Chapter 331: Countering Rumors

Lin Dong’s gaze turned stern. If Hong Wanfu’s plans succeeded, Lin’s Inn would suffer a crushing defeat.
Having just arrived in Lingnan City, with no existing clientele and no significant advantage in strength, competing head-on with the various restaurants meant that, though they had the advantage of guild pricing and other strategies to ensure victory, they wouldn’t be driven out of the city in shame. Yet, their development would be significantly delayed. After all, the restaurants would do everything possible to attract customers, weakening Lin’s Inn’s advantages. Unlike those restaurants, Lin’s Inn focused on using its strengths to build a loyal customer base. By the time the restaurants realized something was wrong and tried to suppress them, Lin’s Inn would already have the strength to sweep them all away.
In the confined room, Lin Dong frowned in deep thought. Suddenly, as Ma Chun and Liu An both looked worried, he raised his head abruptly and asked, “How’s things going with the owner of Tianlai Gambling House?”
“We’re still looking for someone,” Ma Chun replied helplessly, shaking his head. “It’s impossible to finish in less than ten days.”
“Then there’s no need to be cautious!” Lin Dong glanced at Liu An across from him and then at Ma Chun. “Jiang Kui arrived at just the right time. Have him ride the Eagle Beast Bird—I want everyone in the city to hear his voice tonight. The message should be… how old is the owner of Tianlai Gambling House and the county magistrate?”
“About forty for one, a little over fifty for the other,” Ma Chun answered without hesitation.
“Create a close relationship between them—brothers, cousins, brother-in-laws, brothers-in-law… anything will do. The closer, the better,” Lin Dong said gravely. “Make sure the whole city knows this relationship. And also, make sure everyone knows that anyone who dares to go to Hongfu Gambling House is essentially opposing Tianlai Gambling House.”
Liu An stared in shock, while Ma Chun’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “Are you saying we should spread rumors?”
“Yes!” Lin Dong sneered. “If Hong Wanfu can spread rumors, why can’t we? With our connections as powerful families, and knowing that Tianlai Gambling House enjoys preferential treatment from the county government, people should believe it at first glance. Perhaps, after careful thought, they’ll realize that the owner of Tianlai Gambling House and the county magistrate couldn’t possibly reveal such a relationship on their own—someone must be spreading rumors. But they probably won’t dare go to Hongfu Gambling House anymore. After all, the fact that Tianlai Gambling House enjoys government favor is undeniable, and there might be truth hidden behind these rumors.”

“Nobody is rushing to Hongfu Gambling House…” Lin Dong rested his hands behind his head, leaning leisurely back in his chair, and said calmly, “With the situation unclear, naturally, no one dares to go to Hongfu Restaurant either.”
“The boss is wise! In this case, Hong Wanfu will end up losing more than he gains. In fact, whether it’s Hongfu Restaurant or Hongfu Gambling House, without any remedy, their business will suffer greatly. But…” Ma Chun hesitated, “This means everyone in the city will know that the prefect intends to suppress Hongfu Gambling House for the sake of Tiandai Gambling House. Behind the scenes, such things are not uncommon, but having it known throughout the city… The prefect surely understands that this is equivalent to giving opposing officials a reason to get him dismissed from office or even killed. In other words…”
Lin Dong waved his hand to stop Ma Chun from continuing his speculation and turned to look at Liu An, smiling and asking, “What will the prefect do?”
“Huh?” Liu An was trying hard to understand what the two were saying and was stunned upon hearing this.
Lin Dong smiled without saying anything, quietly watching Liu An. Ma Chun, as the chief manager, would eventually have to leave it to Liu An to handle various emergencies. If Ma Chun and he themselves could figure it out, there’s no reason Liu An, who had top-notch adaptability, couldn’t as well.
What was lacking was probably experience in dealing with such matters.
Over by the side, Ma Chun clearly understood Lin Dong’s intention. He smiled, pulled out a chair, and sat down to watch Liu An’s face turn red with anxiety.
“B- Boss, the prefect…” Under Lin Dong’s slightly encouraging gaze, Liu An’s anxious mood finally eased a bit, and he stammered, “H-he should find a way to clear things up.”
“Right!” Lin Dong nodded but didn’t go on further, instead continuing to smile at Liu An.
Seeing Lin Dong’s expression, Liu An realized his words hadn’t satisfied the boss. Taking a deep breath, his chaotic mind cleared a little. Liu An organized his thoughts and carefully continued, “To clear things up, there are only two ways. One is to reach an agreement with Hong Wanfu, and the two of them appear in public. Even if the rumor isn’t completely dispelled, it will at least seem that it is, which is enough. Another option is to let Hongfu Gambling House remain safe and sound; over time, the rumor will fade on its own. Oh, there should also be a compromise—being friendly in public with Hong Wanfu while slowing down the pressure on Hongfu Gambling House behind the scenes.”
“Go on!” Lin Dong said slowly.

Liu An nodded, his thoughts gradually becoming clearer. “It’s impossible to ignore Hong Wanfu’s oppression, but it can’t be too blatant either. In my opinion, the prefect will likely opt for the third compromise. As for Hong Wanfu… even though he knows it’s the prefect’s delaying tactic, to revive his gambling house and restaurant business, he’ll probably grit his teeth and agree to cooperate in putting on a show. And then there’s us.”

After a pause, Liu An mused, “A single rumor has caused such trouble for the prefect. I believe he won’t let us off easy. Although neither Jiang Kui’s loud voice nor the Eagle Beast Bird are well-known, as soon as Hong Wanfu posted the announcement, a rumor aimed at suppressing him appeared. It’s likely we’ll be hard-pressed to deny any connection. After all, we’re the only ones to benefit from this rumor. If the prefect isn’t stupid, we’ll be his first suspects.”

Ma Chun nodded silently. This was exactly what he was worried about.

As a merchant, the first people one must not offend are the local officials. Though their influence over merchants has diminished somewhat, their power still lingers. Just think—if the officials send constables to arrest bandits every few days, the inn can’t operate properly. The merchant association might be able to calm things down, but it can’t stop the constables from coming back tomorrow to arrest thieves.

Offending the prefect comes with serious consequences!

“What should we do?”

Lin Dong watched Liu An quietly. He had considered these consequences as well but couldn’t think of a solution. He asked casually, just hoping that Liu An and Ma Chun might come up with something. Even if there was no solution, they still had to proceed this way.

Not for anything else, but just for the success of Lin’s Inn’s opening, it was worth offending the prefect in Lin Dong’s eyes. Moreover, the benefits went beyond just meeting expectations during the initial phase of opening. Once the relationship between the prefect and the owner of Tianlai Gambling House was exposed, undoubtedly, the owner of Tianlai Gambling House would have to stop suppressing Hong Fu’s Gambling House for at least the first one or two months. This would free them up to join forces with Fenglin Restaurant to push Hong Fu’s Restaurant into a desperate situation.

With these two major restaurants competing fiercely, just as Lin Dong had planned, it was a great opportunity for Lin’s Inn, with more advantages than disadvantages.

Although offending the prefect had serious consequences, for these two benefits, Lin Dong was willing to take the risk. After all, with no evidence, even if he was suspected, the prefect probably wouldn’t go to extreme lengths against Lin’s Inn. Once they got through this critical opening period, they could find ways to make amends gradually.

“The shop owner…” Liu An suddenly looked up, his eyes gleaming: “We predicted in Qiu Feng City that the guild would reach a final decision ahead of time—maybe we can take advantage of that.”
Lin Dong and Ma Chun almost simultaneously slapped their thighs. Indeed, predicting the guild’s final decision in advance was definitely worth exploiting.
In the eyes of the wealthy and ultra-wealthy in Qiu Feng City, Lin’s Inn was able to announce the same information about the guild’s final decision ahead of time solely because of Fu Tongshan’s leaks.
Who was Fu Tongshan? He was the current Grand Tutor, the leader of the Scholars’ Party, and the biggest beneficiary of the upheaval in the court. Although he was a high-ranking official governing a region, in front of the rising Fu Tongshan, he was like a chick—worth at most a brief glance.
Since he could even leak information related to the entire court to Lin’s Inn, one could imagine the close relationship between them. At the very least, it was undeniable that offending Lin’s Inn meant offending Fu Tongshan.
As long as they subtly informed the regional governor about Lin’s Inn’s activities in Qiu Feng City, not to mention spreading rumors, even the most serious issues wouldn’t deter him from suppressing Lin’s Inn rashly.
Moreover, in the ten counties selected as pilot areas for the guild, just like the regional governors, most of the local officials were also from the Scholars’ Party. And the leader of the Scholars’ Party was none other than Fu Tongshan. Who would dare oppose their own leader over such a matter? Given the relationship between Lin’s Inn and Fu Tongshan, it was even too late to not curry favor with them.
“Liu An, I didn’t see that coming!” Ma Chun couldn’t help but give Liu An a thumbs up. “You really have some skills.”
Liu An smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. “At that time, we just need to find a way to enlist an official who knows the regional governor and casually leak the information to him. Then everything will be solved. But…”
“But what?” Ma Chun asked.
Liu An hesitated. “I’m worried that the regional governor might know Fu Tongshan—or even be one of Fu’s men. That means he’s likely to seek confirmation from Fu Tongshan.”
“That’s indeed possible!” Ma Chun frowned. If the regional governor really was Fu Tongshan’s man and knew about the close relationship between Lin’s Inn and Fu Tongshan, he would definitely try to subtly get Fu’s opinion to figure out how much effort to invest in building ties with Lin’s Inn. If that happened, their plan would be exposed.

“It’s okay! You don’t need to worry about this.” Nearby, Lin Dong shook his head with a smile. He believed that Fu Tongshan wasn’t stupid—after the governor’s subtle mention of Lin’s Inn, Fu Tongshan must have understood that the governor was guessing a connection between Lin’s Inn and himself and wanted to verify the extent of that connection. By then, Fu Tongshan would surely instruct the governor to take care of it. The reason was that he had in his hands evidence obtained in Southwest City that could ruin Fu Tongshan’s only son, Fu Zizhou’s reputation. If he denied any connection with Lin’s Inn, the governor would surely become enraged and target Lin’s Inn, raising suspicions that he had given the order to drag Fu Zizhou down with it—Fu Tongshan would definitely not dare take such a risk. Lin Dong was certain that Fu Tongshan would equally subtly admit to having an extraordinary relationship with Lin’s Inn and ask the governor to take care of it. Even if Fu Tongshan lacked the magnanimity of a grand tutor, he at least had their capabilities; even if he couldn’t stand seeing this small enemy gain an advantage, he would still order the governor not to create obstacles for Lin’s Inn. In any case, there was no need to worry about the governor’s side. Although Ma Chun had followed Lin Dong since Southwest City, he was still a street thug when Fu Zizhou arrived at the inn, so he couldn’t help asking, “Why?” “Because I have evidence against the greatest talent in our Great Han Nation,” Lin Dong replied without hiding anything, explaining everything about Fu Zizhou. “The owner—truly the owner!” Liu An didn’t think much of it. When he joined Lin’s Inn, Lin Dong already possessed an aura and ability that made him seem omnipotent. Although Fu Zizhou was of high status, using the owner’s skills to trick him wasn’t anything special. But Ma Chun was utterly amazed. He knew better than Liu An what Lin Dong was like in Southwest City—a mere county magistrate could already make the owner furious and headache-stricken. Who would have thought that back in Southwest City, the owner had already managed to leave the greatest talent of the capital, now the greatest talent of the Great Han Nation, running around naked? Given the owner’s abilities back then, achieving such a feat was truly astonishing. “That’s it, this is settled,” Lin Dong waved his hand. “What’s left is what Jiang Kui should say.”

“That’s easy!” Ma Chun sneered, clearly having already thought it through. Without hesitation, he said, “Let’s just have Jiang Kui pretend to be one of Tianlai Gambling House’s underlings. The plan is… to frame Hong Wanfu, accuse him of sending people to assassinate him, and then warn everyone in the city that anyone who dares to go to Hongfu Gambling House is challenging Tianlai Gambling House and the county magistrate.”
“That’s settled! It’s getting late. Liu An, go to the main hall and help Ma Chun prepare for the inn’s opening tomorrow. Ma Chun, you’re in charge of giving instructions to Jiang Kui.” Lin Dong made the decision immediately—this plan was flawless.
“Okay!”
The two immediately stood up and quickly left the room.
Upon reaching the front yard, Ma Chun turned into the corridor, while Liu An headed fast toward the entrance.
Once Liu An left the yard, Ma Chun, who had been pretending to knock on a door, stopped and turned back into the back yard.
Lin Dong’s words were actually meant to deceive Liu An. Jiang Kui wasn’t in Lingnan City at all.
As one of the top chefs at Lin’s Inn who knew about the teleportation gate, Jiang Kui hadn’t come to the inn with the others but remained in Qiufeng City to oversee the kitchen. According to Lin Dong’s instructions, it was enough for him to arrive the night before the inn opened.
It was still dusk, so Jiang Kui was undoubtedly still in Qiufeng City. To get Jiang Kui here, they would have to use the teleportation gate to go to Qiufeng City. Lin Dong and Ma Chun did this just to prepare Liu An mentally, so he wouldn’t suspect that Jiang Kui, who was clearly in Qiufeng City, suddenly appeared in Lingnan City when he was needed…
Inside the Hong family’s mansion, in the cellar, Hong Wanfu lay lazily on a recliner, neither practicing cultivation nor dealing with matters related to the gambling house or restaurant. A faint smile remained on his face the whole time.
This behavior was completely unlike Hong Wanfu’s usual style.
He would practice cultivation seriously when it was time, handle the affairs of the gambling house and restaurant diligently when necessary, and find ten or eight beauties to enjoy himself with when he wanted to have fun… Even when thinking, he would sit upright at his desk and ponder seriously.
Hong Wanfu’s principle in life was to do everything thoroughly.
The word “leisure” simply didn’t exist for Hong Wanfu.
But today was the only exception. The reason was that Hong Wanfu was extremely impressed by his own courage and cunning.
He even dared to play tricks on someone so powerful that he couldn’t handle them—such courage, Hong Wanfu believed, he hadn’t tried in a long time. Ten years or twenty years—since Hongfu Gambling House had dominated Lingnan City, he hadn’t encountered anyone he couldn’t afford to provoke.

Whenever he thought about having provoked someone he couldn’t afford to anger, Hong Wanfu felt a long-absent surge of excitement. This feeling thrilled him immensely.
A single notice not only managed to trick those who could crush him like an ant, but also suppressed the business of this formidable figure, stirring up chaos in the entire restaurant industry of Lingnan City and giving Hongfu Restaurant a chance to take advantage of the situation. Perhaps it could even indirectly confuse Tianlai Gambling House, making them think that Hongfu Restaurant was entering the competition out of necessity, rather than trying to shift its focus to the restaurant business.
How many birds could be killed with one stone? Hong Wanfu believed that if this strategy could be passed down, it would become a legendary plan admired by future merchants.
He was too excited to focus on anything. With no choice, he did nothing but hide in the cellar, secretly rejoicing.
“Tomorrow should be nice weather. I hope he’s not lying and won’t use force against me.”
Rubbing his chin, Hong Wanfu’s lips curled slightly. As long as Manager Lin of Lin’s Inn followed the rules of merchants and didn’t use his terrifying strength against him, after tomorrow, he could hide in a hidden place no one could find, and have his trusted subordinates handle the gambling house and restaurant business—everything would be fine.
Slapping his face, Hong Wanfu grabbed a tiger-skin blanket and covered himself with it. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
It was time to get some sleep, to recharge and prepare for tomorrow.
“Hong Wanfu, you scumbag! Daring to send people to assassinate our Tian Ge—show yourself if you’ve got the guts…”
The buzzing sound of dust in the cellar made Hong Wanfu unable to keep his eyes closed. It seemed someone was shouting, and it was about him?
Hong Wanfu pricked up his ears. The distant shouts became slightly clearer: “Everyone, listen up! My Tian Ge is the cousin of the county magistrate. Whoever dares to go to Hongfu Gambling House is enemies of my Tian Ge, and thus enemies of the county magistrate…”
Hong Wanfu suddenly jumped up from the chair. This was slander—pure and simple slander.
Who? Who could it be?
His face grew increasingly fierce. After a while, his body began to tremble, and his complexion turned pale.
He understood the consequences of those shouts.
…
All night long, the skies over Lingnan City echoed with those distant shouts, as if coming from the heavens themselves.

The sleepy one, once awakened and with the roaring noises fading away, stuck his head back onto the pillow as if nothing had happened. The lively one became excited—those roars contained so much information; the most important point was that Hong Wanfu was in trouble. This was undoubtedly a major event in Lingnan City not seen in over a decade.
Not many people were truly kept awake all night by those roars. At the forefront were the county magistrate holding his concubine, as well as the owner of Tianlai Gambling House.