Chapter 3: Bai Jingtai

Bai Jingtai and his daughter shared one table, while six guards occupied two other tables. When Liu Hao arrived with the convoy from the side and entered the backyard, two more guards were added. After serving tea and water, Lin Dong asked, “Boss Bai, what would you like to eat?”
“It doesn’t matter. Bring one portion of each good dish,” Bai Jingtai said, patting the bench beside him with a smile. “It’s not strangers here. Manager Lin, no need to rush around. Come and sit with us.”
“That won’t do. I fired the chef, and it will take some time to find a new one. I’ll have to cook myself.”
Bai Jingtai was momentarily stunned before laughing. “It’s been a year—Manager Lin actually has the courage to fire a chef?”
“I had no choice. The chef became increasingly outrageous, even daring to steal fish and meat from my place right in front of me. If I didn’t fire him, my inn would have to close,” Lin Dong replied helplessly.
“I’ve been advising you to fire them for ages. And…?” Bai Jingtai glanced at Wang Liuze and the others, laughing even more. “Did you change the staff too?”
“They keep losing dishes from time to time. I had to replace them!”
“That’s good. From now on, Lin’s Inn has a bright future.”
Bai Jingtai nodded in agreement, believing that Manager Lin had finally come to his senses.
Lin Dong also felt moved. Bai Jingtai’s words hit the mark—without the greedy chefs and staff, Lin’s Inn might not be extremely profitable, but it could at least ensure a decent standard of living. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to keep it running even before the inn system appeared.
To be honest, although Lin Dong despised his predecessor’s weak character, he still respected his integrity.
Speaking of good people, Lin Dong’s predecessor was a true good man. When running the inn or buying groceries, he usually chose the worst quality because it was cheaper. But Lin Dong’s predecessor always picked the best, and both accommodation and meals were cheaper than elsewhere.
More importantly, who in Xilan City didn’t know about Lin’s Inn on Shi Bei Street? A couple of years ago, there were more beggars than guests at Lin’s Inn. In later years, beggars only came during the coldest months when they couldn’t bear it any longer. Why? Because once they came, they not only got enough to eat but also some copper coins. Beggars knew how to be grateful—after all, it was the inn owners who provided them food. If they kept coming frequently, they would eventually drain the owners’ resources, not to mention disturbing other guests.
Thus, after losing money for five years, Lin’s Inn started turning a profit this year. Lin Dong believed that without protection fees and the exploitation by chefs and staff, it would be hard for Lin’s Inn not to make money.

There was no choice. Lin’s Inn had endured for five years, building a solid foundation, so Lin Dong had no worries about occupancy rates at all. Take Bai Jingtai, for example. In a small place like Xilan City, after monopolizing the spirit stone business here, he didn’t even need to come in person every year—his subordinates could deliver the goods. The reason he came and stayed at a humble inn like Lin’s Inn was because five years ago, when he brought three carts of spirit stones to enter the Xilan City market, he was robbed by bandits outside the city. Starving and cold, he ended up in Xilan City. Too hungry to bear it any longer, he entered Lin’s Inn to ask for some water. Lin Dong’s predecessor not only provided him with food and shelter but also gave him two taels of silver as travel money. Bai Jingtai came to Xilan City once a year with his goods purely as a courtesy visit. There might be only one big merchant like him who had received favors from Lin’s Inn, but ordinary merchants were everywhere. When they came to Xilan City, as soon as it got dark, these merchants thought of Lin’s Inn first; only if it was fully booked would they look for another place. Pfft… Bai Qi picked up her teacup, took a sip, and immediately spat it out. “What kind of tea is this?” “It’s good tea!” Lin Dong didn’t want to make a fuss, but this tea had been painstakingly picked by his predecessor in the mountains to save money. It might not be considered good tea, but the effort put into selecting it deserved respect. Bai Qi frowned and was about to speak when Bai Jingtai glared at her, making her even more displeased. Although the Bai family wasn’t exactly a noble family, it was moving in that direction. A mere innkeeper who gave her father just two taels of silver—did he really think he was someone important? Lin Dong saw everything in Bai Qi’s expression, but he couldn’t ignore Bai Jingtai’s face. He clapped his hands and said with a smile, “Alright, I’ll go prepare the food and drinks.” “Go ahead, be busy…” Bai Jingtai stood up to see him off. With Wang Liuzhi and others watching in the lobby, Lin Dong knew they wouldn’t dare cause trouble. He asked Liu Hao to assist him and went to the kitchen in the back yard to get to work. After finally finishing three tables of dishes, Lin Dong washed his hands and was about to go to the lobby to greet Bai Jingtai when Wang Liuzhi rushed in. “Innkeeper, a customer has placed an order: one jin of beef, one grass carp, and a plate of minced meat with eggplant.” “Okay, it’ll be ready soon!” Lin Dong had to put his thoughts aside and keep working. It seemed hiring a chef was the top priority now. He had originally planned to handle cooking himself to save money, but given the workload, it was unnecessary. It was peak dining time, with five tables ordered in a row before Lin Dong could catch his breath. When he returned to the lobby, eight out of ten tables were already full. “Innkeeper Lin, I heard you’re also cooking now?”

“The cooking is quite good—much better than before.”
The guests at Lin’s Inn were all regulars who had stayed there for five years. Lin Dong greeted them along the way and arrived at Bai Jingtai’s table, where he saw an additional plate of braised perch and steamed hairy crabs. It was obvious that Miss Bai must have thought his dishes were unsatisfactory and asked the staff to order from Fulai Restaurant.
Bai Jingtai’s face turned red as he forced a few laughs. Ordering dishes from another restaurant in someone else’s inn was indeed a bit excessive.
Bai Qi suddenly put down her chopsticks and stood up. “I’m done eating. Even the signature dishes of the best restaurants aren’t as good as those prepared by our own chefs.”
Typical of a lady from a wealthy family—she spoke with great skill. Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh.
Bai Jingtai was originally an open-minded person. Seeing that Lin Dong didn’t seem to mind at all, he didn’t bother scolding his daughter. Instead, he took out a silver ingot worth five taels and handed it to Lin Dong.
“Manager Lin, could you reserve five guest rooms? If not, three will have to do.”
“All the guest rooms are available. No deposit needed. When has Boss Bai ever paid a deposit every time he comes here?”
Bai Jingtai shook his head with a smile. “This time, I won’t be staying for just a few days. I’ll be here for at least two months.”
Two months? That was great news! Lin Dong didn’t hold back anymore. He took the silver and tucked it into his clothes. With ten people, he couldn’t afford to operate without a deposit.
“I’ll show you to the rooms!” Lin Dong led the way, asking as they walked, “Since Boss Bai is staying for such a long time, is there some business you need to handle?”
“Nothing like that!” Bai Jingtai shook his head helplessly. “The Gu Huan Sect starts accepting disciples in May. I brought my daughter here to try our luck.”
Lin Dong was surprised. “I heard that the sources of spirit stones are controlled by the sects. Since Boss Bai is in the spirit stone business and quite successful, you must be familiar with many sects, right?”
Bai Jingtai smiled bitterly. “I do know a few outer sect managers, but those sects are all large organizations with very strict requirements for accepting disciples. Even having connections doesn’t help. Unfortunately, the Gu Huan Sect will accept disciples as long as they reach the seventh level of the Lingdong Phase before the age of 17. There are still two months left, but this girl has been stuck at the sixth level of the Lingdong Phase for a year and a half. It’s uncertain whether she’ll make it.”
Lin Dong remained silent. Although the Gu Huan Sect wasn’t large, it was still a sect—a force independent of nations. For a wealthy businessman like Bai Jingtai, to ensure long-term success, he needed to establish the foundation of a family. As long as future generations weren’t too wasteful, a small family could be formed within two or three generations.

She has a daughter who is a disciple of the Ancient Huan Sect. If she can rise to a high position, it’s equivalent to buying an amulet for this budding family.
“Sigh…” Bai Jingtai let out a deep sigh. “If I could get my hands on the Tongjing Dan in the Liu family’s collection, I think there’s still a chance to keep up. If not, things might get tricky.”
“Why tell him about these things? He doesn’t understand,” Bai Qi retorted impatiently.
Lin Dong rubbed his nose. Was a manager of a small inn really that unpopular?
It was a shame. Bai Jingtai had other ways to boost Bai Qi’s strength. Otherwise, once the inn reached level 2, it should be possible to help Bai Qi meet the sect’s requirements for taking disciples.
To be honest, Lin Dong somewhat hoped Bai Jingtai couldn’t obtain the Tongjing Dan—not out of malice toward Bai Qi, but partly because it would owe him a favor. The main reason was to help the inn’s guests, which could trigger hidden tasks. The rewards for those tasks were extremely generous.
After going upstairs to arrange rooms, Bai Qi complained again. Lin Dong ignored her and returned to the lobby with five taels of silver.
In the lobby, two more tables had finished eating, and Wang Liuzhi was leading guests upstairs.
After sitting at the counter for a while, the remaining three tables also went upstairs one after another.
Lin Dong silently thought about the inn, and its attributes appeared.
Lin’s Inn: Level 1, 2%
Daily Revenue: 862 wen
Spirit Stones: 0/100
Defense: 0/100
Rooms: 20
Tables: 10
Staff: 5
Cooks: 0
Calculating at this rate, if both the lobby and rooms were fully occupied, it should take about twenty days to level up.
Upgrading the inn and unlocking cultivation bonuses required spirit stones, which was the biggest expense.
At the counter, Lin Dong felt overwhelmed. Even without checking the daily revenue stats, he knew that out of 862 wen, only about 200 was profit—without even accounting for Wang Liuzhi and the other four’s wages. If those were included, there would even be a loss.
Even if the inn was fully occupied, he still wouldn’t have to pay Wang Liuzhi and the others’ wages. At most, he could earn about 500 wen a day, totaling ten taels in twenty days. That was quite a sum, but it would only cover about ten spirit stones.
He had no choice but to take things one step at a time.
As dusk fell, Lin Dong instructed Wang Liuzhi to arrange for guards to watch over the backyard for Bai Jingtai at night and prepare snacks. He also told him to keep an eye out for any difficulties the guests might face. Then, with a wave of his hand, he closed the inn for the night.

Lin Tianhao and his sister returned to the academy once a month on the 15th. Seeing that nothing urgent was happening, they had a quick dinner, after which Lin Dong went back to his room alone. Compared to the fourth young lady of the Yang family’s room, Lin Dong’s room was much simpler, with only a wooden bed and a desk, nothing else. He took off his shoes and lay down on the bed, sitting cross-legged. Back in his teens, Lin Dong’s predecessor had learned cultivation techniques from the sixth young master of the Yang family. Seeing the slow progress—let alone the fact that he wasn’t even qualified to be a guard—the practice was halted. In the path of cultivation, one either progresses or regresses; his predecessor had reached the second level of the Lingdong stage at most, and now… he was back at the first level. Fortunately, he still remembered the meridian pathways. With his eyes gently closed, he focused his mind, and slowly, his dantian appeared in his internal vision. After half an hour, the empty dantian finally gathered a trace of spiritual energy, which then, under Lin Dong’s control, slowly flowed into his meridians. As the spiritual energy circulated in the meridians, faint spiritual energy in the air was drawn in through the skin and entered the meridians. After a full cycle, when the spiritual energy returned to the dantian, it had grown slightly thicker than before.