Chapter 221: A Dull Night

The popularity of Vital Beef Balls and Vital Balls was both expected and beyond Lin Dong’s imagination. On the first day, thanks to the huge advantage of free service, the number of tables in the second floor of Lin’s Inn reached over 300, far exceeding the inn’s previous record. Yet there were only 25 tables on that floor. That day, the amazing features of Vital Beef Balls spread throughout the northern part of the city and further into the entire Qiufeng City.

On the second day, Lin Dong had to ask Ma Chun to add 10 more tables in the private rooms on the third floor. As Vital Beef Balls became popular citywide, and with many students going home for holidays, Vital Balls also became popular. People finally understood the purpose of those rectangular tables sold on the streets. In just one day, although Vital Balls had not yet been introduced and only a few regular customers of Lin’s Inn could get one or two, more than 50 Vital Ball tables and rackets were sold across the city.

By the third day, thanks to the combination of free service and Vital Beef Balls, the private rooms on the third floor of Lin’s Inn had to be dismantled temporarily, and 15 more tables were added to ease the overwhelming crowd. Over a hundred Vital Ball tables and rackets were sold in a single day.

On the fourth day, the free service ended, and the crowd dropped significantly, from over 500 tables the previous day to around 200. Still, this number was higher than Lin Dong’s expectations. In his view, given the appeal of Vital Beef Balls and Vital Balls, unless Fenglin Restaurant and other major restaurants took drastic action, and considering the obstacles from guilds and trade associations, the number of tables on the second floor should be around 150 per day. As the novelty of these products faded, it would gradually drop to around 100 tables.

Lin Dong was already satisfied with 100 tables. But under these circumstances, if Fenglin Restaurant and other major restaurants didn’t do anything else, the number would likely stay above 150.

That day was also a time when Vital Ball tables and rackets were in short supply, leaving the owners of carpentry shops disappointed. When Lin’s Inn approached them, the agreement was to supply 20 sets per day at 500 coins each. Calculating the profit, they could make about 100 coins per set, totaling 2 taels of silver for 20 sets.

Two taels of silver per day—such profits were a rare high-return opportunity for a carpentry shop in a year. To their regret, as evening fell, customers kept coming to the shop to order complete sets of vitality ball tables, with some even paying three taels per set. The carpentry shop could produce only about twenty sets a day, and their contract with Lin’s Inn lasted a full month; the price difference was enough to make even the most contented person despair.

In Autumn Wind City, countless courtyards saw the appearance of a vitality ball table overnight, and undoubtedly, Lin’s Inn reaped the greatest benefits. These tables would bring steady profits to the inn in the future.

In the backyard of Wind-Facing Building in the evening, Ying Chunhua was fuming with anger. That Lin’s Inn was simply too unreasonable. Maple Forest Restaurant, relying on information from the guild, hadn’t just stolen business from Lin’s Inn alone. Everyone else had suffered heavy losses, yet who dared to stand up and confront Maple Forest Restaurant? Lowering prices was a taboo at this stage, let alone offering them for free. If Maple Forest Restaurant were to slash prices drastically in retaliation, how could other restaurants survive? Other than closing down, they might as well cut prices desperately just to stay afloat.

If one restaurant lowered its prices, ten or a hundred others would have to follow—changing one thing affected the whole. How could this manager, Lin, not understand that?

“A fool! What an idiot! I don’t know how he managed to start Lin’s Inn at all.”

Furious, Ying Chunhua pounded the table in front of her. The pain from her fists was momentarily overshadowed by her rage.

Beside her, the staff members waiting for her decision dared not speak. Since she was so angry as to hit the table, knowing her temperament, anyone who dared to speak up at this moment, right or wrong, would surely get a slap first.

“Has there been any movement from Maple Forest Restaurant?” Ying Chunhua suddenly turned to ask the staff member.

The staff member was startled and quickly shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“Not yet…”

Ying Chunhua smiled bitterly. Lin’s Inn had dared to challenge Maple Forest Restaurant, so how could they not respond? Likely, they were thinking the same as her—wait and see how Lin’s Inn’s business would fare after offering things for free.

“I don’t know what kind of bad luck Lin’s Inn has that they managed to come up with vitality balls and vitality beef balls!”

Yingchunhua was filled with jealousy and resentment. The business ended for free, yet there were still over two hundred tables of customers the next day, which clearly showed that Linji Inn had successfully won back the favor of the wealthy patrons using the Vitality Balls and Vitality Beef Balls. Moreover, once the initial hype faded, the number of wealthy customers likely wouldn’t drop significantly—probably not much less than during Linji Inn’s best times before. This meant Linji Inn had successfully dealt a blow to Fenglin Restaurant.

Since Fenglin Restaurant had been hit, it surely wouldn’t give up easily and would definitely try its best to retaliate. Fenglin Restaurant’s retaliation would be severe—no major restaurant would escape its impact. Linji Inn’s foolish move had caused serious harm; not only did it have to face Fenglin Restaurant’s retaliation, but all major restaurants were also affected.

Now that this had happened, what should they do next?

Yingchunhua was extremely worried. Originally, according to her plan, business would just be mediocre. Once the matters related to the guild were settled, she could have Yingying perform some sexy dances and bring in a few beautiful girls to liven things up, which should have gradually improved things. Who would have thought Linji Inn would pull such a stunt?

If they didn’t respond, the number of tables on the second floor had already dropped to just a dozen per day—maybe it would be better to close it temporarily. But even if Linji Inn’s hype faded and the guild matters were resolved, without any foundation, when could they bring customers back to their previous level? After all, the other major restaurants also had many tactics and would surely try their best to attract customers.

But if they did respond, would they really follow Linji Inn’s example by offering three days of free service, along with Yingying’s sexy dances and beautiful girls? That might attract customers for a while, but it would only make things worse. Those well-established major restaurants would likely follow suit. Unless they continued to offer free services indefinitely, it wouldn’t help at all.

It was a dilemma—neither option seemed good, yet one had to be chosen.

“What should I do? What on earth should I do?”

Yingchunhua wished she could pull out all her hair—maybe that would relieve her headache.

The staff members were timid and dared not speak up.

“Wait, wait a bit longer!”

Suddenly, Yingchunhua turned to the staff and ordered, “Go! Send two of you to keep an eye on Fenglin Restaurant overnight. Report to me immediately if anything happens.”

The staff members nodded hurriedly and rushed out as if relieved.

“We can only wait and see what Fenglin Restaurant does next.”

Yingchun Hall gritted its teeth in frustration. Anyway, the second floor absolutely could not be given up. If the second floor really had to suspend operations, it would cost ten times or even a hundred times more effort to bring back the regular customers who had already turned to others in the future. Similarly, offering discounts or free services recklessly was extremely dangerous. If they really had to fight back, they would have to wait until Maple Forest Restaurant started cutting prices before taking action; every day Maple Forest Restaurant delayed its price cuts gave Yingfeng Hall an extra day to breathe.

At South City’s Taifeng Restaurant, Liang Zhonghe looked troubled as he watched the flickering candlelight on the counter. When he learned that Lin’s Inn still had strong business on the fourth day after offering three days of free service, he panicked. After the panic subsided, all that remained was struggle. Compared to Yingfeng Hall, Taifeng Restaurant was clearly much weaker. Liang Zhonghe had no other businesses, and Taifeng Restaurant had only been open for five or six years. Although it had made quite a bit of money over those years, it wasn’t enough to be spent recklessly. As soon as Maple Forest Restaurant began gradually cutting prices, Liang Zhonghe had thought about closing down and changing careers—there was no other choice; he couldn’t afford to continue. He had delayed until now mainly because, though Taifeng Restaurant’s business was declining, it still made a profit of around 1,800 taels per month. Changing careers might not yield better results, and by continuing with this level of profit, there might still be hope for improvement.

When the matter of the guild and merchants was resolved as expected, the restaurant’s business recovered slightly, not only avoiding losses but even gaining an additional business. If the guild and merchants’ issue had dragged on, changing careers earlier would have provided more options—first liquidate Taifeng Restaurant, keep the chef idle for three to five months, and then find a way to reopen later. As soon as Lin’s Inn announced three days of free service, Liang Zhonghe realized that closing down was imminent. With Lin’s Inn causing such a stir, and based on Liang Zhonghe’s experience, the entire Qiufeng City would be in chaos. Once Maple Forest Restaurant joined in, it would be a full-blown scramble. Anyone trying to retain even a small portion of customers under the dual pressure of Maple Forest Restaurant’s price cuts and the merchants’ decisions would be delusional if they didn’t put in serious effort. But Liang Zhonghe definitely wouldn’t risk such heavy investment—he couldn’t afford the loss. He would rather reopen the restaurant later and find ways to attract customers gradually.

Of course, Liang Zhonghe wasn’t stupid enough to post a notice to close down immediately. Experience told him that since Lin’s Inn had been closed for free for a day, not only had the other restaurants shown no reaction, but even Fenglin Restaurant had remained silent—there was still no final decision on this matter. It would be fine to close down once Fenglin Restaurant took action. If they closed now and suddenly an agreement was reached by the guild, Lin’s Inn might inexplicably cancel that “vitality ball” thing as well. Trying to reopen and bring back the dismissed staff would take time, and they would lose face in the process. Finally, Liang Zhonghe raised his gaze from the candlelight and turned to the employee standing nearby waiting for orders: “Take an employee with you and stay outside Fenglin Restaurant all night. Stay there for a day if there’s no announcement, and two days if there’s still no announcement.” The employee obeyed and left, taking two bedsheets and another employee, and rushed to Fenglin Restaurant under the moonlight. When they arrived, they found that on both sides of the street, which should have been empty, employees from various restaurants had already arrived first. All night long, whether they planned to hold on like Yingfeng Tower or close down like Taifeng Restaurant, everyone kept their eyes fixed on Fenglin Restaurant.