Chapter 73: Hostages

After completing the registration procedures and being escorted out by Ren Qingsong, Lin Dong left the Martial Arts Assessment Institute. Upon returning to the inn, he froze the moment he stepped inside. Usually bustling at any time except at night, the lobby was now utterly silent. Looking around, it was in disarray, with no trace of customers. At the counter, Wang Liuze and his men were holding wooden sticks, seemingly confronting someone.
“Xiao Liu, what happened?”
Lin Dong’s voice sounded like music in Wang Liuze’s ears.
“Boss!”
Relieved, Wang Liuze stepped forward. The space he created allowed Lin Dong to understand what had happened without any explanation. Inside the counter area, Qiao Tianhao sat casually with his legs crossed, a gleaming kitchen knife pressed against Zhang Ye’s neck. Zhang Ye was covered in blood and tightly tied up with ropes.
“Boss, this kid says he wants a mystic iron kitchen knife from you,” Wang Liuze whispered.
Lin Dong nodded and strode over to the counter. Having been beaten badly twice, Qiao Tianhao clearly had fears of Lin Dong. Seeing him appear, he was startled and quickly stood up, lifting Zhang Ye while pressing the knife even closer to his neck.
Glancing coldly at the nervous Qiao Tianhao, Lin Dong took out the mystic iron kitchen knife. “Hand over the person first, then the knife!”
Overjoyed, Qiao Tianhao almost nodded but then gritted his teeth and said, “No, hand over the knife first, then the person. Otherwise, who knows if you’ll try some underhanded tricks?”
“What if you give me the knife but not the person?” Lin Dong asked, frowning.
“That’s your problem!” Qiao Tianhao, who always bullied the weak and feared the strong, saw Lin Dong’s serious expression and his fear vanished instantly, making him feel more confident.
Lin Dong struggled internally. It was just a mystic iron kitchen knife. Even if he couldn’t get it back later, its value couldn’t compare to his companion who had followed him for half a year. The problem was, what if this kid got the knife and refused to release Zhang Ye? Lin Dong glanced at Qiao Tianhao, certain that he would do just that, and might even cause more trouble in the inn.
“What are you waiting for? Don’t you want your companion’s life?”

Seeing Lin Dong hesitating, Qiao Tianhao showed a triumphant expression. Ever since the black iron kitchen knife was lost, his resentment had grown by the day. To find Lin Dong, he sent most of his men out, and even gave a severe scolding to Manager Liu for daring to raise objections. Unexpectedly, when they found nothing, the man sent by Manager Liu to secretly investigate Lin’s Inn’s sign accidentally saw that the person who had smashed the restaurant last time was none other than the owner of Lin’s Inn.

After searching everywhere in vain, he got what he wanted effortlessly—a huge windfall. After learning that Lin Dong was kind to his employees, Qiao Tianhao came up with a plan. First, he would capture one of the employees as a hostage, then enjoy watching Lin Dong struggle helplessly. Once the black iron kitchen knife was handed over, he would use the hostage as a shield to completely destroy the inn—killing two birds with one stone. If lucky, he might even drive the guy who had punished him twice mad enough to die, achieving three goals at once.

“I heard Manager Lin of Lin’s Inn was a good person. Turns out it’s all lies! Just a broken kitchen knife, and he’s too reluctant to use it to save his own employee’s life.”

Qiao Tianhao muttered disdainfully, his mocking tone filling Wang Liuzhi and the others with anger. Even Zhang Ye, who was holding the knife to his neck and trembling with fear, couldn’t help but stammer, “M-Manager, ignore me! I’m not afraid of death. I must keep him in the inn today at all costs!”

Let’s see what happens next!

Lin Dong smiled bitterly and threw the black iron kitchen knife on the counter.

With a clatter, Qiao Tianhao quickly grabbed the knife with his left hand and couldn’t resist kissing its blue blade deeply. His long-lost treasure was finally back.

Pinning the black iron kitchen knife to his belt, Qiao Tianhao’s expression grew even more proud.

“I’ve given you the black iron kitchen knife. Can you leave now?” Lin Dong said in a deep voice.

“Leave? Why would I leave?” Qiao Tianhao sniffed arrogantly, slapped Zhang Ye on the head, and said proudly, “I have a hostage here. I’ll stay in your inn today. Go, assign some people to drive the guests on the second floor out. Break all the tables and chairs first.”

The inn? Lin Dong was slightly stunned before smiling leisurely. This was inside Lin’s Inn—how could he have forgotten its function of expelling people?

“Smiling? How dare you smile?” Qiao Tianhao was first disappointed, then overjoyed. When the enemy broke his word, who could still smile?

The only explanation was that he was smiling out of rage.

If he exerted more force, he might actually drive this guy mad enough to die.

Qiao Tianhao was so excited that his blood boiled; he often did things that made people faint, and he had even succeeded once in killing someone. Maybe he could give it a try today.
On the other side, Lin Dong had already activated the inn system. He turned and waved at Wang Liuzhi and the others, “Go back to the backyard.”
“Back to the backyard? Boss…” Wang Liuzhi hesitated, “What about Zhang Ye?”
“I have a plan! Do as I say.”
With no choice, everyone retreated to the backyard.
Qiao Tianhao grinned broadly, his smile as bright as the sunlight outside the inn. He must be crazy—otherwise, why would he make such a bizarre arrangement?
“Zhang Ye, close your eyes,” Lin Dong ordered. “Don’t open them unless I say so.”
Not daring to ask questions, Zhang Ye obeyed and closed his eyes.
“Go on, Master Qiao is thirsty. Bring him a glass of water,” Qiao Tianhao seized the opportunity to drive Lin Dong even crazier.
“Okay, wait!”
Lin Dong nodded, turned to the entrance of the inn, and with a wave of his hand, a bench appeared silently.
Excited, Qiao Tianhao’s right hand trembled, and he almost wiped out Zhang Ye’s neck. He even went outside to get water—this would surely drive Lin Dong crazy.
As he thought about how to add more fuel to the fire, everything blurred before his eyes. Qiao Tianhao opened his mouth wide and touched his chest—where was the hostage?
Bang!
Lin Dong smashed him with the bench. Qiao Tianhao collapsed at the entrance, unconscious, never understanding what had happened.
“Pretty proud of yourself, huh? I hope you’ll be even prouder in a moment.”
Putting the black iron kitchen knife back into the mobile counter, Lin Dong pulled Qiao Tianhao up and started dragging him toward the inn. Behind him, a voice rang out, “Master, what are you doing?”
Lin Dong turned to see Lou Wentang staring at the lifeless Qiao Tianhao in confusion.
“We ran into some troublemakers!” Lin Dong laughed. “How did you get here?”
Recalling the purpose of his visit, Lou Wentang said cheerfully, “Master, our Lin’s Winery has finally finished bottling the first batch of wine! There are 30,000 jin in total. The second batch will be ready in about half a month. I’m here to ask the boss to come up with a name for it.”
Lin Dong also showed delight. The first batch of wine bottled meant that Lin’s Inn finally had its own wine. Although it wasn’t very good, it was still the first wine from the winery, so the name had to be chosen carefully. After much deliberation, Lin Dong decided, “Open Door Red. Let’s call it Open Door Red.”
Lou Wentang was overjoyed and nodded eagerly, “Master, I’ve already chosen a location for the wine shop. It’s at the end of Hongyun Street. The location isn’t the best, but the yard is large and there’s a cellar—perfect for a wine shop.”

“Deal with these things as you see fit,” Lin Dong nodded and said, “Later, send some people to transport the wine to the backyard through the side door. I’ve set up a wine cellar in the backyard. Ingredients are added to the wine jars from time to time, and once poured in, the wine can be immediately repackaged in jars. Both the aroma and flavor of the wine should double.”
Lou Wentang asked, “How should we set the price of the wine?”
“It depends on how much value ‘Kai Men Hong’ can have,” Lin Dong replied with a smile.
“I’ve calculated it. Including possible future costs like shipping and labor, our cost is about two wen per jin, which is similar to the market price of three wen per jin.”
“What if the color, aroma, and flavor of ‘Kai Men Hong’ all double?” Lin Dong asked.
“In that case, it should be comparable to Lou Ji Winery’s one-year-old thyme wine. It could be sold at ten wen per jin retail, or a little less if purchased in large quantities.”
“That’s two wen cheaper than Lou Ji Winery’s product,” Lin Dong said calmly.
Lou Wentang nodded silently, looking somewhat gloomy.
Lin Dong patted Lou Wentang on the shoulder, “If Lou Ji Winery is unkind, don’t blame me for being unfair. Since you’re the head of Lin Ji Winery, you should understand what’s most important.”
Lou Wentang nodded firmly, “Rest assured, master. In my eyes, the interests of Lin Ji Winery are what matter most.”
“Good, go get to work!”
Lin Dong smiled and took Qiao Tianhao with him into the main hall.