Chapter 329: Threatening in Return

“Manager Lin, it seems you’re not very willing to team up with me?”
Hong Wanfu glared coldly at Lin Dong. It was quite unusual for Hongfu Restaurant to seek cooperation, only to encounter such an indifferent attitude from the other party.
Hadn’t they learned about his status and style in Lingnan City?
Hong Wanfu found it hard to believe. If they knew about the fierce competition between Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant over business information, there was no way they wouldn’t be aware of his style. But if that wasn’t the case, there seemed to be no other explanation.
Surely, this Manager Lin, knowing full well of Hong Wanfu’s influence in Lingnan Prefecture, wouldn’t dare to speak conditions or even refuse so casually? Hong Wanfu had never encountered such a situation in his decades-long life. He believed he would never face it even if he avoided those sect disciples and noble families.
“How does Boss Hong plan for us to cooperate? It seems to me that Lin’s Inn isn’t yet qualified to get involved in the competition between Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant,” Lin Dong said calmly. “Given Lin’s Inn’s status in Lingnan City, even if it becomes popular through promotion this time, it’s still far behind Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant. Many people might try it out out of curiosity, but those wealthy clients are accustomed to the atmosphere and cuisine of Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant. With Lin’s Inn’s current capabilities, it’s not yet strong enough to truly compete with them. With the geographical disadvantage and inferior cooking skills—although it does have a few notable specialties—it can at most cause slight disruption to Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant’s business. Over time, most of those wealthy clients will return to your two restaurants.”
“I, Hong Wanfu, really appreciate those who know their limits!”
Hong Wanfu gave Lin Dong a thumbs up. On the surface, it was a compliment, but secretly, it already treated Lin’s Inn as inferior.
Lin Dong smiled but didn’t respond. He suspected that Hong Wanfu was deliberately trying to provoke him. The reason was unknown, but given Hong Wanfu’s status in Lingnan City, it was certainly not achievable just through aggressive and arrogant behavior.
Ignoring Lin Dong’s attitude, Hong Wanfu continued, “As for cooperation, Lin’s Inn needs to do very little—just offer the same bonuses and specialty dishes as those available at Hongfu Restaurant. As for compensation, fifty thousand taels of silver per month, until Fenglin Restaurant announces it’s closing down.”
“Boss Hong is really generous!” Lin Dong exclaimed. “Fifty thousand taels of silver per month? That’s enough to equal five months of our profits at Lin’s Inn in Qiufeng City.”

“So, you agree?” Hong Wanfu said calmly.
Lin Dong shook his head and replied, “I want to know the reason. As far as I know, Hongfu Restaurant’s monthly profit is only about 120,000 to 130,000 taels of silver. Spending nearly half of that profit, along with lowering food and drink prices to the lowest possible level, would likely leave Hongfu Restaurant’s monthly profit even lower than that of an ordinary large restaurant. Fenglin Restaurant is wealthy and powerful. Unless we can knock it down in one fell swoop, it’s impossible to force it to close within two or three years.”
After a pause, Lin Dong added meaningfully, “Even if Linji Inn and Hongfu Restaurant join forces, it’s still not enough to knock Fenglin Restaurant down in one go. Even if Fenglin Restaurant has no way to turn the situation around, it would take time—perhaps two years—to gradually steal away its regular customers.”
“I dislike Fenglin Restaurant. I’d rather risk not making any profit for two years than not try to bring it down,” Hong Wanfu said coldly, staring at Lin Dong. “Is that a reason?”
“Yes!” Lin Dong calmly met Hong Wanfu’s gaze, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and after weighing the pros and cons, said slowly, “But it’s not enough to convince me to join forces with Hongfu Restaurant.”
Hong Wanfu was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter, his face showing a sinister expression from time to time.
“You actually think I should convince you? Lin Dong, you need to understand—I’m not Fenglin Restaurant. I don’t have to worry about being trapped and destroyed by others, because my business is in Lingnan Commandery. The governor of Lingnan Commandery isn’t some emperor who can ruin me with just a word. I also don’t have to worry about my reputation; it no longer affects my business. Whether it’s better or worse, it doesn’t matter.”
“Is that so?” Lin Dong remained indifferent.
Hong Wanfu stood up with a cold smile, resting his hands on the table and leaning forward to look down at Lin Dong. “In Lingnan Commandery, whoever I want to ally with must do so. Considering you’re somewhat capable, I came here in person and offered terms that can’t be refused. But that doesn’t mean you have the right to cross my bottom line. In Lingnan City, no one can cross my bottom line.”
“That’s quite domineering!” Lin Dong couldn’t help but praise. The fact that non-cooperation could itself become a bottom line showed just how powerful Hong Wanfu was in Lingnan Commandery. Ordinary wealthy families or officials other than the governor certainly didn’t have such confidence as Hong Wanfu.

“Team up…” Hong Wanfu stared at Lin Dong without blinking, his sharp gaze seemingly intent on tearing Lin Dong to pieces. “Otherwise, I’ll ensure that Lin’s Inn can never open again.”
Lin Dong helplessly stood up. Not only were Lin’s Inn’s various specialties not enough to give it a significant edge over Fenglin Restaurant and Hongfu Restaurant, but even if it had advantages, there was still the huge disadvantage of location. Plus, the guild set a certain profit margin for food and drinks prices, so even if business was slow, these restaurants wouldn’t lose too much and could hold on. It could be said that it was almost impossible to dominate Lingnan City in a short time.
According to Lin Dong’s plan, in the early stages of entering Lingnan City, Lin’s Inn should focus on building goodwill and progressing gradually. Once the inn’s chefs reached higher levels and their skills began to surpass those of the chefs at Fenglin Restaurant and Hongfu Restaurant, and with Lin’s Gymnasium becoming popular, then it would be time to launch a full-scale attack and lower food and drink prices to the lowest profit level set by the guild.
With clear advantages and Lin’s Gymnasium attracting many wealthy clients to the east side of the city, thereby reducing the geographical disadvantage, Lin’s Inn would have enough strength to overwhelm Fenglin Restaurant and Hongfu Restaurant at once.
If they fought now, Lin’s Inn, being new and without any regular customers, could only gather a large number of patrons in the short term through its specialties. The popularity might last for a while, but although Cheng Bao and Yu Linglong’s cooking styles were unique, their levels remained somewhat lower. Moreover, their dishes weren’t traditional, while the chefs at Fenglin Restaurant and Hongfu Restaurant were top-notch, among the best in the region. With sheer strength alone, it wasn’t enough to turn most of these patrons into regulars.
Their growth rate would actually be slower than the gradual approach of building goodwill.
Unfortunately, this plan was about to be shattered even before the inn opened.
Lin Dong had no objection to teaming up with Hongfu Restaurant to defeat Fenglin Restaurant first. Although Hongfu Restaurant would be the biggest beneficiary, Lin’s Inn could also reap some benefits, enough to make up for the delays caused by rushing into competition. But he objected to Hong Wanfu’s proposal. If, in a year or two, Lin’s Inn approached Hongfu Restaurant with the accumulated benefits from VIP card discounts and its various specialties, that would be fine. By then, the wealthy clients would already know that Lin’s Inn was only cooperating with Hongfu Restaurant and would eventually end that partnership. To enjoy Lin’s Inn’s specialties or get the free gifts from VIP cards, they would need to frequent Lin’s Inn regularly.

And now they cooperate in this way. The big families and their regular customers have already developed the habit of considering Hongfu Restaurant one of the top restaurants in Lingnan City, coupled with Hongwanfu’s well-known reputation. Upon hearing this news, what comes to mind first is probably not the partnership between Linji Inn and Hongfu Restaurant, but rather Linji Inn having to submit to Hongfu Restaurant right from the start.

The big families and their regular customers are not used to Linji Inn’s atmosphere and cuisine. There’s already a large restaurant nearby with similar features, and it’s likely that this restaurant will merge with Linji Inn sooner or later. Few would be willing to go to the east side of the city just to gradually get used to Linji Inn’s atmosphere and other dishes.

Regular customers are those who, when wanting to host a banquet, naturally choose this restaurant as their first option. Without regular customers, any restaurant cannot sustain itself in the long term. For a newly opened restaurant, this is an inevitable fatal weakness.

This is also why Fenglin Restaurant is willing to spend heavily to use guild information to shut down some large restaurants, forcing them to reopen after a year or so. Or when new restaurants open, with most customers already being won over by Fenglin Restaurant, unless they have greater strength than Fenglin, they can only attract regular customers by leveraging their geographical advantage to draw in local big families who dine nearby.

Lin Dong didn’t want to clash with Fenglin Restaurant or Hongfu Restaurant right at the beginning of his expansion, especially someone as unscrupulous as Hongwanfu. But Hongwanfu’s two-pronged strategy was simply too ruthless. If he could resolve things peacefully, even at some cost, Lin Dong would accept it.

But Hongwanfu was clearly not the kind of person who would back down just because of a little reward.

“It seems you plan to keep Linji Inn from ever opening in Lingnan City?” Seeing Lin Dong stand up, Hongwanfu sat back down, picked up his teacup, casually poured out the full contents, and then slammed the empty cup onto the table with a bang.

He flicked through the broken porcelain shards, picked out the largest one, and began grinding it against the rough edge against his thumbnail. As the shard rubbed against his nail, white powder slowly fell off. Hongwanfu kept changing the rubbing spot, his focus entirely on polishing his nails, as if he were the only person in the world.

A threat?

Lin Dong laughed, a smile slowly appearing on his face. Hongwanfu’s actions scattered the troubles that had been plaguing him like a hurricane suddenly sweeping through fog.

Worried that Hong Wanfu might use ruthless methods against Lin’s Inn, yet unwilling to resort to force before the conflict escalated. The dilemma was indeed complicated, but the solution wasn’t actually hard at all. Just learn from Hong Wanfu and counter with threats—problem solved! Such a simple method, and he hadn’t thought of it before! Lin Dong suddenly felt he was too upright; only upright people couldn’t think of such a simple solution right away. Watching Lin Dong’s carefree smile, Hong Wanfu’s brows furrowed tightly, his thick brows resembling two sharp swords. Any ordinary person who saw them would surely be terrified. After observing Lin Dong for a while until the smile faded from his face, just as he was about to speak, Hong Wanfu suddenly sneered, “Interesting. You’re probably the only person I’ve met in over twenty years who can smile so naturally in front of me.” “Is that so?” Lin Dong retorted. A fierce line appeared beneath Hong Wanfu’s eye bags as his right arm suddenly rose, and he slammed his palm down on the table. Boom! The stone table, struck like by a giant hammer, shattered instantly into dozens of pieces that flew in all directions. Seeing the power of his strike, Hong Wanfu was clearly satisfied, and the fierce lines beneath his eye bags deepened further. “Not bad. I haven’t practiced much lately, but my palm strength hasn’t declined much.” Hong Wanfu raised his gaze slightly and was surprised to see that Lin Dong’s legs hadn’t moved an inch. He raised his gaze even faster. Calm, like deep water—faintly, one could detect a hint of mockery. Lin Dong’s expression made Hong Wanfu’s gaze grow serious. Fear of death is human nature. No matter how composed and astute a businessman may be, they can remain calm under fierce pressure from competitors, but they certainly can’t stay calm in the face of a murderer’s blade, let alone mock them as if watching them perform acrobatics. This expression was definitely not ordinary. Anger and shame were suppressed by Hong Wanfu. His gaze toward Lin Dong remained cold and fierce. With a cold smile, Hong Wanfu turned away and walked away, his voice calm yet deliberate. “Fifty thousand taels of silver isn’t a small amount, Manager Lin. I hope you’ll think it over carefully. Tomorrow, I’ll send someone to hear your reply.” “Just leaving like that?” Lin Dong’s smile was icy. Although Hong Wanfu’s attitude remained firm, he could sense that Hong Wanfu was backing down.

He couldn’t even stand a smile. Calling Hong Wanfu cautious or timid was one thing! The undeniable fact was that though Hong Wanfu ran a gambling house and had seen much killing, he too was overwhelmed by the fear of the unknown. Perhaps due to his age, his boldness was somewhat less than Lin Dong had expected.

“What, do you still want me to stay for lunch?” Hong Wanfu glared at Lin Dong coldly.

Lin Dong pointed at the stones on the ground and said nonchalantly, “I welcomed you kindly, but you broke my teacup and shattered my stone table. It seems unfair not to give an explanation, right?”

Hong Wanfu burst into laughter. “What explanation does Shopkeeper Lin want? Money as compensation? An apology?”

“Both, of course!”

Lin Dong’s eyes remained calm, but Hong Wanfu was shocked to find his own body uncontrollably flying toward him.

“You… you…”

Hong Wanfu tried to muster his spiritual energy, but no matter how hard he struggled, he was utterly powerless against that invisible force, like a speck of dust compared to a mountain. The fear of the unknown force grew deeper in his heart, and as Lin Dong got closer, that fear finally showed on his face.

When they were less than half a meter apart, Hong Wanfu finally realized his body had stopped moving. Yet his legs still couldn’t be moved in the slightest.

Raising his right arm, Hong Wanfu instinctively struck at Lin Dong’s chest. To his horror, just as his right palm was about to touch Lin Dong, it suddenly missed its target.

The person had disappeared—vanished without a trace. Even Hong Wanfu, with his boldness, couldn’t help but feel chilled.

Pulling back his right arm, Hong Wanfu tried to turn his head to look around, only for Lin Dong to reappear right where he stood.

“Are you human or a ghost? How is this possible?”

Hong Wanfu became speechless, his panic evident in his eyes.

“At the second stage of the Mental Focus phase, you still dare cause trouble at Lin’s Inn. To be honest…” Lin Dong said calmly, “I admire your courage, Boss Hong.”

Hong Wanfu’s gaze froze. Those mocking words filled him with shame, but they also helped calm his racing heart.

Compared to those disciples from major sects who needed to cultivate focus in illusion arrays, Hong Wanfu might be slightly inferior, but after decades of battles and scheming, he wasn’t far behind.

Hong Wanfu understood the implicit meaning in Lin Dong’s words. Knowing he was at the second stage of the Mental Focus phase, and given Lin Dong’s tone, it was clear this Shopkeeper Lin was simply stronger.

It’s simply stronger in power—hundred or a thousand times easier to accept than something incomprehensible. Fear, too, should be reduced by a hundred or a thousand times.
“Shopkeeper Lin…” Taking a deep breath, Hong Wanfu stopped struggling and said in a solemn voice, “Since I came here on my own, if you want to kill me, torture me, or demand any conditions, go ahead. Since I, Hong Wanfu, have admitted it, I’m not afraid of the consequences.”
“If you weren’t in business but a bandit, with your strength at the second level of the Mental Energy stage, you’d still be quite formidable,” Lin Dong smiled, using spiritual energy to control Hong Wanfu’s body before withdrawing it.
It was clear that the invisible force restraining his legs had disappeared. Yet Hong Wanfu didn’t try to escape; instead, he stared at Lin Dong without blinking, waiting for his next move.
“Business should be conducted according to business rules,” Lin Dong said slowly, unhurriedly. But his tone was as if he were teaching a junior.
“Do you know why your business hasn’t progressed in over a decade? Don’t tell me you don’t want to expand Hongfu Gambling House and Hongfu Restaurant to other counties. The reason is that you place too much emphasis on martial strength. You regard it as the greatest power, with everything else as secondary. That’s why you dare not leave Lingnan City—because only there do you have enough martial strength to face any opponent.”
“Shopkeeper Lin is telling me that as long as I don’t use force against Lin’s Inn, Lin’s Inn won’t use force against anyone else?” Hong Wanfu asked solemnly.
“Smart!”
Lin Dong gave Hong Wanfu a thumbs up, a gesture that reminded Hong Wanfu of when he had once given Lin Dong a thumbs up too.
“Then can I go now?” Hong Wanfu fixed his gaze intently on Lin Dong’s face.
“Pay compensation and apologize!” Lin Dong said leisurely. “After doing those two things, it’s up to you.”
“How much compensation and what kind of apology does Shopkeeper Lin want?” Hong Wanfu pressed.
“It depends on your sincerity,” Lin Dong replied casually.
Without hesitation, Hong Wanfu took out a silver note and a dagger from the storage spirit ring on his index finger. He pierced the silver note with the dagger, took a breath, and thrust the dagger sharply into his thigh. With a sharp sound, the dagger, gleaming with a cold light, sank about four or five centimeters into his thigh. With a ferocious smile, Hong Wanfu pulled out the dagger, ignored the gushing blood, and drove the blood-stained dagger firmly into the ground. Then he turned and walked away.
Glancing at the amount on the silver note—1,000 taels—this amount was slightly less than what Lin Dong had expected, but Hong Wanfu’s method was much more decisive than he had anticipated.

Watching Hong Wanfu stagger away, Lin Dong suddenly spoke up, “Boss Hong, remember what I said just now. Use whatever tactics you need, as long as you don’t cross my limits. It’s not often that I’m this easy to talk to.”
Hong Wanfu paused for a moment before stepping out of the courtyard.
Having finished dealing with the situation, Lin Dong glanced at the scattered stones on the ground with a sense of helplessness. This was already the third or fourth time someone had smashed a table in front of him. The stone tables in Lin Ji Inn’s front yard were truly unlucky.
With a snap of his hand, the dagger flew out, and with a slight twist, the sharp and hard dagger instantly broke into two pieces around the silver bill.
Taking out the silver bill and putting it into the mobile counter, Lin Dong turned to look at Ma Chun, who had been standing at the back courtyard entrance.
“Boss! Is this Boss Hong here to threaten us into leaving Lingnan City?” Ma Chun rushed over, his face filled with disdain. He had seen everything clearly and could roughly guess what had happened.
“It’s not a threat; it’s a partnership. By the way, why didn’t you come over earlier?” Lin Dong asked in confusion.
“Boss, you don’t know. This Boss Hong has a terrible temper. He said he didn’t like my appearance and didn’t want to see me,” Ma Chun said with a calm smile. “To avoid blocking his view, I had no choice but to stay far away.”
“That guy is really nasty!” Lin Dong couldn’t help but glance at Ma Chun. He wasn’t particularly handsome, but he wasn’t ugly either. At first glance, his appearance was ordinary. But upon closer inspection, the rowdy vibe from his past had long disappeared, and a hint of an extraordinary aura could already be seen.
With the temperament he had developed over these past couple of years through various trials, Ma Chun would stand out even in a crowd—though not necessarily as the most prominent, he would still draw attention due to his uniqueness. Given Hong Wanfu’s vicious remarks, it was clear he had recognized Ma Chun’s uniqueness and deliberately tried to provoke him to keep him away.
Ma Chun, obviously, had guessed this as well, so he didn’t take it to heart. To avoid unnecessary complications, he did as Hong Wanfu said and didn’t appear in front of him.
Since Ma Chun didn’t need comfort, Lin Dong stopped wasting words and recounted everything that had happened to his most reliable subordinate.
“A partnership? Hong Wanfu’s move is really cunning,” Ma Chun replied, expressing his amazement. Killing two birds with one stone—if the boss had never seen large sums of money or troublesome people before, he might very well have agreed to the offer of fifty thousand taels of silver each.
“Do you have any ideas?” Lin Dong asked.
“I think…” Ma Chun hesitated. “We should investigate Hong Wanfu’s background in detail, especially his recent activities.”

Lin Dong smiled; the idea was the same as his own. When Hong Wanfu proposed a partnership, Lin Dong had already doubted his true motives. After realizing it was a plan to kill two birds with one stone, he had no further doubts. But upon carefully reviewing the process of threatening Hong Wanfu earlier, he found no flaws, and Hong Wanfu’s reaction had been as expected—he would likely not dare use any methods against Lin’s Inn that he couldn’t tolerate. Yet, he unexpectedly realized he might still have overlooked something. Hong Wanfu was too hasty. Lin’s Inn had only distributed promotional materials and had not yet opened; its various features hadn’t been introduced yet. The actual effects remained unknown. Even if Hong Wanfu had detailed information about Lin’s Inn’s performance in Qiufeng City, Qiufeng City was merely a provincial capital. It would be too rash to risk a huge amount by betting on features of Lin’s Inn that hadn’t been proven effective in Lingnan Commandery. Once Lin’s Inn officially opened and its effectiveness was verified, negotiations could begin. Given the long-standing feud between Lin’s Inn and Fenglin Restaurant, it was impossible to reach a partnership to counter Hongfu Restaurant in just a few days. Although Lin’s Inn might raise its prices after proving its effectiveness, 50,000 taels of silver per month—without a well-thought-out plan to kill two birds with one stone—would still be higher than what it could charge based on its apparent efforts and rewards. In short, the only drawback of waiting until Lin’s Inn opened before negotiating a partnership was having to wait a few days before starting to deal with Fenglin Restaurant. With Hong Wanfu’s eagerness and the high stakes, yet relying on others for the outcome, there must be other reasons behind this plan to kill two birds with one stone. Seeing Lin Dong’s expression, Ma Chun knew he agreed and said, “If the owner has no other instructions, shall I go handle it now?” “Go ahead, find out the reason,” Lin Dong nodded. After Ma Chun left, Lin Dong went straight to the back yard. In just half a day, by evening, Ma Chun returned. He spent 180 taels of silver to bribe a concubine favored by Hong Wanfu who often visited a silk shop. That afternoon, he quietly gathered a lot of information. After analyzing everything, the reason became clear. After returning to the Hong family twice with a dark expression from the county office, it was clear that Hong Wanfu and the new county magistrate were not as close as they appeared.

Adding to this, Hong Wanfu’s recent series of changes at Hongfu Gambling House, when examined carefully, point directly at a newly opened gambling house in the city called Tianlai Gambling House. The tactics used seem more aimed at restraining it rather than crushing it. Ma Chun concluded that Tianlai Gambling House likely has some undisclosed connection with the new prefect. Hong Wanfu is clearly aware of this as well; after failing to turn the situation around, he had no choice but to shift the focus of his business from gambling houses to restaurants with a solid foundation. His urgency likely stems from his desire to seize all the unique features of Linji Inn before Fenglin Restaurant realizes this, so as to then overwhelm Fenglin Restaurant. Otherwise, Fenglin Restaurant would surely reach out to Tianlai Gambling House first. By dealing with Hong Wanfu’s threat for Linji Inn, the two could work together to force Hong Wanfu to split his attention, thereby saving at least half a year in the time it would take to drive Hongfu Gambling House and Hongfu Restaurant into collapse. This news is undoubtedly good news for Lin Dong.