Chapter 150: Night Visit to the Plantation

One day, two days, three days…
At Yingfeng Tower, Yingchunhua’s smile grew more alluring with each passing day. Since the introduction of the singing service, the number of customers at Yingfeng Tower kept increasing, showing signs of surpassing its peak days. Moreover, whenever Peng Tianan was absent, the bidding among the private rooms to have songs performed became increasingly fierce. Even in the main hall, the profit per table rose significantly.
Sometimes, Yingchunhua was even grateful for the existence of Linji Inn. Otherwise, after being frightened by Yi Yi’s willingness to risk her life to prove her innocence, she wouldn’t have come up with the idea of convincing Yi Yi to work as a singer to make money without the pressure from Linji Inn.
A waiter rushed into the small passage behind the wooden platform, interrupting Yingchunhua’s thoughts: “Aunt Ying, it’s still the sixth private room. The ‘throat-soothing fee’ is ten taels of silver.”
Yingchunhua sighed helplessly. As long as Peng Tianan remained, the throat-soothing fee couldn’t be reduced.
Turning to look at Yi Yi, who was sitting on a wooden chair with her eyes closed, resting, Yingchunhua said, “Yi Yi, it’s time to go.”
Yi Yi’s long eyelashes trembled slightly as she opened her eyes and nodded tiredly.
Leading Yi Yi through the passage onto the wooden platform and up a few steps into the main hall, Yingchunhua, with a faint smile, walked alongside her under the gaze of nearly a hundred intense pairs of eyes until they reached outside the private room.
Just as they were about to push open the door to the sixth private room, another waiter rushed in in a hurry: “Aunt Ying, there’s a problem.”
Yingchunhua frowned and asked, “What happened?”
The waiter hurriedly explained, “Linji Inn just posted a notice saying that for every one tael spent on dishes and drinks, two pots of three-year-aged thyme will be given as a gift—four pots for two taels, with the amount accumulating.”
Yingchunhua’s brows immediately furrowed. Thyme was a high-quality local liquor from Qiufeng Mansion, and it was also sold at Yingfeng Tower. She knew the price of three-year-aged thyme—its cost was sixteen wen per jin, but any reputable restaurant would sell it for at least fifty wen per jin. By offering two pots for one tael, Linji Inn was clearly trying to undercut Yingfeng Tower and other restaurants.
To counter this, they would have to offer better liquor or lower their prices as well.
It would be fine if it were just thyme, but what worried her was that Linji Inn might also lower the prices of dishes and drinks. To be honest, Yingchunhua wasn’t confident enough to compete on price with Linji Inn. If Li Jiancheng could afford such things, one could imagine how wealthy Linji Inn must be.
On top of that, all the restaurants were still facing the huge threat posed by Fenglin Restaurant. Ninety-nine percent of them were busy cutting costs, hoping to hold on until Fenglin Restaurant gave up on destroying their competitors at a loss.

If they were to compete with Lin Ji Inn in terms of food and drink prices at this point, it wouldn’t just mean losing a little money.
“Is there any news from Ke Lai Restaurant?” Ying Chun Hua asked.
The worker shook his head. “The news just came out; Wang Shuang Xi probably doesn’t know about it yet.”
Ying Chun Hua looked hesitant. Whether it was ordinary dishes or rare ingredients from spiritual beasts, Ke Lai Restaurant’s profits weren’t high. Even if Wang Shuang Xi learned of this, he would never lower prices to pressure Lin Ji Inn unless he was cornered.
If Lin Ji Inn fought alone, it would surely be determined to go all out after taking over Ke Lai Restaurant as its main customer. Without knowing Lin Ji Inn’s financial strength, acting rashly would carry too much risk. But if they refused to compete, it would be like allowing Lin Ji Inn to attract customers with their offers.
Pondering, Ying Chun Hua had an idea. She turned to Yi Yi, who stood silently nearby, and smiled brightly. “Yi Yi, you heard what was said just now. I’ve mentioned my difficulties to you before, and I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you again. How about… we squeeze in an extra song or two per day?”
Yi Yi replied unhappily, “Reducing my daily rest time by half is already my limit. Adding another song or two…”
Ying Chun Hua’s smile faded, and her face drooped. “Yi Yi, please understand me one more time. I promise this will be the last time. If we really compete with Lin Ji Inn on prices, Ying Feng Lou definitely won’t last until Feng Lin Restaurant gives up pressuring all the restaurants. After all, Ying Feng Lou is where you’ve lived for over a decade. If it collapses like this…”
Yi Yi looked conflicted. After a long while, she nodded silently.
Ying Chun Hua was overjoyed. She realized that Lin Ji Inn was truly her lucky star. Adding an extra song or two per day meant earning an extra fee or two.
Meanwhile, Wang Shuang Xi also made a tough decision—he would personally cook all dishes costing more than two taels of silver.
By the time these two pieces of news reached Lin Ji Inn, it was already evening, and Lin Dong wasn’t there. He had left via carriage through the East City Gate. Inside the carriage, Xiao Tian Chi sat upright.
The carriage sped eastward for over twenty miles before stopping outside a vast plantation.
Looking up at the sun sinking below the horizon, Lin Dong turned and smiled. “Master Xiao, the timing is perfect.”
Xiao Tian Chi pulled back the carriage curtain and stepped down, a smile appearing on his thin face.

After securing the carriage, Xiao Tianchi glanced at the fence enclosing the courtyard. He thrust his palms forward abruptly, and a fierce gust of wind swept out from his sleeves, acting like a giant broom that swept away the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground in an instant. In a flash, a clearing six or seven meters wide and long appeared on the inside of the fence. Leaping into the clearing, Xiao Tianchi crouched down to examine it before saying slowly, “There shouldn’t be any traps set!” Lin Dong nodded and jumped into the clearing as well. “It’s better to be cautious—Shopkeeper Lin, stay close to me,” Xiao Tianchi warned. Lin Dong gave a soft grunt and took out a black iron kitchen knife from the mobile cabinet. Xiao Tianchi pushed aside the pile of fallen leaves that had formed a small hill, restoring the clearing to its original state, then drew out his spirit sword and carefully explored ahead. Despite moving unimpeded, the two didn’t feel relieved; instead, their expressions grew more solemn. The planting area covered hundreds of acres, filled with countless large trees. Among the roots, medicinal herbs such as ginseng and poria could be faintly seen. The dim night light didn’t hinder their vision, but despite searching from left to right and right to left, they still couldn’t find what they were looking for. Under an old locust tree, Lin Dong stopped and called out to Xiao Tianchi, “We’ve searched thoroughly twice. I don’t think we’ll find anything if we keep looking.” Xiao Tianchi nodded thoughtfully. “Is this definitely the plantation, Shopkeeper Lin?” “It must be here—I’m over 90% sure,” Lin Dong replied, tapping his head before suddenly having an idea. He asked, “Does Master Xiao know anything about hidden mechanisms or secret passages?” Without hesitation, Xiao Tianchi said, “Ordinary mechanisms or secret passages shouldn’t be a problem for me. But if it involves a spirit array of third level or higher, I doubt I can handle it.” “Then there’s no issue. Even if there’s a spirit array, it’s likely only first or second level.” Lin Dong pointed toward the center of the plantation. “If I’m not mistaken, the culprit is definitely in that wooden building.” Xiao Tianchi wanted to argue, but then realized it wasn’t entirely impossible. After searching the entire plantation twice with no results, the likelihood of missing something was extremely low. By contrast, the wooden building where the plantation guards lived had a higher chance of hiding the answer.