Chapter 175: The Second Launch of the VIP Card

With the storage function already solved, all that remained was mass production.
Regarding safety, Lin Dong had consulted Xiao Tianchi about a material to replace ox sinew. The sinew of a second-tier Lingyun Beast was entirely fiery red, roughly the thickness of a thin rope, and, due to its low cost, offered greater toughness than ox sinew. It was the ideal choice both in terms of appearance and safety.
Next was linking the VIP card to official channels—a matter Lin Dong had already discussed with Li Jiancheng, and there were no issues at all.
Finally, there was the appeal of the VIP card. Besides its storage function and discounts, Lin Dong wanted to turn it into a symbol of status.
Originally, he planned to have Peng Qiao develop a unique luxury item made of spirit stones as a gift for VIP cards, which would greatly enhance their appeal. Unfortunately, time was running short—the inn’s experience level had reached 456%, the chaos at KeLai Restaurant and YingFeng Building had gradually subsided, and FengLin Restaurant was putting pressure on them. The sooner the VIP card was launched, the better for the inn.
Plus, Peng Qiao had been busy for a month and deserved a break. The spirit stone luxury item could only be prepared after the VIP card was launched.
After forcing out ten thousand taels of silver and seeing off Xu Chunfen, Lin Dong carefully organized his plans in his mind. He immediately got up to invite Xiao Tianchi to discuss mass production of the VIP cards. Then, he rushed to call Ma Chun to start recruiting people.
Three days later, in the early morning, a flat wagon pulled by four strong horses slowly left the backyard. Once on the street, Lin Dong gave a signal, and two strong men carried a two-meter-tall iron frame onto the wagon.
Beside them, Jiang Zhen and Xiao Munan, two outstanding disciples of the GuHuan Sect, each held a metal plate about five meters long and three meters high. They slowly placed it on the iron frame before getting onto the wagon and holding the plate in place.
Soon after, Jiang Kui jumped onto the wagon as well.
On the metal plate, the four characters “Lin’s Inn” were elegantly displayed. Below them was a golden dragon coiling as if ready to take flight, striking a powerful impression.
Looking at this metal plate, which magnified the VIP card hundreds of times, Lin Dong felt filled with enthusiasm. Beside him, SanJiaoYan and Liu Hao, who had returned over a dozen days ago, also saw their subordinates gradually gathering and were brimming with confidence.
Only Ma Chun, looking at the metal plate and the promotional materials in the hands of nearly a hundred strong men, felt an indescribable pain.
In total, including the payment to Peng Qiao and the bribe for Li Jiancheng, over twenty thousand taels of silver had already been spent on the VIP card. Moreover, the cost of a single copper VIP card had risen to eight or nine qian in silver.

In Ma Chun’s view, this silver could easily be saved. He believed that the improved storage function of the VIP card did have some appeal to wealthy clients, but he still held firm to his own idea: as long as the staff remembered the regulars of the inn and used all that silver to offer them discounts, the results would be just as good, if not better, than the VIP card. The VIP card was completely unnecessary. The large metal plaque and orderly formation quickly attracted many onlookers, who were clearly puzzled by Lin Ji Inn’s new move. When Liu Hao led a fine horse over, Lin Dong mounted it, pulled the reins sharply, and waved his hand as the horse neighed. The carriage moved slowly forward, and at Lin Dong’s signal, Jiang Kui cleared his throat and suddenly shouted, “Lin Ji Inn’s VIP card will be officially launched in five days. It is noble and priceless, with no other branches anywhere else. Owning Lin Ji Inn’s VIP card is like possessing a storage ring that even warriors would envy—one that can be used without days of hard training. It’s like having various discounts that no amount of silver can provide. It’s like having a pendant that surpasses even the rarest jade pendants. In the future, the inn will also offer various mysterious gifts to its VIP card holders, with more discounts to be added gradually. Don’t miss this chance—once it’s gone, it won’t return…” His loud voice repeated over and over, spreading like thunder, stirring people’s emotions and causing countless passersby to stop and watch… Nearly a hundred strong men, under the command of Sanjiaoyan and Liu Hao, rushed out like a gust of autumn wind, flooding into the crowd and distributing flyers to everyone they encountered. The content on the flyers was identical to Jiang Kui’s shouts, only more detailed. Similar to the promotional strategy used during the opening, the carriage moved slowly, gradually covering more streets. By the end of the day, the entire north part of the city was filled with VIP card flyers. In less than two days, the VIP card became well-known throughout Qiufeng City. Unnoticed, customers began asking various antique shops in Qiufeng City if they could make VIP cards similar to Lin Ji Inn’s. And suddenly, many stalls appeared on the streets. These stalls had only a table and a cloth sign: “Accept Lin Ji Inn VIP cards! Five silver coins per card—we’ll take as many as you have.”

The already well-known VIP cards became even more sensational. As the acquisition price rose to six qian, seven qian, eight qian… and after various antique shops, after observing for two days, also joined the bidding, the hype around the VIP cards reached its peak. Prices soared as these shops calculated the value of the storage function alone, which could be used without any spiritual power.

On the fifth day of the promotional campaign, just as dawn broke, Lin Dong sat down at the counter in the lobby, while two employees lowered the door panels one by one. There was no crowd as there had been when the inn first opened; outside, it was completely empty. Inside the counter area, Lin Dong wasn’t disappointed either. On the opening day, the target customers were ordinary commoners, but this time, they were wealthy families. Although the value of a VIP card had already soared to over three taels of silver and was still rising, one needed to spend ten taels of silver at Lin’s Inn to obtain one. In other words, one would still lose six or seven taels of silver.

As for those wealthy families who truly needed to hold banquets, three or four taels of silver was far less attractive than the VIP card itself. But it was still early in the morning, and it was far from time for banquets. No matter how attractive the VIP cards were, it wasn’t enough to make them rush here in the middle of the night, disregarding their dignity. After all, if they came early, they could get a VIP card; if they came later or in a few days, spending ten taels of silver would still get them one. The difference was merely that one could see the VIP card sooner than the other. Wealthy families certainly had the patience for such control.

After waiting at the counter for about half an hour, more customers gradually filled the first floor of the lobby. Lin Dong was flipping through the ledger at the counter when a shadow moved beside him. Looking up, he saw Ma Chun, who had been greeting customers behind him, stepping forward. Looking at the entrance, a middle-aged man with only a few strands of hair on his head entered first, followed by several well-dressed men.

“Boss Niu, why did you come so early?”
Niu Jinshui rubbed his bald head and smiled. “It’s because your inn’s VIP cards piqued my interest. By chance, some friends came by, and as we chatted, they became interested in your VIP cards too. So we skipped the pleasure houses this morning and came straight here.”
“Please come in, please come in!” Ma Chun hurriedly invited them in.
“By the way, Manager Ma…” Niu Jinshui took out the VIP card he had previously obtained from his clothes and asked, “Has your inn’s VIP card design changed? Can I get a new one?”

“This…” Ma Chun couldn’t help but look toward the counter. When the VIP cards were first introduced, a minimum spending of ten taels of silver was set, but in reality, out of the four cards given away, none of the tables reached that amount. This time, to prevent someone from selling the VIP cards, Lin Dong stipulated that a minimum of ten taels of silver must be spent before a card could be issued.

It was then that Niu Jinshui noticed Lin Dong and exclaimed in surprise, “So Manager Lin is here too!”

“Boss Niu, it’s been a while since we last met,” Lin Dong said with a smile, standing up and bowing slightly. He glanced at the VIP card in Niu Jinshui’s hand and added, “No matter how it changes, it’s still a VIP card from Lin’s Inn, so of course we need to replace it for Boss Niu. Ma Chun, go and replace it for Boss Niu first.”

“Sure!” Ma Chun nodded quickly, took the VIP card from Niu Jinshui, and hurried back to the counter to get a new copper card.

After checking the new card handed over by Ma Chun and looking at the number on the back, Niu Jinshui grinned. “I never expected that I’d be the first to get a VIP card twice.”

“That shows Boss Niu is destined to be our Lin’s Inn’s number one VIP,” Ma Chun said with a laugh.

“Well said!” Niu Jinshui laughed heartily.

“Boss Niu, gentlemen, please come inside.” Taking advantage of Niu Jinshui’s good mood, Ma Chun promptly guided them upstairs.

Lin Dong sat back down at the counter. After that, more wealthy customers gradually arrived. Both upstairs and downstairs, Ma Chun and his staff became busy.

As time passed, the stack of VIP cards at the counter gradually decreased in height as cards were given away one by one.

Ma Chun forced a smile for five days in a row, but it eventually faded, replaced by genuine joy and deep admiration for Lin Dong.

In just the morning, twenty-six VIP cards were given away. Excluding the one replaced by Niu Jinshui, that meant there were 25 tables of customers who spent over ten taels of silver alone in the morning. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to find even one or two such generous customers.

Generally, real wealthy customers tended to go to Fenglin Restaurant. It would take two or three days before someone used the private rooms on the third floor of Lin’s Inn.

Once convinced that the VIP cards were as attractive as expected, Lin Dong planned to head back to the backyard. At the stairway, Ma Chun sawed Niu Jinshui and the others off to the second floor.

Behind Niu Jinshui, a burly man in his forties, rubbing his round belly and burping, said, “Boss Niu, we agreed—I’ll treat you to lunch.”

“I’ll cover dinner,” said a tall, thin man with a laugh.

“Gentlemen, be careful on the stairs…”

Hearing this, Ma Chun beamed with joy. Even after seeing them go, his wide smile was still big enough to fit an egg inside.

“Owner, you’re truly wise. I never expected that this VIP card could make those who usually order just three or five taels of silver worth of food and drinks order ten taels at once. Moreover, Boss Niu and many other owners who need to deal with merchants from other places have asked if they can buy VIP cards at a high price. I think…”
Lin Dong shook his head: “Absolutely not for sale.”
Ma Chun hesitated, “Anyway, our cost is less than one tael of silver per card. They’re willing to pay five taels each, and it’s for friends from other places. Calculated this way, the profit isn’t lower than that of a table worth ten taels of silver in food and drinks…”
Lin Dong still shook his head. Although doing this could earn more silver, it would also reduce the value of the VIP cards, going against the original intention of introducing them. More importantly, in the long run, the benefits would even decrease.
According to Lin Dong’s idea, the VIP cards should be kept within the affordability of all tables on the second floor of the inn. Every wealthy customer should carry one VIP card. If there are too many, they’ll lose their value.
The real purpose of VIP cards is to attract regular customers and gradually make them interested in the accumulating cost of food and drinks—that’s the proper approach.