Chapter 338: The Cost of Providing Perfumed Liquor

“Shopkeeper Lin, our Fenglin Restaurant will be responsible for providing you with Perfumed Liquor on a long-term basis. Lin’s Inn only needs to use twelve types of spiritual beast materials and special offerings like VIP cards to hold them back. In this deal, no one should suffer any loss, right?”
Seeing Lin Dong’s somewhat astonished expression, Liang Gufeng was confident.
“Well…” Lin Dong was indeed hesitant. If Fenglin Restaurant could truly supply Perfumed Liquor to Lin’s Inn on a long-term basis, it would greatly enhance Lin’s Inn’s strength.
Although using these special offerings in advance to suppress Hongfu Restaurant would hinder Lin’s Inn from gaining regular customers, it could mean that once done, Lin’s Inn would lose its advantages within two or three months. By the time Fenglin Restaurant defeated Hongfu Restaurant, it would likely be difficult to cultivate many regular customers. By then, Fenglin Restaurant would be in a much stronger position to deal with Lin’s Inn, which would have no advantages left.
Similarly, while having Perfumed Liquor might bring some benefits to Lin’s Inn in Lingnan City, Fenglin Restaurant there also had it. But Lin’s Inn wasn’t limited to Lingnan City—out of its ten branches in Qiufeng Prefecture, only six currently controlled over 50% of the market for spiritual beast materials in the city. With Perfumed Liquor, the other four branches would gain an edge in dominating their respective counties. Once branches in the subordinate cities of Lingnan City opened, the benefits would be even greater.
In essence, it meant using the slowdown in the development of the main branch to accelerate the growth of branches. It was a difficult choice between two valuable things.
“Shopkeeper Lin!” Liang Gufeng continued, “Lin’s Inn only needs to act as a distraction. With VIP cards, spirit stone fans, signature dishes… once we introduce dishes similar to Hongfu Restaurant’s three signature dishes, customers who order these three dishes or use VIP cards will pay five times more, or receive a plate of Lin’s Inn’s signature dish for free. In fact, as long as Lin’s Inn pauses raising the cumulative price for VIP card orders and stops charging separately for its signature dishes, it won’t suffer much loss.”
Lin Dong shook his head silently, not agreeing at all with Liang Gufeng’s plan. Keeping the cumulative price for VIP card orders unchanged and stopping separate charges for signature dishes might indeed delay the depletion of the unique offerings that attracted customers. But it was just a delay, and it went against the promotion strategies used before Lin’s Inn opened. More importantly, Liang Gufeng wasn’t stupid. Lin Dong believed he would find a way to defeat Hongfu Restaurant before Lin’s Inn could build up a large number of regular customers.

Watching Lin Dong’s uncertain expression, Liang Gufeng hesitated for a moment before reluctantly picking up his teacup and teasingly saying, “Given Manager Lin’s usual determination, with such conditions, I don’t see why you’d still hesitate.”

Lin Dong remained silent, his gaze conflicted.

Liang Gufeng smiled, though inwardly he felt somewhat helpless. His words carried an element of provocation. Normally, such remarks shouldn’t have been made in this situation. If Lin Dong caught the urgency hidden behind them, it might force him to fail. But Liang Gufeng really couldn’t wait any longer. If Lin’s Inn was willing to cooperate, he was over 90% confident that even if they couldn’t force Lin’s Inn to withdraw from Lingnan City in disgrace, they could still restrict their monthly profits to roughly the same level as those of other large restaurants, preventing them from competing with Fenglin Restaurant as a major player.

He said it because Liang Gufeng believed that at Lin Dong’s youthful and impulsive age, he wouldn’t be able to withstand such words. Even if he showed maturity beyond his years, it was unlikely he’d grasp the deeper implications.

“Manager Liang, there’s no need to rush. Have some tea! Our Lin’s Inn’s Hongyun Tea is probably not much worse than Fenglin Restaurant’s Tianlan Tea,” Ma Chun suddenly stood up, smiling as he picked up the teapot and filled Liang Gufeng’s cup. Noting his dazed expression, he added, “Our manager is just unsure whether it’s a good deal. If you’re not in a hurry, how about waiting a few days before giving us your reply?”

Liang Gufeng stared in shock, filled with regret. He hadn’t anticipated that there was more than just Lin Dong among them. What he didn’t expect even more was that this equally young manager, Ma, could, from the sidelines, sense his own urgency.

Meanwhile, Lin Dong seemed to wake up from a dream. As Liang Gufeng had predicted, he hadn’t considered the intention behind his words at first. He had been focused solely on the pros and cons of cooperating with Fenglin Restaurant, never realizing that it was actually Fenglin Restaurant that needed Lin’s Inn’s help and was in a hurry.

If Lin’s Inn refused, they could sit back and reap benefits from the competition between Hongfu Restaurant and Fenglin Restaurant. Agreeing rashly without weighing the risks might not be a good idea. There was no need to hesitate—just refuse. After all, even if they refused, Lin’s Inn would still gain significant benefits.

Picking up the teacup and taking a sip, Lin Dong gave Ma Chun an approving look before shifting his gaze to Liang Gufeng with a puzzled expression. “Shopkeeper Liang, I think we’d better wait a few more days. To be honest, I can’t decide right away whether it’s worth it or not.”

Liang Gufeng felt an urge to pick up the stone bench under him and smash Ma Chun to death. Reluctantly, after quickly thinking it through, he also looked puzzled. “Shopkeeper Lin, it’s not that I can’t wait. It’s just… to be honest with you and Manager Ma, I’ve already made plans with Chen Yantian, the owner of Tianlai Gambling House, to team up against Hong Wanfu. I also promised Chen Yantian that I’d convince you to join us today. If I go back and say you still need a few more days to consider… As you both know, a few nights ago, someone spread rumors that Boss Chen and the county magistrate were plotting to suppress Hongfu Gambling House. According to Boss Chen, these rumors must have been spread by Hong Wanfu to catch him off guard.”

“Is that so?” Lin Dong and Ma Chun were shocked.

Liang Gufeng sneered. Anyone with a bit of common sense, knowing that Hong Wanfu had deliberately posted a notice the day before claiming to have allied with Lin’s Inn, could easily guess that the rumors were actually spread by Lin’s Inn. These two actors pretended not to know anything. It was a shame they weren’t actors at such a young age.

Of course, Liang Gufeng had also been pretending to be clueless. He couldn’t say much about Lin Dong and Ma Chun interrupting him on purpose, so he could only nod and continue, “Boss Chen is no ordinary person. After learning that Hongfu Restaurant was trying to suppress our Fenglin Restaurant, he decided to do the opposite, catching Hong Wanfu off guard. So, he even went to Fenglin Restaurant in person to meet with me. After a thorough discussion, we agreed to team up against Hong Wanfu.”

“Go in person?” Lin Dong and Ma Chun exchanged glances. Those words were well chosen—the first exaggerated Chen Yantian’s status, while the second added credibility. The intention was clearly to make them realize that Chen Yantian was someone extraordinary. Lin’s Inn had already offended him once; if they dared offend him again, not to mention his identity as a gambling house owner, even just his relationship with the county magistrate would result in consequences unimaginable!

Ma Chun’s eyes sparkled. Although Lin’s Inn already had Fu Tongshan as a backup against Chen Yantian, the fewer people who knew about this, the less likely it was to be exposed. After all, Lin’s Inn and Fu Tongshan didn’t get along well—they even had a significant grudge between them.

Realizing this, Ma Chun was about to speak up to put pressure on them, but unexpectedly, Liang Gufeng had already seen through his intentions. He quickly said anxiously, “Manager Lin, this is also my fault. I shouldn’t have promised Boss Chen that I could persuade Manager Lin today. Let me go back and explain to Boss Chen now to see if we can delay things for a few days.”
With that, Liang Gufeng stood up.
“Manager Liang, there’s no rush!” At Lin Dong’s signal, Ma Chun quickly stood up to stop him, subtly hinting to the officials he knew that the relationship between Lin’s Inn and Fu Tongshan was still ongoing. If Liang Gufeng really wanted to see Lin’s Inn stand by while others fought, then persuading Chen Yantian to cause trouble for Lin’s Inn first would be quite entertaining.
Lin’s Inn wasn’t afraid of anything except trouble with the authorities. Unless its strength was enough to defy Tianwei Pavilion, it could only try every possible way to deal with official troubles.
“Manager Ma, what are you doing…” Liang Gufeng took the opportunity to back down and sat down again.
Ma Chun couldn’t help but look at Lin Dong—he was at a loss. By bringing up Chen Yantian, as long as the county magistrate delayed taking action by ten or eight days, or if the action wasn’t severe—just sending a few officials to arrest bandits—it wouldn’t really be a problem for Lin’s Inn. After ten or eight days, once the magistrate learned about the relationship between Lin’s Inn and Fu Tongshan from other sources, he would surely back down and apologize.
But if the magistrate was impatient and sent people to seal Lin’s Inn right away under some pretext, such as poisoned food or collusion with bandits, the trouble would be serious. Although it would be slander, and even without mentioning Fu Tongshan, getting the guild to intervene could clear things up in ten or eight days.
But being shut down for ten or eight days, especially on charges of poisoned food or collusion with bandits, would leave lasting negative impacts that couldn’t be erased in a year or two.
“Manager Liang…” Lin Dong pondered. “I wonder how much fragrant oil Fenglin Restaurant can provide for Lin’s Inn each month?”
Liang Gufeng smiled calmly. Was this a compromise?
“In summer, 100 pounds per month. In spring and autumn, 300 pounds per month. As for winter, we can guarantee no less than 1,000 pounds per month.”
“What about the price?” Lin Dong asked casually. “And how many dishes can be made from each pound?”

“If it’s one jin, let’s set it at ten taels of silver for Lin Ji Inn.” Liang Gufeng understood that even if Lin Dong compromised, if he was truly dissatisfied, he might go to extreme measures to ally with Hong Wanfu behind the scenes to overthrow the new prefect, or else find someone who could suppress the new prefect. Therefore, he explained openly, “The number of dishes that can be made from one jin depends on how strong the flavor of these dishes Lin Ji Inn wants to achieve. If it’s too strong, it becomes excessive. At our Fenglin Restaurant, we add fragrance to about ten dishes per jin of ingredients. Of course, the exact amount depends on the weight of the ingredients, but on average, it’s around this amount. In other words, adding fragrance to one dish increases the cost by one tael of silver.”

After a pause, Liang Gufeng continued, “According to the cost published by our Fenglin Restaurant in the guild, adding fragrance costs twenty taels of silver per jin, with a 40% profit margin, which means an additional profit of one tael and two qian. If Lin Ji Inn prices the dishes with added fragrance at over ten taels of silver per dish using spiritual beast ingredients, not only will the increased price be negligible, but it will also attract many wealthy customers willing to spend dozens of taels on a single meal.”

“Too expensive and too little!” Lin Dong frowned. Liang Gufeng’s words had dashed his hopes for this fragrance. Not to mention only a hundred jin in summer, even in winter, it’s only a thousand jin, meaning only ten thousand dishes of spiritual beast ingredients.

Take Lin Ji Inn in Qiufeng City alone—just its ten private rooms see over a hundred large groups visiting every day, totaling three to four thousand groups per month. Even if each group orders one or two dishes, there won’t be much fragrance left. As for other counties or future branches, it’s unthinkable.

Moreover, twenty taels of silver per jin is quite high, making it suitable only for attracting large groups. If used in first- or second-tier spiritual beast ingredients, those large groups might choose to give up due to the doubled price of the dishes.

In short, this fragrance doesn’t meet Lin Dong’s expectations at all.

“It’s indeed a bit expensive, and the quantity is also low. The fragrance is hard to obtain. I can only guarantee that Lin Ji Inn’s fragrance will not cost more than Fenglin Restaurant’s, and the quantity will not be less,” Liang Gufeng said helplessly, shaking his hands.

Lin Dong remained silent. As for the cost, he couldn’t verify it. As for the quantity, it would be clear once he checked how many dishes of spiritual beast ingredients with added fragrance Fenglin Restaurant sold each month—Liang Gufeng wouldn’t lie.

However, even if Liang Gufeng was telling the truth, the appeal of this fragrance-enhancing substance was still far from sufficient. Lin Dong’s expectation from it was to strengthen the overall strength of Lin Ji Inn, not just one or two of its branches. Moreover, even if it were for branches, it would only serve to increase their appeal to those wealthy clients.

Based on the share of fragrance-enhancing substance provided by Liang Gufeng, Lin Ji Inn would only gain an additional five hundred taels of silver per month in direct income, with indirect benefits amounting to at most another thousand or eight hundred taels. In total, that would be around twenty thousand taels of silver per year—equivalent to the profit of a county-level branch.

After selling the secular treasures obtained from the Xingli Sect and deducting the expenses for purchasing spirit stones and opening branches, Lin Dong still had over two million taels of silver left. Such benefits were hardly significant at all.

“Shopkeeper Lin, as long as we have the same amount of fragrance-enhancing substance as Fenglin Restaurant, given Lin Ji Inn’s various advantages, we shouldn’t have to worry about Fenglin Restaurant turning against us after defeating Hongfu Restaurant. No matter how we calculate it, Lin Ji Inn shouldn’t lose out in this deal. Besides…” Liang Gufeng added meaningfully, “we can also use this opportunity to get to know the county magistrate through Boss Chen, and with fewer benefits coming from Hongfu Restaurant, it’s a win-win situation.”

Lin Dong smiled but remained silent. He couldn’t possibly believe that Fenglin Restaurant wouldn’t find a way to turn against Lin Ji Inn later on.

“Shopkeeper Lin…” Liang Gufeng began to look down on Lin Dong. Considering the pressure from the county magistrate and the actual benefits, there was no reason for Lin Ji Inn to refuse. This shopkeeper was too hesitant; he certainly lacked determination. It was hard to understand how he managed to open over a dozen branches in just over two years.

“Shopkeeper Liang…” Lin Dong suddenly asked, “I heard that this fragrance-enhancing substance is in the form of ice cubes?”

“Mm!” Liang Gufeng wasn’t sure what Lin Dong was aiming for, so he simply nodded in response.

“I think the source of this fragrance-enhancing substance is Fenglin Restaurant in Lingnan City,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “It’s probably within the territory of Lingnan County, right?”

Liang Gufeng also smiled. It seemed this shopkeeper wanted to uncover the source of the substance.

“Does Shopkeeper Lin know why it’s only available at Fenglin Restaurant in Lingnan City, and why the quantity is small and the cost high?”

Lin Dong shook his head. “If Shopkeeper Liang doesn’t mind, I’d really like to learn more about it.”

Liang Gufeng took out a small brocade box from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Lin Dong, saying, “Inside are samples of the fragrance additive. Manager Lin can take them to the kitchen later for the chefs to try.”

Lin Dong opened the brocade box. Inside was a blue ice cube about six or seven centimeters square. There was a layer of oilpaper at the bottom of the box, with a significant amount of blue water stains on it—clearly from the melted ice.

When he raised his fingers slightly above the box, a wave of cold air rose.

“How do we test it?”

“The fragrance additive has a sweet taste and can make people feel refreshed. Manager Lin can spend some silver to have an alchemist taste it; that should confirm there’s no spiritual energy in the water, meaning it can be proven to have indeed been collected from nature.”

Sweet and refreshing? Lin Dong smacked his lips. If the cost was low enough, it could even be used as a drink.

Liang Gufeng continued, “Next, Manager Lin should ask the chefs to take out this ice cube and leave it in a bowl for a day or two. About half of it should melt. Then, use the remaining ice in dishes, using half of the melted water in the dishes and drinking the other half. By then, it will be clear that what I said is true.”

“What do you mean, Manager Liang…” Ma Chun couldn’t help but express surprise, “Can this fragrance additive only be used in dishes when it’s in ice form? If it melts into water, it only tastes better but has no effect in dishes?”

Liang Gufeng gave Ma Chun a thumbs up in approval before saying, “Not only that, but this fragrance additive can only turn into ice in extreme cold—something you’ll realize once you try it. Only extreme cold can create ice. I think you two know what that implies.”

Lin Dong and the others nodded slowly. Ice that could only form in extreme cold meant the fragrance additive would melt even in winter, making it impossible to store. Moreover, its hardness, combined with the coldness, made collection extremely difficult. And since it could only be used in dishes when in ice form, the cost and quantity were likely high.

“As for verifying the fragrance additive, it only takes a day or two. Since Manager Lin agreed to cooperate today, just a day or two—so long as the contract specifies this, it shouldn’t be a problem.” Liang Gufeng asked with a smile, “Since we can confirm that the quantity and cost of the fragrance additive won’t be misleading, there’s no need to worry that Lin’s Inn won’t be able to profit from it. Are there any other concerns Manager Lin has about this partnership?”

Lin Dong frowned slightly before slowly relaxing.

The fragrance additive was extremely costly for Maple Forest Restaurant, but not necessarily so for Lin’s Inn.

The Lin’s Inn system now includes cellars with temperature control.