Chapter 429: The Price Is Too High

A small spirit stone heater can keep a room of about ten square meters warm like spring, with minimal consumption of spirit stones. At a cost of just one or two silver coins, it can be said that over 90% of households in Lingnan City can afford it.

For this reason, Lin’s Inn set an astonishing record from day one—whether it was on the first floor serving ordinary guests, the second and third floors serving wealthy clients, or the fourth floor’s private rooms for extremely wealthy patrons.

On the streets outside the inn, from morning till night, there were always crowds of guests waiting for tables. As a result, Lin’s Inn had to compensate the shops and street vendors for their losses.

With spirit stone heaters becoming so popular, Liang Gufeng naturally understood that Fenglin Restaurant didn’t have the strength to compete—at least not this winter. Add to that the wooden shed at the end of the street that distributed Black Fiery Grass and covered travel costs, and Fenglin Restaurant could only watch helplessly as Lin’s Inn thrived.

Since Fenglin Restaurant lacked the means to compete, Liang Gufeng was disheartened. He originally planned to send someone to buy a spirit stone heater and give it to the headquarters to study whether they could replicate it, then wait for news from them. But an unexpected thought revived his enthusiasm.

Scoundrel!

On the spot, Liang Gufeng ordered his men to bring the ringleader of the thugs in Lingnan City to Fenglin Restaurant, treating him well with food and drink. After he was full, Liang handed over a stack of silver coins—five hundred thousand taels—ensuring that Lin’s Inn would be unable to operate while Fenglin Restaurant could reopen.

The ringleader immediately promised to do it, but the next day, he disappeared right under the noses of the guards Liang Gufeng had sent to watch him. Enraged, Liang Gufeng was forced to offer a high reward to capture the scoundrel.

Even after a month, when the headquarters issued instructions after much deliberation, the ringleader still hadn’t been caught.

From start to finish, Liang Gufeng never guessed that the more than five hundred thousand taels he had spent had all ended up in Lin Dong’s pocket.

The ultimate boss of all the thugs in Lingnan City and even all the prefecture and county towns in Lingnan Commandery was Lin Dong.

Outside Lin’s Inn, Liang Gufeng got off the carriage and saw the endless stream of guests, even after over a month. He couldn’t help but sigh bitterly.

“Hey, Manager Liang! What brings you to our Lin’s Inn? Whether it’s for food or lodging, we guarantee we won’t disappoint you,” said the employee in charge of greeting guests, who was stunned upon seeing Liang Gufeng before stepping forward with a proud smile.

“Please inform Manager Lin that I’d like to see him,” Liang Gufeng said calmly.

“This…” The clerk seemed embarrassed; after all, the owner wasn’t someone one could just meet at will.
Liang Gufeng said casually, “I have business to discuss with Manager Lin—is that not possible?”
If it was about business, then it was different. The clerk immediately nodded and said, “Please come in, Manager Liang. I’ll go find Manager Ma.”
Liang Gufeng nodded and followed the clerk through the lobby with ease, sitting down at the stone table in the front yard.
The clerk brought a pot of fine tea, filled Liang Gufeng’s cup, apologized, and rushed back to the lobby to find Ma Chun.
Before long, Ma Chun came in. After exchanging a few words and learning that Liang Gufeng indeed had business to discuss, he strode off to the back yard.
By the time Liang Gufeng finished his second cup of tea, Lin Dong entered. His face showed no signs of joy or sorrow, not even the mockery Liang Gufeng had prepared for when he arrived.
“Manager Lin!” Liang Gufeng stood up, went to greet Lin Dong, and bowed, saying, “Congratulations on the thriving business of Lin’s Inn and your steady profits.”
“Oh, no, Manager Liang is too kind. To be honest, Lin’s Inn is far superior to Fenglin Restaurant,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
Liang Gufeng shook his head with a wry smile. In terms of actual quality, apart from the now-defunct Hongfu Restaurant, there was no other place in Lingnan City that could match them. But the problem was, running a restaurant relied not just on food and drinks. Even just two of Lin’s Inn’s offerings would be enough to crush Fenglin Restaurant.
Seeing Liang Gufeng lost in thought, Ma Chun asked, “What’s wrong, Manager Liang?”
“I was lost in thought. Please forgive me. Manager Lin, please sit down,” Liang Gufeng quickly invited him to sit.
The three sat down at the stone table. Ma Chun busied himself pouring tea, and only then did Lin Dong speak again, “I wonder what brought Manager Liang to Lin’s Inn this time?”
“Nothing serious. Seeing Lin’s Inn thriving while Fenglin Restaurant remains closed, I couldn’t stand it. I sent a letter to the headquarters. A few days ago, they replied, assigning me full responsibility. After much consideration, I came to ask if Manager Lin is interested in buying Fenglin Restaurant,” Liang Gufeng said casually.
“Buy Fenglin Restaurant?”
Lin Dong and Ma Chun exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.
All those talk about full responsibility and careful consideration—Lin Dong believed they were just excuses invented by Liang Gufeng to inflate the price of Fenglin Restaurant. Since Liang Gufeng dared to propose selling it, it must mean he had the approval of Fenglin Restaurant’s headquarters.

Buy down Maple Forest Restaurant, then, just as Maple Forest Restaurant did with Hongfu Restaurant, tear it down and divide it into sections to sell to other merchants as shops. Once there’s no more significant competitive pressure, Lingnan City will belong to Lin’s Inn.
After carefully assessing Liang Gufeng’s sincerity, Lin Dong gave Ma Chun a subtle signal.
Ma Chun immediately asked, “I wonder how much silver Master Liang intends to sell it for?”
“Three million taels of silver,” Liang Gufeng replied calmly.
“Three million taels of silver?” Lin Dong was stunned, and Ma Chun stood up abruptly.
This price was clearly beyond their expectations.
“That price is quite high,” Liang Gufeng, clearly aware of their surprise, explained, “The three million taels include all the decorations in Maple Forest Restaurant. In other words, aside from its signature dishes, we won’t take anything else with us.”
The two relaxed a bit—considering the decorations, it was somewhat reasonable. Of course, it was only barely reasonable. If it were the Maple Forest Restaurant from a year ago, with profits of over a hundred thousand taels per month, not to mention three million taels, even ten million taels, many would want to buy it, and even more would consider teaming up to do so.
But now, Maple Forest Restaurant was closed. It seemed that even if it reopened, it would only be slightly better than other large restaurants. In other words, the only option for Maple Forest Restaurant was to switch to another type of business.
The name Maple Forest Restaurant was worthless; all that remained were the land and various decorations. Even if added together, though Lin Dong hadn’t calculated it, he had heard about the valuable antiques and paintings in Maple Forest Restaurant. Roughly estimated, it was unlikely to exceed three million taels of silver.
“Even with all the decorations, it probably can’t reach three million taels, right?” Ma Chun shook his head. “Besides, we don’t really need those decorations either; they’re not worth much.”
“Value isn’t determined by such calculations,” Liang Gufeng smiled. “If Maple Forest Restaurant reopened, I think it would have a significant impact on Lin’s Inn. After all, things like fragrant pipes and spirit stone heaters do play a remarkable role in business, but their lasting effect is definitely not as strong as the quality of food and drinks. With our strength, Maple Forest Restaurant is definitely on par with Lin’s Inn, if not better. I believe you two understand this. Moreover, it’s not just one restaurant—we can simply assign a few top chefs from the main building to regain our market share.”

After a pause, Liang Gufeng patiently explained, “Without our Fenglin Restaurant, the Lin’s Inn would be the only dominant force in Lingnan City. The profits and status it brings are certainly not something that three million taels of silver can buy. To be honest with you both, I actually don’t want to sell Fenglin Restaurant to Lin’s Inn. After all, it’s all thanks to Lin’s Inn that Fenglin Restaurant has reached this point. But in business, it’s the only way to get a good price if we sell it to Lin’s Inn.”

“Is that so?” Lin Dong replied indifferently.

Liang Gufeng nodded without saying a word.

“I think Manager Liang had better look for another buyer! We can’t afford three million taels of silver,” Lin Dong said, shaking his head. Although Liang Gufeng hid it well, from his words, he could tell that selling Fenglin Restaurant to Lin’s Inn was done under the orders of Fenglin Restaurant’s headquarters.

The reason behind the headquarters’ actions was easy to understand. No matter how hard Fenglin Restaurant tried, it could no longer stop Lin’s Inn’s expansion. Fenglin Restaurant must have also deduced from Lin’s Inn’s development that its next focus would be the capital city.

Given Lin’s Inn’s rapid expansion, it was obvious that huge amounts of money were needed to support it. Asking for three million taels of silver at once would, without doubt, leave Lin’s Inn with very little cash—even if it didn’t deplete its funds completely. Therefore, to enter the capital city, Lin’s Inn had to sell Fenglin Restaurant, worth three million taels of silver.

A restaurant worth three million taels of silver couldn’t be sold quickly unless it found someone wealthy and eager to enter the restaurant business. To avoid heavy losses, it would take at least a year or two; in the worst case, even two to three years.

If Lin’s Inn waited to enter the capital city after selling Fenglin Restaurant, it would delay its progress by a year or two, giving Fenglin Restaurant more time to prepare. If Lin’s Inn rushed into the capital city despite its cash shortage, it would undoubtedly face competition from a dozen large restaurants and suffer defeat.

In short, as long as Fenglin Restaurant could be sold to Lin’s Inn, whatever choice Lin’s Inn made would be beneficial for it.

“Since Manager Lin isn’t willing, selling it to others won’t yield much value. I’ll have to go back and think of ways to reopen it. Fortunately, the wetworm disease and the cold winter are coming to an end. A trip to the headquarters to bring in a few good chefs should ensure that Fenglin Restaurant won’t be much worse than before once it reopens.”

Liang Gufeng stood up. He believed that Lin Dong would surely speak up to stop him. After all, even if he considered the goal of the headquarters, on one hand there was the option of investing some silver to establish an unshakable position in Lingnan City, while on the other hand there was the option of taking more silver to the capital, where top-class restaurants were everywhere, giving him a better chance of establishing himself. Given Lin Ji Inn’s current scale and strength, Lingnan City was undoubtedly more important.
Lin Dong also stood up, but to Liang Gufeng’s surprise, he bowed and said, “May Manager Liang go slowly!”
Liang Gufeng hesitated for a moment before stepping forward again, but his pace was clearly slower, as if he was weighing the pros and cons.
Halfway there, Liu An led someone in. Seeing the newcomer, Liang Gufeng was overjoyed.