Chapter 139: Seeking Help

“Shopkeeper Lin…”
After Lin Dong and Cheng Wencai finished their polite exchanges, the young maid stepped forward a few steps and called out softly.
“It’s been months—Xiao Qin has become even more delicate.” Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh. He understood why the maid was polite to him.
The maid was petite, but her temperament was almost identical to Li Yunfeng’s. Li Yunfeng was polite to him out of comfort, while the maid’s politeness was partly due to Li Yunfeng—and more importantly, because of Liu Xiu.
Unfortunately, Liu Xiu had already left the inn. This time, the maid would likely be disappointed.
Although Xiao Qin had a fierce temper, hearing praise for her delicacy made her face turn red, and she lowered her head so much it almost touched her chest.
After exchanging a few more polite words with Li Yunfeng, Lin Dong was led into the Cheng family’s residence.
As an official in the Ministry of Revenue, Cheng Wencai was a prominent figure in Autumn Wind City, so his mansion was naturally large. As they walked through, they arrived in the main hall, where tea was served. Before Lin Dong could speak, Li Yunfeng eagerly asked, “Shopkeeper Lin, Xiao Qin overheard the maids chatting today. They said Lin’s Inn plans to open a branch in Autumn Wind City. Is that true?”
Lin Dong smiled and said, “It will open in three days. That’s why I’ve come here specifically to ask for your help, madam.”
“Help?” Li Yunfeng couldn’t understand at first.
Lin Dong nodded. “Lin’s Inn is new here, and our business isn’t doing well. That’s only because of my poor management. But if we succeed and competitors become jealous, trying to sabotage us secretly, I might even consider hanging myself. I’ve invested a lot of money—everything I have from Xilan City is gone into this.”
Li Yunfeng suddenly understood. Without hesitation, she glared at Cheng Wencai and said, “Use your connections these next few days to contact everyone related to Lin’s Inn. Come with me to congratulate them on the 29th as well.”
If Lin’s Inn opened and brought those magic-powered tables from Xilan City as well, it would be excellent news for Cheng Wencai. He naturally wanted Lin’s Inn to thrive. Hearing this, Cheng Wencai had no reason to refuse, though he showed slight hesitation, pretending to be dissatisfied as if he hadn’t received any payment. Only when Li Yunfeng was about to lose patience did he reluctantly nod.
Lin Dong stood up, bowed to Li Yunfeng and Cheng Wencai, and said, “Thank you, madam, and Lord Cheng.”
“Shopkeeper Lin, you’re too kind,” Li Yunfeng replied. After hesitating for a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “Shopkeeper Lin, those magic-powered tables from Xilan City…”

Lin Dong said directly, “Madam can go and give it a try tomorrow. However, the inn’s head chef won’t arrive for another day or two, so the food and drinks might not be up to par.”
“Really?”
Li Yunfeng was overjoyed and about to stand up when a gasp came from beside her. Cheng Wencai stood up first, clearly excited for some reason.
Looking at Cheng Wencai, Li Yunfeng and Xiao Qin were confused and couldn’t quite understand the situation. After a brief thought, Lin Dong quickly understood why Cheng Wencai was so agitated. He nodded at Li Yunfeng and asked, “Has Madam been experiencing heart palpitations frequently lately?”
Li Yunfeng nodded blankly.
“No wonder Lord Cheng is so excited upon hearing this,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
Cheng Wencai realized that if his wife found out why he was so excited, she might get angry enough to keep him bedridden for months. Suppressing his gratitude toward Lin Dong, he said with a sigh, “Shopkeeper Lin doesn’t know, but since coming to Qiufeng City, Madam’s heart palpitations have gotten worse month by month. Sometimes, I even think about moving back to Xilan City.”
Li Yunfeng and Xiao Qin looked at Cheng Wencai in surprise. His fair face showed genuine sincerity.
To be honest, Cheng Wencai had indeed thought about moving back to Xilan City, but after much struggle, wealth and treasures still proved more appealing than those nightmare-like nights.
“Lord Cheng and Madam, don’t worry. A few months ago, that sage traveled through the land and passed by Xilan City again. After much pleading, I convinced him to set up more spirit arrays for me. That’s why I planned to open a larger inn in Qiufeng City. Two days ago, that sage arrived as promised, and the spirit arrays have been set up. Unfortunately…” Lin Dong said helplessly, “I asked him to come to Cheng’s residence, but he refuses to place the spirit arrays anywhere other than the inn…”
“It doesn’t matter! I can just stay at Lin’s Inn,” Li Yunfeng said, waving her hands. It would take over two hours to travel from Cheng’s residence to the north of the city by carriage. It was impossible to go back and forth like in Xilan City, but staying at Lin’s Inn from time to time wouldn’t hurt. As long as there was a dining table that made one feel comfortable, whether Lin Dong’s words were true or not didn’t matter to her.
Cheng Wencai, on the other hand, felt dizzy, thinking that happiness had come too suddenly. If his wife frequented the inn and even stayed there, most men would likely be displeased. After all, no matter how unattractive one’s wife was, she was still one’s own wife—who knew if she might be seduced by some other man?

In Cheng Wencai’s eyes, enduring less suffering at night—even if it meant seeing Li Yunfeng fewer times, not to mention bearing extra wives—was worth it as long as it didn’t require spending money; even sacrificing his life would be worthwhile. Of course, he couldn’t show his true thoughts on his face. With a look of sorrow, under Li Yunfeng’s pressure, he ultimately nodded in agreement.

Coming to the Cheng family’s residence, Lin Dong’s goals were certainly not limited to this. Holding a sixth-rank official position and being considered a prominent figure in Qiufeng City wasn’t enough to make everyone fear him. If that were all, given his familiarity with Li Yunfeng and Lin’s Inn, sending Ma Chun on a trip would have been sufficient.

Only after Li Yunfeng calmed down did Lin Dong speak up, “I’m here this time with another request, madam.”

Li Yunfeng, in high spirits, smiled and said, “Just tell me, Manager Lin. If I can do it, I’ll definitely help.”

Lin Dong asked, “I was wondering if you could introduce me to Lord Li?”

“Manager Lin wants to meet my father?” Both Li Yunfeng and Cheng Wencai looked surprised, thinking it was unnecessary. It was just an inn; unless one aimed to reach the level of Fenglin Restaurant, it was enough to connect with the local officials in charge of taxes, without needing to approach the deputy magistrate, who was second only to the prefect.

Moreover, the deputy magistrate in Qiufeng Mansion already seemed to have surpassed the prefect in influence. Maintaining relationships required money. Since Cheng Wencai had become an official in charge of household affairs at the sixth rank, his vision was far beyond that of a county magistrate. Amounts below a thousand taels of silver no longer held much interest for him.

How many thousand taels of silver could an inn afford in a year? It could be said that unless there was a personal connection, it wasn’t worth trying to build relationships with such an official.

Those who would approach an official at this level were mostly large landowners from various parts of Qiufeng Mansion and influential merchants in industries like salt and gambling, who faced heavy tax burdens. As for deputy magistrates and prefects, spending tens of thousands of taels of silver a year made sense only if there were greater returns to be gained. Only lower-ranking officials or giants like Fenglin Restaurant would consider it worthwhile to seek further advancement or maintain their status. For those slightly less important, it wasn’t worth it unless they wanted to completely crush their competitors.

Seeing their reactions, Lin Dong understood why they were so surprised. He didn’t explain further but simply nodded, “I hope madam can agree.”

Li Yunfeng hesitated for a moment before saying, “It’s too late today. How about tomorrow?”

“Okay!” Lin Dong asked, “I was wondering what Lord Li’s hobbies are?”

“My father came from the military. If there’s anything he’s interested in, it’s collecting armor and weapons. But these days, there are few such items that can still capture his interest.” Li Yunfeng initially wanted to take on this task, but thinking of the attitudes of those sisters-in-law and nieces, and considering that Manager Lin seemed to have more than just the safety of Linji Inn at heart, she didn’t dare to be too confident.

Armor and weapons? Lin Dong was somewhat amused. The Gu Huan Sect was a sect specializing in artifact refinement. Asking Xiao Tianchi for one or two third-tier spiritual artifacts would surely impress Li Jiancheng.

Just as he was about to speak, Li Yunfeng hesitated for a while before gritting her teeth and saying, “Manager Lin just needs to buy some ordinary gifts. For the rest, I can try to intercede, but I can’t guarantee success.”

“Then thank you, madam.”

Lin Dong didn’t notice Li Yunfeng’s expression and immediately stood up to express his gratitude.

Although either silver or spiritual artifacts could eventually be obtained from Li Jiancheng, avoiding this trouble would certainly be better.