Chapter 226: Carelessness with Tea and Wine

Early the next morning, Lin Dong arrived at the lobby early.
Before opening for business, Ma Chun was giving instructions to the staff behind the counter. The light from the oil lamps paled in comparison to the morning sunlight streaming in through the doors and windows.
Seeing Lin Dong, Ma Chun gave a few brief instructions before clapping his hands and saying, “Stay alert—time to open for business.”
The staff rushed about—some opened the doors, others went to the lodging building—and soon the inn was bustling in an orderly manner.
“Owner, so early? The Maple Forest Restaurant hasn’t sent word this quickly…” Ma Chun stepped forward with Liu An. Despite not having slept much, he still looked energetic.
Lin Dong smiled and asked, “How much silver was there last night in total?”
Ma Chun couldn’t help but laugh too, even more brightly than Lin Dong. “Including Jiang Tianfeng, there are three restaurants involved.”
Three restaurants meant 300,000 taels of silver as compensation for breach of contract. No matter how skilled Ling Zhengyang was at convincing those three restaurants to withdraw from the alliance, and even if he could temporarily avoid paying them through analysis and promises, the compensation would still have to come from Maple Forest Restaurant. After all, no matter how impressive Ling Zhengyang’s promises might sound, 100,000 taels wasn’t a small amount. The owners of the other restaurants, though they might believe that joining forces with Maple Forest Restaurant offered bright prospects, wouldn’t be foolish enough to pay such a large sum upfront.
“Taking 300,000 taels from Maple Forest Restaurant in one go—this deal is profitable,” Lin Dong said calmly. Out of those 300,000 taels, Lin’s Inn could get 150,000 taels, adding to the nearly 300,000 taels they already had.
Unintentionally, their wealth had exceeded 400,000 taels again.
“It’s all thanks to your wisdom, owner!” Ma Chun promptly flattered him.
Lin Dong waved his hand smilingly and asked, “How are the signature dishes of those three restaurants?”
“They’re among the best in all the restaurants,” Ma Chun replied.
“Ling Zhengyang really knows how to choose his targets!” Lin Dong asked further, “What’s the approximate loss for our inn?”
“Based on my estimate, before this, our Lin’s Inn could compete with Maple Forest Restaurant at half the price.” After calculating, Ma Chun said, “Now that the chefs from those three big restaurants have joined Maple Forest Restaurant, and with their signature dishes no longer being as prominent, the situation should reverse. Our Lin’s Inn, at half the price, can barely compete with Maple Forest Restaurant at twice the price.”

There is always a trade-off. In Lin Dong’s view, this loss was still within his acceptable range. As for the rest, he would just let Maple Forest Restaurant have some fun first, before dealing it a heavy blow. With comfort doubled and cooking skills also doubled, Lin Dong estimated it would be enough to turn the situation around once again. Seeing that customers had already arrived and he had nothing else to do, Lin Dong said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to the backyard. Let me know if Maple Forest Restaurant issues any announcements that deviate from our expectations.” Ma Chun nodded and then added, “By the way, boss, there’s something I need to tell you.” “What is it?” Lin Dong asked. Ma Chun replied, “I’ve already contacted the owners of Qinghua Tea Shop and Dongning Wine Shop and ordered a batch of high-quality tea and wine from them.” Lin Dong was surprised and asked, “Are you saying some big clients are complaining that our tea and wine aren’t good enough?” Ma Chun nodded. “Fortunately, it’s not a serious issue. According to the owners of Qinghua Tea Shop and Dongning Wine Shop, the goods should arrive in about two months.” High-quality tea and wine were rare in Autumn Wind City. To find something better than the Thirty-Year Thyme or top-grade Hongyun Tea, one had to go to Lingnan Prefecture. Ordering from tea and wine shops would increase costs significantly, but it was the only option—Wang Liuzhi and the others were too busy testing and training troublemakers to spare time. Although the staff of Lin’s Inn were all highly loyal, with thousands of taels of silver in their hands, the possibility of them turning traitor was still high. After all, their loyalty hadn’t been forged through life and death. Lin Dong was about to nod but then asked in confusion, “Qinghua Tea Shop and Dongning Wine Shop are the largest tea and wine shops in Autumn Wind City. Don’t they have any stock on hand?” Ma Chun shook his head and said with a wry smile, “They don’t dare hold back stock either. At most, they keep a small amount of each for emergencies. For those who need large quantities like us, we can only place orders.” Lin Dong frowned slightly. Tea and wine were also a sign of strength. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be a big deal—stable customer flow meant delaying delivery by two months was no problem. But at this stage, it might not be such a trivial matter. A small issue, faced with so many competing offers, could easily change a customer’s decision. If Lin’s Inn’s tea and wine weren’t good enough, it would not only reduce its own appeal but also increase Maple Forest Restaurant’s appeal. After thinking for a moment, Lin Dong asked, “Have you checked all the other tea and wine shops?” Ma Chun replied helplessly, “I’ve visited every larger shop—none were left out. I’ve asked them all.”

“It seems there’s no other way. Ma Chun, when you have time, go up to the third floor more often and check for any other oversights in our inn. Fix whatever can be fixed as soon as possible.”
Lin Dong sighed. The farce at the chamber of commerce must have come to an end after two months. He only hoped that Ling Zhengyang wouldn’t cling to this flaw and keep pressing him. Otherwise, although the outcome would remain the same, Ling Zhengyang’s abilities would likely result in much greater costs.
Ma Chun nodded.
After thinking for a while longer, feeling his head grow heavy, Lin Dong said, “You guys go ahead. I’m going back to the back yard.”
“Take care, boss!” Ma Chun and Liu An nodded in unison.
Back in the back yard, Lin Dong immediately started preparing breakfast. As he sat at the stone table eating, Ma Chun rushed in.
“Boss, do you have a solution?”
Lin Dong looked up, confused. “What solution?”
“I’ve found a way regarding the tea and wine,” Ma Chun explained.
Lin Dong’s face lit up, and he quickly asked, “What solution?”
“The elastic ball competition we’re holding at the four major academies—won’t it be time for that in another two or three months?” Ma Chun said excitedly. “With the popularity of elastic balls these days, it will surely attract many people to watch. How could the officials of Qiufeng City miss out on such a lively event?”
Lin Dong nodded vaguely.
Ma Chun continued, “With officials of all ranks from Qiufeng City coming by, the academies will definitely need to arrange banquets. Given the status of the four major academies, even the wealthy families will surely have their lunches there. As long as those families have children studying at the academies, they’ll donate some silver to the academies every year. Naturally, the academies will also need to provide lunches for these wealthy families. With competitions lasting four or five days…”
Lin Dong’s eyes shone with excitement. “Then tea and wine will definitely be needed in large quantities. Are you saying the four major academies should prepare them?”
Ma Chun shook his head. “There’s still two or three months left; they probably won’t start preparing so soon.”
“Then why are you talking about this?” Lin Dong asked, puzzled.
Ma Chun smiled. “We can ask the deans of the four major academies to help borrow them!”
Lin Dong asked, “Those super-wealthy families?”
Ma Chun shook his head slowly. “That would be too inefficient. Visiting each household takes time and effort, and the storage time varies, which could lead to uneven quality of the tea and wine.”
Lin Dong groaned in frustration. “Is teasing the boss fun for you? I remember warning you about this bad habit when we were in Qiufeng City.”
Over by the side, Yun Lan couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Ma Chun forced a smile and quickly explained, “We can ask Fenglin Restaurant to lend us some. By the way, we’ve already ordered food there too. Who knows, we might even make a profit in the end. The only downside is that we have to pay them some money now.”
Lin Dong suddenly saw the solution. Right, have the four academies go to Fenglin Restaurant under the pretext of ordering food and drinks. For Fenglin Restaurant, this would be a significant deal, so they surely wouldn’t refuse.
“The problem is, the Elastic Ball Tournament is still two or three months away. The four academies can easily order from liquor and tea shops—there’s plenty of time. Besides, under what pretext should we bring out the tea and wine first?”
“Of course, it’s the price,” Ma Chun replied without hesitation. “The cost of good tea and wine at Fenglin Restaurant is even lower than that at the larger tea and liquor shops in Qiufeng City. If we order food and drinks together from them, it will naturally be cheaper. As for bringing them out in advance, we can simply say that the four academies want to make the tournament more grand and plan to invite officials from all over Qiufeng City to attend, so they need to make a prior visit. Good tea and wine make perfect gifts.”
“The four academies usually don’t get along. How can we explain their joint visit?”
“Still, it’s the price!” Ma Chun said without hesitation. “If all four go together, the larger order means a lower price.”
Lin Dong nodded slowly, thought for a moment, then asked, “The Elastic Ball Tournament was initiated by our Lin’s Inn. If the four academies order the banquet from Fenglin Restaurant instead of us, how do we explain that?”
“Well, actually, there’s no need to explain…” Ma Chun said with a wry smile. “To entertain officials from Qiufeng City, we obviously need the best food and wine. Although Lin’s Inn has gained some attention lately, we still can’t change the perception that Fenglin Restaurant offers the best in Qiufeng City.”
Lin Dong felt somewhat dissatisfied. If that was the case, indeed, there was no need to explain.
“By the way, owner, I’m afraid you’ll have to step in then,” Ma Chun said.
“Me stepping in?” Lin Dong looked puzzled.
Ma Chun nodded. “With fame comes influence. Jiang Youcai doesn’t need to worry—he’s only thinking about how to help Fenglin Restaurant make more money. I’m afraid that if Ling Zhengyang hears about large-scale purchases of tea and wine, he might think that Lin’s Inn is short of them. All he thinks about is how to ruin Lin’s Inn. So, it’s best to draw Ling Zhengyang out in advance. And I guess no one but the owner can do that.”

Lin Dong thought carefully for a moment before slapping his hand. “Alright, that’s a good idea. In two or three months, Fenglin Restaurant will likely be gone anyway, and by then they won’t have the face to send chefs with ingredients to the four major academies. Don’t be too harsh though—just have Fenglin Restaurant cover the compensation specified in the contract for these teas and wines. If it’s too much, it might arouse Fang Jiang Youcai’s suspicion. Who knows, they might even dare to send people to the four academies shamelessly. The elastic ball tournament is a big deal, and having our Lin’s Inn’s food and drinks there is also great publicity.”

Ma Chun smiled and said, “Actually, this idea was Liu An’s.”

Lin Dong was momentarily stunned, then laughed as well. Liu An really knew how to keep a low profile.

“As for the elastic ball tournament, Liu An hasn’t arrived yet. If he could come up with this idea on the spot, he must not have taken the time to thoroughly understand our inn before. Teach him more when you have time. If possible, I plan to have him handle all matters related to the branch stores from now on.”

Ma Chun nodded.

“Go get to work! The sooner this is done, the better. Let me know in advance if you need me to step in.”

Lin Dong gave the order with a smile. This method was, in a way, a form of borrowing arrows with straw boats.