Looking at the scene before her, Shen Qingtang shook her head helplessly and turned to return to her residence.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew up, and the waves became turbulent. The speedboat was rocked and swayed by the wind at the seaside, making it impossible to go out to sea.
"Why is the wind suddenly so strong?" Constable Zhang stamped his feet anxiously. "If we keep delaying like this, when will we ever reach the next county town!"
The officials were also restless and discussed the matter amongst themselves.
Shen Qingtang frowned, a bad feeling creeping into her heart.
Sure enough, within a few days, children began to go missing on the island.
First, a five-year-old child from a fisherman's family went missing while playing on the beach, and then several other children from different families went missing in succession.
The parents were frantic, searching everywhere, but they couldn't find a trace of their child.
"What on earth is going on? How can children keep going missing one after another?"
"Could it have been captured by a sea monster?"
"I've heard that there's a long-standing tradition of children being lost on this island, supposedly as a sacrifice to the sea god..."
That last sentence was like a bomb, causing an uproar in the crowd.
Everyone turned pale with fright. The thought was terrifying: if it was really used to sacrifice to the sea god, then these children were probably already in grave danger!
Upon hearing this news, Shen Qingtang's heart sank.
She immediately summoned Pei Wuwang, Shen Minglan, and Shen Mingzhao, saying, "We must find these children as soon as possible, and there's definitely something wrong with that so-called 'sacrificial tradition'!"
Looking at the coconuts and mangoes covering the island, a bold business plan quickly took shape in Shen Qingtang's mind.
She immediately retrieved the equipment and raw materials for making snacks such as coconut candy, dried mango, and mango jam from her storage space.
A group of experienced workers were transferred from Wanghai County and Xiangguo County to temporarily set up a simple processing plant on the island.
When processing coconut sugar, workers first scrape off the fresh coconut meat and grind it into a smooth coconut milk.
Then, following the recipe given by Shen Qingtang, add an appropriate amount of sugar and maltose, and slowly simmer it in a large pot.
After cooking to a certain point, pour the coconut milk onto a wooden board lined with parchment paper, spread it out to cool, and finally cut it into small pieces and coat them with shredded coconut.
The freshly made coconut candy exudes a rich coconut aroma, has a soft, sweet, and chewy texture, and melts in your mouth, leaving you wanting more.
The process of making dried mangoes and mango jam is equally meticulous. Workers select mangoes that are just ripe, peel and pit them, cut the flesh into strips, and place them on special drying racks to be slowly dried over a gentle charcoal fire.
The dried mango retains the original sweetness of the mango and has an added chewiness.
To make mango jam, the mango flesh is mashed into a puree, sugar and lemon juice are added, and it is cooked in a large pot until thickened. Then, while still hot, it is poured into sterilized earthenware jars and sealed for preservation.
These snacks made with fresh fruit were quickly delivered to Shen Qingtang's shops in Wanghai County and Xiangguo County for sale.
Due to its unique flavor and superior quality, it was enthusiastically received by customers as soon as it was launched.
They sold out very quickly.
Shen Qingtang took the opportunity to expand production and develop new products such as coconut powder and mango juice, making her business increasingly prosperous.
Some people curiously asked Shen Qingtang why she didn't grow her own coconuts and mangoes.
Instead, they have to pick them from the island.
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