Chapter 167: No Major Problem

It only took a day for Ma Chun to bring detailed information about Peng Qiao.
Peng Qiao is nineteen years old this year, and her mother is Xu Chunfen, Peng Zhenyuan’s fourth concubine.
Xu Chunfen has offended many people in the Peng family due to Peng Qiao’s habit of biting others at the slightest provocation. Coupled with her aging appearance and lack of a son, her life in the Peng family is not easy. Similarly, because Xu Chunfen holds no status in the family and her own family is just an ordinary merchant household, Peng Qiao is not well-liked there either.
The mother and daughter rely on each other for survival; Xu Chunfen takes care of Peng Qiao’s daily life. Only Xu Chunfen can tolerate Peng Qiao’s habit of biting.
It can be said that Peng Qiao’s only relative is Xu Chunfen. As long as Xu Chunfen is persuaded to come to Lin Ji Inn, there will be no reason for Peng Qiao to stay in the Peng family.
Lin Dong put aside his cultivation and prepared gifts before heading to the Peng family’s residence. Everything went smoothly. At first, Peng Zhenyuan was hesitant, as the person Lin Dong wanted was still his concubine, and such a move could harm his reputation.
But when he saw Lin Dong take out the Pure Yang Sword, his attitude changed instantly, and he agreed readily.
With Xu Chunfen, things went even more smoothly than Lin Dong had expected. He thought he would need to persuade her at great length, considering her concerns about the future. But in Xu Chunfen’s eyes, Peng Qiao was already her only child. After learning that Peng Zhenyuan intended to give her away, she had been desperate for a whole day. Upon hearing Lin Dong’s purpose, she agreed without hesitation, her eyes red with emotion.
Upon arriving at the back courtyard of Lin Ji Inn, Lin Dong held back the reins and said, “Madam, we’ve arrived.”
Xu Chunfen quickly lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped out before Lin Dong could help her.
After leading Xu Chunfen to the back courtyard, they found Peng Qiao’s room unlocked. With a gentle push, the door slowly opened.
To avoid any impropriety in a girl’s room, Lin Dong did not look inside but stepped aside.
“Thank you, Manager Lin,” said Xu Chunfen before stepping inside quickly.
There was no sound from inside for a long time. Lin Dong grew impatient waiting at the door before Xu Chunfen came out, but she didn’t invite him in.
“Manager Lin, Qiaoqiao is already asleep. May I talk to you?”
“Of course,” Lin Dong nodded and asked, pointing to the stone table in the courtyard, “How about over there?”
Xu Chunfen nodded.
After sitting down at the stone table, Xu Chunfen suddenly said, “Manager Lin, thank you. Qiaoqiao has never slept so peacefully before. Before, even the slightest noise would wake her up.”

“That’s good. I was worried she wouldn’t get used to living in an inn.” Lin Dong smiled. With a 4x comfort boost, it would be hard for her not to sleep well.
Xu Chunfen glanced at Lin Dong’s arm, hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Shopkeeper Lin, when Qiaoxiao bit you, didn’t you push her away?”
Lin Dong nodded.
“Why?” Xu Chunfen pressed further.
Lin Dong smiled bitterly. “I didn’t want to disappoint her. Do you believe me, madam?”
Xu Chunfen nodded gently and sighed. “Qiaoxiao’s mind may be simple, but her heart isn’t. She’s more sensitive than anyone. She can tell at a glance who willingly lets her bite.”
Lin Dong remained silent. He could hear the sorrow and pain in Xu Chunfen’s voice.
“Shopkeeper Lin, did you bring Qiaoxiao to the inn so she could help you make something?” Xu Chunfen asked.
Lin Dong nodded. Aside from his extraordinary idea, he hid nothing about his determination to keep Peng Qiaoxiao in the inn at all costs.
Xu Chunfen smiled bitterly in resignation. “I’m afraid Shopkeeper Lin will be disappointed. Peng Zhenyuan once tried to have Qiaoxiao make some mechanical crossbows powered by spirit stones, but the results were poor. A few were indeed created, slightly better than ordinary mechanical crossbows, but their cost was dozens of times higher, and none were suitable for mass production.”
“Don’t worry, madam. The things I ask Peng Qiaoxiao to make don’t need to be mass-produced. A higher cost isn’t a problem,” Lin Dong said, shaking his head. “Even if it fails, I won’t complain.”
“Well…” Xu Chunfen hesitated, unsure whether Lin Dong was telling the truth. If not, the lives of her and her daughter were in his hands, and heavy financial losses might lead him to take revenge.
Lin Dong spoke seriously, “If you still don’t believe me, you can observe for a month or two. If you truly think I’m the kind of person who breaks promises, you can leave as soon as my losses aren’t too severe. If you really resort to threats, I believe no one would do something that harms others without benefiting themselves.”
Xu Chunfen remained silent. This was the only option left. Anyway, leaving now was absolutely impossible.
Lin Dong took out a banknote worth ten thousand taels of silver that he had prepared earlier, placed it on the table, and pushed it slightly forward. “This is ten thousand taels of silver. It’s not much, but consider it Peng Qiaoxiao’s annual salary. You can use it to buy some assets for future support.”
Xu Chunfen waved her hands repeatedly. “Peng Qiaoxiao hasn’t made anything for Shopkeeper Lin yet. There’s no reason to pay her in advance. Besides, ten thousand taels is way too much.”

Lin Dong smiled and said, “Ten thousand taels is merely payment for work that yields nothing. If it’s successful, there will be additional rewards.”
“This…”
“Madam, please accept it! Some assets are not just for you alone,” Lin Dong persuaded. “Peng Qiao will also have something to rely on in the future.”
Xu Chunfen’s heart sank slightly, but she nodded and took the silver note.
“Madam, what I want Peng Qiao to create now…” Lin Dong took out a copper card and pointed to the dragon shape on its front. “It’s an mechanism that’s one size smaller than the dragon’s body. This mechanism must not only include the location of the spirit stone but also be able to guide the spiritual energy stored in the stone to the dragon’s head at any time after being installed inside the dragon’s body.”
For Peng Qiao, creating a mechanism to channel the spiritual energy from the spirit stone was a piece of cake. Xu Chunfen felt relieved and, after thinking for a moment, said slowly, “If that’s all, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Not difficult?” Lin Dong was surprised. This mechanism was only the size of a peanut and was already considered extremely intricate in this world. Even in the Great Han Kingdom, only a few people could create such a thing.
“Qiao once made a copper cicada that could flap its wings. Although it was a bit larger than this dragon’s body, shrinking it further shouldn’t be a problem,” Xu Chunfen said. “I wonder if Manager Lin has any other requirements?”
“There are two more requirements,” Lin Dong explained. “First, the spirit stone must be removable. Second, even if someone gets this card and hires a master mechanic to study it, they won’t be able to create an identical mechanism.”
“The first one is easy to handle,” Xu Chunfen hesitated. “As for the second… although Qiao has never made a mechanism that only requires guiding spiritual energy out, all the mechanisms she’s made before have this function. As long as one or two of them fall into the hands of a master mechanic, it will be easy for them to figure it out.”
“Does Madam still remember how many such mechanisms Qiao has made in total?” Lin Dong asked.
“I do. In total, it’s seventy-nine. Most of them were small trinkets that Qiao liked herself. Three were made according to Peng Zhenyuan’s requests: a crossbow, a mechanical copper figure made using mechanical techniques and spirit arrays, and a second-tier spirit array that could move and be activated at any time.”
“I’ll find a way to get those back from the Peng family,” Lin Dong said with a bow. “As for Peng Qiao, I hope Madam will take care of her. If there’s a lack of materials or anything else needed for her daily life, please feel free to ask.”
Xu Chunfen affirmed, “If there are enough skilled blacksmiths and materials, and nothing goes wrong, it should be possible to create it within two months.”

Lin Dong was overjoyed. Although two months was a bit long, as long as the issues of theft prevention and enhancing attractiveness could be resolved, the newly introduced VIP card would not only help attract more repeat customers but also become another major advantage for the inn.