Chapter 261: Hard to Distinguish Truth from Falsehood

Seeing Ye Jianting so nervous, Lin Dong simply stated his own price range.
“Shopkeeper Ye, I had someone estimate the value of Changfeng Inn. It’s roughly worth 3,500 taels of silver. Based on Changfeng Inn’s past business performance, after deducting various expenses, its monthly income is about 20 taels. Adding the benefits that Fenglin Restaurant has brought to Changfeng Inn this time… 6,000 taels of silver. What do you think, Shopkeeper Ye?”
“6,000 taels?” Ye Jianting stared at Lin Dong in shock.
“Do you think it’s too low?” Lin Dong frowned. “No matter how you calculate it, this price is quite reasonable, right? I’ve already included the benefits Fenglin Restaurant has offered you.”
“No, no…” Ye Jianting waved his hands repeatedly. After hesitating for a moment, he asked cautiously, “Shopkeeper Lin, do you really intend to buy Changfeng Inn?”
“Not to buy Changfeng Inn outright. Could it be that you’re trying to bully me into giving you Changfeng Inn by force?” Lin Dong laughed.
Ye Jianting breathed a sigh of relief. This Shopkeeper Lin was indeed as easy to deal with as the rumors said. After struggling for a while, he gritted his teeth and said, “Shopkeeper Lin, I’m willing to sell Changfeng Inn to you for 3,000 taels of silver.”
“Sell it to me for 3,000 taels?” Lin Dong looked puzzled.
Ye Jianting nodded firmly and told the truth, “Fenglin Restaurant instructed us that if Lin’s Inn sent someone to buy Changfeng Inn, we could sell it, but the price couldn’t be less than 3,000 taels. They also set the price for Changfeng Inn at 6,000 taels and are willing to cover the difference entirely.”
“Shopkeeper, it seems Fenglin Restaurant is afraid we won’t be willing to pay too much, so they’re helping us lower the price!” Ma Chun said with a laugh. “If the prices are roughly the same, each inn needs at least 3,000 taels. Just for this shortfall, we’ll have to invest 20,000 to 30,000 taels.”
“If it’s 3,000 taels, we can recover that amount by selling our land. Fenglin Restaurant won’t gain anything,” Lin Dong said calmly. Ling Zhengyang probably couldn’t imagine that, in order to solve the problem of guests and ensure no further complications, he had to buy all the inns in Qiufeng City, no matter how expensive it was.
Unexpectantly, Fenglin Restaurant, in an effort to reduce Lin’s Inn’s cash reserves and fearing Lin’s Inn wouldn’t be willing to part with money, was even willing to secretly cover part of the cost.
Ling Zhengyang had really ended up hurting himself in this situation.
In this way, although he was burdened with 20,000 to 30,000 taels, Fenglin Restaurant would also have to reduce its cash by the same amount, and that money would be wasted.

Since someone else was willing to pay, Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t refuse. He immediately stood up and bowed, saying, “Manager Ye, shall I come to pick you up tomorrow to handle the transfer documents?”
“How dare I! It would be too much trouble for Manager Lin,” Ye Jianting replied hastily, waving his hands. “Please set a time, and I will definitely wait for you at the government office tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Manager Ye,” Lin Dong said without insisting. With so many inns, it would take quite a few staff members to gather everyone at the government office at the same time.
“Well… um…” Ye Jianting hesitated. He didn’t really want to ask Lin Dong to leave. After all, this Manager Lin was a pride of the inn industry. Moreover, although Lin’s Inn could have bought or ignored the struggling inns in the north of the city at a low price, it still spent a considerable amount to acquire them. As a result, the owners of other inns always held Lin Dong in high regard.
But since he had done something dishonest, the longer Lin Dong stayed at the inns, the more anxious he became.
“Manager Ye, there are two more small requests I hope you can help with,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
“Please go ahead…” Ye Jianting grew uneasy again. Two requests wasn’t little at all. What seemed like a trivial matter to Lin Dong might not be so to him.
“First, I hope you’ll wait until our transaction is complete before going to Maple Forest Restaurant to demand compensation,” Lin Dong explained. “I don’t want any unexpected problems. If you’re worried that Maple Forest Restaurant might not compensate later, Lin’s Inn won’t shortchange you by a single coin out of the six thousand taels.”
Ye Jianting’s anxiety eased a bit. This first request was a trivial matter for Lin Dong, and it was also trivial for him. Both Lin’s Inn and Maple Forest Restaurant had excellent reputations, and they would surely keep their promises, not back out for a few thousand taels.
“Second, Lin’s Inn currently has limited staff, and we’re not yet able to attract guests from the east, south, and west parts of the city,” Lin Dong continued. “After buying Changfeng Inn, I hope you can help manage it for a while. All profits from its operation will belong to you. In addition, we’ll offer you and your staff an appropriate increase in wages.”
Ye Jianting was overjoyed. This was indeed a great opportunity—how could he refuse? Even without any compensation, a monthly income of over twenty taels was quite substantial.
Seeing Ye Jianting’s expression, Lin Dong knew he had agreed and felt relieved. This first inn was turning out surprisingly smoothly.
“Then I won’t disturb you any longer, Manager Ye,” Lin Dong said as he stood up to take his leave.

Ye Jianting hurried to see them off until the carriage disappeared at the end of the street before turning around happily. There were only two inns in the west of the city, and by the time they arrived, the bright moon was already high in the sky. Similar to the Changfeng Inn, the other inn, the Wencheng Inn, was in a similar situation—the staff were all waiting eagerly for guests brought in from the north of the city. The outcome was not much different; the owner of the Wencheng Inn was a bit bolder than Ye Jianting. For convenience’s sake, he didn’t lower prices like Ye Jianting did, but after Ma Chun suggested it, he immediately agreed. Next came three inns in the south of the city, three inns in the east, and one inn in the city center. Everything went smoothly. By the time the carriage left the last inn and reached the government office, it was already fully daylight. It didn’t take long before the owners of the nine inns arrived at the government office one after another, and the transfer of ownership was quickly completed. With all nine inns in hand and continuing to operate, as long as no one deliberately caused trouble, the Lin Family Inn would have no more worries. Even if someone tried to cause trouble by buying land to build an inn, it would still take months. By then… Lin Dong would have had time to improve the inn’s appeal to guests. In fair competition, there was nothing to fear; in unfair competition, even less so. Climbing into the carriage, Lin Dong pulled down the curtain. Despite the long night of travel, he remained energetic. “With all worries resolved, what’s next?” Ma Chun was momentarily stunned before breaking into a grin and saying cheerfully, “Next, we can focus on making Fenglin Restaurant and Ling Zhengyang’s life miserable!” Lin Dong replied leisurely, “That’s a good idea. Regarding the third- and fourth-tier spiritual materials and beasts, go to the Gu Huan Clan and Wan Family Village again later. It’s best to get them all ready within two or three days. We also need to speed up the promotion—everything must be prepared as soon as possible.” “There’s plenty of time—no problem!” Ma Chun waved his whip, and the carriage set off slowly. Back on Shibei Street, the inn was already open for business. Lin Dong headed straight to the second floor and took his position in the corner again. Everything was in order. News about the Lin Family Inn had spread throughout Qiufeng City, along with the fact that there had been a major upheaval in the guild. Just in the morning, all 25 dining tables on the second floor were equipped with comfort enhancements, and for the first time ever, three large groups booked tables in the 10 private rooms on the third floor right in the morning. In the afternoon, Lin Dong pressed on, posting another message on the notice board.

Early in the morning, Emperor Qianwei brought up the idea of abolishing the Censorate again. As his ministers opposed it, he presented a memorial sent by the governor of Qianfeng County, whose content was largely similar to that of Censor Liang Qingyang, both detailing the flaws of the Censorate. It particularly emphasized the harm the Censorate posed to governance; if this continued, within thirty to fifty years, small merchants in various cities would have their living space severely restricted. In the event of natural disasters, aside from the common people, these small merchants would also face widespread resentment.

Although there were some flaws, Lin Dong smoothed them over. Though he knew little about politics, he did have some progressive ideas. As a result, the entire message seemed reasonable. It might be difficult to deceive high-ranking officials in the court, but it would be easy to fool some wealthy merchants.

Those who suspected Lin’s Inn of fabricating false news were almost gone. Until the next morning, when Fenglin Restaurant released more news about the merchant association, also involving significant progress.

The list of counties for the Censorate had been finalized. The Censorate in Qiufeng Prefecture would be established next to the prefectural government, with Ma Lakong, a sixth-rank official from the Ministry of Personnel, appointed to head it. Once in office, he could begin setting up the Censorate. The only thing still undecided was the official establishment date of the merchant association. Emperor Qianwei planned to start by selecting three counties and ten prefectures as examples. The civil and military officials debated fiercely: some wanted to implement it immediately to reap benefits sooner, while others wanted to wait until after the imperial examinations, after the princes reached adulthood and were sent to various regions, to use it as a way to boost their achievements.

It seemed this news was also unlikely to be false.

Soon, Qiufeng City split into two factions. One side believed Lin’s Inn was right, arguing that no matter how bold Lin’s Inn might be, it would not dare fabricate government policies. This was a grave crime punishable by confiscation of property and execution. Although the owner of Lin’s Inn had connections with Deputy Governor Li Jiancheng, he could not withstand such a severe punishment. No one would be that foolish.

Moreover, all the reasoning seemed logical, with no flaws found. No matter how incompetent Emperor Qianwei might be, he probably wouldn’t risk playing with the fate of the nation along with all the civil and military officials. After all, the Great Han Dynasty belonged to the Liu family. It was acceptable to offer small favors to strengthen their position, but they would never risk their own family’s interests to please officials.

Additionally, Fenglin Restaurant’s news about the merchant association was rather weak. Once Lin’s Inn released its own news, a more substantial one followed, which seemed highly suspicious of being fabricated. In comparison, Fenglin Restaurant was wealthy and likely had deep connections with high-ranking officials, allowing them to cover up the fabrication of government policies.

Similarly, many people believed Fenglin Restaurant was right, and these were mostly those who understood politics better.

In their view, the establishment of a chamber of commerce and an oversight body was inevitable; with interests already distributed, it was impossible for anyone to dare to oppose it. Not to mention an imperial censor, even a prince would likely be doomed. The news from Lin’s Inn did make some sense, but Emperor Qianwei wasn’t foolish—he must understand that trying to turn back now would only plunge the court into even greater chaos.
At Fenglin Restaurant, Ling Zhengyang was leisurely sitting in the shade of a tree in the back yard, enjoying the cool air. He believed that although this announcement wasn’t as urgent as the news from Lin’s Inn about the chamber of commerce, Fenglin Restaurant’s superior strength and financial resources would surely allow it to overwhelm Lin’s Inn.
Two more months would be enough to return to the capital.
At the entrance of the courtyard, Jiang Youcai rushed in in a panic.