Chapter 431: Preparing to Enter the Capital

Liang Gufeng’s mind was still in a confused state. Hearing the words, he couldn’t immediately understand what Yang Yankang meant. He could only stare at Yang Yankang blankly, his mouth slightly open, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
“It’s nothing serious. Shopkeeper Liang came to discuss a business deal with my boss, but they didn’t reach an agreement. Oh, Shopkeeper Liang, please sit.” Ma Chun replied on Liang Gufeng’s behalf. Then, as if he had discovered something extraordinary, he suddenly stood up, walked quickly to Liang Gufeng’s side, and half-guided, half-pushed him to sit on the stone bench.
“Shopkeeper Liang, have some tea.” Ma Chun poured out the half-cold cup of tea in front of Liang Gufeng and refilled it from the teapot.
“Tea, yes!” Liang Gufeng instinctively responded, picked up the teacup, and brought it to his lips. But halfway there, his hand froze.
He finally realized that Yang Yankang, the prefect, was still standing there without sitting down. In an instant, Liang Gufeng stood up even faster than Ma Chun had done earlier. His face turning red, he looked at Yang Yankang and said awkwardly, “Sir Prefect, please sit.”
Yang Yankang shook his head, his expression clearly indicating that there was no seat for him in front of Shopkeeper Lin.
Liang Gufeng became even more embarrassed, stammering, not knowing what to say.
“Shopkeeper Liang, please sit…”
Ma Chun clearly wasn’t a good person. Seeing Liang Gufeng’s embarrassment, he became even more enthusiastic.
“No, there are still some matters to handle at the restaurant. I’ll take my leave first.” Liang Gufeng bowed and left without waiting for Lin Dong or Yang Yankang to respond.
“Shopkeeper Liang, fifty thousand taels of silver to buy that plot of land for Fenglin Restaurant, or two million taels to buy the entire restaurant,” Lin Dong reminded from behind. “I hope you’ll think it through. After all, Fenglin Restaurant will have to be sold sooner or later. Every day delayed means more losses.”
Liang Gufeng paused. According to the letter from the headquarters, he should have been firmer at this point, saying he wasn’t afraid of losing face and was willing to stay in Lingnan City for a month to earn tens of thousands of taels. But now, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
With Yang Yankang’s attitude like this, if Fenglin Restaurant really insisted on staying in Lingnan City, even a small setback would be enough to cripple them. More importantly, Fenglin Restaurant could no longer stop Lin’s Inn from advancing into the capital. His top priority now was to find a way to deplete Lin’s Inn’s funds and delay their progress into the capital as much as possible.

Especially with the silver that Yang Yankang had just given ending up in the pockets of Lin’s Inn, selling Fenglin Restaurant to Lin’s Inn had become the only option.
“Owner Lin, I’ll think about it.”
Liang Gufeng left those words behind and strode out of the front yard.
“Your Excellency, please have a seat!” As soon as Liang Gufeng left, Ma Chun began to greet Yang Yankang. Times had changed—after all, Yang Yankang was now a high-ranking official, and it wouldn’t be wise to act rashly and show no respect. If Yang Yankang decided to retaliate without regard for consequences, Lin’s Inn might not even come out on top. After all, even a rabbit in desperation will bite—let alone a high-ranking official like Yang Yankang.
Yang Yankang exchanged a few polite words before sitting down on the stone bench. Impatiently, he asked, “Owner Lin, I was wondering if you might have time to accompany me to Qiufeng City?”
Lin Dong shook his head. Just as Yang Yankang was about to persuade him again in disappointment, Lin Dong bowed slightly and said indifferently, “The inn still has some matters to attend to. I’ll send one of my staff to accompany Your Excellency later. Also, congratulations on your upcoming promotion to Minister of the Civil Service.”
Hearing the first part, Yang Yankang feared that Lin Dong’s absence might not be effective, so he planned to ask again. But the second part delighted him greatly.
This clearly meant that Lin Dong had guaranteed he could reach a settlement with Liu Xiu.
“Far from it. If I ever receive such a high promotion, I will surely not forget Owner Lin’s help,” Yang Yankang quickly replied with gratitude.
“Your Excellency is so busy and impartial—such a promotion is well-deserved. How could a mere commoner like me offer any help?” Lin Dong shook his head with a smile.
“It is precisely because of kind-hearted merchants like you that I can govern Lingnan City more effectively and easily. Lingnan City’s prosperity owes much to your contributions…” Yang Yankang’s flattery was evident and generous. He could see that the conflict between the government and the major sects was undoubtedly a scheme orchestrated by Liu Xiu to make a grand entrance.
If successful, Liu Xiu would soar to fame, his power so great that even Emperor Qianwei might not dare suppress him. If it failed, his death would be inevitable. Even if Liu Xiu was the most favored prince, to prevent the conflict with the major sects from escalating further, his head would have to be cut off as an explanation to them.
Such a monumental plan allowed no room for error. Liu Xiu would spare no effort to protect Lin’s Inn, even sending people to the government office to set traps. As for his relationship with Lin Dong, Yang Yankang didn’t need to wonder—it must be extremely close.

For this very reason, Yang Yankang was willing to set aside his pride and praise Lin Dong, the inn owner, regardless of his own image. After all, speaking more didn’t cost anything, and if it could help mend their relationship or even foster some friendship with Lin Dong, it might come in handy someday. After all, given Liu Xiu’s current capabilities, although it was a bit late, he still had a chance to reach the top.

“Your Excellency is too modest…”

Lin Dong also spoke generously of Yang Yankang, sharing a similar view. In Lin Dong’s eyes, although Yang Yankang was destined to pay a heavy price for what had happened at the county office, by the time he became Minister of Personnel, Lin’s Inn would have been thriving in the capital. He could be a useful asset when the time came.

The three of them exchanged polite words in the front yard for over half an hour before Yang Yankang finally got up to leave. After Ma Chun saw him off from the inn, he immediately took one of Lin’s Inn’s employees and set off for Qiufeng City by carriage.

Lin Dong, however, remained on the stone bench. After waiting a while, Ma Chun returned.

“Boss, do you think Liang Gufeng will sell Fenglin Restaurant to us?” Ma Chun was still worried. Buying the entire Fenglin Restaurant for two million taels of silver was a hefty price. If Liang Gufeng really wanted to sell, he might take his time and sell it piece by piece—just the decorations in the restaurant could be worth that much. He didn’t necessarily have to stick to Lin’s Inn as his buyer.

If that happened, having Fenglin Restaurant outside Lin’s Inn meant there was still a chance to open another restaurant. Even if it was less competitive, its location in the city could still pose a threat to Lin’s Inn.

“He should come back. Fenglin Restaurant’s intention is probably to exhaust our silver as much as possible,” Lin Dong mused before deciding, “If Liang Gufeng comes back, you’ll negotiate with him. Offer up to 2.5 million taels of silver. If we can get it, arrange for someone to tear down Fenglin Restaurant and turn it into shops right away.”

Ma Chun did some calculations and nodded in agreement. Although selling all 2.5 million taels might take a year or even longer, if it wasn’t urgent, selling it for 2.7 to 2.8 million taels wouldn’t be difficult. The profit would be substantial, and they’d be rid of a major threat.

“How’s things with the amusement park?” Lin Dong asked.

Ma Chun shook his head. “Most of the land is still empty. The main issue is that it’s hard to create the right living conditions for many spiritual materials and beasts. Even though we’ve chosen the easiest-to-care-for ones, transporting soil and food across the Han Kingdom alone won’t be done in just a couple of years.”

Lin Dong remained silent. The amusement park had been under construction since the inn began expanding into Lingnan City, and it was now a year later. According to Lin Dong’s plan, this Lin’s Amusement Park would become a major advantage for Lin’s Inn in competing with other restaurants in Lingnan City. Unexpectedly, even as Lin’s Inn prepared to expand into the capital city, the amusement park was still only partially completed. One reason for successfully defeating Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant in just a year was this, but the bigger reason was likely that the difficulty of building the amusement park far exceeded initial expectations.

“It seems we have no choice but to move to the capital,” Lin Dong said helplessly.

“Move to the capital?” Ma Chun was shocked. “Do you mean we should take all the spirit beasts and materials we’ve already prepared along?”

“Yes!” Lin Dong nodded. “At this pace, it won’t be possible in three or two years. Fortunately, once our inn branches are spread across the entire Great Han Kingdom and we can reach anywhere at will, progress will speed up greatly. Anyway, Lingnan City no longer needs Lin’s Amusement Park. It’s better to waste some more manpower and resources to transport all the gathered spirit beasts and materials to the capital and see if they can help the inn there.”

“In that case, don’t we need to open all the branches first?” Ma Chun asked in surprise.

Lin Dong nodded. “It’s just preliminary construction. One person can be in charge of two regions and also figure out ways to subdue the troublemakers there—killing two birds with one stone. If there’s official resistance, try to bribe them; if not, put it aside and deal with it later.”

“Buying land, bribing government offices, and spreading across the entire Great Han Kingdom at once…” Ma Chun said with a wry smile. “What about the money? Without tens of millions of taels of silver, it’s probably impossible.”

“The money isn’t a problem!” Lin Dong laughed. “It’s hard to get a few million taels, but tens of millions aren’t. We can discuss it with the Gu Huan Sect and Xing Li Sect—have them share their spiritual pills and artifacts. If there’s not enough silver, we can sell some of them.”

Ma Chun felt relieved, somewhat regretting not thinking of that. The inventory of two medium-sized sects, accumulated over hundreds or even thousands of years, could definitely be sold for tens of millions of taels. The only issue was that Lin’s Inn would need to offer a higher price in return.

In this regard, Lin’s Inn can certainly use Blue-Green Fruits, Scarlet Fruits, and branches from the Cloud-Piercing Trees as payment. As long as a plan for installment payment can be arranged, raising the price by a dozen times or so above the cost is not a difficult task at all. If it weren’t for the concern that the guards’ strength is only just sufficient to enter the realm of warriors, sending them directly with Blue-Green Fruits and Scarlet Fruits could easily put them in danger, otherwise, when there’s a shortage of silver, selling a few of these precious spiritual fruits—used for advanced cultivation—at two or three hundred times their cultivation cost at Lin’s Inn would surely attract countless families eager to buy them as heirlooms for their most talented descendants in the future.
“Let’s go again. Get ready. Once we acquire Maple Forest Restaurant, we can set off for the capital,” Lin Dong said.
“Okay, I’ll get ready right away.”
Ma Chun was overjoyed. The capital had always been an unattainable place for him in the past.