Chapter 86: Following the Trend

The news that Cheng Wencai was about to be transferred out of Xilan City struck like a thunderbolt, shaking the entire Xilan County. In every corner of the town, men, women, and children—except for the young—gathered to talk about nothing but Cheng Wencai’s transfer. Some were glad that the corrupt official was finally gone, some were angry that he had tried to exploit the situation before leaving, and others were worried that the new county magistrate might be even worse than Cheng Wencai.

Originally, Cheng Wencai’s departure was good news for Liu Chuanxiang. After all, with a new county magistrate in office, his hopes of using official power to deal with Lin’s Inn resurged. But these past few days, he couldn’t feel any excitement.

It all stemmed from underestimating the influence of Lin’s Inn’s signature dish. After a significant price cut, business on the second floor of Fenglin Restaurant finally started to pick up again, but it cooled down within just a few days. It wasn’t until prices kept dropping, with the meat of spiritual beasts becoming almost as cheap as Chinese cabbage, that customers returned in large numbers.

The problem was that these customers were ordinary people from Xilan City. Although the wealthy also wanted to eat spiritual beast meat at such low prices, they preferred Lin’s Inn’s turtle stew made with maple leaves. This meant that the price cuts were completely useless.

“Boss, the guards from Qiufeng City have returned,” a worker ran into the back yard.

Liu Chuanxiang’s face, usually as grim as a bitter gourd, stiffened slightly. After hearing the worker’s words more carefully, his expression instantly brightened like blooming peach blossoms.

“How is it? What level of spiritual material?” Liu Chuanxiang asked urgently.

“It’s first-level spiritual material, one tael of silver per pound.”

Liu Chuanxiang’s mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a fist inside.

After a long while, he snapped, “One tael of silver per pound? Are you joking? I’ve tasted Lin’s Inn’s turtle stew with maple leaves before—there are at most four or five coins’ worth of maple leaves in it!”

“It’s really one tael of silver per pound. I’ve seen the maple leaves they brought; they’re exactly the same as those from Lin’s Inn,” the worker said firmly.

Liu Chuanxiang was stunned. How could this be?

Could it be that Lin’s Inn offered this turtle stew with maple leaves not as a price competition tactic?

After a brief moment of shock, Liu Chuanxiang came to his senses. If maple leaves really cost one tael per pound, Lin’s Inn’s cost would only be around a hundred coins. Selling one bowl of turtle stew for two taels of silver—this wasn’t price competition at all; it was outright robbery! Fenglin Restaurant’s profits were already astonishing—twenty times the cost. Yet, only the grandest restaurants in the capital could offer such dishes.

“What a clever Lin boss!”

Liu Chuanxiang couldn’t help but feel admiration—seeing how they did business. Their competitors slashed prices desperately, selling spirit beast meat like common vegetables. Yet they, on the other hand, sold common vegetables as spirit beast meat—and it was a huge success.

The Maple Leaf Stewed Turtle at Lin’s Inn was not available for delivery, but that didn’t stop Liu Chuanxiang from disguising himself and going there in person to gather information. Indeed, after eating this dish, he felt much better. If it weren’t for the need to keep track of all expenses and the awkwardness of making repeated visits, he would have eaten there every day.

As the manager of a county-level restaurant, Liu Chuanxiang was naturally smart. He initially thought it was due to the medicinal effects of the fourth or fifth-tier spirit material, the maple leaves. But since the maple leaves were only first-tier spirit materials, the reason they could enhance physical strength must be either because stewing turtles with them truly had such effects or because Lin’s Inn had a secret recipe with additional ingredients.

“Go, have the chef give it a try,” Liu Chuanxiang ordered his assistant immediately.
The assistant nodded and rushed off.
“I hope there’s no secret recipe!” Liu Chuanxiang prayed silently.

After waiting for almost half an hour, the fragrantly delicious Maple Leaf Stewed Turtle was finally served. But upon tasting it, Liu Chuanxiang was disappointed—bitter and fishy, with a taste that made him want to vomit. It couldn’t compare at all to Lin’s Inn’s version.

Suppressing his nausea, he ate the entire turtle along with the maple leaves. His disappointment grew even more—after eating, he felt nothing but nausea.

Liu Chuanxiang sighed heavily. Lin’s Inn definitely had a secret recipe for their dish.

After pondering for a while, he made up his mind: “Go, have the chef try to remove the fishy and bitter flavors as much as possible. Then, prepare one for me at a price of 100 coins. Oh, and send someone to Qiufeng City to find Manager Wang and ask who the new county magistrate of Xilan County is.”

Lin’s Inn sold it for two taels of silver each, while his restaurant sold it for 100 coins. Even if it didn’t have the same medicinal effects as Lin’s Inn’s version, it could still give them a competitive edge. Once the new county magistrate took office, he might not even need to compete on price—just handing over 18,000 taels of silver could ruin Lin’s Inn instantly.

In the evening, word of the Maple Leaf Stewed Turtle at his restaurant reached Lin Dong’s ears. Unperturbed, he simply instructed Ma Chun to have the staff mention when introducing the dish that it also contained expensive rare spirit materials.

Outside the inn, watching the bustling lobby even as night approached, Zhou Zhengye hesitated behind Fu Chunjian.

Just thinking about possibly meeting Lin Dong later made Zhou Zhengye recall the scene from half a year ago—Lin Dong casually handing him a bench, while he dared not take it, and instead, a chubby boy didn’t hesitate to kick Dou Changkun several times. Someone else stepped in to help him punish Dou Changkun, yet he could only stand by and watch. Every time he thought about it, Zhou Zhengye felt his face burn with shame. In a daze, the messenger who went to inform them in the back yard returned, and the answer made Zhou Zhengye even more anxious—the owner wanted to see him! “Let’s go!” Fu Chunjian stroked his snow-white beard with a faint smile on his face. Zhou Zhengye nodded and followed blankly. Inside the room, upon seeing Fu Chunjian enter, Lin Dong stood up to greet him. “Manager Lin, I’m glad I fulfilled my mission—everything’s taken care of,” Fu Chunjian said with a smile. “Oh, no, President Fu, you’ve worked hard,” Lin Dong quickly shook his head. Seeing Zhou Zhengye behind him, he hesitated and asked, “You are…?” Zhou Zhengye’s mouth felt bitter. It still seemed to be remembered after half a year—his shame from back then was indeed unforgettable. With a bitter smile, Zhou Zhengye said respectfully, “Manager Lin, I’m Zhou Zhengye. You even helped me during the martial arts competition half a year ago.” Lin Dong suddenly remembered. Zhou Zhengye had a righteous appearance and steady, reserved manners, so he immediately recalled the incident from half a year ago, though he couldn’t recall his name at first. “Please, come in!” Lin Dong hurriedly invited the two into the room, already guessing that Fu Chunjian had chosen Zhou Zhengye as the new county magistrate of Xilan City. After Ma Chun brought tea and they exchanged a few words with Fu Chunjian, learning that the official appointment document would arrive in half a month, Lin Dong bowed to Zhou Zhengye and said, “Congratulations, County Magistrate Zhou, on taking up your new post.” Zhou Zhengye’s slightly tanned face turned red as he quickly replied, “It’s all thanks to President Fu and Manager Lin’s recognition. Otherwise, I’m just an useless scholar.” “Useless scholar? If County Magistrate Zhou says that, it seems you underestimate President Fu’s judgment,” Lin Dong joked. Zhou Zhengye waved his hands in panic. Meanwhile, Fu Chunjian was puzzled—this disciple was usually so composed, so why did he seem so nervous today? Stroking his beard slowly, Fu Chunjian said gently, “Zhengye, you were able to become the county magistrate of Xilan thanks to Manager Lin’s generosity and righteousness. To gain Manager Lin’s approval, tell him today what you plan to do to benefit the people once you take office!”

“No need, no need. I’m just a small shopkeeper; how could I understand governing a place? Talking to me is like speaking to an ox.” Lin Dong stopped Zhou Zhengye from speaking, then thought for a moment before asking, “County Magistrate Zhou, as a new official, many wealthy families will surely come to pay their respects. How do you plan to handle that?”
“Just call me Zhengye, Shopkeeper Lin!” Zhou Zhengye said seriously. “Rest assured, Shopkeeper Lin. As long as I hold the position of County Magistrate of Xilan, I will always put the people of Xilan first and will never accept any bribes.”
Sure enough!
Lin Dong understood. Though he didn’t know anything about being an official, he knew that in an environment where over 90% of officials were corrupt, one could hardly stay in office unless they had powerful backing—being too upright would make it impossible to last.