorbitant price, so he said, "1 peso."
The stall owner shook his head, held up five fingers, and asked for 5 pesos.
Min Xi took out two copper pesos: "Here are two pesos for you. Chen Hui, tell him to help us deliver these pineapples to the ship. Follow him." He pointed to a sailor following behind him.
The sailor said, "Sir, we can move it back by ourselves."
Min Xi said, "Let him deliver it, and we can save a basket. Go back and tell Captain Reis to come over and buy some lemons."
The sailor agreed. Min Xi then remembered something and said to Chen Hui, "Ask this man if he has any lemons at home, or if there are any in the village. Our fleet will collect lemons and we will take as many as we can."
Chen Hui told this to the stall owner, and the stall owner said that they did have quite a few lemons, but they were all wild, not big in size, and had not been picked.
Min Xi said, "It doesn't matter what size it is. Ask him to go back and pick them and send them to the dock. We need as many as we can get. It would be best if he could send them this afternoon. Tomorrow would be fine too, but not too late. We might be leaving tomorrow."
Chen Hui conveyed this message to the stall owner. The man was delighted and quickly agreed. He put the jackfruits into the basket and followed the sailor.
Min Xi continued to walk around, and soon he smelled a familiar smell. He sniffed and said to Yun Ji with a smile, "Seventh Brother, do you smell a strange smell?"
Yun Ji raised his hand and placed it under his nose: "Why is there a bad smell?"
Min Xi laughed: "It smells good! Let's go and take a look."