Chapter 250: The Stone Hanging in the Air

At the end of the street, Liu Hua peered out from the cart parked at the entrance of the alley, looking anxiously down the main road.
Finally, Lin Dong’s figure appeared among the crowd. Liu Hua felt relieved, but upon closer inspection, he grew uneasy—Liu An wasn’t behind him.
Worried that Liu An might have refused to join Lin’s Inn and returned to Bai Li Silk Shop instead, a figure rushing out from afar finally calmed his restless mood.
When Lin Dong reached the cart, Liu An caught up, panting and calling out, “Owner!”
Lin Dong nodded and smiled. “Back to the inn. Later, Ma Chun will arrange a place for you to stay. Starting today, you’re part of Lin’s Inn. Work hard—if you prove your ability, you won’t be treated poorly here.”
Liu An nodded firmly. After Lin Dong entered the carriage, he jumped onto the pole and drove out of the alley with Liu Hua.
“How did it go?” Liu Hua asked quietly as he waved the whip.
“It’s all my fault,” Liu An replied softly, explaining what had happened.
Ding: Congratulations! You’ve completed the upgrade task “Loyalty: 90.” Your inn has been upgraded to Level 6.
Ding: Congratulations! Your inn is now Level 6. A new attribute—Breeding Slot—has been added.
The successive system notifications made Lin Dong’s half-closed eyes snap open.
The inn system had been upgraded!
Undoubtedly, Liu Hua already knew what had happened, becoming the last employee to reach a loyalty level of 90.
Lin Dong quickly opened the inn system to check its attributes.
Lin’s Inn: Level 6, 0%
Daily Revenue: 325 taels and 647 wen
Spirit Stones: 1521/3200
Defense: 1521/3200
Rooms: 60/70
Dining Tables: 35/35
Employees: 19
Cooks: 4
Stables: 0/20
Kitchens: 4/5
Branches: 1
Gardens: 5/10
Breeding Slot: 0/10
Lin Dong let out a long sigh. Step by step, the inn system had reached another milestone.
Without checking the details, he knew that both the breeding slot and the gardens had growth-acceleration and mimicry functions, requiring the same amount of spirit stones for the same effects.
With this breeding slot, as long as they could find young high-tier spirit beasts—and with Gu Huanzong’s breeding grounds—there would be no shortage of high-tier spirit beast meat for the inn to sell, even as it expanded to the county town or even the capital.
In terms of ingredients, the inn was fully prepared—what was lacking was time for everything to grow.

When the inn reaches level six, the biggest benefit is that the cultivation bonus multiplier increases to 6 times, which means the cultivation speed can be accelerated by about one-fifth. Although the daily consumption of spirit stones also rises to sixteen, it’s not a significant burden for Lin Dong if only a few people need to cultivate.

Secondly, the capacity of spirit stones doubles, reaching 3,200 points. This means that as long as there are enough spirit stones, the maximum growth rate of the Blue Green Trees and Red Blossom Trees planted in the small garden increases from 1,600 times to 3,200 times, marking a huge leap forward.

Coupled with enhanced various attributes and an increase in their quantity, under normal circumstances, an inn upgrade would have made Lin Dong overjoyed. But this time, the moment the system prompt appeared, a heavy burden that had always weighed on his heart reappeared.

This burden was so heavy that it made it difficult for Lin Dong to breathe and even overshadowed much of the joy brought by the inn upgrade. This burden was the Maple Forest Tavern.

As the inn reaches level six, the capacity of guest rooms and the number of dining tables also increase. With the business of Lin Ji Inn in Xilan City, it’s entirely possible to keep all 35 dining tables occupied at all times.plus the rule that guests can get thyme as a reward after half an hour, it’s not hard to earn the full amount every day.

The only limitation lies in the guest rooms. Lin Ji Inn in Xilan City has only two floors and a total of 60 guest rooms. Even if there were enough guest rooms, given the flow of merchants in Xilan City—although Fu Chunjian and Zhou Zhengye’s various policies have already begun to yield results and attracted many merchants—it would still be impossible to meet the demand of 70 guest rooms in the short term.

It can be said that moving the main branch to Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City is an inevitable choice. Qiufeng City is larger and has a larger population; both the number of diners and merchants far exceed those in Xilan City. With the current occupancy rate of Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City already exceeding 60 rooms per day, it’s not difficult to reach 70 rooms with extra effort.

Similarly, to earn the full amount of experience points every day, Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City also faces challenges—namely, the number of diners!

Some time ago, Lin Dong tried to move the main branch to Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City, but the additional experience points earned were even lower than those from Lin Ji Inn in Xilan City. The reason is that unprofitable businesses cannot generate experience points.

Although Lin Ji Inn in Xilan City also suffered from the pressure from Fenglin Restaurant, by dominating the market there for nearly a year and offering discounts of 20-30% on dishes thanks to the Vitality Beef Balls, it was able to counter Fenglin Restaurant’s half-price meals and drinks. With the crucial news from the guild arriving, it could still maintain a steady stream of regular customers even at half price.

The profit margin on meals and drinks at Lin Ji Inn wasn’t the highest among large restaurants, but it wasn’t low either. Even without the almost cost-free additions of Vitality Beef Balls and seating fees, it could still remain profitable at half price.

However, Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City was different—copper cards got a 70% discount, and silver cards a 60% discount! With such discounts, even dishes like Turtle Stewed with Maple Leaves could barely break even, let alone other rare ingredients and magical beasts. Even with Vitality Beef Balls and seating fees, it was still in the red.

Lin Dong calculated that to barely break even, the discounts would need to be reduced to 40% for copper cards and 30% for silver cards. But raising prices would lead to a sharp drop in customer numbers. At the current prices, it could only serve around eighty tables a day, plus another two to three hundred tables on the first floor, still falling short of the target of thirty-five tables per day. If prices were raised to break-even levels, there might not even be fifty tables on the second floor daily.

In short, whether in Xilan City or Qiufeng City, it was extremely difficult for Lin Ji Inn to achieve the full daily experience points target. Both difficulties stemmed from Fenglin Restaurant’s pressure.

Without the news from the guild and without Fenglin Restaurant taking advantage to suppress them, Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City could fully meet the needs of its guests and customers as a level-6 inn. Unfortunately, the damned guild news wouldn’t end anytime soon, and Fenglin Restaurant’s pressure seemed endless, as if it wouldn’t stop until most of the large restaurants were crushed.

Puzzled and growing impatient, Lin Dong felt as though a flame was burning in his mind, making him desperate to vent. Suddenly, the carriage jolted and came to a stop. “Owner, we’ve arrived at the inn,” Liu Hua’s voice came from outside.

Lin Dong took several deep breaths, releasing some of his gloomy mood as he exhaled heavily. Pulling back the carriage curtain and stepping down, he entered the crowded lobby first. Glancing at the counter and seeing that Ma Chun wasn’t there, he waited for Liu Hua and Liu An to follow in before turning to Liu An. “Are you sure you want to join our Lin Ji Inn?”

Liu An nodded firmly. “Don’t worry, owner. Although I don’t know how to work as a waiter, I can learn. I promise I’ll be no worse than any other waiter within a month.”

Lin Dong patted Liu An’s shoulder and instructed Liu Hua nearby, “Take Liu An to meet Ma Chun. Have him arrange a place for Liu An to stay when he has time. For now… Liu An can follow you and learn the rules of the inn. Once he understands more, then have Ma Chun handle things.”
Liu Hua nodded eagerly and happily took Liu An upstairs to see Ma Chun.
After watching the two go upstairs, Lin Dong opened the inn’s system and checked Liu An’s attributes. His previously gloomy expression finally showed a hint of a smile.
All of his initial attributes were above 85, and on average, they were even slightly higher than Liu Xiu’s, who had already left the inn.
After Ma Chun, the inn finally had its second top-notch employee.
Glancing at the first floor, which was packed with people and filled with invitations to drink and eat, Lin Dong’s mood, which had just improved, sank a bit again. If the second floor could be as busy without incurring losses, that would be great!
With a helpless sigh, Lin Dong decided not to overthink it. He would think about it calmly later; maybe an idea would strike.
Just as he was about to head to the back yard, Ma Chun came down with Liu An.
Seeing Lin Dong still there, Ma Chun asked with a smile, “Owner, Liu Hua is in charge of a few tables on the second floor, and there aren’t many customers. What do you think—should I have him help me out first?”
“That’s a good idea. Do as you say. Have Liu An follow you first.”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but praise Ma Chun’s idea. Firstly, Ma Chun was constantly busy and indeed needed an assistant. Secondly, Ma Chun dealt with many customers, and any emergencies would fall on him to handle. Having Liu An follow him would allow him to learn how to deal with various emergencies.
Lin Dong’s original intention was to train Liu An as Ma Chun’s partner, specifically responsible for handling emergencies at different branches. Learning how to be an employee from Liu Hua was far less useful than learning how to be a manager from Ma Chun.
Seeing Lin Dong’s approval, Ma Chun was convinced of his guess. The owner had suddenly wanted to talk to Liu Hua for no reason, and now he had brought Liu Hua’s brother into the inn—undoubtedly because he had seen Liu An before and recognized his abilities.
“Alright, I’m free anyway. I’ll take him around the place first,” Ma Chun said with a smile as he went downstairs.
“I also plan to head to the back yard. Let’s walk together!”
After waiting for Ma Chun and Liu An to catch up, Lin Dong slowly walked through the back door. In the passage, he suddenly stopped, remembering the tasks he had been busy with that afternoon.

One person’s plan is short-sighted; two people’s plan is better. Just like the arrangement for Liu An, my own idea wasn’t as good as Ma Chun’s suggestion. The staff at Bai Li Silk Shop worked together to come up with a plan that solved two problems at once—surely the staff at Lin Ji Inn were no worse than them. Who knows? If we all discuss the problems I’m struggling with, we might find a solution. Seeing Lin Dong stop in his tracks, Ma Chun couldn’t help but ask, “Owner, what’s wrong?” “I just thought of something,” Lin Dong waved his hand and smiled. “Let’s close early by half an hour today and have everyone gather in the hall to wait for me. I want to discuss the inn’s business with everyone to see if we can come up with some ideas.” Ma Chun hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.