Chapter 265: Liquidated Damages

Regardless of how thoroughly Ma Chun understood things, Lin Dong was determined by one principle: it was enough to defeat Ling Zhengyang so thoroughly that he had no chance to defend himself.
Shaking his head, Lin Dong asked, “That kid Qiao Tianhao hasn’t been slacking off, has he?”
“Don’t worry, boss. Out of twelve hours a day, aside from half an hour for rest, he spends eleven and a half hours in the kitchen with Jiang Kui.”
Still not entirely convinced, Lin Dong added, “Tell him that if he can get Jiang Kui to master all the third- and fourth-tier ingredients used in the inn within half a month, and make his skills surpass those of the chefs in other restaurants, while also doubling his speed in preparing these ingredients, I guarantee he’ll become a warrior within two months!”
Ma Chun was amused and exasperated. “Jiang Kui is learning about third- and fourth-tier ingredients from other restaurant chefs—what does that have to do with Qiao Tianhao?”
“Qiao Tianhao has been getting close to Jiang Kui all this time; he surely knows him better than anyone else,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “It’s no problem for Jiang Kui to master those ingredients in half a month, but surpassing the chefs in other restaurants will be harder. Maybe he can come up with some way.”
Ma Chun grinned. With such a generous reward, surely someone brave would appear—maybe Qiao Tianhao really could find a solution.
“Alright, go get to work! Remember to calculate the prices for the spiritual materials and beasts. Find a way to lower them gradually so that people won’t hoard them, but also so they won’t sell everything at once when prices drop. After calculating, send the prices to the other restaurants.” Lin Dong asked, “Should this also be part of our agreement?”
Ma Chun nodded with a smile. “I remember there’s a clause stating that as long as it relates to Maple Forest Restaurant, the other restaurants must follow our instructions. Of course, the condition is that Maple Forest Restaurant must also stick together with us.”
“That’s good!”
Lin Dong nodded. The first- and second-tier spiritual materials and beasts for Lin’s Inn had been provided by the Gu Huan Sect all this time. Everyone was used to selling them to other restaurants and Maple Forest Restaurant. By sticking together, Lin’s Inn wouldn’t suffer too much financial loss.
After Ma Chun left, Lin Dong stayed on the second floor for another half hour. As darkness fell, he walked downstairs.
Passing by the kitchen, he couldn’t help but take a look inside.
In the large kitchen, chefs from various restaurants were sweating profusely. Jiang Kui stared intently, his eyes moving between one of the chefs’ hands and the pot, muttering to himself the whole time.
Next to two adjacent stoves, Qiao Tianhao stood with his legs apart, using two extended spatulas to stir the contents of the pots at such a fast pace that it was impossible to keep track.

From time to time, Qiao Tianhao would call out again, and the two men waiting behind him would promptly step forward to pour the ingredients, already weighted, into the pot. At this pace, with enough heat and stamina, Qiao Tianhao’s speed meant one person could match that of eight or nine chefs. Everything was in perfect order…

Three days later, in the evening, Lin Dong was enduring the torment of the Four Illusion Array in his room when there was a knock at the door.
“Boss, Jiang Tianfeng, the owner of Longfeng Tavern, is here. He says he has matters to discuss with you.”
Lin Dong’s heart stirred. He got out of bed, opened the door, and saw Ma Chun with a meaningful smile. “Boss, if I’m not mistaken, Jiang Tianfeng must be here to bring money.”
“If he’s here to bring money, we must treat him well!”
Waving his hand, Lin Dong smiled and headed straight to the front yard.

By the stone table in the front yard, Jiang Tianfeng looked radiant and happily sipping Hongyun tea, occasionally smacking his lips in satisfaction. When he saw Lin Dong and Ma Chun, he immediately put away his smile, turned away, and quickly rubbed his face. When he turned back, though still glowing with health, his expression appeared somewhat pitiful.
“Boss Lin!” Jiang Tianfeng stood up to greet them from over ten meters away.
“Boss Jiang, please sit.” Lin Dong smiled and quickened his pace.

The three sat down on the stone benches and exchanged a few polite words. Lin Dong asked, “I wonder what brings you to the inn this time, Boss Jiang?”
The pitiful expression on Jiang Tianfeng’s face deepened. He sighed heavily before saying softly, “Boss Lin, I’m here to ask for your help.”
“Ask for help?” Lin Dong looked puzzled.
Jiang Tianfeng nodded firmly. “My unfilial son has caused a serious problem in Lingnan City. He accidentally crippled a wealthy young man from a prominent family. That man demands one million taels of silver as compensation.”
“That much?” Lin Dong was shocked.
Jiang Tianfeng said helplessly, “As you know, Longfeng Tavern isn’t very wealthy. Not to mention coming up with one million taels of silver, even selling my entire family wouldn’t cover it. I’ve already asked all my acquaintances, and we can barely scrape together eighty thousand taels. With no other options, I had to turn to you for help. Although you’ve only been in Qiufeng City for less than a year, you’re renowned for your generosity. I hope you can assist me. I’d be eternally grateful and am willing to use Longfeng Tavern as collateral.”

Lin Dong was speechless. Ling Zhengyang’s move was truly ruthless.

Longfeng Restaurant is located on a busy street, and in terms of both size and decoration, it ranks among the top restaurants in Qiufeng City. To buy it under normal circumstances, one would need at least three to fifty thousand taels of silver. By mortgaging just two hundred thousand taels, there’s no need to worry that Jiang Tianfeng won’t be able to repay it.

If it weren’t for knowing Jiang Tianfeng’s true intentions, and given their alliance as friends plus the fact that he himself wouldn’t suffer any loss, Lin Dong might actually have agreed to lend the money.

But if he did lend it, Lin Dong was sure that by the next day, Jiang Tianfeng would show up again with compensation for breach of contract—compensation that would have to come from the money lent by Lin’s Inn.

Seeing Lin Dong remain silent, Jiang Tianfeng continued, “Rest assured, Manager Lin. I still have quite a few fields, but if I sell them in a hurry, I won’t get a good price. I can definitely repay the money within a year, and I’m willing to pay 10% annual interest.”

Lin Dong shook his head with a smile, looking troubled. “To be honest with you, Boss Jiang, Lin’s Inn actually doesn’t have even hundred thousand taels in cash right now.”

“Less than hundred thousand taels?” Jiang Tianfeng felt a surge of satisfaction. If that was the case, his decision had indeed been wise.

Lin Dong nodded slowly, helplessly. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you, Boss Jiang. We’re short on funds, and we’re also competing with Fenglin Restaurant for business. I can only offer thirty thousand taels as much as I can. If you don’t mind, forget about interest—just give me an IOU.”

Jiang Tianfeng was impressed. This Manager Lin was indeed as generous as the rumors said. Even amid fierce competition with Fenglin Restaurant, he was still willing to lend money.

It seemed unlikely to get twenty thousand taels from Lin’s Inn all at once, but thirty thousand taels was still good.

“In that case, thank you very much, Manager Lin.”

“Please, Boss Jiang. As friends, we should help each other when we can. Ma Chun, go get the banknotes for Boss Jiang. This must be urgent for him, so don’t be polite—just write out the IOU,” Lin Dong said, standing up and signaling to Ma Chun.

“Okay!” Ma Chun nodded and stood up as well.

“Thank you, Manager Lin, and you too, Manager Ma,” Jiang Tianfeng hurriedly thanked them.

“There’s no need to be polite.”

Lin Dong smiled and rushed back to the back yard. Once out of Jiang Tianfeng’s sight, he didn’t go back to his room but instead strolled around the yard.

When he thought the time was right, he took thirty one-thousand-tael banknotes from the mobile counter and hurried back to the front yard.

“Manager, the IOU is ready. Would you like to take a look?” Ma Chun handed a piece of paper to Lin Dong.

Lin Dong took the IOU without even looking at it and handed the banknotes to Jiang Tianfeng. “Boss Jiang, please check them.”

Jiang Tianfeng felt helpless but had no choice but to quickly take the silver notes. After glancing at them briefly, he tucked them into his sleeve and thanked them again. As they escorted Jiang Tianfeng out of the inn, Lin Dong glanced down at the IOU in his hand. The collateral was Jiang Tianfeng’s large mansion in Qiufeng City, with no specified repayment deadline—meaning they could demand the money from Jiang Tianfeng at any time. Lin Dong smiled leisurely and handed the IOU to Ma Chun, “Good job.” Ma Chun took the silver notes, puzzled, “Why go to such trouble? Ling Zhengyang can’t possibly think we don’t have much money, right?” Lin Dong shook his head. It was a trivial effort. No matter how much Ling Zhengyang wanted to drain Lin’s Inn’s funds, he wouldn’t risk buying Jiang Tianfeng’s mansion to secure 30,000 taels of silver for the inn. Mansions in the city were highly sought after; they could probably be pawned for 30,000 taels as well. With his reputation and his performance just now, plus the clause that repayment could be demanded at any time—since Ma Chun was portrayed as the villain—Ling Zhengyang might not believe everything, but his future decisions would still be influenced to some extent. It cost nothing but wasted a little time—this deal was well worth it. Not long after returning to his room, Ma Chun knocked on the door again; Jiang Tianfeng was back. This time, it wasn’t about borrowing money. Someone wanted to buy Longfeng Restaurant, its signature dishes, and its chefs, hoping to waive the breach-of-contract penalty. Since Ma Chun’s reliance on the signature dishes and chefs was crucial, he needed to find a buyer to discuss continuing the partnership and thus inquire about the buyer’s identity. After Jiang Tianfeng evaded the question vaguely and failed to pass the test, Ma Chun had no choice but to terminate the contract forcefully. After cursing loudly to satisfy his anger, the IOU was produced, and just two or three hours later, 30,000 taels of silver were back in Lin Dong’s hands. The breach-of-contract penalty amounted to 100,000 taels, with Lin’s Inn bearing the bulk—receiving 50,000 taels alone. Once Jiang Tianfeng left with the chefs, Lin Dong fiddled with the silver notes, feeling extremely satisfied. “I wonder how many restaurants will come tonight?” “How many?” Ma Chun was puzzled. “One would be hard enough. With a 100,000-tael penalty plus the benefits given to Jiang Tianfeng, at least 200,000 to 300,000 taels is needed.”

Lin Dong shook his head in disapproval. “It only took three or four days to handle this. Ling Zhengyang must be busy investigating various restaurants. Besides compensation for breach of contract, the benefits are surely not just in money; he must have thought of alternatives to money as well. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken so long. In my opinion, it’s at least two restaurants, maybe three. More probably not—firstly, there’s not enough time, and secondly, the cost is too high. It’s better to start with a few examples to scare the restaurants for a while. Who knows, they might even turn to our Lin’s Inn all at once out of fear.”

Ma Chun grinned. “Your plans are quite ambitious, but sadly, Young Master Ling will be disappointed again tomorrow.”

Lin Dong yawned and said with a smile, “If anyone else comes, you take care of them! I’m going back to my room to practice. I hope the third young master will order not only our Lin’s Inn’s Vital Beef Balls but also Turtle Stewed with Maple Leaves regularly. Otherwise, if he gets too angry, he might miss out on all the waves I’ve prepared for him.”

“Have a good journey, owner!”

After seeing Lin Dong leave, Ma Chun took out a stress ball from his sleeve. He bounced it on the ground a few times, tore open the plastic wrap, put it in his mouth, and then chewed as he walked under the starlight toward the kitchen to join Jiang Kui and Qiao Tianhao, who hadn’t slept for days and were relying solely on Vital Beef Balls to stay going.