Chapter 285: A Heap of Good News

Following the same path they came, they reached the entrance of the Jiang family’s mansion. Fearing that Lin Dong might change his mind, two servants already held a gong and drum each, leading the way to the gate.
Throwing the two who were crying out in pain onto the stone steps outside, Lin Dong stepped lightly on Jiang Dening’s left leg. A scream as agonizing as that of a slaughtered pig pierced the sky.
Glancing at Wan Shuiyong, Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before reluctantly deciding to spare him. Hurting Wan Shuiyong wasn’t a major issue for someone who was a martial artist. But Tianwei Pavilion would surely send people to investigate. If his identity were exposed, it could bring unnecessary trouble to Lin’s Inn. If Tianwei Pavilion discovered his rapid progress and dug deeper, things could get really troublesome.
Waving his hand, Lin Dong headed toward the carriage first. After everyone boarded, Lin Dong instructed, “Wu Guang, find a secluded place to stop. We’ll walk to the inn, and then you and Liu Hua should find a way to modify the carriage so it can’t be recognized.”
Wu Guang didn’t understand Lin Dong’s meaning at first, but Liu Hua nodded eagerly. Seeing this, Lin Dong happily explained the situation to him.
The sound of horse hooves echoed as they turned down the streets until they stopped in an alley. After leaving the alley and confirming no one was following, they asked around and found out where Lin’s Inn was located, then walked there.
The inn had been built for nearly a month, and its doors were tightly closed. Lin Dong knocked on the door panel.
“Who is it?” came a voice from inside.
“I’m Lin Dong, the owner of Lin’s Inn,” Lin Dong replied.
“The owner has arrived?” There was a gasp from inside. The new door panel was removed soon after, and a young man in his twenties looked at Lin Dong anxiously, not knowing what to say.
“Are you the only one here?” Lin Dong asked.
The young man nodded quickly. “The prince said it’s still early to open, and everyone doesn’t need to stay at the inn. They can go back and do some farm work. We’ll notify them when it’s time to open.”
Lin Dong entered the main hall. Compared to Lin’s Inn in Qiufeng City, this branch was about the same size, but both the main hall and the lodging buildings had only two floors.
“Go and inform all the chefs that Lin’s Inn will open in a few days,” Lin Dong ordered.
The young man hesitated, unsure what to say.
Smiling, Lin Dong handed him the land deed of Lin’s Inn in Jiuhu City. After seeing it, the young man had no more doubts. He nodded happily and ran off. After being closed for over a month, the inn was finally about to open.
Lin Dong walked over to the counter and sat down, when the system prompt sounded.

Ding: Please choose whether to make this inn a branch.
Lin Dong silently confirmed in his mind, then checked the inn system—another branch had already appeared in the list.
“Elder Huang, you can stay here for now. When the main inn sends someone over, they’ll take you to Qiufeng City,” Lin Dong asked. “What do you think?”
Huang Wanli nodded quickly. “I’ll follow Manager Lin’s arrangements.”
“Then it’s settled!”
Lin Dong immediately took Huang Wanli and his grandson to the back yard to arrange accommodations. After settling them in and exchanging a few polite words, Lin Dong turned to Yun Lan. “Are you going to cultivate, or come with me to handle the opening preparations?”
“How long will it take?” Yun Lan asked.
“At least an hour or two! We need to check on the progress in Qiufeng City,” Lin Dong explained.
“Then I’ll go to my room to cultivate.”
Seeing Lin Dong nod, Yun Lan headed straight to one of the rooms.
Lin Dong eagerly opened the inn system. After injecting a large amount of spirit stones into Lin’s Inn in Jiuhu County, he set Yun Lan’s room as a guest room and activated the highest level of six-fold cultivation bonus.
After finishing the trivial tasks, Lin Dong hurried to the storage room.
Just like Lin’s Inn in Qiufeng City, the storage room also had a secret passage. Entering the passage led to a stone chamber beneath it. Lin Dong immediately set the door in the chamber as a transport door.
When he opened the door, what should have been thick stone walls turned into the stone chamber of Lin’s Inn in Qiufeng City.
Entering the storage room through the stone chamber, Lin Dong checked the situation in the courtyard before opening the door again.
The scorching sun hung high—the weather in Qiufeng City was a completely different scene.
When he arrived at the lobby, the staff already knew he had been away. If they hadn’t seen Liu Hua and Wu Guang return, they would surely be surprised. So, instead of going straight to the lobby, Lin Dong knocked on the room where the disciples of the Gu Huan Sect were staying and asked one of them to go call Ma Chun.
Soon, Ma Chun rushed over, his face filled with a wide smile.
“Manager, Fenglin Restaurant has given up!”
Lin Dong closed the door and asked, “How did that happen?”
“They found out that all the chefs from Guest Restaurant had gone to our Lin’s Inn, and their skills had improved greatly. Ling Zhengyang must have investigated the reason earlier and went to see Boss Wang the very next day,” Ma Chun said excitedly. “Guess what price he offered?”
“I can’t guess what price Ling Zhengyang offered. All I know is…” Lin Dong said nonchalantly, “You deserve a beating!”
Ma Chun smiled sheepishly and explained, “As long as Boss Wang is willing to take back his chefs, Fenglin Restaurant in Qiufeng City can give him a 10% stake!”

Lin Dong was stunned. “Ten percent in equity?”
Ma Chun nodded firmly.
“That’s a huge offer!”
Lin Dong was astonished. Although it was equity, the business of Fenglin Restaurant used to generate at least twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver in profit per month. Ten percent meant two to three thousand taels, which was equivalent to the restaurant’s monthly income.
Just to get Wang Shuangxi to recall his chefs, giving up ten percent of the profits—if Ling Zhengyang only owned Fenglin Restaurant, that was quite a bold move.
“Boss, Ling Zhengyang must be running low on cash,” Ma Chun said with a cruel smile. “If he’s willing to go this far, we can definitely tear Fenglin Restaurant apart by introducing Lingshi Fans now.”
Lin Dong pondered for a moment before shaking his head slowly. “Ling Zhengyang might just be playing tricks. Let’s take our time. We’ve already waited for months; a few more months won’t matter.”
Ma Chun nodded reluctantly.
“Don’t worry, Fenglin Restaurant won’t get away,” Lin Dong said, smiling as he patted Ma Chun’s shoulder. “If nothing goes wrong, another two or three days and some chefs should arrive at the inn.”
“Some chefs?” Ma Chun was puzzled.
Lin Dong explained, “I picked them up along the way. Hire a few carpenters to divide the kitchen into two halves and make space for them. It’s best to have another entrance as well.”
“Why?” Ma Chun was even more confused.
Lin Dong smiled. “Because these chefs are all highly skilled, and more than half of them are missing limbs. If other chefs see them, it will definitely cause trouble. Also, make sure all the staff keep quiet about these new chefs.”
Ma Chun’s expression darkened. “Boss, these people can’t all have committed murder, right?”
Lin Dong nodded.
Ma Chun sighed. “We already have chefs. Hiding murderers is a serious crime.”
“It doesn’t matter. The murders they committed weren’t in Qiufeng City, and they weren’t ordinary murders either. The authorities won’t pursue them,” Lin Dong explained. “Although we have many chefs, few can match Fenglin Restaurant’s skills with spiritual materials and beasts.”
“Can these chefs compete with Fenglin Restaurant?” Ma Chun showed interest. Coming from a criminal background, he was somewhat immune to such things, and his attention immediately shifted to their cooking skills.
Lin Dong smiled. “They’re slightly inferior. But with the help of spiritual arrays, their skills with spiritual beasts and materials are good enough to leave Fenglin Restaurant far behind.”

“Great!” Ma Chun punched his palm. If that was indeed the case, there might be no need to wait for the Spirit Stone Fan to deal a fatal blow to Maple Forest Tavern—just these chefs alone could very well become the boulder that crushes it.
“Not only that, but these chefs’ strengths lie in pasta and pastries,” Lin Dong said slowly. “Especially the one in charge. With the addition of the spirit array, no one in Lingnan Commandery will be able to match them in pasta and pastries.”
Ma Chun grinned widely. He understood now why Lin Dong wanted a group of criminals. With these chefs, the inn would be swamped with customers in the mornings, and its banquet services would also improve significantly.
“Once they arrive, you’re in charge of welcoming them. The leader is a charming woman in her early thirties. Give her a Green Blue Fruit then,” Lin Dong instructed. “There’s also someone named Liang Shangtian among them. He used to be a manager with great skills in brewing. Take him to Lou Wentang. If he’s willing, he can become the deputy owner of Lin’s Winery. The newly brewed wine should be on par with the thirty-year-old Thyme.”
Ma Chun’s eyes widened as he was stunned by this unexpected good fortune. On par with the thirty-year-old Thyme? Did that mean that with the spirit array, it would be enough to outshine all the fine wines in Autumn Wind City?
“By the way, those spirit beasts and materials crafted by the chefs need new names. You can think of them yourself later!” Lin Dong continued. “We also need to come up with a good name for the new wine. How about… Red Wine?”
“Red Wine?” Ma Chun found the name somewhat strange.
“The wine is red in color,” Lin Dong explained.
Ma Chun was at a loss for words. Just because the wine was red, it had to be called Red Wine? Was this really a carefully thought-out name?
“Also, in seven or eight days, send a few disciples of the Gu Huan Sect to Jiu Hu County to bring back the Huang Wanli family,” Lin Dong continued. “Huang Wanli will be in charge of the accounting at our Lin’s Inn from now on.”
“Huang Wanli? Accounting?”
Ma Chun’s head buzzed. In just five or six days, not only had they found a group of highly skilled chefs, but they could also convince Huang Wanli to work as the accountant at Lin’s Inn. No matter how lucky the innkeeper was, it was impossible for so much good fortune to fall his way all at once.
Lin Dong smiled without saying anything. Only after Ma Chun had fully processed what he had gained did he ask about managing branch stores.

Ma Chun was clearly well-prepared. The situation in Jiuhu City was one of competition between Fenglin Restaurant, which had taken control of the city a year earlier, and Luanfen Restaurant, an established local establishment with over 20 years of history. In his view, no matter which side it was, unless they fought to the point of ruin like in Qiufeng City, it would be difficult to bring any of them down in a year or so. Attracting customers at a loss was like killing ten thousand enemies but losing three thousand of one’s own; Ma Chun’s plan was to proceed gradually, first using Vital Beef Balls and Turtle Stewed with Maple Leaves to gain an edge, and then slowly introducing Vital Balls throughout Jiuhu County to gradually take over the market. After failing to come up with any improvements, Lin Dong finalized the business strategy for the Jiuhu County branch.