Chapter 561: Failed Negotiations

Before Lin Dong could respond, Liu Changman, the owner of Xinerong Restaurant, spoke up with a smile, “Manager Lin, I’m also quite interested in the VIP cards of your Lin’s Inn. If you’re willing to supply me with 100 VIP cards of various types each month, I’m willing to pay 500 wen per copper card, 1,000 wen per silver card, and 2 taels of silver per gold card.”
Wang Yuhan, the owner of Guilai Restaurant, said with a smile, “I’m also very interested in the fragrance additives used by Lin’s Inn. If you can supply us with 100 barrels of those additives per month, I’m willing to pay 500 wen per barrel.”
One after another, Liu Dahua, the owner of Qianye Restaurant, Peng Kun, the owner of Qiumu Restaurant, Yang Cheng’an, the owner of Yansun Restaurant… a total of 15 people, without waiting for Lin Dong’s reply, listed the items they wanted from Lin’s Inn.
Behind Lin Dong, Ma Chun was at a loss—these people’s demands were truly enormous. If Lin Dong agreed, Lin’s Inn might be able to survive, as these items were only offered to top restaurants individually, giving them some appeal. But competing with these top restaurants would be impossible.
After all, it would take just a single punch from them to crush Lin’s Inn to dust.
If Lin’s Inn’s unique features were divided among these restaurants, it would mean that their success or failure would be determined by those top restaurants. If they wanted to give Lin’s Inn a share of the profits, they’d let it continue operating. If not, they could gather all the features taken from Lin’s Inn and, combined with their own strength, destroy it completely.
This was a bold plan, and the owners of these top restaurants believed they had the right to make it.
After all, they thought that if their plan succeeded, they would suffer significant losses, while Lin’s Inn would definitely close down. By seeking a settlement from Lin’s Inn, they believed Lin’s Inn would be the one to benefit.
After all, Lin’s Inn could avoid disaster. It might not be able to grow further, but it could still make money through its unique features.

When the fifteen giants of the restaurant industry voiced their demands, all fifteen pairs of eyes turned to Lin Dong’s face. They were actually quite anxious, as if Lin Dong refused, they would still have to pay a heavy price to defeat Lin’s Inn. Compared to Lin’s Inn compromising and sharing its strengths, eliminating this formidable rival would undoubtedly require a much greater cost.

This cost was no small thing for the owners of these top-tier restaurants. Moreover, there was no risk at all—although they believed Lin’s Inn couldn’t be as lucky as before, no one could guarantee it 100%.

Who knew if Lin’s Inn might suddenly come up with some unexpected tactic to thwart their plans? Though the possibility was negligible, none of them wanted to take that risk.

It was, of course, best to achieve victory without bloodshed.

“Get out!” A word, suppressed for a long time, burst from Lin Dong’s mouth. He wasn’t the most pure businessman, and he rarely received guests at the inn. If he was annoyed, he showed it; when he could endure it, he would. But when he couldn’t, he certainly wouldn’t care about propriety or restraint.

Everyone was stunned and stared at Lin Dong.

“Owner Lin, don’t you want to hear the consequences if Lin’s Inn refuses to cooperate?” asked Li Yiliang, the owner of Renheng Restaurant, coldly.

“Get out!” Lin Dong’s reply was still just one word.

“Enough, all of you, get out! Your demands are absurdly high.” Ma Chun was also furious. These people were too bold—without any real plan, they just wanted Lin’s Inn to suffer heavy losses. Did they really think the owner of Lin’s Inn was a fool and its managers idiots?

“Owner Lin, don’t be ungrateful,” Liu Dahua sneered. “Our plan is enough to crush Lin’s Inn. If you insist on fighting back, the only outcome will be ruin.”

“Words are useless—show me something concrete,” Lin Dong said calmly.

Liu Dahua snorted and turned to leave.

“Gentlemen, let’s go! Owner Lin doesn’t know his limits. Let him experience what it means to be reckless. Eventually, he’ll kneel and beg us for mercy.”

“I won’t see you off. Go carefully, don’t fall and die.” Ma Chun, originally from a criminal background, usually greeted everyone with a warm smile for the sake of Lin’s Inn’s business. Now that Lin Dong had lost his temper, he certainly wouldn’t stay idle.

“Boss Liu…”

The other dozen or so were still somewhat unwilling. They had come to Lin’s Inn not to enjoy a feast, but to avoid risks and losses. Liu Dahua had a hot temper, while theirs was subordinated to interests.
“What, do you expect me to find someone to send them away?” Ma Chun asked sideways.
“Owner Lin, don’t you want to hear our plans?” Zhang Qinglin, the restaurant owner, said calmly.
“Use whatever methods you have,” Lin Dong said coldly. “Don’t try to scare me—I wasn’t scared as a child.”
Everyone fell silent, hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly left. Deep down, they all regretted it; if they had known this would happen, they wouldn’t have pressured Owner Lin too much. Slow and steady dialogue wouldn’t have led to a situation where there was no need to continue talking at all.
After the owners of the fifteen top restaurants left, Ma Chun turned to Lin Dong. “Owner, why didn’t you let them finish speaking? Refusing after they’ve spoken makes them think we’re making a last-ditch effort. Not giving them a chance to explain their plans might make them suspect we have something behind us and don’t even care to know their plans.”
“If they explain, we’d have to pretend and waste time,” Lin Dong said indifferently. “They’re idle, but I’m not. Anyway, this kind of behavior is expected, so there’s no need to waste more time on them.”
Ma Chun was speechless. If the owners of those top restaurants heard this, several of them would surely be furious.
“Alright, I’m going back to train. If there’s any news from Maple Forest Restaurant, let me know.”
Lin Dong gave those instructions, quickly went downstairs, and stopped halfway.
“By the way!” He took out a small porcelain bottle from the mobile cabinet, unscrewed the cap, poured out a brown pill, and threw it at Ma Chun.
“Owner, what’s this?” Ma Chun took the pill and looked at Lin Dong in confusion.
“Taking it can greatly enhance one’s strength and significantly improve mental clarity,” Lin Dong explained.
“There are such pills too?” Ma Chun was astonished, looking at the miraculous pill in his hand in disbelief. He knew of pills that enhanced strength and had taken many himself, but pills that improved mental clarity were unheard of to him.
“They do have a time limit, and the supply is limited. It’s hard to produce them successfully,” Lin Dong nodded.
Sure of this, Ma Chun clicked his tongue, without hesitation, put the pill in his mouth, and swallowed it with a gulp.
Lin Dong immediately mentally activated the Golden Jade Abacus and then silently equipped it on Ma Chun.
“Huh…”
The next second, Ma Chun exclaimed in surprise.

Undoubtedly, the Golden Jade Abacus had worked.
“Owner, it really can boost strength! I’ve reached a higher level now,” Ma Chun said in delight.
“What about the mind?” Lin Dong asked.
“Well…” Ma Chun hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t seem to feel anything.”
Lin Dong frowned, opened the inn’s system, and checked Ma Chun’s attributes. Ma Chun had risen from level 18 to level 19, with all his attributes significantly improved. Since Ma Chun didn’t feel any change, it could only mean that traits like wit and eloquence were not very apparent, making it hard to detect the difference at first.
Since the attributes couldn’t be changed, and having confirmed that the Golden Jade Abacus was useful for Ma Chun, Lin Dong smiled and shared his guess. After Ma Chun understood, he raised his right foot and stepped onto the next wooden step.
Back in his room, Lin Dong sat down on the wooden bed, cleared his mind of distractions, and quickly entered a meditative state. Inside his dantian, vast amounts of spiritual energy surged forth, racing through his meridians at lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, one full cycle was completed; another blink later, a full cycle was finished.
In the adjacent room, within the already set up spiritual array, Yun Lan took out the Golden Jade Abacus and began studying it carefully.
It was neither gold nor jade. As soon as she examined it, Yun Lan encountered a problem—she couldn’t figure out what material it was made of. When she tried to probe it with spiritual energy, a second problem arose: the Golden Jade Abacus couldn’t be sensed at all. After examining it more closely, a third problem emerged—there were no traces of any spiritual arrays on it. The fourth, fifth, sixth… the more she looked, the more things she couldn’t understand. Within just one afternoon, instead of three or four days, she gave up.
The Golden Jade Abacus, just as Lin Dong had said, was a divine artifact—something ordinary people couldn’t fully understand.
On the other side, the owners of the fifteen major restaurants left Lin’s Inn and immediately took a carriage to the mansion in the north of the city owned by Zhang Qinglin, the owner of Qinghui Restaurant. Naturally, their purpose was to discuss and refine the plans they had already agreed upon.
Although their trip to Lin’s Inn left them filled with frustration and anger, they weren’t entirely unproductive. Though they didn’t achieve their original goal, Lin Dong’s attitude and behavior only strengthened their resolve to work together. Moreover, there was Ma Chun—a pleasant surprise.

Not to mention others, even Liu Dahua, who had been warned by Ma Chun to be careful not to fall down the stairs, also took the time to consider ways to get Ma Chun to work as a manager at his Chiba Restaurant. Firstly, Chiba Restaurant would gain a talented person, which would be a good thing to talk about. As a magnanimous person, Liu Dahua would show respect for Ma Chun despite past grievances, and doing so would enhance his own reputation. Sitting on the chair, Ling Weifeng occasionally added a word or two, but he didn’t have as many thoughts as the others. His main task was to help improve the plan as much as possible to keep Lin’s Inn alive for longer. Another task was to write down the details and send someone to deliver them to Lin’s Inn later.