Chapter 282: Getting It All

After some thought, Lin Dong decided, “Send someone to stay at Humen Inn to wait for her.”
Yu Mudan nodded happily. Working together, they could at least shorten the wait for revenge by two or three years. After waiting for over twenty years, they finally had hope.
“Also… your salary should be equal to that of the other chefs at Lin’s Inn. There will be extra rewards if you perform well. We won’t treat you unfairly,” Lin Dong said slowly.
The others nodded silently. They didn’t care about salary. If Lin Dong really wanted it, they wouldn’t mind contributing all of Humen Inn’s earnings over the years.
“Finally…” Lin Dong glanced at Yu Mudan from head to toe and said slowly, “From now on, Manager Yu will be a chef. You don’t need to be overly hospitable toward guests or the other chefs in the inn. If you really can’t help it, feel free to take any silver from the counter—as long as it doesn’t cause trouble or harm the inn’s reputation. You can even choose anyone on the streets. If you think being a bandit is better, you’ll be given three to five days off per month.”
Yu Mudan was in high spirits and didn’t mind Lin Dong’s words. She puffed out her chest, about to scold him, but upon seeing Yun Lan’s gaze, fearing that joy might turn into sorrow, she forced herself to swallow her words.
Liang Shangtian and the others snickered. Staying at Humen Inn, if there was anything they disliked, it was Yu Mudan’s excessive hospitality.
“The same goes for you. I’ll have someone separate the kitchen. If you get into a conflict with the other chefs, don’t blame me for not being gentle.” Remembering Qiao Tianhao, Lin Dong added, “Of course, if you’re in the right and the other person is Lin’s Inn’s top chef, and it’s at night, as long as no one gets killed, I won’t interfere. I’m actually looking for someone to spar with him.”
Liang Shangtian and the others shrank back. That last sentence was worth pondering.
Seeing their expressions, Lin Dong knew they had misunderstood. He smiled and said, “Right now, he’s only at the first level of the Mental State stage.”
Liang Shangtian and the others grinned. It seemed the new boss, even if he really wanted to find someone for the top chef to spar with, probably intended to teach him a lesson as well. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have added the clause about not interfering unless someone died.
“Alright, that’s settled!” Lin Dong clapped his hands and said, “It’s time for us to leave.”
“Young Master Lin, I…” Huang Wanli quickly stood up.
“It seems Old Huang wanted to say something to me just now?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
Huang Wanli nodded, hesitated for a moment, then said, “I have a favor to ask. I hope Young Master Lin will agree.”

“Please speak, Old Man Huang. I will definitely help,” Lin Dong said firmly. The man before him, Old Man Huang, was likely another key figure in the management of Lin’s Inn. He wasn’t afraid of anything else, but he was worried that Huang Wanli wouldn’t have any difficult problems to ask for his help.

Huang Wanli thanked him profusely and quickly explained, “I earnestly ask Young Master Lin to step in and save my other granddaughter as well.”

“Old Man Huang has another granddaughter?” Lin Dong was astonished. How could this top mathematician and accountant of the Great Han Nation keep losing granddaughters?

Huang Wanli nodded, holding his somewhat drowsy granddaughter closer and speaking with grief and anger, “My only son and daughter-in-law passed away in an accident two years ago, leaving me alone and destitute. Despondent, I took my two twin granddaughters back to Jiuhu County to retire. There, they caught the attention of my secretary, Jiang Dening. With all our wealth exhausted, my poor granddaughter was taken away. With no other choice, I fled Jiuhu City secretly with Xiao Lian, hoping to seek help from a trusted steward in the capital. But passing by here, we’ve just escaped the tiger’s den only to fall into a wolf’s lair.”

“Beasts!”

Lin Dong, Liu Hua, and Wu Guang all cursed in unison. The twin granddaughters, just like Xiao Lian in Huang Wanli’s arms, were both only twelve or thirteen years old. In the Great Han Nation, it was common for women to marry young, but at twelve or thirteen… unless the husband was around the same age, anyone would call them beasts.

“Young Master Lin…” Huang Wanli, unable to get up, could only bow and say, “Young Master Lin, you can even subdue bandits in an inn that even they fear. I hope you’ll have mercy on us three—grandfather, grandfather’s son, and granddaughter—and save my poor granddaughter.”

“Secretary Jiang Dening!” Lin Dong suddenly said. “Is he the guy with the goat beard, who always carries a folding fan and keeps shouting about raising money to retire to the mountains?”

“Yes, that’s him!” Huang Wanli nodded eagerly.

“Wasn’t he dismissed and investigated?” A flame ignited in Lin Dong’s heart. He had met this Jiang Dening a few months ago when he went to Jiuhu City to see Wang Bin and Yi Yi. He had broken one of Jiang’s legs, and upon returning, he had mentioned it to Li Jiancheng. To his surprise, this guy was still living freely.

“I heard he offended a powerful figure in Qiufeng City a few months ago, had his leg broken, and was even investigated by higher authorities,” Huang Wanli said helplessly. “But this beast is closely related to the county magistrate Wan Shuiyong and is even his brother-in-law. Although he’s no longer a secretary, no one in Jiuhu City dares to provoke him.”

Lin Dong nodded and said coldly, “Don’t worry, Old Man Huang. I will definitely help you get your granddaughter back.”

Huang Wanli was overjoyed and about to express his gratitude when Lin Dong asked, “Old Man Huang, when was your granddaughter taken away?”

“Seven days ago!” Huang Wanli was suddenly shocked and exclaimed urgently, “Young Master Lin, it’s not too late! If we hurry now, my Xiao Xiang can still be saved from being ruined by that beast.”
Lin Dong felt much more at ease and asked, “Why?”
“That beast believes in feng shui and thinks the third day of the sixth month is an auspicious day, so he set the date for taking a concubine to that day.”
Lin Dong did some calculations—there were almost two days left. With a bit of haste, it would be enough!
“Liu Hua, Wu Guang, get the carriage ready! If we don’t reach Nine Tigers City within two days, we’ll skin you alive.”
“Don’t worry, boss. If we’re not there in two days, we won’t need you to take action—we’ll skin each other first.”
Liu Hua replied and rushed toward the door. Wu Guang nodded quickly and followed closely behind.
“Let’s go!” Lin Dong called.
“Thank you, Boss Lin. I… I…” Huang Wanli was so grateful that he could hardly speak, his voice choked with emotion.
“Mr. Huang, don’t rush to thank me. I’m not doing this for free.”
Lin Dong smiled as he headed outside. For an ordinary person, he would just help out for free. But if the other party had something he wanted, he wouldn’t stoop to demanding repayment through favors.
Huang Wanli was different—he was a valuable asset, so Lin Dong had to take advantage of his current dependence to demand a high price. Otherwise, if Huang Wanli later refused to work as the accountant at Lin’s Inn, all his efforts would be in vain.
Watching Lin Dong’s retreating figure and recalling what had happened with Yu Mudan earlier, Huang Wanli guessed something and, without hesitation, hugged Xiao Lian tightly and followed out.
Once inside the carriage, as Liu Hua waved the whip, the horse-drawn carriage slowly left Hu Men Inn, turned off the side road onto the main road, and then sped forward.
When the carriage settled, Lin Dong looked up at Huang Wanli.
“Young Master Lin, do you want me to work as the accountant?” Huang Wanli asked softly.
Lin Dong nodded and smiled. “Lin’s Inn is about to open more branches, and there will be even more in the future. So we need an accountant. If you don’t think it’s beneath your skills or if you still have the capacity, I hope you’ll agree. As for the salary, I assure you it won’t be lower than what you earn at the royal palace.”
Huang Wanli slowly shook his head. “If Boss Lin doesn’t mind my old eyes, for such a great kindness, I can never repay you, even if I die a thousand times.”
Lin Dong was overjoyed and said quickly, “Also, I hope you can help train a few apprentices. I was wondering…”

Huang Wanli hesitated for a moment before asking, “What does Young Master Lin think of my two granddaughters? Xiao Lian and Xiao Xiang have been interested in arithmetic since childhood, especially Xiao Lian. Given time, she will surely be no worse than me. If I pass away one day and they are not yet of marriage age, they could assist Young Master Lin and provide him with support.”

“They are too young. They should go to an academy to broaden their horizons. For now, let them keep company with my sister Lin Shuang! When they grow up and truly become interested in accounting, it won’t be too late to learn.”

Lin Dong glanced down at the sleeping girls and shook his head slowly. No matter how interested they were, at such a young age, they shouldn’t focus on just one thing. If the two girls were as good as Huang Wanli said, they could still help Lin Shuang in the future.

As for Lin’s Inn, they would find ways to select a few guards from the guard team who had excellent reflexes and intelligence, and who were also loyal enough.

“But my health…” Huang Wanli hesitated.

“Don’t worry, Old Huang. Just as I promised Yu Mudan that her sisters would greatly improve their skills,” Lin Dong said confidently, “I can’t guarantee much else, but I assure you that Old Huang can keep working hard for Lin’s Inn for another ten or twenty years without any problem.”

Huang Wanli was moved and blurted out, “Are you referring to Lin’s Inn’s specialty—turtle stewed with maple and phoenix tree leaves?”

“I didn’t expect Old Huang to know about our inn’s signature dish,” Lin Dong laughed.

Huang Wanli nodded happily. “I’ve heard people chatting that eating turtle stewed with maple and phoenix tree leaves can cure all diseases.”

“It’s just a myth that it cures everything, but it does strengthen the body,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “If I serve Old Huang some every day, he’ll have to think of other reasons if he wants to ask for leave in the future.”

Huang Wanli smiled, as if remembering something, and said carefully, “I heard that turtle stewed with maple and phoenix tree leaves costs several taels of silver per serving. This…”

“In my eyes, Old Huang’s value can’t be measured in mere taels of silver,” Lin Dong replied without going into too much detail. It was still uncertain whether Lin’s Inn would spread throughout the Great Han Kingdom, so saying so might sound a bit ambitious.

Just as Huang Wanli was about to speak modestly, Lin Dong suddenly said, “Old Huang, I heard you once derived thousands of arithmetic formulas. Are you interested in compiling them into a book?”

Huang Wanli was stunned, then smiled bitterly. “I once spent money to publish those formulas and gave copies to the deans of various academies. But they weren’t interested at all. They said there were already enough arithmetic concepts in the Six Arts, and more would only add to the students’ burden.”

Lin Dong was speechless. The deans of those academies in the capital were probably only focused on the number of scholars and the number of martial artists produced. After thinking for a moment, Lin Dong asked, “How many copies did Master Huang print in total?” Huang Wanli explained, “In addition to all the academies in the capital, I also gave a few copies to old friends. In total, it’s twenty-six copies.” “That’s too few!” Lin Dong said without hesitation. “Just twenty-six copies? There’s no way we’ll find anyone interested. Besides, it’s better to seek promotion through the government offices rather than the academies.” Huang Wanli smiled bitterly. “Don’t underestimate my past contributions to the court. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites are not places an ordinary accountant from a prince’s household can enter, let alone persuade them to include arithmetic among the Six Arts.” “It doesn’t matter. Leave this to me. At the very least, Master Huang can print as many copies as he wants, and they can be promoted in Autumn Wind City in no time,” Lin Dong said. Huang Wanli was overjoyed and exclaimed, “This has been my lifelong wish. If Young Master Lin can really make it happen, even if it’s just in one county, I—” “All Master Huang needs to do is teach me a few good apprentices,” Lin Dong said with a bright smile. If Huang Wanli could truly devote himself wholeheartedly to Lin’s Inn, it would mean Ma Chun would have another powerful assistant.