Chapter 387: Another Use for the Vase

Wang Zaixing felt frustrated but had to force a smile, pretending to be deeply grateful that Lin Dong was willing to pay 300,000 taels of silver for the vase. Unfortunately, he couldn’t raise that amount in such a short time. Over the past six months, to meet the demands for tribute from their sect, Wang’s pawnshop had already struggled to handle regular pawnments, and most of their rare treasures had been sold off—only a few still remaining.
The vase was one of those remaining treasures. Originally, Wang Zaixing planned to use it to deceive Jiang Ruocai, the elderly and powerful rice merchant in Lingnan City.
Jiang Ruocai, in his sixties, was not in good health and could almost be considered half-dead. Among the most death-fearing of Lingnan City’s wealthy elites, there was no doubt about it—Jiang Ruocai was the top candidate.
The vase was, without a doubt, the perfect tool to deceive him.
Unfortunately, a scam worth over a million taels of silver couldn’t be planned in just a few days. Just like using fake paintings to deceive Lin’s Inn, Wang Zaixing stayed in the best room there for several nights, sent people to gather detailed information about Lin’s Inn and Lin Dong, studied their financial situation and Lin Dong’s personality, and only then began planning the scam, constantly testing and addressing potential issues.
Only after everything was thoroughly planned would he take action. The process might take three to four days or even three to four months or longer.
Wang Zaixing had only gathered some basic information about Jiang Ruocai—far from enough to start setting up the scheme.
Lin Dong picked up the vase and stared quietly at Wang Zaixing.
Wang Zaixing, realizing the situation, immediately stood up and bowed, saying, “Master Lin, if there’s nothing else, I won’t disturb you any longer. Please convey my regards to Young Master Hua.”
“I’m sorry I can’t see you off. Goodbye, President Wang!” Lin Dong stood up as well.
“Goodbye!”
Wang Zaixing stepped back a few times and turned to leave. Though he hadn’t gotten a sip of tea or seen a kind face during his visit to Lin’s Inn, overall, he felt he had achieved his goal. Losing a vase worth about 30,000 to 50,000 taels, along with a set of paintings worth around 200,000 taels and a stack of design drawings, was still worth it. After all, failing to scam a million taels of silver and paying a price of over 200,000 taels wasn’t too high a cost.
Moreover, Wang Zaixing felt somewhat pleased inwardly. Losing a vase worth 30,000 to 50,000 taels as compensation for one worth 300,000 taels was, in a way, a way to vent his frustration from the failed scam.

Watching Wang Zaixing leave, Ma Chun, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up, “Owner, what he said must be a lie, right? If it really could increase the value of refined spiritual materials by dozens of times, 300,000 taels of silver seems a bit too cheap. Even if it were 3 million or 30 million taels, countless people would surely fight over it.”

“It’s a lie, but still incredibly valuable,” Lin Dong replied leisurely.

“Has the owner discovered some other use for it?” Ma Chun quickly asked. Earlier, even though he knew Wang Zaixing’s words were false, he hadn’t said anything. One reason was that the vase indeed had something strange about it, and the other was that he believed if he could tell it was a lie, Lin Dong surely could as well.

Knowing it was a lie yet still valuing it at 300,000 taels of silver, Ma Chun didn’t think Lin Dong intended to spare Wang Zaixing.

Having tricked him into Lin’s Inn and not letting Wang Zaixing cry bitterly in regret for life was already being lenient with him.

“This vase is helpful for research on Yunlan, even if just a little. Its value cannot be measured in silver,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Moreover, this vase has another use.”

“Another use?” Ma Chun frowned in thought. Since the owner hadn’t mentioned it clearly, he must be trying to test him.

He had learned martial arts merely to strengthen his body and have a chance to survive in danger. This test clearly had nothing to do with that.

The other use must be related to the inn.

Lin Dong smiled without speaking, not in a hurry. He believed Ma Chun would surely figure it out. If not, Ma Chun would need to be reprimanded.

“Owner!” Ma Chun slapped his palm suddenly and exclaimed happily, “I’ve figured it out!”

“Tell me!” Lin Dong gestured.

“The owner wants to place this vase in a private room, right?” Ma Chun explained excitedly. “As long as we find a low-grade spiritual material with a pleasant scent that boosts morale, refine it using this vase, and place it in the room, it will surely enhance the atmosphere there. No…”

Ma Chun slapped his palm again and said urgently, “This vase can spread the fragrance of chrysanthemums over such a distance, even through a small gap, especially outdoors. As long as we make a small hole in the entire room, with the long-lasting fragrance of the spiritual material, just a little will allow all the rooms to smell it.”

“Not bad. You thought of connecting the rooms,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “But… even the smallest hole, once made, will allow conversations in adjacent rooms to be overheard.”

“This…” Ma Chun frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, then said cheerfully, “We can create an opening from above—just a hole the size of a fist. There’s definitely no problem with that.”
“Can we go a step further?” Lin Dong asked.
“Go a step further?” Ma Chun was stumped. How could they go any further?
“Yes! One more step.”
Lin Dong nodded with a smile. Ma Chun having thought of using the vase’s special properties in the private rooms was already considered satisfactory. Realizing that the vase could fully extract the scent of spiritual materials to connect all the private rooms would earn him an 80 without a doubt.
If he could go a step further, Lin Dong believed Ma Chun could truly become a hands-off manager, rather than having to rack his brains to come up with solutions whenever something major arose.
Ma Chun racked his brains as time passed, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Finally, his expression darkened, and he said helplessly, “Boss, can I go back and think about it?”
Part of the test was to assess Ma Chun’s quick thinking. If he went back to think, it wouldn’t make much sense. Lin Dong shook his head and asked, “You really can’t think of anything?”
“I can’t!” Ma Chun replied, looking frustrated.
“Actually, you’ve already gotten part of it right,” Lin Dong reminded him. “Spiritual materials have a more lasting fragrance than ordinary flowers and plants.”
Ma Chun’s mind stirred, and he asked in surprise, “Do you mean we can use this vase on the second and third floors too?”
“Not just the second and third floors of the lobby, but also the first floor and all the guest rooms in the accommodation building—everywhere can use it,” Lin Dong said earnestly.
“Moving it from room to room is a bit troublesome, isn’t it?” Ma Chun shook his head. “It would mean assigning at least one employee to handle this task every day, going in and out of all the private rooms and guest rooms, disturbing the guests. It’s not worth it.”
“There’s no need to be that troublesome!” Lin Dong said calmly. “Hire some carpenters to design a set of precision iron pipes of different diameters. These pipes can be installed throughout the entire inn. The main control unit can be placed in the room where the vase is kept. The pipes in each room will vary in diameter based on profit potential. As long as there are mechanisms at the joints, similar to the wooden box Wang Zaixing brought, to adjust the gap size, and after testing how much each room’s gap needs to be adjusted, all that’s needed is to have someone refine the spiritual materials on schedule every day. This way, not only can the cost of spiritual materials be controlled, but the vase’s effects can also be extended to the entire inn…”

“Boss, how did you come up with this idea? Even if someone were to go back and think about it slowly, they probably wouldn’t be able to come up with this method in a lifetime,” Ma Chun said in astonishment, his admiration for Lin Dong growing ever stronger.

“Otherwise, why would I be the boss and you the manager?” Lin Dong laughed.

Actually, if Ma Chun had known what gas pipes and air-conditioning pipes were, it wouldn’t have been hard for him to figure it out.

Ma Chun forced a smile, his brows furrowing again. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Boss, it’s easy enough to handle the private rooms and guest rooms. But the first and second floors of the lobby are open all day long, allowing the fragrance of the medicinal materials to spread out—that’s not very cost-effective!”

“Won’t you close the doors and windows?” Lin Dong asked nonchalantly.

Ma Chun smiled bitterly. “If we close the doors and windows, it won’t be breathable! Especially in summer, it can be suffocating.”

“Have you forgotten about the spirit stone exhaust fan from Hua Wu Yue’s stove?” Lin Dong laughed. “It’s enough to ventilate the room where the vase is placed. Later, we can install a spirit stone exhaust fan at the manager’s position. If anyone doesn’t like this fragrance or prefers to keep the windows open, the lobby side… Anyway, since the profit from the first floor isn’t much, we can install pipes there, but without needing to spread the fragrance of the medicinal materials. If they don’t like it, we can suggest they go to the first floor instead. As for the guest rooms, they’re independent anyway. If they don’t like it, they can leave the doors open instead of the windows.”

Ma Chun slapped his thigh and couldn’t help but praise, “The boss really knows how to solve things. With this, everything is taken care of.”

“It depends on the cost of the medicinal materials to see if it’s worth it. For now, go try using a vase. As for the warriors, just ask Cheng Bao and the others for help,” Lin Dong instructed. “Once you’ve chosen the medicinal materials or designed the pipes, show me the materials and the plans. Also, make sure the room where the vase is placed is as large as possible.”

“As large as possible?” Ma Chun fully understood the first two instructions, but he wasn’t quite sure about Lin Dong’s intention behind the last one.

“Have you forgotten what Peng Qiao is currently researching?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.

Ma Chun was stunned, then felt utterly embarrassed.

As the manager of Lin Ji Inn, he knew very well what Peng Qiao was researching.

Spirit stone air conditioning!

He also knew its function—it could produce cold air. With these pipes, once the spirit stone air conditioning was developed, there would be no need to install one in each room. Instead, a large unit could be set up, using these pipes to deliver the fragrance of the medicinal materials to all rooms at once.

After thinking it over and confirming there was nothing left to discuss, Lin Dong picked up the vase on the table, handed it over, and said, “Alright, go get to work!”
“Mm, I’m off!”
Taking the vase from Lin Dong, Ma Chun nodded and headed excitedly to the kitchen to find Cheng Bao and the others.
Back in his room, Lin Dong resumed his cultivation.
Ma Chun was efficient; by noon the next day, he had already selected the spiritual material.
The material was called Wanli Flower, which had a very strong and long-lasting medicinal fragrance. Moreover, as it was only a second-tier spiritual material, its cost was not high.
More importantly, Wanli Flower was one of the ingredients for pills that nourished qi and calmed the mind, and its fragrance was pleasant, rich yet not cloying—so delightful that few people disliked it. Using it as a material would definitely meet all the requirements.
As for the pipelines, it was not until about half a month later that Lin Dong received the blueprints.
The blueprints were dense and intricate, with pipes buried in walls or soil, varying in size. Altogether, installing them properly would be no small task.
With the materials ready and the pipelines designed, the next step was undoubtedly to start manufacturing the steel pipes, fittings, and making the installations.
These two tasks could be carried out simultaneously. However, Lin Dong wasn’t in a hurry.
Installing pipelines, drilling walls, digging soil… For the lobby, work could be done at night. With proper scheduling, it wouldn’t affect daytime business. As for the guest building, it was impossible to evict guests in the middle of the night to carry out construction. Lin Dong’s plan was to finish the available guest rooms first. Then, once other rooms were vacated and new guests arrived, they could be directed to the rooms with already installed pipelines.
By alternating construction in this way, business would remain unaffected. The only impact would be in terms of time.
As Lin’s Gym became increasingly popular, both the lobby and the guest building of Lin’s Inn saw a significant boost in business. Especially the guest building, whose occupancy rate had originally been only 50-60%, now often reached full capacity.
At this pace of construction, it would take at least two to three months to fully install pipelines in all the guest rooms.
Fortunately, Lin Dong wasn’t in a hurry.
He wasn’t eager to release the Wanli Flower fragrance right away. Like the spiritual stone heaters, scented additives, and the bicycle he had already developed, he also regarded the Wanli Flower fragrance as a secret weapon.
He would wait until Hongfu Restaurant closed down and Fenglin Restaurant started targeting Lin’s Inn before introducing these products to completely overwhelm Fenglin Restaurant.

Therefore, there’s no need to rush with the pipeline.
With the autumn wind blowing and leaves swirling in the air, as deep autumn arrived, the entire Lingnan City took on a faint yellowish tint.
Inside the room, Lin Dong was thinking about when Feng Yue should arrive, what kind of situations he might face, and how to deal with them, when there was a rapid knocking at the door.
“Owner, owner…”
Lin Dong’s heart stirred—the voice belonged to Ma Chun.
Ma Chun was so urgent. Judging by the time, could it be…?
He hurried to the door and flung it open.
Outside, Ma Chun’s face was red with excitement as he said, “Owner, Hongfu Restaurant is done!”
“Done?” Lin Dong was overjoyed. Sure enough, after more than four months, Hongfu Restaurant finally couldn’t hold on any longer.
Ma Chun nodded emphatically and said excitedly, “Hongfu Restaurant didn’t purchase any ingredients all day yesterday. I sent people to investigate, and all the vendors who supply them were told not to deliver anymore. Doing this clearly means they intend to close down. With the amount of ingredients they have stored, if they try to hold on hoping for a miracle, they’ll post a closure notice in seven or eight days. If they don’t want to delay, they’ll sell the stored ingredients tomorrow and post the notice by afternoon.”
Lin Dong let out a long sigh. This news was truly excellent.
Without Hongfu Restaurant, it was as if Lin Ji Inn no longer had that huge obstacle standing in its way—hindering its goal of dominating 50% of the major and super-large businesses in Lingnan City.
Without Hongfu Restaurant, Lin Ji Inn’s biggest rival would be nothing but Fenglin Restaurant.
Currently, Lin Ji Inn’s monthly profits could reach over 40,000 taels of silver. Although it was still a long way from Fenglin Restaurant’s monthly profits of 120,000 to 130,000 taels, with just one of its hidden secret weapons deployed, Lin Dong was confident he could catch up with Fenglin Restaurant within two or three months by taking advantage of the chaos.
If all of them were used… Lin Dong’s goal was to start preparing to expand into the capital within half a year.
Of course, that was on the assumption that Fenglin Restaurant wouldn’t hold on stubbornly. If Fenglin Restaurant preferred to earn only 10,000 to 20,000 taels per month and persist, the guild would make it impossible for them to close down. Expanding into the capital would then be delayed by one or two months while strategies were devised to ensure Fenglin Restaurant could never recover.
“What’s the situation with Hongfu Gambling House now?” Lin Dong asked.

Ma Chun explained, “They’re still holding on. If Hong Wanfu really wants to persevere, without the help of the county magistrate, it’s impossible for Tiandai Gambling House to take over all of Hongfu Gambling House’s business within two or three years. Nor do they have the ability to use force to subdue Hong Wanfu.”
Lin Dong nodded. As expected. With Hong Wanfu’s financial resources, Hongfu Restaurant could afford to lose money every day and still survive for several years. However, Hong Wanfu didn’t have the heart to focus on Hongfu Restaurant anymore; he had to concentrate all his attention on Hongfu Gambling House.
If Hongfu Restaurant were left to someone else to manage, Fenglin Restaurant and Lin’s Inn could keep coming up with new tactics. If the managers couldn’t cope, they would have to pass on the troublesome issues to Hong Wanfu. If handled carelessly, Hongfu Restaurant might fall into a trap and make mistakes far beyond just losing money.
It would be better to close down and avoid trouble. As long as Hongfu Gambling House could weather the crisis, they could reopen with plenty of silver. Although the cooking skills of the new chefs and regular customers would be far inferior to before, as long as there was enough money, they wouldn’t struggle to survive. As for whether they could regain their position as the giants in the restaurant industry in Lingnan City, they could figure that out later.
“Have someone keep an eye on every move of Hongfu Restaurant. I think if Hongfu Restaurant really can’t hold on, Hong Wanfu will come to our Lin’s Inn,” Lin Dong mused, stroking his chin. “We must keep this a secret from Fenglin Restaurant at all costs.”
Ma Chun asked, “Should I send a few more guys to keep an eye on the guys from Fenglin Restaurant who are spying on Hongfu Restaurant? Once Hongfu Restaurant posts a notice to close down, we can have our guys keep those from Fenglin Restaurant occupied?”
“That’s a good idea!” Lin Dong smiled. “Also, send someone to keep an eye on Fenglin Restaurant. Since Liang Gufeng could figure out the secret ingredient, he must have some tactics we don’t know about. If we can find out in advance, we can come up with countermeasures to avoid setbacks.”
“Hmm! Liang Gufeng should already know about the shortage of ingredients at Hongfu Restaurant. I’ll arrange it right away to make sure we don’t miss Liang Gufeng or the guys from Fenglin Restaurant.”
“Go!”
Lin Dong waved his hand as he watched Ma Chun leave, feeling a surge of excitement.