Chapter 389: A Mountain of Gold and Silver

Though things were going well, Liang Gufeng remained humble. Holding his teacup, he took a few sips before casually responding to Lin Dong and Ma Chun’s complaints, appearing utterly at ease.

“By the way, Manager Lin!” After Lin Dong complained bitterly about the high wages for the cooks and staff at Lin’s Inn, Liang Gufeng shifted the topic. Instead of echoing Lin Dong’s grievances, he suddenly asked, “I wonder if Manager Lin is interested in partnering with our Fenglin Restaurant once again? I believe that if Fenglin Restaurant and Lin’s Inn team up, no restaurant in entire Lingnan City—even if all of them joined forces—could compete with us.”

“Partnering? I’m not sure how Manager Liang envisions that partnership,” Lin Dong asked calmly.

“There are two ways. First, we exchange our signature dishes. Just with those, we can attract all the customers who left Hongfu Restaurant to our two establishments. Then…” Liang Gufeng continued nonchalantly, “we can move Lin’s Inn’s gym to the center between our two places. That way, Fenglin Restaurant will also benefit greatly. Of course, we can offer Lin’s Inn some compensation. The price can be negotiated, and I assure it won’t disadvantage them—amounting to no less than ten thousand taels.”

“And finally!” Liang Gufeng smiled, “Lin’s Inn’s Spirit Stone Fans and VIP cards can also be used to accumulate points at Fenglin Restaurant. In return, we can provide Lin’s Inn with the cheapest spirit beast materials.”

Lin Dong nodded in approval and asked, “That’s a good idea! What about the second option?”

Over by the side, Ma Chun couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. This plan was indeed good—but only for Fenglin Restaurant. If they really partnered like this, Fenglin Restaurant would have everything Lin’s Inn had, and even more. In other words, Lin’s Inn’s advantages would all be taken away by Fenglin Restaurant, while Fenglin Restaurant would only give away some of its own advantages. The most crucial advantage—cooks who could process spirit beast materials—was never mentioned by Liang Gufeng. Add to that Fenglin Restaurant’s reputation and loyal customers accumulated over twenty years in Lingnan City, and it wouldn’t take three to five months before Lin’s Inn’s business dropped from second-best to third, fourth, fifth…

This plan wasn’t just sound—it was already crashing loudly.

“The second option is for Fenglin Restaurant to acquire over 50% of Lin’s Inn’s shares,” Liang Gufeng said, staring intently at Lin Dong.

“Oh?” Lin Dong didn’t react with the furious anger Liang Gufeng had expected. Instead, he smiled and bowed, saying, “I’m not sure where the mistake lies. I’m new here, and although I’ve been running this inn for over a decade, I was careless during the first seven or eight years. I hope Manager Liang will kindly offer some guidance.”

Liang Gufeng frowned slightly and took another close look at Lin Dong’s expression before speaking, “Actually, whether it’s the Spirit Stone Fan, VIP cards, or the Lin’s Gymnasium—to be honest, if managed properly, these are the real sources of wealth. Otherwise, I wouldn’t just want shares in Lin’s Inn; I wouldn’t seek the production methods for the Spirit Stone Fan or VIP cards, nor shares in the Lin’s Gymnasium. Because I don’t dare to set a price.”

This was another aspect of Lin Dong that Liang Gufeng couldn’t understand. He believed Lin Dong must be aware of this. Yet, Lin Dong clearly regarded Lin’s Inn as his main business. Whether it was the Spirit Stone Fan, VIP cards, or the Lin’s Gymnasium, they all existed as supplements to Lin’s Inn.

If operated separately, Liang Gufeng believed that with Lin Dong’s abilities, any of them could become a vast source of wealth. Just one of them could easily turn him into one of the richest men in the Great Han Empire, not to mention a force that could pose a threat to the imperial court like the Maple Forest Restaurant.

But strangely, Lin Dong’s focus remained solely on Lin’s Inn. Sometimes, Liang Gufeng even wondered if Lin Dong had some grudge against the Maple Forest Restaurant and was using these potential sources of wealth as tools to defeat it.

“A vast source of wealth?” Lin Dong asked in surprise, “How could Manager Liang think that the Spirit Stone Fan, VIP cards, or the Lin’s Gymnasium could be more promising than Lin’s Inn?”

“Take the Spirit Stone Fan, for example. Throughout the Great Han Empire, aside from the ice cellars, there’s nothing that can compete with it. But ice cellars are extremely costly—only the emperor and princes can use them in the palace. Even eunuchs, maids, and some less favored concubines would buy one without hesitation if they had enough silver.”

Liang Gufeng didn’t believe Lin Dong was unaware of the advantages of the Spirit Stone Fan, so he patiently explained further, “At Lin’s Inn, as long as the total cost of food and drinks reaches ten taels of silver, customers can get a Spirit Stone Fan. For a hundred taels, they can get a silver card. Adding in the costs and profits of food and drinks, I believe the cost of a Spirit Stone Fan is less than four or five hundred wen, right?”

Lin Dong nodded silently. Liang Gufeng’s estimate was not far off. If everything had to be handcrafted by blacksmiths piece by piece, the cost would indeed be around four to five hundred wen.
“Just four to five hundred wen in cost, plus other expenses—let’s say five hundred wen then,” Liang Gufeng said thoughtfully. “If one aims for high volume at low profit, selling them for one or two taels of silver is no problem. I believe even ordinary families would surely try to buy several Spirit Stone Fans of different models. With hundreds of counties in the Great Han Kingdom, totaling hundreds of millions of households, even if each family buys just one, as long as Manager Lin can ensure that the Spirit Stone Fans cannot be replicated and can handle official matters properly, the profits alone would be enough to create a tycoon renowned throughout the Great Han Kingdom within decades.”
“The VIP cards are similar. Although they can’t be as widespread as the Spirit Stone Fans, there are countless wealthy merchants in the Great Han Kingdom. Selling a VIP card for one hundred and eighty taels of silver certainly won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. The profits behind that are equally astonishing. As for Lin’s Gymnasium, it’s the first to adopt this business model, and with the advantage of transparent roofs, if developed fully, it could spread throughout the Great Han Kingdom. The profits… might even be more astonishing than those from Spirit Stone Fans and VIP cards. Anyway, these three items are easier to develop than Lin’s Inn and yield higher profits. After all, Lin’s Inn has too many competitors. Even if it becomes the best in the Great Han Kingdom, it still can’t seize all the business.”
After speaking in one go, Liang Gufeng took a big gulp of Hongyun Tea. Whether it was the Spirit Stone Fans, VIP cards, or Lin’s Gymnasium, he had already reported them to the headquarters. Unfortunately, the headquarters simply couldn’t figure them out. Lin’s Inn’s Spirit Stone Fans and VIP cards were too miraculous. Even highly paid senior engineers and alchemists couldn’t replicate them.
Even for the simplest aspect—Lin’s Gymnasium—the headquarters was still hesitating whether to take the lead in establishing them in various counties and prefectures due to the difficulty of finding transparent roofs. If huge amounts of money were spent to build countless gymnasiums, and business suffered losses due to limitations like rain or scorching sun, or if Lin’s Gymnasium with transparent roofs emerged, it could result in huge losses.
“How could I not think of these!” Lin Dong slapped his head suddenly, stood up, and bowed excitedly. “Manager Liang’s words are truly groundbreaking for me. I’ve been constantly figuring out how to make Lin’s Inn thrive, never realizing that there were three gold mountains right here, right beside me, which I hadn’t even noticed.”

Liang Gufeng grew even more puzzled. Was it really necessary to show such weakness? No matter how weak he appeared, he would never miss an opportunity to suppress Lin’s Inn. Manager Lin should know that as well.
“Manager Liang truly lives up to being the top manager of Maple Forest Restaurant!” Ma Chun exclaimed in admiration. “His insights are spot-on; I’m utterly impressed.”
“Where, where…” Liang Gufeng waved his hands repeatedly, the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes deepening as he smiled.
Regarding Lin Dong and Ma Chun’s behavior, Liang Gufeng knew they must be acting. But having the head of Lin’s Inn act in front of him brought him a sense of satisfaction. After all, Manager Lin had a special relationship with the eldest son of the Hua family. Recently, there were also rumors that Manager Lin had close ties with Grand Tutor Fu.
Grand Tutor Fu was someone even the powerful backers of Maple Forest Restaurant tried their best to win over.
“Manager Liang!” Lin Dong asked firmly, “I wonder how much silver Maple Forest Restaurant is willing to pay to acquire over 50% of Lin’s Inn’s shares?”
Liang Gufeng’s heart stirred, but he quickly regained his composure.
It was impossible. Manager Lin would never really sell Lin’s Inn. With these two options, Liang Gufeng hadn’t held much hope when he arrived. He believed Lin Dong wouldn’t back down without a fight—that wasn’t in Lin Dong’s style.
He had proposed this only to plant a hidden seed in Lin Dong’s mind. When Lin’s Inn was on the verge of collapse, this seed would play a crucial role. By then, once Lin Dong learned there was a way to retreat and still achieve success, he would surely lose his resolve to fight to the death.
His visit to Lin’s Inn today was precisely to plant that seed.
Liang Gufeng feared that Lin Dong might go all out recklessly at that point, rather than choosing to retreat for a better future.
Even though he knew Lin Dong was acting, Liang Gufeng didn’t treat it lightly. After all, the price was also part of the plan.
“60% of the shares for one million taels of silver, on the condition that Lin’s Inn operates according to the rules set by Maple Forest Restaurant, and that the required number of Spirit Stone Fans and VIP cards are provided monthly. Of course, Lin’s Inn can earn extra money from the profits generated by these items. Additionally, the head chef and signature dishes must be arranged by Maple Forest Restaurant.”
These were conditions Liang Gufeng had already thought through. In his opinion, Lin Dong would surely refuse them outright right away. But once Lin’s Inn seemed hopeless, they would become a huge temptation.

Over to the side, Ma Chun couldn’t help but look at Lin Dong. This was an opportunity—a chance to provoke Liang Gufeng. Ma Chun felt it was time to move on to the second phase. Although the time to appear weak hadn’t been long, he thought it was sufficient to achieve the desired effect. More importantly, he really wasn’t used to constantly praising Liang Gufeng while belittling Lin Ji Inn in front of him.