Chapter 36: The Tiger Mother Arrives

Having obtained such a fine product, it was natural to go back and study it. As he stepped outside, Lin Dong was heading toward Tianhao’s room when he suddenly remembered the old man having drunk over a hundred jin of thirty-year-old thyme the previous day.
Others might not have the old man’s drinking capacity, but when faced with good liquor, they would surely drink heartily. With that amount, it would take quite some time.
With fifteen dining tables, ten experience points could be gained each day per table. In other words, to fill all the tables with experience points, ten groups of customers would be needed per day.
Drinking took the most time—each meal could last several hours, making it impossible to gain ten experience points per table.
Lin Dong tapped his head and turned toward the lobby. After a few steps, he thought of another problem: if word spread that the inn had good liquor, those who had tried it would surely buy some to take home. Over time, enough money could be made, but once people had good liquor at home, who would still come to the inn to drink and eat? It would be like turning away regular customers.
Fortunately, these two problems weren’t difficult. By the time he reached the lobby, Lin Dong had made up his mind.
From now on, the inn would only sell liquor to customers in the lobby, with a maximum of five pots per table, and ordering liquor without food would not be allowed. If a table could finish eating within half an hour, they could buy an additional ten jin to take home.
With these rules, the two problems would undoubtedly be solved.
Inside the lobby, the mess from the previous day was gone. The tables and chairs were brand new, and the cups and chopsticks shone brightly—everything looked clean and tidy at first glance.
It was early in the morning, and there weren’t many guests in the inn. The staff were gathered together chatting. Lin Dong called over Slim Bamboo and explained the decisions he had made.
Although Slim Bamboo didn’t understand why the owner would refuse to make money, he figured the owner’s motives were beyond his comprehension, so he agreed without hesitation.
Just as Lin Dong was about to ask how things were going with finding those hooligans, two women entered through the main door.
The first woman was in her early forties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. She was tall and strong, her spotted face exuding an indescribable ferocity. Anyone who wasn’t blind would immediately assume she was a fierce woman.
Following her was a young maid in red. Though she was petite and pretty, her first words also suggested an temper that couldn’t possibly be gentle.
“Are they all dead? My wife has come—hurry up and greet her!”
“Coming, coming!” Liu Xiu rushed over and bowed, saying, “Madam, please come in. Sister, please come in.”

The young maid was only about fourteen or fifteen years old. Seeing Liu Xiu’s red lips and white teeth, and that he not only greeted her but also did so so warmly, her face turned red. Her usual bold demeanor suddenly faltered, and she became shy.
“My lady suffers from heart pain. The doctor said she must not get angry and should keep a cheerful mood every day. I heard your inn has tables that charge a seating fee, and eating at those tables makes one feel particularly good, so I came to see which ones they are.”
“This way, madam. This way, sister…” Liu Xiu hurriedly led the two of them to one of the tables, explaining the advantages of these five tables first before asking what dishes and drinks they wanted.
The middle-aged fierce woman sat silently with her eyes closed, seemingly concentrating on something. After the young maid quietly placed their order with Liu Xiu, she saw Thin Bamboo Stick staring at the middle-aged woman with wide eyes and glared at him, “What are you staring at? Do you want me to dig out your eyes?”
Thin Bamboo Stick frowned briefly before lowering his gaze elsewhere.
Lin Dong was puzzled and asked, “Is there a background to this?”
Thin Bamboo Stick nodded and said in a low voice, “In our Xilan City, the person with the greatest power is the head of the Military Assessment Institute. As for the most powerful person overall, even the innkeeper must have heard of her, right?”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh. The most powerful person, of course, was the mother tiger of the county magistrate—a fact well-known throughout Xilan County.
It was said that this mother tiger had a fiery temper, and the county magistrate’s current position was rumored to be thanks to his father-in-law. Thus, in front of this mother tiger, the county magistrate was even more obedient than a grandson. Even so, news of her punishing the county magistrate from time to time still spread from the county office.
So, when it came to who had the greatest power in Xilan City, almost everyone thought of this mother tiger.
“You mean she’s the county magistrate’s wife?” The young maid spoke softly to Liu Xiu. Lin Dong hadn’t heard clearly why they came to the inn, so he was somewhat surprised.
After all, the comfort boost was only double, and compared to the chefs in large restaurants, it probably wasn’t enough to attract such notable figures.
“I’m not entirely sure. I caught a glimpse of her a couple of years ago. Her appearance is too distinctive, so I remember her a bit, but I’m not sure if I’m mistaken,” Thin Bamboo Stick explained.
Lin Dong smiled and didn’t ask further. Whether she was the mother tiger or not didn’t matter to him; he just wanted to eat.
However, Thin Bamboo Stick’s initial mention that the most powerful person in Xilan City was the head of the Military Assessment Institute reminded Lin Dong of something—the annual assessment was almost upon them.

In the Great Han Empire, warriors who are willing to pledge loyalty to the state, or even verbally accept its jurisdiction, hold a very high status. This is because, in addition to the state, there are sects that can gather a large number of warriors, ensuring that the state still has bargaining power in case of conflicts with these sects. Between the state and sects, those with great talent undoubtedly choose the sects, as only they can provide abundant spirit stones, medicinal pills, and advanced spiritual techniques. Although the state’s advantages are not as obvious, its various benefits can still attract those whose talent is not enough to join a sect. Benefits such as exemption from punishment and imprisonment, a monthly salary corresponding to one’s rank, and exemption from paying respects to officials—there are many such perks, with just one requirement: being willing to register as a warrior under the Great Han Empire. If one is willing to pledge loyalty to the Great Han Empire, the benefits are even more astonishing. As a result, corresponding martial assessment institutes have been established in various prefectures, counties, and districts. The head of a county-level martial assessment institute is himself a warrior who has pledged loyalty to the Great Han Empire. Though he is only responsible for testing and registering people in his own county, his rank is still one level higher than that of the county magistrate. In the Great Han Empire, those who study martial arts but have no hope of joining a sect, even if they haven’t reached the Lingdong stage, mostly register at the martial assessment institutes. Although those at the Lingdong stage don’t enjoy as many perks as warriors, they can still receive a monthly salary based on their relative strength. Lin Dong wasn’t interested in a few coins per month, but to avoid trouble for his inn, it was inevitable for him to register as a warrior under the Great Han Empire. If he failed to take the annual assessment, according to the laws of the Great Han Empire, his registration would be revoked. The annual assessment is nominally meant to check whether one’s strength has improved over the year, but in reality, it serves as a way for the Great Han Empire to evaluate the effectiveness of its substantial investments each year. If one is too lazy to take the time to go to the martial assessment institute once a year, they can’t be expected to be recruited when needed in the future. Lin Dong calculated that six days had already passed since the ten-day deadline for the annual assessment. Since it wouldn’t take much time, a trip there wouldn’t cause any delay. After saying goodbye to the thin man, Lin Dong set off immediately for the martial assessment institute in the north of the city.