Chapter 176: Smooth Implementation

Seeing that Lin Dong remained unimpressed, Ma Chun had no choice but to give up. Yet compared to accepting the premium card offer, his reluctance was almost negligible. Going from certain losses to only minor losses was already a huge success for Ma Chun; he could live with not making huge profits.

By evening, Ma Chun’s resolve to accept the minimal losses from the premium cards grew even stronger.

Over the course of the day, 62 premium cards had been distributed. Just for that day alone, the inn earned at least four to five hundred taels more than usual. But that wasn’t the most important thing—the number of customers on the second floor also surged to over 150 tables. Even if it wasn’t possible to distribute 62 premium cards every day, the inn’s competitive edge would ensure that the number of customers wouldn’t drop much.

Spending over 20,000 taels to ensure the inn had 30 to 40 more tables of regular customers each day meant that, given the profits from the inn’s spiritual beasts and materials, it would be possible to recoup the cost within a year or two—definitely worth it.

In the following days, the number of premium cards distributed didn’t drop significantly, and the price at which antique shops bought them rose to over four taels before gradually stabilizing.

On the fifth day of the premium card campaign, the government office suddenly posted a notice offering a bounty for capturing all thieves who stole premium cards.

The bounty wasn’t high—just one or two taels per card—but its implications were significant.

It was only natural for the government to catch thieves; posting a bounty was also part of their duties. But targeting thieves who stole premium cards was different.

While there had been cases where the government offered bounties to recover stolen items, those items were always worth tens of thousands of taels. A premium card was only worth four or five taels, so it seemed like an overreaction.

And anyone could guess why the government was overreacting—it must be related to Lin’s Inn.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, Lin’s Inn posted its own notice outside: anyone who reported a thief stealing premium cards would receive a reward of ten taels. Once the thief was caught, the stolen cards would be returned to their owners. If the cards couldn’t be recovered, the inn would compensate based on their value after investigation.

With the government’s pursuit and Lin’s Inn’s bounty, plus that unbreakable rope even scissors couldn’t cut… it almost meant that as long as one didn’t use the premium card to carry items worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of taels, carrying one around was safer than carrying anything in one’s underwear.

As if to confirm this guess, a small story spread widely the next day. The day before the notices were posted, Boss Liang of the silk shop in the southern part of the city had accidentally wandered into an alley and been knocked unconscious; his VIP card was taken from him. As soon as these two notices appeared, that afternoon someone saw Wan Qianfei, a well-known troublemaker in the southern part of the city, sneaking towards Boss Liang’s residence.

For a troublemaker to visit a wealthy household in broad daylight to extort money seemed excessive, and moreover, Boss Liang appeared in high spirits when he went out again. The reason was obvious—Wan Qianfei came not only to return the VIP card but probably for no other reason.

The stagnant purchase prices at various antique shops rose again. However, most antique shops had clear rules against accepting stolen goods.

At Lin’s Inn, the gradually decreasing number of VIP cards distributed each day suddenly soared, reaching levels comparable to those of the first day.

On the tenth day, just as the VIP cards were fading from people’s conversations, a big news spread rapidly through Autumn Wind City: Lin’s Inn suddenly announced that due to the lengthy process of producing VIP cards, it could no longer keep up with the demand, so it changed the conditions for obtaining them.

To get a copper card, one had to not only accumulate ten taels of silver but also visit Lin’s Inn at least three times in the previous month, with each meal costing no less than one tael of silver.

As soon as these conditions were introduced, the wealthy families who rarely held banquets at restaurants immediately expressed dissatisfaction. But despite their complaints, they had no choice. After all, it was normal for prices to rise if sales were good, and Lin’s Inn wasn’t even raising prices.

Similarly, since Lin’s Inn had made it harder to obtain VIP cards, those who already had them were delighted. Those who came early would get them; those who came late… could only watch helplessly!

The increased difficulty was accepted by all wealthy families within a few days. At first, the number of tables at the inn might have decreased slightly, but it soon rose back to around 150 per day. Moreover, the spending per table showed a slight upward trend.

With overwhelming advertising, the various benefits of VIP cards became well-known everywhere. Driven by nearly a hundred vendors and those asking about prices, various antique shops indirectly became tools to prove the value of VIP cards, while the announcements from the government completely eliminated concerns about their safety… A half-month-long marketing campaign ended with a perfect outcome.

Throughout the process, although there were some deviations from Lin Dong’s plan, they were in a positive direction. As he had expected, the number of VIP cards distributed each day would definitely not be this high, meaning the time needed to increase the difficulty of obtaining them would come much earlier. Moreover, Lin Dong had thought that after raising the difficulty, the wealthy clients would surely be dissatisfied with the inn’s pricing, and business would decline sharply before recovering—yet the impact was eliminated in just two or three days.

Over ten days, 513 VIP cards were distributed. If the wealthy clients visited the inn once every ten days, considering the 25 tables on the second floor, there was still plenty of room for further distribution. However, distributing too many at once would not highlight the value of the VIP cards; distributing them monthly might also exceed the limit in just a few months, resulting in losses.

The second release of VIP cards was a complete success. To maintain this success, it was necessary to enhance the benefits of the VIP cards and encourage the wealthy clients to aim for accumulating discounts on food and drinks.

To achieve these two goals, having different card levels with corresponding discounts on food and drinks was a perfect solution. However, during the price-cutting phase at Fenglin Restaurant, the discounts on VIP cards would undoubtedly trigger all the major restaurants in the city to slash their prices as well. In the short term, thyme of different years could only serve as a substitute.

There was another more cost-effective and effective method—Peng Qiao.

Upon learning that Xu Chunfen had brought Peng Qiao back to the inn, Lin Dong waited for a while before heading to the room where the mother and daughter were.

After knocking a few times, the door creaked open. Xu Chunfen stood inside, her smile still evident on her face.

“Manager Lin, what brings you here? Please come in, have a seat.”

Lin Dong nodded with a smile and entered the room. What he saw was chaos—cloths, snacks, jewelry… Everything was piled up everywhere on the tables, chairs, and beds.

“Madam and Peng Qiao must have gained a lot from this trip!” Lin Dong said cheerfully.

Xu Chunfen’s face turned slightly red. It was the first time Manager Lin had visited, and she ended up showing him such a messy state.

“Manager Lin, please sit for a moment. I’ll tidy up quickly,” Xu Chunfen said, about to clean up when a red figure suddenly appeared beside her, startling her.

Auw…

Before Xu Chunfen could raise her arm fully, Peng Qiao had already grabbed Lin Dong’s arm and bit down excitedly.

A sharp pain shot up to his brain. Lin Dong smiled bitterly—how could he have forgotten to bring arm guards?

Over by the side, Xu Chunfen was pacing anxiously. Peng Qiao never gave up until she achieved her goal. When she bit someone, the only way to stop her was to distract her with candied haws before she bit, or keep pushing her away until she was exhausted and forgot what she wanted to do.
“Shopkeeper Lin, what if…” Seeing the increasing cold sweat on Lin Dong’s forehead and his face seemingly distorted, Xu Chunfen gritted her teeth, suppressing her concern for Peng Qiao, and said, “What if you force open Peng Qiao’s teeth and push her away?”
Lin Dong smiled bitterly. With such determination, it was impossible to get Peng Qiao to release her grip without breaking her teeth or using spiritual power to knock out a few of them.
Just endure it! It was no wonder Peng Qiao was crazy; it was only her own fault.
After half an hour, Lin Dong’s arm was numb before Peng Qiao finally released her mouth, her face showing not only exhaustion but also a faint sense of satisfaction.
Xu Chunfen sighed in relief. She first helped Peng Qiao sit up on the bed edge, then hurriedly rummaged through the chest.
“Madam, no need to bother. I have bandages,” Lin Dong said quickly.
“Shopkeeper Lin has bandages?” Xu Chunfen was surprised.
“For those who practice martial arts, bandages are essential,” Lin Dong said with a smile, waving his right arm a few times before using spiritual power to restore sensation to it gradually.
Xu Chunfen realized what was going on and quickly tidied up the items on the chair.
Sitting down on the wooden chair, Lin Dong bandaged his arm while asking curiously, “Madam, since you spend every day with Peng Qiao, has she never bitten you?”
Xu Chunfen shook her head with a wry smile. “How could she not? But… although this child is foolish, her heart isn’t. The more she bites, the more she realizes I’m good to her, so the longer each bite lasts gets shorter. It seems she hasn’t bitten me since half a year ago.”
Lin Dong was stunned. She said it so casually, but given Peng Qiao’s determination, what kind of damage would her arms need to suffer before she could gain her trust?
“Shopkeeper Lin, why have you come this time…”
Lin Dong felt ashamed. Being bitten by Peng Qiao for half an hour had almost made him forget his purpose. He had planned to finish bandaging his wound, chat a bit, and then leave.
“Madam and Peng Qiao have been tired for a month. I originally wanted to let you two rest for a few more days, but if we delay any longer, time will become critical…” Lin Dong took out the drawings he had prepared earlier from the mobile counter and placed them on the table. “So, I have no choice but to trouble madam and Peng Qiao again.”

“Master Lin, you’re too kind. My daughter and I are fortunate to be taken in by you—provided with food and shelter, and even a salary that others can’t earn in a lifetime. If it were someone else, not to mention taking a half-month break at a time, they’d probably whip us to eat faster even while eating.”
Xu Chunfen waved her hands repeatedly before stepping forward to take a look at the blueprint on the table.
On the blueprint, there were only three fan blades connected together at the back.
“Master Lin, is this a small windmill?” Xu Chunfen asked in confusion.
Lin Dong shook his head with a smile.