Chapter 1205

This did not deter the other side; instead, it only emboldened their arrogance.

They were at least a family of retired military officers, so she appealed to her husband's former officer friends, prompting the city hall to issue another warning to the merchant. This time, the merchant indeed stopped sending people to disrupt, but he knew the restaurant's daily expenses were enormous, so he sent people to threaten customers dining there, deliberately driving them away—until no one dared come anymore.

They had no way to counter this, and could only endure it.

Now, with the restaurant's operations faltering, she had no choice but to rent out the side rooms to keep it running.

In truth, Sister Zhang also knew this couldn't go on forever; she was just a woman raising a child, and she refused to sell the entire restaurant to him at a low price—not only because she couldn't bear it, but because when he previously sent people to disrupt the restaurant, they had injured Feiyan.

This made her furious—even if the restaurant went bankrupt, she would never sell it to that merchant!

Lin Cheng roughly understood what Sister Zhang was worried about, but it wasn't a big problem; if the other side dared not act openly, it meant their strength was limited.

"What's the background of that merchant?" he asked curiously.

"He's said to be a merchant from the imperial capital, with some connections in city hall. Lin Cheng, don't worry—he probably won't target you," Sister Zhang said, though she still feared Lin Cheng might change his mind about renting.

With Lin Cheng, an important imperial talent, in the restaurant, perhaps the other side would dare not continue targeting it.

"Sister Zhang, I'm not worried about that. If the other side dares to disrupt the restaurant again, just call us—my cultivation, Qianhui's, and General Ji Xia's are all quite strong."

"Alright!" Sister Zhang replied with bright delight; she had clearly not misjudged him.

"Come, try Sister Zhang's cooking—don't be shy, this is my specialty, eat more, treat it like your own home."

Sister Zhang happily kept piling food onto Lin Cheng's bowl, making the little girl Feiyan envious until Lin Cheng's bowl was utterly full, at which point Sister Zhang finally stopped.

After a satisfying meal, Sister Zhang finally broached the subject of renting the rooms.

A person's character shows at the dining table; one's manners and quality become evident even in the smallest, unnoticed details during a meal.

Sister Zhang was especially skilled in this; having run the restaurant for so many years, she had become exceptionally perceptive about people's character at the table.

She had assessed Lin Cheng's character with near-perfect accuracy—he was a humble, polite, and well-mannered young man.

Especially when she and Lin Cheng had reached for the same dish earlier, both pausing almost simultaneously to let the other go first—then she knew Lin Cheng was a modest and courteous young man.

Someone like him, even if given the side rooms to rent, would not misuse them.

"Lin Cheng, how many side rooms do you need?"

"Sister Zhang, I may need quite a few. What's the maximum number of side rooms you can rent me? I'll design renovation blueprints based on the number, then connect them by removing the walls between."

"Besides the main building, there are the warehouse and cellar—fourteen side rooms total. I can rent you at most ten," Sister Zhang said after a rough estimate, adding silently that if absolutely necessary, she could squeeze out two more.

"Ten is enough. Thank you, Sister Zhang," Lin Cheng said, satisfied.

Originally, he had planned to take six or seven rooms, connect them, and that would have been sufficient.

Now with ten rooms, the space was more than enough—even allowing for other business ventures.

"So, ten side rooms it is?" Sister Zhang pulled out the lease contract and the restaurant blueprint, finally testing his answer.

"Yes, ten," Lin Cheng nodded.

"Alright. In this district of Shicheng, side rooms typically rent for 1,200 gold coins per room per year. Lin Cheng, I'll give you 1,000 gold coins per room per year—what do you think?"

Ten rooms meant 10,000 gold coins total—equivalent to two months' basic expenses for the restaurant before.

But Sister Zhang felt the 10,000 gold coins she was giving up were well worth it to cultivate goodwill with Lin Cheng.

"Thank you so much, Sister Zhang—you've saved me a lot," Lin Cheng said, already deeply satisfied to save 10,000 gold coins.

In the early days of opening a shop in Shicheng, expenses were high; every coin saved mattered.

"Then let's write the contract. Choose the room locations on the blueprint. Except the kitchen and warehouse—those two can't be touched—pick any others freely," Sister Zhang said, handing Lin Cheng the blueprint as she began writing the contract.

Lin Cheng took the blueprint and examined it: two side rooms on each side of the main building, four on each of the other three sides, each about twenty square meters.

The kitchen and warehouse, which couldn't be moved, were on the left side of the restaurant—the best locations were actually the two facing the main building.

Clearly, he could only choose one.

Then.

"Sister Zhang, I'll take the ten side rooms connected to the right side of the restaurant."

"Decided?" Sister Zhang asked with a smile.