Chapter 339: Happiness in Exchange for Joy

With its temperature-control feature, Lin’s Inn didn’t have to worry about the perfume melting and losing its effect. Judging from the spirit stones consumed by this feature, only one spirit stone was used per hundred days. Moreover, a cubic meter of space was sufficient to hold a thousand jin of perfume. The additional cost was merely one wen per hundred jin.

In terms of cost reduction, there was no need to worry about the perfume melting during transportation or the storage losses after delivery, which would otherwise require multiple small shipments. Relying solely on the temperature-control feature, Lin Dong believed costs could be reduced by over 70%. What remained were only the costs of transportation and procurement.

Lin’s Inn had 58 guards, all at the Mental State level. Such capable individuals could probably only be hired by Maple Forest Restaurant at a high price. As for Lin’s Inn, with its substantial monthly salaries, the only losses would be slight damage to the spirit weapons, plus transportation costs.

While Maple Forest Restaurant required ten taels of silver per jin, Lin’s Inn might only need 1% or even 0.1% of that amount.

“Owner Lin…” Seeing Lin Dong deep in thought, Liang Gufeng assumed he was still weighing pros and cons, so he reminded him.

“Owner Liang, what if we change our approach to cooperation?” Lin Dong asked.

Liang Gufeng perked up. This meant Lin Dong had agreed to cooperate. What was left were just the details—or perhaps Owner Lin wanted to reap as many benefits as possible.

“Please go ahead, Owner Lin.”

“The twelve kinds of spirit beast materials are fine. Lin’s Inn can still offer its signature dishes and spicy dishes separately,” Lin Dong said. “The prices for VIP cards remain the same as well. In other words, points can be accumulated not only from those twelve spirit beast materials and three signature dishes from Hongfu Restaurant.”

“In that case, the pressure exerted on Hongfu Restaurant will likely decrease significantly,” Liang Gufeng frowned. “Moreover, Lin’s Inn might suffer more benefits than losses. If this continues, the accumulation of points for dishes will be too fast, meaning Lin’s Inn will have to distribute more VIP cards and spirit stone fans. In just one or two months, wealthy clients could each have a VIP card and several spirit stone fans. By then, the demand for Lin’s Inn’s VIP cards and spirit stone fans will drop greatly. The only advantage would be slightly better business and higher daily income—far less significant compared to the losses.”

“I understand, but our previous promotions can’t be changed overnight,” Lin Dong said firmly.

“This…” Liang Gufeng wasn’t sure about Lin Dong’s intentions and quickly weighed his options. Realizing that Lin’s Inn’s actions would not only weaken its pressure on Hongfu Restaurant but also harm it in the long run, he slowly nodded and said, “If Manager Lin insists, it’s fine!”
“Next is the benefit our Lin’s Inn will gain from this,” Lin Dong said with a smile, looking at Liang Gufeng.
As expected, Liang Gufeng thought to himself and immediately smiled at Lin Dong, nodding and saying, “In addition to providing the fragrance, our Fenglin Restaurant is willing to pay 30,000 taels of silver per month as compensation for the increased number of VIP cards and spirit stone fans given away due to Lin’s Inn’s price cuts and rising food and drink prices, until Hongfu Restaurant closes down. Of course, this is on the condition that Lin’s Inn follows the plan strictly and that Hongfu Restaurant still has the ability to resist.”
“I have no objections to the compensation,” Lin Dong said casually. “But regarding the fragrance, we need to discuss it further.”
“No!” Liang Gufeng shook his head without hesitation. “I’ve already explained in detail how to obtain the fragrance to Manager Lin. He should understand that this is already half of what our Fenglin Restaurant can provide. If we give more, we won’t have enough left.”
“It’s not about increasing the amount of fragrance, but rather…” Lin Dong said calmly, “I want to know where the fragrance comes from so that I can collect it myself.”
“You want to collect it yourself?” Liang Gufeng was stunned.
“That’s right!” Lin Dong nodded. “As long as Manager Liang is willing to tell me where the fragrance comes from, I won’t take even a single jin of the amount we discussed before.”
“This…” Liang Gufeng looked troubled. “The fragrance is extremely difficult to obtain. If we tell Manager Lin where it comes from and he can’t get it, our agreement isn’t just about working together—it requires sincere cooperation.”
“With Boss Chen around, Manager Liang shouldn’t have to worry that I’ll deliberately create obstacles after becoming disappointed, right?” Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t reveal that he was confident he could obtain the fragrance at a very low cost. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have revealed it even under threat. Without hesitation, he added, “Of course, if we end up returning empty-handed, if Manager Liang can provide half of the amount we discussed before, I believe Lin’s Inn will definitely achieve the sincere cooperation Manager Liang hopes for.”

Liang Gufeng hesitated. Back then, to gather the fragrance ingredient, he had visited various places and tried to make friends with martial artists—a task that still gave him chills when he thought about it. He was over 90% confident that if Lin’s Inn tried to gather it on its own, the cost would be at least as high as that of Maple Forest Restaurant.

But over 90% wasn’t 100%. If Lin’s Inn found an easy and convenient method, it would be too late to cry.

“Since the fragrance ingredient is located within Lingnan City and in a extremely cold area,” Lin Dong said calmly, “I think the only places that meet these conditions are the peaks of Wenyan Mountain and Qingfeng Mountain, plus the rarely visited Heimo Forest. These three places aren’t particularly small, but they’re not huge either. Now that we know the characteristics of the fragrance ingredient, if we’re willing to invest, we can hire a few martial artists to search separately. It should take two or three years to find it.”

Liang Gufeng remained silent. As Lin Dong had said, if they really set out to search, knowing the characteristics of the ingredient made it not difficult—just a matter of time.

By then, Lin’s Inn could use the fragrance ingredient provided by Maple Forest Restaurant while also gathering its own. Even if the cost was higher, as long as they could produce at least as much as Maple Forest Restaurant, it would be a disaster for the latter.

“Manager Liang, it’s such a favorable deal. How can Maple Forest Restaurant lose out? I wonder if you have any other concerns?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.

“Well…” Liang Gufeng was still hesitant. On the surface, Maple Forest Restaurant indeed wouldn’t lose, but if Lin’s Inn found an easy method, dealing with them in the future would become troublesome.

Although this possibility was high, it couldn’t be ignored.

“Well then, if we find a method more convenient than Maple Forest Restaurant’s, they can send people to observe the process on-site,” Lin Dong said leisurely. “This can be included in the contract.”

Liang Gufeng was overjoyed. In this case, Maple Forest Restaurant would surely profit. If Lin’s Inn couldn’t find an easy method, the amount of fragrance ingredient they could provide would be cut in half. If they did find a method, Maple Forest Restaurant could do the same, eliminating any worry that Lin’s Inn might use the ingredient to turn things around.

It was a win-win situation.

“Agreed!” Liang Gufeng said decisively. “Let’s do it according to Manager Lin’s plan!”

“Great. Ma Chun, bring pen and ink!” Lin Dong immediately turned to Ma Chun.

Before long, pen and ink were brought. After negotiating until sunset, the details of the contract were finally finalized through back-and-forth discussions.

After everyone had pressed their fingerprints and signed their names, Lin Dong finally learned from Liang Gufeng where the perfume came from—on the top of Wen Yanshan’s Snow Blue Peak! This answer filled Lin Dong with joy. Wen Yanshan was the largest mountain range in Lingnan City, located to its south. It would take about four days to reach there by fast horseback. The distance wasn’t too great, and transporting it wasn’t troublesome either. More importantly, Lin Dong had planned to visit Wen Yanshan anyway, so this would serve two purposes at once. The Wuyou Cave mentioned by Yu Linglong was located in Wen Yanshan. After seeing Liang Gufeng off, Lin Dong discussed things with Ma Chun for a while before finalizing the preparations. Back in his room, he practiced cultivation for a few hours. After checking the time, he stepped out. As soon as he entered the corridor, with a creak, the door of the farthest room slowly opened. The next moment, a dark figure appeared in front of Lin Dong. Glancing in the darkness, Lin Dong smiled—it was Old Ding. “Kid, where’s my fine wine?” Old Ding glared at Lin Dong. “A whole day has passed already.” “It’s in the cellar. Since you’ve come out, let’s go together,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “The cellar?” Old Ding was confused. “It’s the five jars I stored there yesterday,” Lin Dong replied. “After a day, it should be even more mellow.” “The five jars from yesterday?” Old Ding’s dry face twitched. Knowing there was good wine, he hadn’t been able to calm down all day. After enduring the whole day, what did he get? Five jars of so-called top-quality wine that had just been stored for a day? “Lin Dong, do you think I’m so idle that I need to be teased?” Old Ding’s teeth clicked. Such a joke was unforgivable for someone who had spent his life pursuing fine wine. “You’ll know when the time comes,” Lin Dong said with a smile, unfazed by Old Ding’s attitude, and strode toward the front yard. Old Ding frowned slightly. Could this calmness really be based on something solid? “Fine, I’ll go with you to take a look. And slow down a bit.” Old Ding moved swiftly, caught up to Lin Dong, and grabbed his shoulder. They covered the hundreds of meters in an instant. They stopped above the cellar. Lin Dong opened the wooden board and stepped down the ladder into the cellar. Inside, the five jars of fine wine, along with thyme and red wine used for experiments, were still in exactly the same positions as yesterday—unchanged.

Upon arriving at the spot where the five jars of fine wine were kept, Lin Dong took one of the jars, waved it in front of Old Ding, and quickly removed the mud seal. A strong aroma of wine spread out, making Lin Dong instinctively sniff. Old Ding, standing nearby, subconsciously swallowed hard. His eyes, which had been narrowed as he thought about how to teach Lin Dong a lesson, suddenly widened significantly. Greedy glints appeared in his cloudy pupils as the aroma of the wine grew stronger.

“This jar should be Silver Bell Wine. Has the old man ever tasted the 20-year-aged version?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.

Old Ding could no longer hold back. With a gesture of his right hand, the jar in Lin Dong’s hands flew uncontrollably into his own, not a drop spilled.

Taking a deep breath of the wine aroma filling the cellar, Old Ding slammed the bottom of the jar, causing it to fly into the air. Mid-air, it tipped over, and the crystal-clear liquid poured out like a stream, rushing toward Old Ding’s open mouth.

Lin Dong wasn’t particularly interested in fine wine, but the sound of gulping and Old Ding’s intoxicated expression with his eyes closed made him unable to resist. He grabbed another jar of fine wine, removed its seal, and was about to lift it when suddenly, the jar flew straight into Old Ding’s hands.

The tilted Silver Bell Wine jar straightened up. Once not a single drop remained, Old Ding belched. His blurred eyes and slightly red face made him look somewhat unsteady.

“Kid, this wine is mine! All five jars!” Old Ding glared at Lin Dong fiercely, as if ready to fight him at any moment.

“It seems the old man’s appetite isn’t very big,” Lin Dong said with a sly smile, showing no concern for Old Ding’s fierce expression.

Old Ding was stunned for a moment before bursting into joy. He instantly rushed in front of Lin Dong, grabbed his arm, and exclaimed, “Are you saying you can increase the age of fine wine in a short time?”

“Don’t you find it strange?” Lin Dong replied indifferently. “It’s only been stored for a day, yet it can compare to 20-year-aged Silver Bell Wine. No one would believe such a thing if they heard it.”

“Ever since I met you, I’ve seen many strange things. I’m used to it—what’s there to be surprised about? It’s probably just that you’ve obtained some kind of magical formula that makes fine wine more mellow,” Old Ding said nonchalantly. “I just care about drinking. Other matters have nothing to do with me. As long as it’s good wine, even if it’s mixed with poison, I’ll still drink it all.”

Lin Dong gently pushed aside the old man Ding’s withered hands like twigs and said leisurely, “Since there’s no need to explain how I got here, it’s time to discuss the terms now.”
“Terms still?” The old man Ding laughed and cried at the same time. This clearly meant that, as he had guessed, Lin Dong still had a way to make fine wine even better in a short time. But at the same time, he had overlooked the fact that good things come at a cost.
“In a few days, I need to head to Wenyan Mountain. The sooner, the better, of course. With the old man’s strength, if he takes me and Yun Lan along, it should take about one or two hours to cover the four-day journey, right?” Lin Dong said with a smile. “If that works, I’ll treat the old man to five more jars when I return.”
“Agreed!” The old man Ding hesitated not at all. For him, drinking wine in his room was the greatest joy in life. If he could drink fine wine there, it would be the greatest happiness. So, sacrificing a little joy was worth it.
“Deal. Another thing is, the cost of the spiritual herbs needed to increase the age of fine wine is quite high. At my limit, I can only provide the old man with about two extra jars per month. If I need the old man to step in for something, I’ll find a way to increase the supply. If I can’t gather the materials right away, I’ll owe it temporarily and make sure to repay it later. Is that okay?” Lin Dong asked.
“Sure, sure.”
The old man Ding nodded eagerly. Two jars per month might be a bit little, but it was still a huge surprise.