Chapter 50: Wenji Antiques Shop

Following Ren Qingsong into the back yard, and after he closed the door and entered the room, Lin Dong and Yang Laiting waited at the entrance for a while. When they came out again, Ren Qingsong was holding a small porcelain bottle.
“There are six first-class Spirit Gathering Pills inside. After taking them, once the medicinal energy disperses, you can start cultivating. If you really manage to reach the fourth level of the Lingdong Phase in four months, the spiritual energy in one pill should be enough to sustain you for about ten days.”
After a pause, Ren Qingsong continued, “After taking the Spirit Gathering Pills, it’s best to start cultivating right away. After all, the spiritual energy from these pills is external, and the longer it stays in your meridians, the easier it is to dissipate.”
“Understood!” Lin Dong nodded as he took the small porcelain bottle. With these first-class Spirit Gathering Pills, as long as the inn system reached level three, he believed he would have enough time to break through to the fourth level of the Lingdong Phase in one and a half months. This meant that the six pills could only sustain him for one and a half months.
Although this was half a month less than the previously estimated two months, Lin Dong didn’t say much. Reaching the goal half a month ahead of Ren Qingsong’s expectation brought surprise, and perhaps even unexpected benefits.
“Well…” Ren Qingsong hesitated.
Lin Dong understood that Ren Qingsong wanted to ask why his talent had improved so rapidly. He had originally planned to use the excuse of not liking cultivation and taking breaks from time to time. But with Qiao Tianhao as a good example, he naturally wouldn’t give such an excuse. After all, lies require more lies to cover them up, which is not only troublesome but also pointless. It was better to follow Qiao Tianhao’s example.
“Let’s each get what we need! There are some things I can’t reveal.”
“Hmm!” Ren Qingsong nodded helplessly, knowing he could only try.
Lin Dong smiled and said, “One thing you can be sure of: I’ve never liked to take advantage of others for free. If I benefit from you, I’ll surely give you something in return.”
A slight smile appeared on Ren Qingsong’s face. Whether true or not, having a promise was better than taking the pills and leaving right away.
“As for spirit stones…”
“I have some of my own. If it’s not enough, we can talk about it next time we meet!”
Lin Dong declined Ren Qingsong’s offer with a shake of his head. After chatting a bit more about his address, he bid farewell and left the back yard.
The main hall was empty. Lin Dong didn’t bother to wonder where Qiao Tianhao had gone. He left the deserted Martial Assessment Institute and headed straight for Honggu Street.
On the street, as Lin Dong searched for signs of the man with the triangular eyes, a young man in his early twenties approached him.
Upon closer inspection, Lin Dong recognized the young man—it seemed his name was Ma Chun, one of Wang Liuzhi’s new underlings.

“Boss, why are you here? Third brother just went back to look for you.”
“Look for me?” Lin Dong was overjoyed. “Have you found anything?”
“Yeah!” Ma Chun nodded quickly. This Boss Lin was the eldest brother of the eldest brother—how could he miss such a good opportunity? He hurriedly explained, “Third brother has been leading us to search around here for two days. There are a dozen or so unmarried girls in the vicinity, but we didn’t have any leads at first. About two hours ago, a girl around sixteen or seventeen came by buying vegetables. Jiang Kui stared at her for half a block—his neck stretched even longer than a goose’s.”
After a pause, seeing Lin Dong’s focused gaze, Ma Chun didn’t dare delay and continued, “Third brother told us to follow that girl. It turned out to be Wen Ying, the daughter of the owner of Wen Ji Antiques Shop at the end of the street. We then sent someone to test Jiang Kui at the noodle stall. Once it was almost certain that Jiang Kui liked Wen Ying, third brother rushed back to find you.”
Finally, he understood the reason!
Lin Dong let out a long sigh. If the inn didn’t reach its full capacity and the upgrade task wasn’t completed, no more experience points would be gained later. Not gaining any experience points for two days was painful just to think about.
Now that he knew the reason, things became easier. All he needed to do was find a solution.
To test Jiang Kui’s skills, Lin Dong had spent over an hour eating at the noodle stall last time, so he knew something about Jiang Kui. Aside from his rough appearance, loud voice, and somewhat simple-minded nature, he didn’t seem to have any major flaws.
The remaining issue was Wen Ying. Although in this world, marriage was decided by parents, Lin Dong didn’t want to force things. Just because Jiang Kui had good character didn’t mean everyone would like him. Forced marriages don’t work out well. Although not gaining experience points was frustrating, Lin Dong didn’t want to harm others because of his own problems.
Of course, it wasthe premise that Wen Ying also had good character.
Having made up his mind, Lin Dong patted Ma Chun’s shoulder and smiled. “You guys go around and find out more about this girl’s character. I’ll go check out the antiques shop first.”
Ma Chun quickly replied, “Boss, we’ve already found out. The owner of Wen Ji Antiques Shop is Wen Wangzhong. His wife passed away ten years ago, and he hasn’t remarried. Wen Ying is his only daughter. She’s said to be very filial and gentle and polite. She’s also well-known in Honggu Street for her kindness. Though she can’t compare to you, boss, she often helps the beggars around here.”
Lin Dong was stunned, then gave a wry smile. To be honest, what he hoped to hear most was that the girl had a bad temper or was cruel. That way, completing the task would be much simpler—there would be no need to consider her feelings or waste time getting the two of them to interact. He could just deal with her father directly.

It seems it will take at least three to five days, no matter how fast!
Ma Chun slapped his head and suddenly said, “By the way, boss, not long ago, Lou Wentang, the manager of Lin’s Winery, sent someone to find you. He said the winery will start the first batch of fermentation tomorrow and asked if you wanted to come and check it out.”
“No need. Tell them to go back and say I have other matters to attend to.”
Lin Dong shook his head. He had been to the winery once—it was originally a farm five li south of the city. Though not large, it was surrounded by open rocky land, making expansion easy in the future.
The first batch of fermentation was a major event for the winery. Under normal circumstances, Lin Dong would have given up half a day of his cultivation time to go, but with the upgrade task pressing urgently and him finally figuring out the reason, he didn’t want to waste any time.
“Mm!” Ma Chun nodded hurriedly.
“Alright, go back to work!” Lin Dong decided. “I’ll get two taels of silver from the counter tonight.”
Ma Chun’s face lit up, but he hesitated before speaking.
“Speak up if you have something to say,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
“Boss…” Ma Chun gritted his teeth and said firmly, “I want to work as a clerk in the inn.”
“As a clerk?” Lin Dong understood what Ma Chun meant. Working as a clerk in an inn was like being given a golden coat—from then on, Ma Chun would be called “Brother Ma” among his peers.
The new inn would open in two days and was in need of clerks. Ma Chun’s response earlier had been clear, indicating he had good communication skills. With these two factors, Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t refuse and agreed right away.
Ma Chun was overjoyed and left running.
Lin Dong continued on and soon reached the end of the street, where he found Wen’s Antiques Shop.
The shop wasn’t large. Upon entering, Lin Dong glanced around casually. Wooden shelves lined both sides, displaying paintings, antiques, books… all neatly arranged, giving a clean and tidy impression.
At the counter on the left, a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a blue robe was awkwardly explaining something to several burly men in short jackets outside the counter.
Bang!
Perhaps due to a disagreement, one of the burly men suddenly grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him up from the counter.
“Old man, nothing you say will work today. The antiques in your shop cut my brother’s hand. If you don’t pay 180 taels of silver, you won’t have a good life anymore.”
Lin Dong was stunned. It sounded like extortion.
“Uncle Wen, someone’s causing trouble?”
Next to him, a young man wearing a long sword at his waist and holding a paper fan entered, looking somewhat out of place.