Chapter 258: Working Together

In the courtyard, the setting sun stretched everyone’s shadows to six or seven meters long. Seeing Lin Dong’s calm expression, no one dared to speak first.
In the restaurant industry, Fenglin Restaurant was undoubtedly a giant. Its second and third young masters were figures whose mere presence could shake the entire industry.
Now, Fenglin Restaurant’s third young master had left in a fit of anger from a small inn that was practically insignificant compared to Fenglin Restaurant. Besides feeling pity for his youthful recklessness, everyone also held Lin Dong in high regard.
At the very least, his courage to order Ling Zhengyang to leave, his determination to refuse two million taels of silver, and his confidence that Linji Inn would eventually be more valuable than Fenglin Restaurant were beyond what ordinary people could achieve.
The silence didn’t last long. Soon, Ma Chun led the staff to move chairs and serve tea.
With the scalding tea in their stomachs, everyone’s mood improved a bit. Yang Wanshan, the owner of Qianhong Restaurant in the east of the city, cleared his throat and asked cautiously, “Manager Lin, the third young master just said that the business association information about your inn was fabricated. I was wondering…”
After Ma Chun quietly introduced Yang Wanshan’s background, Lin Dong answered off-topic, “What do you think is why Fenglin Restaurant launched a price-cutting campaign that lasted over three months?”
“Naturally, it’s to get rid of a batch of large restaurants first, then weaken the remaining ones. That way, Fenglin Restaurant can become the sole dominant force,” Yang Wanshan replied without hesitation.
Lin Dong nodded slowly and asked with a smile, “How many months do you think it will take for Fenglin Restaurant to achieve this?”
Yang Wanshan hesitated, his brows furrowing. This question required careful thought before answering.
Lin Dong wasn’t in a hurry. He sipped his tea, waiting patiently for an answer.
Before long, a middle-aged man in a green silk robe with a small goatee spoke up, “Based on my estimate, if Fenglin Restaurant proceeds slowly, as it did in the past few months, it will take another two months. In total, about half a year.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, clearly endorsing this estimate. Excluding those large restaurants that closed early, everyone present had substantial resources. With their financial strength, they could hold on for another year or so if necessary.
Of course, if things turned out unworkable, they would withdraw early. After all, wasting money only made sense if there was hope of revival.

Lin Dong smiled and said, “Since that’s the case, what does Boss You think the losses for Maple Forest Restaurant in Autumn Wind City over these three months alone amount to?”
“Probably around a hundred thousand taels of silver!” Goat Beard explained, “Although Maple Forest Restaurant has the most customers, and those wealthy patrons who spend over ten taels per table frequent it, it only really reduced its prices to a loss-making level for just over a month, and even then, it rarely dropped prices to 10% of the original amount.”
“If the guild’s news spreads within three to five days,” Lin Dong said casually, scanning the faces of those around him, “what do you think? Can Maple Forest Restaurant still achieve its goal?”
“Of course not!” Spring Blossom sneered, “In just over three months, not to mention us, even those large restaurants that closed down could recover most of their original business within a year or so if they reopened. If the guild’s news ends in three to five days, and without the guild’s influence to attract customers, Maple Forest Restaurant would have to cut prices to 10% and suffer losses at that rate for at least half a year to overwhelm us all.”
“That’s right!” Goat Beard stroked his beard gently, his eyes gleaming coldly, “Maple Forest Restaurant may be wealthy, but this time they’re targeting not just our Autumn Wind City but all restaurants in the Great Han Kingdom. Just in our city, if Maple Forest Restaurant cuts prices to 10%, even though their costs for magical beasts and materials might be lower than ours, they would still lose at least ten to twenty thousand taels per day. Over half a year, that’s around three million taels—something they simply can’t afford. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to rely on guild news and could have crushed us long ago.”
“By Boss You’s calculation, wouldn’t Maple Forest Restaurant be losing a hundred thousand taels for nothing?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
Goat Beard was stunned, his brows furrowing. Everyone also looked deep in thought. Indeed! By this calculation, Maple Forest Restaurant would be losing a hundred thousand taels for nothing. Although they might be able to snatch some customers from those closed restaurants later, the constant changes in prices also disgusted many customers. Overall, it was indeed a pointless loss. In fact, those large restaurants that held on until the end might end up gaining more.
Just Autumn Wind City alone suffered losses of a hundred thousand taels, and across the entire Great Han Kingdom, the losses for Maple Forest Restaurant were staggering—enough to paralyze countless people. For Maple Forest Restaurant as a whole, this was surely no small amount.
The second and third young masters of Maple Forest Restaurant shouldn’t be that reckless.

In an instant, everyone’s expression changed as they realized they had overlooked a critical issue. How much loss was Maple Forest Restaurant suffering every month! The owners of various restaurants were sweating profusely, racking their brains day and night to attract more customers and reduce losses, yet they never thought to help Maple Forest Restaurant do the accounting. With the abilities of Maple Forest Restaurant’s two young masters, they surely wouldn’t act recklessly to suppress other restaurants—they must have been confident of victory. Otherwise, Maple Forest Restaurant would not only fail but also suffer heavy losses. For all the Maple Forest Restaurants across the Great Han Kingdom to launch price cuts as a form of suppression was no trivial matter; there must be a meticulous plan behind it. Given Maple Forest Restaurant’s financial resources, it was impossible for them to use lower prices on dishes and drinks to outcompete all the major restaurants in the Great Han Kingdom. The key lay undoubtedly in information from the merchant guild. Only by relying on such information could Maple Forest Restaurant achieve what would otherwise require a loss of six or seven taels of silver with just one or two taels of loss. This meant that Maple Forest Restaurant had known the outcome of the guild’s decision from the start. Everyone panicked and stood up, looking at Lin Dong in terror. Their suspicions filled them with dread. “As for the news from our Lin’s Inn, true or not, at least we don’t have to worry about Maple Forest Restaurant’s suppression. Even if Maple Forest Restaurant cuts prices by 90%, we at Lin’s Inn can offer 50% off. With our other advantages and the information from the guild, we may not be able to compete with them, but serving a hundred tables shouldn’t be a problem,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “How about you guys give it a try too?” Their hearts stirred briefly before sinking again. Ling Zhengyang’s words were still fresh in their minds. Moreover, without Ling Zhengyang’s threat of accusing them of fabricating imperial policies, they wouldn’t have dared to take such risks. If what this Lin manager said about the guild’s information being fabricated was true, as Ling Zhengyang claimed, then he was simply playing with his life. It might feel satisfying in the short term, but it could lead to the destruction of their families. Yet, this Lin manager didn’t seem like someone who would act recklessly for mere satisfaction. His courage, determination, and confidence… Even Maple Forest Restaurant’s third young master didn’t dare to challenge him. Perhaps Lin manager truly had information from the guild. As soon as the guild’s news first surfaced, he had sent people to the capital to influence high-ranking officials, then used advanced spirit birds to send the latest updates to Autumn Wind City. There were countless errors in his story. First, when the news was still within the guild, who would have had the foresight to predict that it would become Maple Forest Restaurant’s scheme to suppress other restaurants?

Secondly, high-ranking officials in the court cannot be influenced by just an inn in a provincial city. Without millions, or even more, in silver, it’s impossible even to consider it. Moreover, there must be someone to act as a go-between, as high-ranking officials are in a position where a single mistake can lead to destruction, and they certainly wouldn’t casually cooperate with strangers for millions of taels of silver. Similarly, the person who can act as a go-between must also be a high-ranking official, or at least someone of similar status. It can be said that just finding such a go-between requires countless efforts, and the amount of silver spent could amount to tens of millions. If it weren’t for inns like Fenglin Restaurant, which use such methods to suppress the entire Great Han Nation, such a huge cost would be utterly unjustifiable.

However, no matter how flawed the information sources of Lin’s Inn might be, they are still more credible than Manager Lin’s willingness to fabricate court policies at great risk.

Of course, whether true or not, this situation is detrimental to all major inns. One Fenglin Restaurant is already troublesome enough; adding Lin’s Inn, with a duration that could stretch for months, along with subsequent suppression, is beyond what anyone can bear.

Seeing everyone’s expressions worsen, Lin Dong put down his teacup, tapped it gently, and said slowly, “Gentlemen, how about we cooperate?”

“Cooperate?” Everyone turned to look at Lin Dong, puzzled by his words.

“Yes! If I provide you with the information from the merchant guild, what kind of price are you willing to pay?” Lin Dong said with a smile.

Everyone was stunned. Provide information to all major inns? This Manager Lin is really too generous!

Wait, there seemed to be another part—what kind of price they were willing to pay.

Everyone frowned, and Yang Wanshan asked carefully, “Manager Lin, when you say providing the information from the merchant guild, how long after it’s announced at Lin’s Inn will it be?”

The group stared intently at Lin Dong. If it took more than half a day, they could easily obtain the information from their own connections.

“You can assign a staff member to stay at our Lin’s Inn. When new information arrives, we’ll divide it into several parts and give them to your staff member. Additionally, the time of release will be noted next to the information. Everyone must release it at the specified time, not even a moment earlier. Those who violate this rule will have their cooperation terminated,” Lin Dong said calmly. “Our Lin’s Inn also announces information according to this schedule.”

The crowd immediately became agitated. This meant that all restaurants no longer had to worry about being hindered by guild news, and they were now on equal footing with Maple Forest Restaurant and Lin’s Inn—competition would depend solely on each establishment’s true strength.
“If that’s really the case, our Windward Pavilion is willing to spend 500 taels of silver per day!” Yingchunhua said without hesitation.
“I’m also willing to spend 500 taels!”
“I agree to contribute 500 taels!”
With a leader at the forefront, the hesitant restaurant owners quickly responded in unison. Although 500 taels was a significant amount and didn’t guarantee that Maple Forest Restaurant wouldn’t continue to use price cuts to gain an advantage, it was definitely better than losing 2,000 to 3,000 taels daily with no hope of improvement.
These 500 taels not only ensured fair competition but also represented a chance at victory.
Lin Dong smiled silently. 500 taels per restaurant meant a monthly income of 150,000 to 160,000 taels—pure profit. Even Maple Forest Restaurant couldn’t achieve such high profits each month.
Yet Lin Dong wasn’t satisfied. What he wanted was to turn Maple Forest Restaurant into a giant enterprise!