Chapter 98: The Difficult Task

Over by the side, seeing Lin Dong remain silent, the servant grew displeased.
“Master Lin, you still haven’t given an answer to my master’s request!”
“What answer?” Lin Dong asked in confusion.
The servant retorted irritably, “To work as the head chef at our Changlin Restaurant!”
Lin Dong’s heart stirred briefly before sinking again. It wasn’t difficult to convince Lord Huang to change his mind about building the largest restaurant, but since the upgrade task had already been assigned, changing it now wouldn’t affect that task!
Sighing deeply, Lin Dong felt some regret. If he had known earlier, he would have tried to get the servant involved first or asked Lord Huang what he wanted right at the entrance, so he could refuse to let him stay sooner. Though it might seem like cheating, it was still better than facing such a perplexing dilemma.
“Lord Huang, I’m afraid I have to disappoint you.”
“It seems Master Lin still doesn’t trust my financial strength,” Lord Huang said with a smile. “Then let me give you a real number—sixty taels per month. Isn’t that at least twice the monthly income from your inn? If you still don’t believe me, I can pay you a month’s deposit in advance.”
Lin Dong shook his head helplessly. “It’s not about money.”
Lord Huang perked up and pressed further, “Then what is it? If there’s any difficulty, just mention it.”
Lin Dong smiled bitterly and spoke frankly, “Let me tell you the truth, Lord Huang! Lin’s Inn generates no less than a thousand taels in business each month.”
“A thousand taels?”
Both of them were shocked at once, then filled with disbelief. This Master Lin really dared to exaggerate.
Even at its best, Changlin Restaurant’s monthly revenue barely reached a thousand taels. How could an inn in a small county generate over a thousand taels in business each month?
Seeing their expressions, Lin Dong knew they didn’t believe him, but he didn’t have the energy to explain further. A monthly revenue of a thousand taels… the inn’s net income was actually over three thousand taels.
“He’s really good at bluffing. Not even in Lingnan City has anyone heard of an inn with a monthly revenue of a thousand taels,” the servant muttered under his breath. Although inns offered accommodation in addition to restaurants, the difference between the two was enormous. Starting an inn required very little—as long as the prices were reasonable, business would come. Restaurants, on the other hand, had far higher standards—drinks, environment, dishes… their monthly revenues were on completely different levels.
Lord Huang, however, calmed down. If he really wanted to bluff, there was no need to exaggerate so much. Perhaps this Master Lin had some other difficult situation he couldn’t mention.
Fortunately, there was no rush. There was still time to find out more slowly.

Facing difficulties with the upgrade task, Lin Dong had no choice but to take things one step at a time. While the two were eating, he led the carriage into the courtyard through the back door and loaded in some more fodder. By the time he returned to the main hall, they had almost finished eating.

Old Master Huang took out a yellow silk handkerchief to wipe his mouth and stood up, saying, “Shopkeeper Lin, could you arrange two guest rooms for me and prepare some hot water?”
“Sure!”
After collecting the deposit and completing the registration, Lin Dong, carrying a bunch of copper keys, led the two to the guest house building.

Seeing Lin Dong lead them around the stairs straight to the back door, the servant asked in confusion, “Aren’t the guest rooms in your inn upstairs?”
Lin Dong, constantly thinking of a solution, casually replied, “The upstairs are private rooms, and there’s another guest house building at the back.”
The two were puzzled—two buildings? And private rooms too?
Logically, this Lin’s Inn should be quite large. Yet the owner still stayed up late to serve guests personally—such a situation only happened in small inns. Those who didn’t understand the reason truly couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard they tried.

After arranging their accommodations, Lin Dong went to the kitchen and brought up two kettles of boiling water. When he came back downstairs, he was still worried. This task was too complicated. If nothing else worked, he would have to find a way to get Old Master Huang to build a restaurant as soon as possible—three to five months wouldn’t do.

Sitting back down on the straw mat, he thought for another while. Realizing there was no solution, Lin Dong decided to put it aside for now. He closed his eyes, dismissed the distractions in his mind, and let his spiritual energy slowly flow from his dantian.

When the first faint beam of white light seeped in through the crack in the door, Lin Dong’s body trembled. His dantian suddenly shattered into pieces, which then wrapped the spiritual energy in a glow.

Sighing in relief, Lin Dong finally showed a smile, his eyes shining brightly. He was now at the fifth level of the Spiritual Movement stage. Next, he needed to cultivate a new dantian.

He entered meditation again for just half an hour when rustling footsteps made him alert. Opening his eyes, he saw it was Zhang Ye who had come in.
“Is it day already?”
Zhang Ye nodded, “It’s almost time.”
Lin Dong stood up. He needed to open the inn early in the dawn, and sitting by the counter wasn’t appropriate. Besides, Ren Qingsong had said that if he reached the fifth level of the Spiritual Movement stage within three days, he would receive a surprise gift. Calculating the days, as long as it was this morning, it was still within three days.

After explaining Old Master Huang and the other person to Zhang Ye and emphasizing that he must keep them staying at the inn at all costs, Lin Dong went to the back yard to wash up. After having breakfast, he left the inn through the side door in the back yard.

The Military Testing Institute is government-run, so it opens one or two hours later than inns. Lin Dong slowed down, continuing to think about ways to complete his level-up tasks as he walked. By the time he arrived at the Military Testing Institute, half of a bright red sun had already appeared in the far east, and the institute’s gates were mostly open. Inside, Lin Dong put his level-up tasks aside again and made his way to the main hall. From afar, Yang Laiting was sitting at the counter, with a young man in front of him pressing a spirit-testing stone. Upon seeing Lin Dong, Yang Laiting was overjoyed and quickly stood up. The young man, sensing someone had entered, instinctively turned to look. Realizing it was Lin Dong, he froze instantly. Liu Qingling, the eldest son of the Liu family? Lin Dong was also taken aback but quickly regained his composure. The Liu family owned numerous businesses and countless fields. If Xilan City wanted to implement a tax rate of less than ten percent on land rents, it had to win over the Liu family. It would be best if things could end amicably. Immediately, Lin Dong smiled and bowed, saying, “Young Master Liu, shall we register for the test next year?” Seeing Lin Dong greet him, Liu Qingling was first shocked, then overjoyed—his excitement even surpassing that of Yang Laiting behind him. Ren Qingsong checked on Lin Dong’s progress at Lin’s Inn every few days, so Yang Laiting already knew about Lin Dong’s breakthrough and was prepared. Though surprised, he wasn’t utterly thrilled. Liu Qingling, however, was different. The first time at Lin’s Inn, he had successfully disguised himself as a pig, continuing that role even as he carried Zhou Jinchi away. The second time was at the Liu family’s estate; he still played the pig well, briefly pretending to be a tiger before a person from their group punched the Liu family head and several powerful uncles, sending them flying, and the “tiger” instantly reverted to a pig. After these two incidents, Liu Qingling, who had lived for over twenty years, had never experienced such humiliation, almost to the point of internal injury. Now, the Liu family’s gloom had lifted, thanks to Liu Qingling’s uncle returning after hearing the news! Once his uncle arrived in Xilan City with several close disciples and followers, the next day would be the day the Liu family would dominate the city. Originally, Liu Qingling had been waiting for this day, but after seeing Lin Dong, he suddenly thought it was a good opportunity to make Lin Dong suffer as well. With a sudden change in thought, Liu Qingling seemed terrified, pulling his right hand back from the spirit-testing stone as if shocked, looking at Lin Dong with fear, his teeth trembling slightly: “L-Lin Manager, I’m here to register for next year’s test. How… how did you come here too?”

Lin Dong was surprised—had the shadow he had left in this Young Master Liu’s heart earlier been so severe?