Chapter 40: The Perfect Plan

After figuring things out, a thought arose in Lin Dong’s mind. Perhaps he should start his own winery. Whether it was Lou’s Winery or any other, control over wine always rested in others’ hands. Lou’s Winery would go so far as to dilute wine for so-called raw materials—there was no guarantee other wineries wouldn’t do the same. By starting his own winery, he could avoid such troubles. With the King of Wine formula, even without much business acumen, he should be able to earn a fair amount of silver.

Lin Dong scanned the lobby again but saw no sign of Lou Wentang. The reason he had designated the inn’s wine as Lou’s Winery’s Thyme was partly because Thyme was the best wine in Xilan County, but more importantly, he had a good impression of Lou Wentang.

“Shopkeeper Lin, I tried to meet you in the middle of the night last time but failed. Who would have thought we’d meet here?”

Kuang Tianwei stood up, his gloomy expression melting away like ice under the scorching sun. His bright smile shocked everyone who knew him well.

Lou Wanzhang remained seated on the bench, swaying his right leg slightly and resting it on the knee of his left leg. After a moment, he tapped the table and gestured to the empty seat, saying nonchalantly, “Sit!”

When Lin Dong approached the table, he shook his head. “No need. What’s the deal with diluted Thyme?”

“What deal? Didn’t you send someone to ask not long ago? That’s just how Thyme is. If you’re not satisfied, go to another place.” Lou Wanzhang smirked, recalling how carefully he had tried to curry favor last time, only for the boy to still give the order to Lou Wentang. A hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

“I discussed this with Lou Wentang. Call him over,” Lin Dong said indifferently, yet his tone left no room for refusal.

Lou Wanzhang was instantly angered by Lin Dong’s attitude. He stood up abruptly and shouted, “You need to understand—Lou’s Wine Shop is under my control, and Lou’s Winery will also be mine in the future. Who does that Lou Wentang think he is?”

“Since Lou Wentang promised the Thyme for the inn would be problem-free, if something goes wrong, he must give me an explanation.”

Lin Dong looked at Lou Wanzhang coldly. Since Lou’s Wine Shop was dishonest, he wasn’t the kind of magnanimous or virtuous person who would forgive such behavior. After establishing his own winery, he didn’t mind losing some money—his priority was to crush Lou’s Winery first. But before that, he needed to find out whether Lou Wentang knew about diluting wine and using it as leverage to get raw materials.

“You want Lou Wentang to stand up for you, right?” Lou Wanzhang grinned viciously and shouted at the workers gathered not far away: “Go, bring Lou Wentang back. I want to see how he’ll stand up for Lin’s Inn.” Two of the workers immediately rushed out of the tavern. “Manager Lin, please sit!” Kuang Tianwei still greeted him with a smile. Seeing that Lou Wentang wouldn’t be back in a short time, Lin Dong sat down on the bench without hesitation, closed his eyes, and waited calmly. Lou Wanzhang was about to speak when Kuang Tianwei signaled him to stay silent. Lou Wanzhang wasn’t completely foolish; after thinking it over, he also kept quiet. If he let Manager Lin lose hope first, there would be no way to hand over the ingredients. With this thought, Lou Wanzhang grew complacent, thinking to himself that eventually, he would show this Manager Lin who really ran Lou’s Tavern! After sitting there, each lost in their own thoughts for half an hour, Lou Wentang, covered in wine stains, finally entered the tavern. “How do you do your job?” Lou Wanzhang was pleased at first but then snapped, “It takes you the whole morning to deliver even wine for car use—useless!” Lou Wentang froze for a moment before awkwardly smiling at Lin Dong and asking, “Manager Lin, why did you come here?” It seems he’s still in the dark… Lin Dong smiled calmly and said slowly, “It’s nothing. Last night, the thyme delivered to the inn had half water in each jar.” “Oh! So it’s the thyme that has…” Lou Wentang’s smile instantly froze as he stammered, “M-Manager Lin, what did you say? Half water in each jar of thyme?” Lin Dong replied, “Not just one jar, every jar. That’s why I came to ask. And then Young Master Lou said thyme is just like this—buy it if you want, or don’t.” “How could this happen? How could this happen?” Lou Wentang muttered a few times, his face turning grim. “Brother, could it be one of the workers made a mistake? Our Lou family’s thyme has a history of over a hundred years, and we’ve never done such a thing.” “What tone is that? Go, go… Bring over that ten-year-old thyme from the back yard. I want to drink with Boss Kuang.” Lou Wanzhang waved his hand as if shooing a fly, then glanced at Lin Dong’s expression. Seeing nothing unusual, his sense of satisfaction was suddenly blocked, making him extremely uncomfortable. “No, this isn’t a trivial matter. Besides, I’m responsible for the wine at Lin’s Inn. With such an incident, we must find out exactly what happened.” Lou Wentang’s face turned red. Seeing Lou Wanzhang’s indifferent attitude and glancing at Kuang Tianwei beside him, he suddenly understood everything.

“You… did you deliberately send me away? How could you do such a thing?” Lou Wentang pointed at Lou Wanzhang, trembling with anger.
“I told you to go get the wine—did you hear me?” Lou Wanzhang shouted. “Remember, it’s me who runs the wine shop.”
“No, we must give an explanation to Manager Lin. Otherwise, Lou Family’s century-old reputation will be ruined in an instant,” Lou Wentang said, his face red.
“It seems like you think you’re the master of Lou Family’s wine shop…” Lou Wanzhang stood up, head held high, and stabbed Lou Wentang’s chest with his index finger. “Remember, I am the master of Lou Family’s wine shop. It will eventually be mine! And you? You’re just a dog kept by us. At best, you’re called the third young master, but you’re actually just a bastard my uncle picked up outside.”
“Lou Wanzhang!” Lou Wentang gritted his teeth. “If you do this, you’ll ruin Lou Family’s wine shop. I’ll go to Qiufeng City to see my uncle right now.”
“What do you know?” Lou Wanzhang sneered. “My father already knows about this.”
“How could you do this?” Lou Wentang’s chest heaved violently, and the veins on his forehead stood out sharply. “I’m the second manager of Lou Family’s wine shop. I was the one who handled the orders for Lin Family’s inn. By rules, it’s my responsibility. We must give an explanation to Manager Lin today.”
“Second manager?” Lou Wanzhang scoffed, then had an idea. With the Golden Order Arrow in his hands, couldn’t he use this kid as an excuse to get rid of him?
Lou Wentang took a deep breath, walked over to the counter, took out yesterday’s ledger, and searched for the records of wine deliveries to Lin Family’s inn.
“Listen up!” Lou Wanzhang shouted at the workers. “Lou Wentang has been fired from the wine shop. Get him out!”
The workers exchanged glances, unsure what to do.
“Are you all dead or just unwilling to work? Think carefully—who is the real master of Lou Family’s wine shop?” Lou Wanzhang said proudly.
The workers shuddered and rushed at Lou Wentang at the counter, beating him despite his struggles, pushing him out of the wine shop.
“Lou Wanzhang, what you’re doing will ruin Lou Family’s wine shop…”
Lou Wanzhang smiled disdainfully. With better ingredients to make thyme better, what was Xilan City? Qiufeng Mansion would be a small place by then, and it might even become the largest wine shop in the entire Lingnan Prefecture.
Remembering the real master, Lou Wanzhang turned his gaze to Lin Dong and said arrogantly, “Manager Lin, you should now know who the real owner of Lou Family’s wine shop is, right?”
“I know,” Lin Dong replied with a calm smile, but his words had nothing to do with Lou Wanzhang’s question.

Lou Wanzhang stood up, resting his hands on the table, and said from a superior position, “Since you already know, let’s not beat around the bush. Tell me the ingredient that can make thyme richer and more fragrant. I guarantee that Lin’s Inn will never have to worry about thyme again, at the current price. In fact, I can even give you Xilan County, meaning you can sell thyme outside your inn.”

Lin Dong also stood up, smiled at Lou Wanzhang, and turned to leave.

“Hey, what do you mean?” Lou Wanzhang grew anxious and tried to grab Lin Dong, but was pulled back by Kuang Tianwei.

“Wait, he’ll definitely come back. He has to. Without thyme, those ingredients are useless to him.”

Kuang Tianwei whispered to Lou Wanzhang, his face showing no emotion, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

He had tricked those unruly guards from Fulei Restaurant into thinking that Kuang Dazhi’s leg would just break and heal in half a year, successfully fooling everyone. As long as he could find someone capable of suppressing them within half a year, the problem would be solved.

The remaining trouble was undoubtedly Lin’s Inn, which had taken away a lot of Fulei Restaurant’s business. If Lin Dong went all out in anger, everything would be ruined. Kuang Tianwei believed that without good wine, Lin’s Inn’s business would plummet, and then this trouble wouldn’t be a problem at all.

If Lin Dong really agreed to reveal the ingredient, Kuang Tianwei would be even happier. He had already planned that once he got the ingredient and the thyme brewing formula, he would persuade Lou Wanzhang to partner with him to start another winery elsewhere.

The Lou family had strict rules. Although Lou Wanzhang was the eldest son, he didn’t have much money. He would surely not refuse such a good opportunity. Once he had the ingredient and the formula, he could kick Lou Wanzhang out and reap huge profits.

As for Lin’s Inn, with the income from the winery backing them, they could sell thyme below cost. If Lin’s Inn dared to compete, it would be crushed within three or two months at most.

As the two watched, Lin Dong reached the door when he suddenly turned around.

The two were overjoyed. Sure enough, he had come back! Lou Wanzhang’s hands trembled with excitement, while Kuang Tianwei, though more composed, couldn’t help but show a proud smile.

“He knows when to act wisely. Manager Lin is truly a smart man!”

Lin Dong sneered.

“I just suddenly remembered something I forgot to tell you… The ingredient that makes thyme richer and more fragrant has the same effect on other wines too.”