"Is this... food?"
Liu Shuyue looked at the instant noodles before her, unsure of where to begin.
They looked shiny, and the design was elaborately enticing, completely unlike relief food. If you say it's edible, it doesn't seem quite like it either.
"Yes. But it's a bit more complicated to eat... it requires some guidance." Chen Xuan enthusiastically introduced, "Of course, this is part of the complimentary services in the capability transaction, with no extra charge."
The goods arrived very quickly.
After making a call in the afternoon, the first batch was delivered to the Celestial Ridge District by the next morning—a truck fully loaded with two hundred boxes, totaling four thousand packs.
To store these goods, he could only sacrifice his storefront temporarily and pile the first floor full.
"Watch carefully, I'll demonstrate once."
Chen Xuan fetched a bowl, chopsticks, and hot water, and began to demonstrate the noodle-making art.
The procedure flowed seamlessly.
Liu Shuyue watched attentively.
She knew she was looking at more than just a bowl of noodles... it was tied to the fate of tens of thousands of disaster victims. She memorized every movement of the other party, including the angle at which the seasoning was poured.
She quickly noticed something amiss.
As hot water poured into the bowl, releasing a rich fragrance, Liu Shuyue couldn't resist swallowing saliva.
What is this!? Such a complex and layered aroma, with wheat fragrance mingling with sweet, salty, sour, and spicy notes, was downright irresistible! She's tasted the finest delicacies, from palace night banquets to the private stoves of state governors; she's experienced it all. While exotic meats and rare seafood are indeed delicacies, this unremarkable bowl of noodle soup vaguely had an aura comparable to them!
Sect disciples focus on self-control and are not swayed by external things, and she was like that too, not demanding much from food, as long as it could stave off hunger and was harmless. Yet, she deeply understood the amount of effort it took to make a dish appealing to all senses, and this effort, when measured by another standard, equaled time and money.
Culinary skills require time to accumulate, and top-grade ingredients and spices are expensive, so those dishes with complex flavors could only be enjoyed by the rich and powerful.
They had nothing to do with relief food from the start!
Disaster victims just want to survive!
Using this for disaster relief... is the direction wrong?
"It's ready." Chen Xuan stirred the noodles with chopsticks, then handed them to Liu Shuyue, "Come, try the flavor."
She didn't take the chopsticks but stared straight at Chen Xuan, clearly filled with reproach.
Facing her gaze, Chen Xuan quickly understood, shook his head with a smile, "Don't worry, this stuff isn't much more expensive than a bowl of rice porridge. If we calculate based on the continuously rising grain prices in Zhangwei City recently, it's actually slightly cheaper than porridge."
"What?"
Liu Shuyue was dumbfounded.
This thing... cheaper than the simplest plain porridge?
"Would I lie to you? Honesty is the essence of doing business. If instant noodles were too expensive, wouldn't I go bankrupt on a single order?" Chen Xuan waved the chopsticks again.
This time Liu Shuyue took them.
The phrase "wouldn't I go bankrupt" struck her.
Indeed... what merchant would willingly make a loss? Despite this young man running an exceptional store, he's indeed an experienced businessman.
She cautiously took a bite of the noodles, and her eyes lit up.
This freshness was even more intense than she anticipated; the sour taste of the pickled vegetables was just right, and the spicy sensation after swallowing the broth enhanced the layered aftertaste. Perhaps the noodles themselves were quite ordinary, but the seasoning was definitely a masterful touch!
What kind of effort did the cook put in?
It seemed like just pouring in boiled water.
If it's truly as cheap as Chen Xuan said, then this pack of noodles is indeed a miracle.
"I can't find any fault..." Liu Shuyue marveled, "Even by affluent standards, it could be served on the table as a main dish. However, it requires additional hot water and tableware... with many refugees, that isn't a small number."
"Tableware is also part of the complimentary service; our store covers it all." Chen Xuan was prepared, as disposable plastic bowls and bamboo chopsticks are extremely cheap, costing less than a fraction of a penny. "As for hot water, it needs to be prepared ahead, I saw several large pots in front of the refugee camp; why not use them to boil water?"
Actually, fuel is also a resource.
Fortunately, he had checked the local environment; there are large woods outside the city, and now it's early autumn, obtaining firewood shouldn't be a problem.
"No problem." Liu Shuyue had the same thought, "I'll go find Shen Fang to borrow them."
"One more thing, while this is cheap, it isn't unlimited." Chen Xuan added, "One person can eat only one pack per day, this way they can last longer. How to distribute it and guide them to fetch water and eat noodles will rely on your efforts."
"This is my duty, I'll go arrange people to transport the food." Liu Shuyue stood up enthusiastically, preparing to leave from the second-floor room, then turned back halfway and bowed deeply to Chen Xuan.
"Sir, you are so noble; on behalf of the affected citizens of Qing State, I thank you."
Watching the girl disappear in a hurry, Chen Xuan couldn't help but touch his head.
Being called 'sir' by a cultivator felt strange indeed.
Forget it, she could call him whatever she liked.
There are still several truckloads of goods to receive next.
...
...
"Lord, it's terrible, terrible!"
Shen Fang was still having his breakfast at his residence when he heard County Magistrate Tang's urgent calls from outside.
"Making such a scene, what manners." Seeing him enter, Shen Fang set down his bowl and chopsticks unhappily, sternly rebuking, "Those disaster victims started rioting?"
For Governor Zhangwei, this was also the city's most likely threat. This city was far from the border, with low walls, and the Qing State army would take several days to arrive; if attacked by mobs, it would be troublesome.
Fortunately, there's an Immortal Master stationed in the city.
Even though the Immortal Master sympathizes with the refugees, she should know what's more important. Refugees are civilians, and so are the Zhangwei citizens, with more residents inside the city in numbers.
If it really comes to that, he doesn't believe the Immortal Master won't take action.
"Ah? No, not at all." The County Magistrate quickly waved his hand.
Not rioting? "Then what's the hurry about?"
"The refugees... the refugees have something else to eat!"
Shen Fang was slightly taken aback, "Someone's distributing relief?"
At this juncture, merchants and grain traders are all watching the grain prices rise; who would easily release grain? Isn't that throwing away money?
"Doesn't seem to be released from inside the city, I've asked, nobody opened this option." The County Magistrate said all in one breath, "The current situation is, none of those eight thousand people are hungry, yesterday noon everyone ate their fill, they don't even fight for relief porridge anymore! I looked at the western side, that scene was eerie; several thousand people's camp was lively and laughing, no one was crying or fighting, entirely different from two days ago!"
"You sure?" Shen Fang frowned.
He knew what condition these refugees were in; the daily distributed relief porridge was only enough for two or three thousand people, Zhangwei couldn't support so many gathered refugee populations from the start. Conflicts and even fatal incidents broke out in the camp to fight over this limited food.
Just climbing the city wall at night, listening closely, one could hear the wailing and lamentation from outside, carried by the wind. Hunger and death were tormenting the unfortunate crowd, negative emotions festering like the waves against the shore, bound to erupt sometime.
With more refugees arriving, the food shortage would only speed up... one could say he already foresaw them turning into mobs, desperate to survive by any means.
"Absolutely true!" The County Magistrate nodded repeatedly, "Yesterday they all had food, today it's as if they turned into different people! If you don't believe it, you can go take a look with me later!"
Yesterday? What change occurred yesterday?
Suddenly, Shen Fang remembered that the Immortal Master had borrowed several large pots from him yesterday.