Gourmet Girl: Becoming a Royal Merchant Started from Selling Buns

Su An's words shocked the diners in the restaurant.

They are not short of money, and they are addicted to the food from Su's shop. If the shop closes, where can they find such delicious food?

Seeing the diners' dissatisfaction, Su An explained repeatedly: "Now the county is full of refugees, and the public security can no longer manage them. From now on, the incidents of breaking into stores will only occur one after another. This is also a helpless move."

"Besides, there are too many refugees, and the county's grain storage is running out of food. Our shop has a lot of flour, so we've been making some steamed buns and other pasta to help the victims. It's our small contribution."

Su An spoke patiently, not wanting this matter to affect the store's reputation. These were all repeat customers who came back regardless of weather!

Fortunately, the diners expressed their understanding after hearing this, and the slight unhappiness in their hearts turned into admiration.

"Boss Su's business is booming, yet he's willing to close his shop to help the disaster victims. He truly has a kind heart!"

"Boss, please let us know as soon as you open your business!"

Su Ansong breathed a sigh of relief, and after comforting the diners, he hurriedly led everyone to start steaming buns and making noodles, making some food that could be quickly baked.

The whole family and everyone saw the miserable plight of the victims, and felt pity and heavy in their hearts. They quickly got busy in the kitchen, and even everyone from Fu Zhun's side joined in.

After the first pot of porridge, steamed buns and noodles were served, the commotion outside quickly subsided, and everyone was kneeling and crying in front of the Su family.

Su An was busy until the evening. He was so tired that his back and waist ached, but he felt heavy in his heart. He discussed the problem of the disaster victims with Fu Zhun in the yard.

Fu Zhun had already sent his secret guards to investigate. His brows were cold as he spoke, "There's been a severe drought in the north. No rain has fallen since the beginning of spring. The streams have dried up, and the crops have failed. This has caused the people to flee en masse to the south."

The south is relatively rich, unlike the north which is barren and suffers from drought, so naturally people flock there to find a way to make a living.

Su An asked puzzledly: "But even so, why are there so many refugees coming to Fuyou County? Don't the big cities and small towns ahead accept people?"

Fuyou County is just a small and backward county. How can it afford to accommodate such a large group of refugees?

Not only is the county packed with people, but I heard that even the main roads outside the county are full of people setting up camp, leaving almost no place to stay.

The county magistrate had no choice but to set up checkpoints at the city gate to control the number of refugees entering the city.

Fu Zhun clenched his fists, his voice cold and filled with anger as he spoke, "That's right. The towns along the way refused to allow the refugees to enter, and pushed them down one level at a time until they finally reached Fuyou County."

Su An immediately understood.

None of the officials were willing to take over such a huge mess, and the county magistrate of Fuyou County was honest and kind, and he would not do such a thing as closing the city and expelling people, so all the refugees rushed to Fuyou County!

Su An couldn't help but feel angry and powerless at the same time.

Although she was angry, she was not capable of solving such a big problem by herself.

However, she suddenly raised her head as she thought of something. "Fu Zhun, have you ever heard of sweet potatoes? They're an important food. They're delicious, filling, high-yielding, and drought-resistant. One acre of land can yield two to three thousand kilograms. Maybe that can solve this drought!"

Fu Zhun was frowning in thought, and was taken aback when he heard this. "There's such a crop? I've never heard of it."

Su An's heart sank. Well, this answer seemed to be expected.

She has been here for such a long time, but she has never seen sweet potatoes. Even Fu Zhun, the prince, has never heard of them. It seems that they have not been introduced here yet.

She said with regret and solemnity: "Sweet potatoes are a foreign crop and need to be imported from overseas."

These two words stirred up a storm in Fu Zhun's heart, and he was so stunned that he was speechless for a moment.

The sweet potato sounded so ridiculous, he had never heard of it, but Su An looked extremely confident, and even had a thorough understanding of sweet potatoes.

He suppressed the strange waves in his heart and said, "It seems that you are very familiar with this thing. Since it was introduced from overseas, I will immediately send people to collect the seeds and agricultural products from overseas. I will have to trouble you to identify them when the time comes."

Su An's eyes lit up when he heard this.

This method is feasible!

When she was a private chef, she would grow some vegetables, fruits and melons by herself, which saved money and she could pick fresh vegetables. With that, she gained experience and it was not a problem for her to identify seeds!

Without further ado, Fu Zhun sent out a large number of secret guards to search.

Over the three days, some seeds and crop seedlings were delivered one after another, but disappointingly, none of them were sweet potatoes.

Su An was not discouraged. The sea transportation of the Great Chu Dynasty had been around for who knows how long. With so much trade coming and going, it was not easy to find a way. At least there was hope.

As she closed her shop to help the disaster victims, diners praised her kindness, which led to several food stores in the county following suit and setting up porridge shops.

On the one hand, you can gain a good reputation, and on the other hand, you can also take advantage of the "kindness" to attract diners to patronize, which is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

When the news reached the county magistrate Lin Yong, he felt relieved even though he was busy and overwhelmed.

He then ordered people to make several plaques with the words "Benevolent and Righteous Merchants" and sent them to those families as a way of encouragement and praise.

As for the Su family, which made the most outstanding contribution, he personally presented them with a golden plaque with the words "Good Virtue and Lasting Fragrance".

"Boss Su, you closed your shop to help the people and set an example. This is truly a great act of kindness. The Su family truly deserves this gold plaque."

Lin Yong bowed to Su An with awe.

Su An received another plaque and felt a sense of pride. He asked Zhang San to keep it first, and then invited Lin Yong to come in for dinner.

Lin Yong took advantage of the lunch hour to come out.

He wanted to refuse, but he smelled a strong fragrance coming from inside and was attracted to follow in.

The table was filled with food I had never seen before.

Su An introduced them to him with a smile: "These are taro cakes, taro cakes, konjac cakes, fried taro balls... They are all snacks made from taro. Oh, and there is also the taro cake I just invented!"

Su An said this, and excitedly went into the kitchen and brought out a light purple cake.

The rich sweet fragrance is even more fragrant.

"Please try it too, Mr. County Master, so that you can give me your opinion."

On the other side, Zhou Li and others had already started eating. When they saw the cake coming, they cut a piece to taste it without saying a word.

The cake was filled with Su An's whipped cream. Zhou Li had no idea what it was, but he found it soft and fluffy, with taro grains mixed in, which was quite novel.

"It's sweet but not greasy, so delicious! That milky white layer tastes amazing!"

Fu Zhun also tasted a few bites and immediately commented: "Konjac is still better."

He prefers stronger flavors, and he prefers konjac soup paired with spicy red oil, which is smooth and tender.

Xie Qingfeng simply spread his hands and said, "They are both good, each with its own merits."

Lin Yong was stunned for a long while, his face full of surprise.

"Boss Su, why do you make so many taro dishes?"