Chapter 421: Delivering the Black Fiery Grass

“Done!”
In the backyard of Lin’s Inn, a burly man stood up and climbed down the six-meter-long bamboo ladder.
In front of him was a brand-new brick wall over five meters high.
Beside him, his companions smiled—500 wen per day was the highest wage they had ever seen. Even after only three days of work, it already equaled nearly a month’s income.
“Let’s go get paid. It’s a shame we can’t work a few more days,” the burly man said with regret.
The other companions didn’t take it too seriously; he was just speaking hypothetically. The high pay was meant to ensure speed. If they tried to delay things on purpose, they would surely be thrown out.
In a room on the other side of the wall, Lin Dong, who had been sitting in seiza, couldn’t help but sigh as he slowly opened his eyes.
“Done!”
In just three days, his Dan Tian, initially filled only with misty light, had finally transformed that mist into tangible substance.
From there, rapid progress would naturally follow.
Taking out a Wen Le Dan from the counter, Lin Dong eagerly put it in his mouth.
The pill dissolved instantly, and a gentle, refreshing flow slipped down his throat into his abdomen before spreading rapidly throughout his meridians.
With a thought, spiritual energy surged from his Dan Tian. Upon contact with the refreshing flow, its speed increased by dozens of times. Even with Lin Dong’s keen internal vision, he could hardly keep up with the speed of the energy.
Fortunately, while he couldn’t control the path of the energy, it still moved autonomously through his meridians.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles…
In the blink of an eye, the energy had completed over a dozen cycles through his meridians. Another blink later, another dozen cycles.
The steadily growing spiritual energy in his Dan Tian filled Lin Dong with ecstasy. He forgot all about time, lost in the sensation within his Dan Tian.
Knock, knock, knock…
“Owner, owner…”
After the knocking and calling lasted for a while, Lin Dong finally noticed it. Checking his Dan Tian and estimating the time, he realized that just half an hour of cultivation was equivalent to a whole day.
At this rate, he could reach the third stage of the Heart Reversal Phase in less than half a month. Without the Wen Le Dan, it would take a year or two.
Checking the amount of the refreshing flow in his meridians, Lin Dong stood up satisfied and went to open the door. Though this flow wasn’t enough to sustain him for half a month, it would cover ten days without issue. In other words, one more pill would be sufficient to help him achieve the breakthrough.

With ten Wenledan pills per bottle, although their efficacy gradually diminishes, combining them with some slightly inferior auxiliary cultivation pills is sufficient to reach the fourth level of the Heart Reversal Phase within two months. Together with the more effective ninth-tier Hanfeng Fruits, it’s no problem to reach the sixth level of the Heart Reversal Phase before heading to the capital city.

“Boss, the county office just sent someone over. They said the people arranged by our inn have been finalized, and they’ll bring the daily necessities arranged by the merchant guild this afternoon. We should get ready to receive them,” Ma Chun said. Though he was puzzled why Lin Dong hadn’t opened the door for so long, seeing his joyful expression, he guessed it was likely good news about progress in his cultivation, so he didn’t ask further. He lifted a ledger slightly and handed it to him. “This is the list of people.”

Lin Dong shook his head and asked, “How many people in total?”

“1,160 at Linji Gymnasium, and 2,456 at Linji Inn,” Ma Chun replied with a snort.

Lin Dong smiled calmly. This number was exactly as expected.

Linji Gymnasium, which was over a thousand square meters larger than Linji Inn, had fewer than a thousand people. No one would believe that Liang Gufeng and Yang Yankang weren’t up to no good.

“Boss, Yang Yankang is being too unfair. How about I tell Sixth Brother to send a few people to the county office to see if they can get back a few boxes of silver bills?” Ma Chun asked reluctantly.

“A few boxes of silver bills? Do you think Yang Yankang likes collecting silver bills of ten taels each?” Lin Dong laughed. “Enough, you don’t need to worry about this. I’ve already taken care of it. Besides, if Yang Yankang really has silver bills, a few warriors sent to find them will do. There are no corrupt officials in the Great Han Nation—if there are any, they’re just helping others steal.”

Ma Chun nodded begrudgingly.

“Is the Black Fiery Grass ready to be sent?” Lin Dong asked.

“It’s all ready. We can set off at any time,” Ma Chun replied. “Should we go this afternoon?”

“Why wait until afternoon? Let Liang Gufeng enjoy himself for another morning,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly.

Ma Chun chuckled. Going tomorrow at noon would yield a stronger impact.

“By the way, the wall has been built. Boss, would you like to check it?” Ma Chun turned to look at the newly erected wall behind them.

“It’s fine!” Lin Dong nodded. Five meters was enough. The wall was mainly to prevent mischievous children from sneaking in from time to time. If Yang Yankang really wanted to manipulate the resettled people by inserting ruffians, he could just send one or two guards to stand at the corner—throw one out whenever someone came in.

“If you have nothing else to assign, shall I go back and make arrangements?” Ma Chun asked.

“Go! Send someone to call me when it’s time to set off tomorrow morning,” Lin Dong said calmly.
Ma Chun grinned and nodded happily; it was clear that Lin Dong also wanted to join in the fun the next day.
After Ma Chun turned and climbed over the wall to leave, Lin Dong returned to his room to continue enjoying the joy of his rapidly improving spiritual power.
Early the next morning, Ma Chun climbed back in through the courtyard wall and knocked on Lin Dong’s door.
The team carrying the Black Fiery Grass was about to set off.
After sending Ma Chun away, Lin Dong did not set off right away but returned to his room to practice all morning. By noon, after inviting Yun Lan to join him, the two climbed onto the roof and flew off.
In the backyard, rows of wooden sheds had been built, with mats spread out inside. Elders, children, women… some playing, some chatting, creating a strange scene throughout the backyard.
Flying above the backyard, they went unnoticed, and it only took a short while for the two of them to reach the city.
At the end of the street, Lin Dong found Ma Chun, who was directing the construction of the sheds.
“Boss, Miss Yun!” Seeing them appear, Ma Chun rushed forward excitedly, gesturing wildly. “The business at Maple Forest Tavern is booming!”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but glance at the Maple Forest Tavern, less than a hundred meters away. Whenever a carriage appeared at the entrance, it was led to the backyard by the staff, with three or four arriving almost every minute, showing just how busy it was.
Lin Dong joked, “You’re so excited; if people didn’t know, they might think you’re the owner of Maple Forest Tavern.”
“If I were the owner of Maple Forest Tavern, I’d shut it down immediately the moment I saw Lin’s Inn appear,” Ma Chun snorted. With all the people in the three western prefectures settled down, and under the rules set by each household, few people went outside. Plus, the county government had doubled the number of officials patrolling the streets, so safety issues were largely under control.
After being worried for so many days, there was no need to fear encountering bandits or contracting wet worm disease. With everyone’s homes occupied by the commoners, the wealthy naturally flocked out. Not only were the taverns busy, but all kinds of shops were thriving in a way not seen in over a decade.
It was a shame that Maple Forest Tavern should have provoked Lin’s Inn. The better the business was this morning, the greater Liang Gufeng’s disappointment would be later.
Lin Dong glanced at the simple wooden shed that was about to be completed and asked, “When does it start?”

“It can start anytime now. However, the Eagle Beast Birds sent out to distribute the flyers left an hour ago. Considering the time needed to distribute them and the distance, it should take another half hour or so before we see a significant increase in crowds,” Ma Chun explained.
Lin Dong nodded and took Yun Lan to a nearby busy street to stroll around.
After walking around, they returned to the street corner. The entire wooden shed had been surrounded by ropes four or five times, leaving only two entrances and exits the size of doorways. At the entrance, there was a wooden board covered in dense, dark characters detailing the rules for receiving the Black Fiery Grass and the penalties for violations.
Inside the shed, there were three long tables aligned straight with the two entrances.
By now, a few people had already entered the shed. They first went to the first long table where a doctor hired by Lin’s Inn examined them and confirmed they had contracted the Wet Worm Disease. Then they went to the second table to register their information and leave fingerprints, before going to the third table to pick up a section of Black Fiery Grass cut into twenty or thirty pieces. One such piece, when boiled into a drink, was enough to cure a person’s Wet Worm Disease and ensure they wouldn’t contract it again for a year.
As time passed, more people started entering the shed, and the intervals between those picking up the Black Fiery Grass shortened continuously.
Fifteen minutes later, a queue of five people had formed outside the shed. Although they kept entering one after another, the queue continued to grow. In just over ten minutes, it had stretched to more than twenty meters.
The dozen or so guards from Lin’s Inn, who had been sitting in a corner, finally stood up to maintain order and deal with any troublemakers.
Soon, on both sides of the queue, onlookers also began to gather, expanding as the queue grew longer.
At this moment, in the counter of Maple Forest Restaurant, Liang Gufeng was still smiling broadly. Throughout the entire morning and half of the afternoon, his smile hadn’t stopped. Even with his ability, his face was already starting to feel stiff and painful.
Yet Liang Gufeng remained enthusiastic. The reason was simple: outside the thirty private rooms on the first, second, and even third floors, there were many customers waiting.
The situation was several times busier than when they first introduced two new signature dishes and thirty paintings of ladies. Liang Gufeng had been the manager of Maple Forest Restaurant in Lingnan City for over twenty years, and this was the first time he had seen something like this.

With such a booming scene, Liang Gufeng simply couldn’t help but be happy. And a business as successful as this might last for half a year or even longer. Liang Gufeng had reason to believe he would be too excited to sleep for days.

The business surpassed all county-level restaurants to become second only to the main headquarters, even outperforming Lin’s Inn, which even the third young master, Ling Zhengyang, failed to defeat… Although these two achievements couldn’t compare to convincing Lin Dong to give up the inn and focus on developing businesses like spirit stone fans and VIP cards, in partnership with Fenglin Restaurant, they still made him a candidate for managing the main headquarters.

Whenever he thought about this, Liang Gufeng felt deeply moved. No matter how outstanding Lin’s Inn was or how many ingenious tactics Manager Lin came up with, nothing could defy fate. If fate decreed that Lin’s Inn should fall in Lingnan City, no one could change that.