Chapter 251: A Reward for Suggestions

In the evening, as the sky grew darker, Lin Dong strode into the lobby.
There were twenty-five tables, clean and shiny. Compared to the Lin Ji Inn in Xilan City, the Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City had seven more staff members. Including the cooks in the kitchen, there were exactly thirty-six people present, all there.
When they saw Lin Dong arrive, the staff and cooks who had been whispering around the counter immediately stood up straight and called out to the owner.
Lin Dong nodded gently and said with a smile, “Just like paying salaries every month, everyone, find a seat.”
The staff rushed over in groups of three or five and sat down at the tables near the counter.
Once everyone was seated, Lin Dong went to the counter, sat down slowly, and pressed his hand lightly.
Instantly, the lobby, which had still been buzzing, fell silent. In the quiet, all the staff’s eyes focused on Lin Dong’s face.
Lin Dong smiled satisfactorily and said, “I’ve called everyone here mainly because the inn is facing some troubles! As for what those troubles are, I’m sure everyone is well aware of them.”
Everyone’s heart tightened. As staff members of the inn, they were naturally fully aware of its recent problems.
The second floor was losing money every day, with losses of hundreds of taels each day. Such a serious issue meant the staff were just as worried as Lin Dong.
The Lin Ji Inn offered high salaries, its owner was kind, and there were often rewards even higher than salaries. The colleagues around them were like a family, living in harmony. It was hard for them to accept the idea that such a great place might have to close down due to losses.
When the lobby became quiet again, the staff and cooks watched Lin Dong intently as he tapped his index finger on the table and explained, “Everyone is part of this inn. I’m sure none of you want it to close down due to poor management.”
“Owner…” one staff member asked softly, “Do you plan to fire some of us?”
Everyone’s heart leaped to their throats. Although Lin Dong had given generous rewards despite the daily losses, no one believed he would fire anyone. But still, anything could happen, so they had been worried about this all along.
“The inn hired another staff member today. How could we fire anyone?” Lin Dong said with a laugh. “Do you really think you’re not as good as the new staff member?”
“That’s impossible!”
As long as they wouldn’t be fired, the staff and cooks were willing to accept anything. With Lin Dong’s almost definite answer, everyone’s mood improved immediately, and they rushed to highlight their own strengths and achievements.

In the center of the crowd, Liu An, sitting next to Liu Hua, watched the lively atmosphere and listened to his companions boasting about themselves. He felt surprisingly excited. He believed that one day he too would be able to stand up and proudly list all the contributions he had made to the inn.

Finally, as everyone had gradually finished recounting their “great achievements,” the noisy hall slowly returned to calm. A worker shouted, “Owner, please speak up! Whether it’s cutting our wages or not paying us for now, even if we go months without pay as long as we’re provided food and shelter, I guarantee I won’t complain at all.”

Instantly, the atmosphere was ignited again. Instead of continuing to boast about their achievements, everyone quickly turned to show their loyalty to Lin Dong.

Watching the bustling hall, Lin Dong didn’t interrupt. The more enthusiastic the atmosphere, the more the workers would express their opinions. He even thought he should have asked Ma Chun to prepare some fruits.

When the noise gradually subsided, facing dozens of eager gazes, Lin Dong stood up and said, “Thank you all for your support of the inn. Although we’ve been losing money every day lately, with the inn’s financial resources, we can manage for now. So…”

Lin Dong smiled, revealing his rows of white teeth. “For now, there’s no need for everyone to endure losses together.”

“Owner, since the inn loses money every day, our wages are already higher than those at other places. It’s only fair to reduce them,” said one worker.

“Yes! Yes! The owner has never treated us unfairly. It’s only right for us to share weal and woe with the inn.”

Immediately, various objections arose.

Lin Dong raised his hand to calm them down and said leisurely, “There’s no need to cut wages. With such meager wages, they’re not even enough to fill the gaps in the inn’s finances.”

The workers were dissatisfied, and one of them couldn’t help but retort, “A little bit adds up… Money is saved bit by bit, after all!”

The argument resumed. After about half a minute, when the noise had mostly died down, Lin Dong joked with a smile, “From the way you’re talking, one might think you’re competing to have your wages reduced!”

The workers were stunned, then started laughing awkwardly. It was indeed rare to see them competing to have their wages cut.

Feeling that they had shared enough, Lin Dong clapped his hands and said, “No matter how large a business it is, it can’t sustain itself if it keeps losing money like this. One person’s plan may be short-sighted, but two people’s plans can be better. I called everyone here today to discuss together and find ways to improve the inn’s business.”

The workers and chefs looked at each other. If the owner couldn’t come up with a solution, what solution could a mere worker or chef come up with?

“Discussion isn’t about having someone come up with a solution all at once.” Seeing everyone’s expressions, Lin Dong wasn’t disappointed and continued, “Everyone, no matter what your suggestions are—right or wrong, long or short—even if it’s just suggesting that we paint the tables black so they’re easier to clean and dirt can’t be seen clearly, that’s fine too.”
Everyone felt somewhat relieved. Since they couldn’t think of any major solutions, a few small ideas—with so many people around, they could surely come up with one or two, so as not to waste the innkeeper’s time.
Amidst the murmurs, Qiao Tianhao, who had been sitting upright but actually using the time to rest his eyes, stood up.
“Innkeeper, what if I pretend to go back to Fenglin Restaurant and take the chance to add laxatives to their food and drinks, driving away all their customers? Then, we won’t have to worry about a lack of business here.”
“That’s a terrible idea—useless. Ma Chun, no need to write it down,” Lin Dong waved his hand. “Give Qiao Tianhao ten coins as a reward.”
Qiao Tianhao scratched his head reluctantly and sat back down.
The servants and cooks, however, were eyes wide with excitement. Just for such a useless suggestion, they could get ten coins?
Over by the side, Ma Chun nodded, stood up immediately, picked up the pen and ink from the counter, found a table to sit at, and started writing right away.
One of the servants couldn’t wait any longer and said, “Innkeeper, I think we could also use our information board like Fenglin Restaurant does—building a relationship with VIPs.”
“How?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
“Fenglin Restaurant separates government news from major news from various regions. Government updates are on the information board, while major news is only available to those with VIP cards. Although we don’t have government updates or major news from different places, we do have many business-related messages from merchants. We can separate the buying and selling messages and add them to the VIP cards. This way, not only will guests come to our inn for the information board, but VIPs will also order more food and drinks to get the messages earlier.”
Lin Dong shook his head smilingly, “No matter which type of message we separate—buying or selling—it’s all provided by the guests. Using their messages to make money from them, how do you think they’ll feel? Besides, our information board is already no match for Fenglin Restaurant’s. Doing this will only make fewer people want to post business messages here. There are no advantages to this approach. In fact, even for Fenglin Restaurant, I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The benefits of the information board for customers are spread across the VIP cards, making it harder to turn the restaurant into a place where customers can do business and exchange ideas.”

The clerk nodded in disappointment and sat down.
Lin Dong waved his hand and said, “This idea can be noted down. It might be useful in similar situations in the future. Give Zhang Liang a reward of 300 coins.”
Instantly, the disappointment on the clerk’s face vanished, replaced by a beaming smile. Just for an idea that wasn’t even useful, he got 300 coins! If he came up with a good solution, wouldn’t the reward be even higher?
The other clerks also became excited. The owner was still so generous. A reward for just one idea could equal several days’ worth of wages.
“Owner, I think we could divide the chefs in our kitchen,” said a plump middle-aged chef, standing up. “First, let everyone write down their specialty dishes, then have the clerks memorize them. When customers place orders, list these dishes separately and assign them to the chefs who are best at those dishes. In this way, every dish would be considered a specialty of all our chefs, which will surely satisfy customers more.”
Lin Dong pondered for a moment before nodding slowly. “This is a good idea. The first drawback is that if customers order the same dish, the chef in charge might be overwhelmed. But that’s fine; we can assign it to another chef at that time. Another issue is that some chefs will be extremely busy while others will be idle… But that’s okay too. The idle chefs can practice the most popular dishes more, and the busy chefs can receive additional monthly rewards from the inn.”
The plump chef was overjoyed that his idea was the first to be approved.
Under the expectant gaze of the other chefs, Lin Dong thought for a moment before resolutely saying, “Ma Chun, implement this idea as soon as possible. Give Old Deng 15 taels of silver!”
A buzz of excitement filled the hall.
15 taels of silver was almost equal to a clerk’s wages for an entire month. Even for chefs, it was half a month’s salary.
It was really easy to make money!
In no time, various suggestions poured in—good, bad, useful, useless… The clerks rushed to propose their ideas; one would sit down, only for another to stand up immediately. Some received encouragement rewards of dozens of coins, while others got rewards of 10 to 20 taels of silver. Everyone racked their brains, and suggestions flowed like a tide toward Lin Dong at the counter.

It wasn’t until night fell completely that Lin Dong stood up again and declared loudly, “Everyone has shared their opinions; let’s stop here for now. If you have any further ideas, you can bring them up to Ma Chun later. Useful suggestions will also earn generous rewards. Now, I’ll give you two questions. The first question is: how can we ensure that the inn’s lodging business handles over seventy bookings per day within ten days or even less, without lowering room prices or affecting the inn’s reputation? As before, all suggestions, good or bad, will be rewarded. The only difference is that the rewards have been increased this time. I hope someone can earn a reward of ten taels of silver!”
Ten taels of silver as a reward?
The servants and cooks were stunned, and the lobby fell dead silent in an instant.
Then, chaos broke out.