Chapter 53: Inn Level 3

After Jiang Kui cleaned up his noodle stall, Lin Dong went back to his house with him once more. They threw the necessary items on the bed, wrapped them in a sheet, and slung it over their shoulders before heading straight to Lin’s Inn.

Inside the inn, although it was not yet dinner time, most of the fifteen tables were already occupied. Seeing Lin Dong return with a tall man with a rough appearance, people like Thin Bamboo quickly gathered around them—among them was even Ma Chun.

Noticing Lin Dong’s slightly surprised gaze at him, Ma Chun glanced at Jiang Kui and hurriedly explained, “Boss, seeing Boss Wen and the others with you, I thought you might have made some progress, so…”

Lin Dong nodded inwardly. This kid really had good eyesight and quick reflexes. He couldn’t help but smile and say, “Are you really willing to work as an employee here?”

“Of course!” Ma Chun nodded eagerly.

“Alright, starting today, you’re an employee at Lin’s Inn.”

Within the inn, once both parties verbally confirmed their agreement, the inn system would automatically add the other person to the inn.

Liu Xiu, the temporary employee, had always been a source of regret for Lin Dong. So whenever a new employee joined, he would immediately check their attributes. This time was no exception. Subconsciously, he opened the inn system to take a look, and soon, his eyes sparkled with gold.

Ma Chun: Level 1, 0%—Eloquence 89, Reflexes 93, Agility 83, Strength 91, Endurance 95.

All five attributes were above 80, and on average, they were even slightly higher than Liu Xiu’s.

An excellent employee?

Lin Dong almost grinned from ear to ear. He had been wondering why that brat Liu Xiu didn’t like working as an employee. Who would have thought that by chance, he would recruit such an outstanding one?

Ma Chun might work here to become “Brother Ma Chun” among the hooligans, but compared to Liu Xiu, it would be much easier to keep him around.

“Work hard!” Lin Dong patted Ma Chun’s shoulder encouragingly. “If you do well, when we open branches in the future, I’ll make you the manager!”

Manager? Ma Chun swallowed hard. Wouldn’t that mean being on par with Sixth Brother?

The boss wanted to promote him—so that in future branches, he could take charge of the local hooligans!

With Ma Chun’s cleverness, hearing this news made him so overjoyed that he forgot even to thank him.

Seeing Ma Chun’s expression, Lin Dong quickly realized the kid must have misunderstood his meaning. But it wasn’t urgent. Although being an inn manager wasn’t exactly a high-status role, it wasn’t much better than being a hooligan boss, right?

Turning to look at Jiang Kui, Lin Dong asked casually, “Jiang Kui, do you want to be the head chef of the inn?”
“Yes, of course…” Jiang Kui’s head nodded like a chick pecking at grains.
“Good. Starting today, you’ll be the head chef of Lin’s Inn.” After saying that, Lin Dong, unlike usual, didn’t immediately check Jiang Kui’s attributes but waited nervously for the system’s notification.
Ding: Congratulations on completing the upgrade task ‘Hire an Excellent Chef’.
Ding: Congratulations! Your inn has reached level 3, and a kitchen has been added.
The moment the system notification sounded in his mind, Lin Dong’s tightly clenched fists relaxed, and he slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding.
Level 3! The inn system had finally reached level 3, which meant that whether it was the cultivation bonus, comfort bonus, or the improvement of stables, everything could be up to three times higher. Moreover, a new attribute—kitchen—had been added.
“Zhugan, arrange accommodations for Jiang Kui and Ma Chun. Also, half price on all food and lodging in the inn.”
Zhugan hesitated for a moment before asking, “Weren’t we supposed to offer half price after the new inn opens the day after tomorrow?”
Lin Dong shook his head with a smile. An inn upgrade was an incredible blessing. If it weren’t for being cautious about drawing too much attention, he would even be willing to spend thousands of silver coins to feed everyone in Xilan City.
“Alright, follow me. Everyone will move to the new inn tonight.” Zhugan quickly called over Jiang Kui. As for Ma Chun, since they were brothers, there was no need for formalities.
Lin Dong rushed back to the backyard. After closing the door to his room, he immediately opened the inn system.
Lin’s Inn: Level 3, 0%
Daily Revenue: 61 silver taels and 435 coins
Spirit Stones: 121/400
Defense: 121/400
Guest Rooms: 20/40
Dining Tables: 15/20
Staff: 13
Chefs: 2
Stables: 1/10
Kitchen: 0/3
Lin Dong first checked Jiang Kui’s attributes: Level 3, Cooking Skill 142, Knife Skills 135, Eye Accuracy 132, Strength 157, Endurance 131.
Before joining the inn, Jiang Kui was already a chef, so unlike Liu Xiu and Ma Chun who started at level 1, he had already reached level 3. Calculating based on the upgrade bonuses, Jiang Kui’s initial attributes were truly exceptional, all above 90.
The best among the best!
Today’s gains were quite substantial!
Lin Dong clicked his tongue and opened the newly added kitchen.

Just as remembered, the kitchen had three stoves, each with three types of enhancements: comfort, speed, and cooking skill. The maximum multiplier for these enhancements matched the level of the inn, rising as the inn was upgraded. If all the enhancements of the kitchen were activated, not to mention Jiang Kui, even the other chef in the inn would have cooking skills that could outshine everyone in Xilan City. After a brief pause, Lin Dong took out the small porcelain bottle given to him by Ren Qingsong, unscrewed the cap, and tilted it slightly—resulting in a pink pill rolling into his palm. A faint fragrance slowly spread throughout the room. After changing the cultivation enhancement in the room to three times, Lin Dong sat cross-legged, placed a spirit stone beside his dantian, and put the pill in his mouth. The spirit-condensing pill dissolved instantly, and a surge of powerful spiritual energy rushed into his dantian through his meridians, mixing with the existing spiritual energy there. Of course, this additional spiritual energy still did not belong to Lin Dong. With his eyes slightly closed and distracting thoughts dismissed, he directed his mind, causing the original spiritual energy in his dantian, along with a bit of the energy from the pill, to flow into his meridians. The speed of this flow was 50% faster than before, clearly thanks to the cultivation enhancement being tripled. After one full cycle, the spiritual energy taken out had merged with the original energy in the dantian. “It really works!” Lin Dong was pleased inwardly but didn’t dare get distracted. He quickly controlled the spiritual energy to flow out of his dantian again, taking out a little more energy from the pill, which then merged with the original energy… This process repeated itself. After one full cycle, although the reduction in the energy emitted by the pill wasn’t significant, it was still noticeable—less than before. Of this reduced amount, only a tiny fraction escaped the dantian and dissipated outside, while the vast majority truly became Lin Dong’s spiritual power. Whether it was the cultivation enhancement or the first-tier spirit-condensing pill, the experimental results met expectations. After hesitating for a moment, Lin Dong resisted the urge to continue cultivating and decided to talk to Wen Wangzhong first. Although the upgrade task was completed, if he wanted Jiang Kui to stay at the inn properly, the matter of Wen Ying couldn’t be delayed too long, otherwise, things might change over time.