Chapter 83: Price Competition

At Maple Forest Restaurant, Liu Chuanxiang was bustling about enthusiastically, occasionally asking if Boss Zhang was interested in trying the braised snow fox, offered for free. At other times, he would inquire if Lord Liu wanted to taste the restaurant’s newly arrived batch of fine wines at half price.

Outside, the autumn wind howled, but inside, Liu Chuanxiang was drenched in sweat. His mood was like a radish pulled out of a mud pit—still covered in mud, but far lighter.

“Boss, Master Qiao says he wants to pay five hundred taels of silver,” the clerk whispered behind him.

“Five hundred taels? Why does he need so much silver?” Liu Chuanxiang was stunned.

“He says he’s just reached the sixth level of the Lingdong stage and needs to register at the Military Assessment Institute.”

“What does that have to do with five hundred taels of silver?” Liu Chuanxiang had no idea about the trouble Qiao Tianhao had caused at the Military Assessment Institute and was completely confused.

The clerk smirked helplessly. “I wouldn’t dare ask.”

“Never mind. Have the accounting department pay him.” Liu Chuanxiang was in high spirits. Five hundred taels wasn’t much, but given Qiao Tianhao’s status, the restaurant would surely cover it—there was no need to haggle.

The clerk didn’t leave right away but continued, “Also, Lin’s Inn has just introduced a signature dish, called Stewed Turtle with Maple Tree Leaves.”

“Maple tree leaves? They must be spiritual materials, right?” Liu Chuanxiang grew anxious. Great, the restaurant had just reduced prices, and Lin’s Inn was already reacting. The owner of Lin’s Inn was quite decisive.

The clerk nodded. “We sent someone to find out. It’s said to strengthen the body.”

Liu Chuanxiang couldn’t help but laugh. Even cabbage helps with digestion and detoxification—what dish doesn’t have some benefits when eaten?

“How much is it?”

“Two taels of silver,” the clerk replied.

“Two qian of silver… Unless these maple tree leaves are first-tier spiritual materials, otherwise, it would be a loss if they’re above second-tier.” After calculating, Liu Chuanxiang’s expression grew even happier.

If those maple tree leaves were indeed above second-tier spiritual materials, Lin’s Inn was clearly entering a price war. Allowing Maple Forest Restaurant to lower prices to attract customers was one thing, but dragging things out would only result in losing some employees’ wages—still, they could hold on for half a year.

If they really entered a price war, Liu Chuanxiang was confident that the more fiercely Lin’s Inn competed, the faster they’d fail.

When it came to spending silver, all the managers at Maple Forest Restaurant were confident. After all, a newly opened county-level restaurant could spend up to ten million taels of silver in price competitions, while a prefecture-level restaurant could spend up to one million taels. This year, as they expanded to various counties, the limit remained at one hundred thousand taels each.

That means as long as the cost is below 100,000 taels of silver, and it can keep Maple Forest Restaurant fully booked every day or make it the leading restaurant in the county in terms of business, it will be considered a significant achievement.
“Boss, it’s not two qian of silver—it’s two taels,” the clerk carefully reminded. “Two taels for a dish of turtle stewed with maple tree leaves.”
“Two taels?” Liu Chuanxiang’s voice rose immediately.
Could it be that maple tree leaves are spirit materials of the fourth or fifth rank? Otherwise, if they’re just supplementary ingredients, the cost surely couldn’t reach two taels.
“Has the seating fee at Lin’s Inn gone down?”
“Not yet!” the clerk shook his head.
The food and drinks at Lin’s Inn weren’t expensive, and the few new dishes made with spirit beast meat only had a slight increase in cost. Since the seating fee hadn’t dropped, the focus for price competition was undoubtedly this turtle stewed with maple tree leaves.
This Boss Lin was quite remarkable—he even knew that the cost of spirit beast meat at Maple Forest Restaurant was low, making price competition unviable.
Liu Chuanxiang clicked his tongue, a smile spreading across his face.
No matter how remarkable Boss Lin was, he still had to bow his head. Competing on such an expensive dish—even if Lin’s Inn had a way to get cheap maple tree leaves—would still be extremely disadvantageous for Maple Forest Restaurant.
For a county-level restaurant, even if all the wealthy people in the city went there and the prices were as high as those at Maple Forest Restaurant, it would still take two or three years to earn 100,000 taels of silver.
Lin’s Inn had only been open for a few months—there was no way it could compete to earn 100,000 taels of silver.
“Go and find out the price of these maple tree leaves. If the price is reasonable for spirit materials of this rank, buy as much as you can,” Liu Chuanxiang said generously, waving his hand.
The clerk nodded and turned to leave when he heard a “Wait!” behind him, so he quickly turned back.
“Don’t buy all of them. If the pharmacies in Xilan City have large quantities, buy half. If the quantities are small, buy enough for half a month’s use, then send someone to Qiufeng City to buy more.”
Liu Chuanxiang’s gaze was stern. If Lin’s Inn also bought from pharmacies, they needed to leave some for them—otherwise, what would they have to compete with?
The clerk scratched his head and reminded, “Boss, if these maple tree leaves can sell for two taels each, they shouldn’t be cheap. If they’re spirit materials of the third rank or above, I doubt the pharmacies in Xilan City have them!”
Liu Chuanxiang was momentarily stunned before realizing what to do. He immediately decided, “Divide into two groups. The guards are idle anyway—have them go to the pharmacies in Xilan City, while another group goes straight to Qiufeng City.”
The clerk looked puzzled and said, “I think I heard Master Qiao say that all the guards should go with him to the Military Assessment Institute.”

“Why go to the Military Testing Institute with him?” Liu Chuanxiang asked. “The director of the Military Testing Institute is at least a warrior. Could he really dare cause trouble there?”
“It seems to be to protect him along the way. Master Qiao is afraid of running into the owner of Lin’s Inn…”
Liu Chuanxiang was speechless. Why was this troublemaker so afraid of the owner of Lin’s Inn? After a long while, he reluctantly said, “The restaurant can’t do without too many staff. Let’s wait until they arrive!”
The staff member nodded and ran down from the second floor.
In a room in the back yard of Lin’s Inn, Lin Dong was also thinking about competing on price.
But it wasn’t against Fenglin Restaurant—it was against Lou’s Winery.
Over the past month, thanks to its excellent initial sales, which were on par with those of Bai Li Xiang after a year, plus the fact that its price was two coins cheaper, Lin’s Inn’s business had grown rapidly. Lou’s Winery had begun to feel uneasy. That morning, the price of Bai Li Xiang from other years remained unchanged, but the price of the one-year-old Bai Li Xiang had dropped from ten coins per pound to seven coins per pound. The discount for larger quantities stayed the same, meaning it was even one coin cheaper than Lou’s Winery’s price.
Lou Wentang had been at Lou’s Winery for over a decade and naturally knew that this was already the lowest price Lou’s Winery could go. Going any lower would result in losses. Although Lin Dong had said how much Bai Li Xiang from one year should cost and that they would sell it two coins cheaper at the beginning, Lou’s Winery’s price cut this time was too drastic. If Bai Li Xiang from other years also followed suit, the retail price would drop to just five coins per pound, and even three coins per pound for larger quantities.
Although the cost of Bai Li Xiang from one year was only two coins, it didn’t include the ingredients that doubled its flavor, aroma, and taste. Lou Wentang didn’t know the cost of these ingredients and was unsure, so he had to go to Lin’s Inn.
Lin Dong was confident but still frowned in thought.
The cost of the Wine King formula was only one coin per pound, even if we calculated based on the market rate of one spirit stone equaling ten silver coins per tael. Anyway, until Lou’s Winery found a master winemaker, even with the Wine King formula, they wouldn’t make much silver profit. Moreover, there were only so many people who drank alcohol in Xilan County. Cutting the price by another three coins would mean losing about 180 silver coins per month. But since it would allow them to gain customers and avenge Lou’s Winery for adulterating their products, the benefits outweighed the costs.
But after hearing that Lou’s Winery had cut the price by three coins all at once, Lin Dong’s thoughts changed slightly.