Chapter 132: Time is Running Out

Upon returning to the inn, as soon as Liu Hao stepped into the lobby, he rushed forward.
“Boss, there’s movement at Maple Forest Restaurant again.”
Lin Dong was shocked and asked, “What kind of movement?”
“If each table spends more than ten taels of silver, they’ll get a pot of Yulu wine worth one tael.”
Lin Dong frowned. This was essentially a disguised price cut. Just over half a month after putting up the sign, they were already cutting prices—was Maple Forest Restaurant being too hasty?
However, given Maple Forest Restaurant’s financial strength and ambition, this tactic could indeed be very effective. If other restaurants followed suit and cut prices, they would surely be at a disadvantage compared to Maple Forest Restaurant, leading to their own downfall. If they didn’t cut prices and had no countermeasures, they would also end up giving in to Maple Forest Restaurant. Once the wealthy clients flocked to Maple Forest Restaurant because of the lower prices and tasted success after a few visits, they would surely become regulars there.
Of course, this assumed Maple Forest Restaurant could handle the risk of facing resistance from a dozen or so major restaurants. In Autumn Wind City, Maple Forest Restaurant was already the undisputed number one restaurant. High-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy families almost always chose it for their banquets.
If other restaurants suddenly cut prices, it might just mean declaring war on a few nearby restaurants, but for Maple Forest Restaurant to do so was equivalent to declaring war on all major restaurants in Autumn Wind City. With its advantages, if it really decided to cut prices aggressively, combined with the sign, it could fully compensate for its geographical disadvantages and attract wealthy clients from across the city.
Major restaurants all had some form of influence. If Maple Forest Restaurant dared to do this, it must already have a plan to deal with it.
The more Lin Dong thought about it, the more he realized time was pressing. He glanced around the lobby and saw over a dozen carpenters busy painting the roof beams. After pondering for a moment, he decided, “Hire more carpenters. We need to open within half a month.”
“Boss, no matter how many more we hire, there’s no space…” Liu Hao said helplessly. “There’s nowhere to add more workers on the first and second floors, or in the lodging area.”
“Then work at night too!” Lin Dong said without hesitation. “Find more people and start working by light of torches.”
Liu Hao slapped his forehead in embarrassment. “How could I not think of such a simple solution?”
Over by the side, Ma Chun laughed and said, “That’s because you’re too busy to think of working at night. Let me take care of it at night then.”
Liu Hao looked at Lin Dong.

Ma Chun is busy delivering gifts and handling other matters during the day, so he surely won’t be able to take care of it at night. If they want to find someone, the best way is undoubtedly to send Shouzhu Gan and the others over through the delivery gate, so that the matter of the delivery gate can’t be hidden from Ma Chun.
Lin Dong hesitated for a moment but decided not to tell Ma Chun about the delivery gate for now. Although Ma Chun was diligent in his duties, he hadn’t been at the inn for long, and his loyalty wasn’t yet trustworthy enough. After some thought, Lin Dong said, “Let the carpenters handle it themselves at night! Tell them the payment will be doubled, but if they don’t meet our standards during the day, they’ll all be replaced. I believe there shouldn’t be any problems.”
The two nodded. It was a solution, though it would cost money.
“Also, buy up the nearby inns in advance!” Lin Dong continued. “Print ten thousand more flyers, and arrange for a troupe of acrobats to come as well.”
“Buy up the nearby inns in advance?” Liu Hao asked in confusion. “Boss, that will cost a lot of silver!”
“I know, but when the inn opens, its success must be known throughout the city.”
Lin Dong’s tone left no room for argument. If Lin’s Inn couldn’t make a deep impression on everyone in Qiufeng City, it wouldn’t stand a chance against Fenglin Restaurant once it dominated the city. By then, even if an information network emerged, it would be hard to turn things around. After all, besides government updates, Fenglin Restaurant also had access to information from various places thanks to its branches across the Han Kingdom. Without any established customers in inns before the information network appeared, there would be no foundation for competition.
“Okay, I’ll handle it later!” Liu Hao understood that Lin Dong’s decisions always had deep reasons, so he didn’t ask further and agreed immediately.
Lin Dong reminded him, “Remember, tell the inn owners to bring in a regular customer, and give them an extra hundred coins.”
Liu Hao nodded. According to the original plan, the number of guests in Qiufeng City was limited. To eliminate competitors and give them a chance, the inn would buy up those with declining business after operating for a while. Then, those inns could be demolished—those on main streets turned into shops, and those in remote areas into residential homes—sold at a favorable price, resulting in minimal losses.
Buying those inns now would naturally cost a lot, but since so much money was already being spent, an extra hundred coins per person wasn’t a problem.
“Finally…” Lin Dong said slowly, “Send someone to Qiufeng City and have Xiao Liu bring over one hundred and eighty people.”

“Bring a hundred or eighty people?” Liu Hao and Ma Chun were thrilled—was the boss planning to tear down all the restaurants in Qiufeng City at once?
“The more, the better! They must arrive two or three days before opening.” Lin Dong nodded. “Go handle it now—find people who can ride horses, one horse per person, and have them rush over at full speed.”
Liu Hao licked his lips excitedly. “Boss, should we ask Elder Huo to bring a few disciples too? If we encounter tough opponents, it would be good to have them help.”
“What tough opponents?” Lin Dong asked in confusion.
Liu Hao and the other man were also stunned. “Didn’t the boss ask Sixth Brother to bring people to smash all the restaurants in Qiufeng City?”
Lin Dong was both amused and exasperated. “What do all those restaurants matter? I told him to bring people to sweep through the entire city of Qiufeng.”
The two were baffled—sweep through the entire city? The boss’s ambition was truly extraordinary!
But a hundred or eighty people might not be enough!
Lin Dong was also stunned. So, these two really believed it?
“Alright, alright, go handle it! One of you is an employee of Lin’s Inn and the other is the manager—stop acting like gangsters fighting for territory. I asked Little Sixth to bring people to distribute flyers. If we hire people in Qiufeng City, we won’t have enough hands to cover everything.” After a long while, Lin Dong finally waved his hand reluctantly, allowing Wang Liuze to bring people over. He indeed wanted to sweep through the entire city—only to cover its walls with flyers.
Only his own people distributing flyers could ensure that Lin’s Inn’s flyers were everywhere in Qiufeng City, covering every wall.
Hearing this, Liu Hao nodded eagerly and left sheepishly.
Ma Chun, on the other hand, was amused. He was the manager of Lin’s Inn—after all, not only Brother Hao but also Brother Sixth were under his command. Just thinking about giving orders to those once-revered elder brothers as a manager was equally satisfying.
Of course, this was just a thought.
“Alright, I’m going back to my room to practice. Call me at Windward Tower in the evening.”
Seeing Ma Chun’s beaming face, Lin Dong couldn’t figure out what he was so happy about and didn’t bother to pay attention. He patted his shoulder and headed straight to the back yard.