Chapter 9: Not an ideal start (Part 2) (嘤嘤嘤, please collect and read and recommend monthly tickets!)
“Make your own wooden dinner plates?”
Student Xiao Niu’s request may seem harsh to ordinary people, but Xu Yun did not hesitate this time and readily agreed:
"No problem, leave it to me."
Xu Yun knows very well that making wooden dinner plates by yourself is a very special and very common phenomenon in the current era.
In 1665, Britain was still in the first stage of colonial expansion, and it would not be until after 1689 that the national economy would see a substantial increase.
Therefore, at this stage, most ordinary British people are still in the barren period of taking a bath once every five months.
If we take a sharper attitude, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the last sentence is particularly barbaric.
In this era, rich people used plates made of solder. This kind of plate seemed to be very high-end, but it had a fatal flaw:
Foods with high acid content can cause some lead to leach into the food, causing lead poisoning or even death. Because this is most likely to happen when eating tomatoes, tomatoes have been considered poisonous for more than 200 years.
As for ordinary manor owners like the Newton-or Isaac family, most of the tableware they used was wooden serving plates, which were hollowed out from a piece of wood into a bowl shape.
This kind of food plate is also often made with stale farm-made bread:
As time goes by, the bread will become extremely hard, so it can be used for a long time by hollowing out the middle.
When there is no more food in the bread bowl, people will grind it into powder and feed it to the pigs.
Those who do not raise pigs will periodically collect waste bread and sell them together when the time is right, which is somewhat similar to local waste paper recycling.
no way.
In this era of lack of productivity, the so-called manor owners are actually better than ordinary people.
This is just like the ancient landowners in the local area. They actually have to go to the fields on weekdays, and the food they eat is rarely meaty and fishy. In many cases, it is even just clear soup with little water.
Of course.
The economic level of the Newton family was actually not that low, but as mentioned before, the family funds were mainly in the hands of his mother Hannah. Newton himself was a miserable pauper until 1669.
Therefore, Newton's request to ask Xu Yun to make his own tableware is indeed not contempt or abuse, because he himself did the same.
Just as Xu Yun's mind was racing, Xiao Niu suddenly thought of a certain rumor about Orientals, and asked aloud:
"By the way, Fatty Fish, can you cook?"
"Forget it, it's Feiyu, just let the fat fish be fat fish."
Xu Yun sighed slightly, gave up the idea of correcting Newton's pronunciation, and nodded at the same time:
"Of course I will."
Xu Yun's answer came with strong confidence, because his cooking skills are indeed much better than ordinary people - especially when the comparison object is British cuisine in the seventeenth century.
Mentioned before.
Xu Yun had been an exchange student at Trinity College in his previous life, so he had some exposure to the 'food' of Great Britain.
As for the look and feel.
In the 21st century, Britain has a nickname: food desert.
But many people who say British food is unpalatable have actually never eaten British food.
This approach is obviously not objective. If you want to evaluate a country's food, you should taste it yourself to have a better say.
And you will find out once you taste British food for yourself
British food is really terrible.
Tell the truth.
British fish and chips are indeed good, and York pudding is also very popular among Chinese people. There is nothing wrong with a serious British breakfast. If you are not used to it, it is mostly a matter of taste, and it is not a dark cuisine.
But apart from this, other British dishes are really hard to describe - looking up at the stars is an introduction, and the Hellfire series is called ruining the three views.
So during the two years he stayed in the UK, Xu Yun managed to develop quite good cooking skills, and he even managed to pick up a school girl through it - of course, a lot of this was due to B Teacher Wang Gang and his planetary engine stove at the station.
all in all.
Relying on the accumulation of cooking skills in his previous life, Xu Yun finally said the most confident sentence since time travel:
"Mr. Newton, to tell you the truth, my hometown is a powerful country famous for its food. I have also learned how to cook since I was a child.
Britain, for example, is a place close to the sea, and cooking inshore and coastal creatures happens to be my specialty.
For example, grilled lobster, braised crab, steamed Fujianese, etc."
Then he paused, thought of his mission, and continued to use words to hint:
"In addition to cooking, I also have some academic experience - I am a teaching assistant at the School of Natural Sciences at Leiden University, and I am quite proficient in mathematics and physics. If you are interested, Mr. Newton"
However, before Xu Yun could finish what he said, Newton lowered his eyelids and interrupted:
"Thank you, I understand.
Let's do this, Fat Fish. I will prepare some ingredients for you tomorrow and let's see your craftsmanship - I read some ancient books at Cambridge University and heard that oriental cuisine is very different from what we usually see in Britain. If I have the chance, I Still hope to taste it.
The other thing is the maintenance of the fruit trees in the manor, which requires at least two patrols a day."
The focus of Newton's words was all on Xu Yun's work, as if he didn't hear the second half of his introduction at all.
Xu Yun nodded mechanically and blinked in confusion:
This script is wrong!
Under normal circumstances, Newton should not have been shocked after hearing his introduction. He looked at him with a look that was mixed with surprise, suspicion and scrutiny, then asked him a question that had been stuck for a long time, and was ecstatic when he solved it. , yelled that I am not alone, then pulled myself to hold a candle and talk at night, and finally fell asleep with enough rest. When I woke up, I found that the task was completed?
But soon, Xu Yun figured out the reason:
There is no other reason than that the opponent is Newton!
Newton was extremely arrogant and even looked down upon his own mentor!
He must have heard the second half of Xu Yun's words clearly, and he probably wouldn't have any doubts - but so what?
There are many students at the same level or even senior level of Newton at Cambridge University. Have you ever seen Newton deal with them?
In Newton's view.
Any problem that cannot be solved by oneself, except for a few people, others will definitely not be able to solve it - and those few people are either in the Royal Society, the Berlin Academy of Sciences, or the Paris Academic Association. In short, they cannot solve it in the It is impossible for him to be the same age as him!
This is the conceit born of extreme self-confidence, but Newton was also worthy of this conceit.
Newton's academic attitude towards others is like a person walking on the road who doesn't care about the ants under his feet. In local terms.
Summer insects cannot talk about ice.
This is Newton, this is Newton.
A genius who cannot be regarded by common sense, has a deformed and unpleasant personality, but is brilliant!
Therefore, naturally, Xu Yun was ignored by Newton as a stranger.
In addition, when things have reached this point, Xu Yun has almost determined his status:
Boarders, who were between guests and servants, did not need to treat Mavericks or others with the same courtesy as servants, but they had to help with some work on weekdays.
If Xiao Niu is satisfied, Xu Yun may have to work part-time as a cook.
As for the timing of academic entry, I am afraid it still needs to be observed separately.
There is definitely a chance, but the variables are not small.
all in all.
This is not an ideal start, and you still have to use some brainpower to complete the task. (End of chapter)