Chapter 21: One Plus One Is Greater Than Three

"Who has the guts to buy a Haunted House? Who in Jiamu City would dare to go to such a restaurant to eat?"

"I don't care at all who goes inside to eat. I just want to fill in the missing piece on the sign and the word 'restaurant', or else just smash the sign down; it's too much of an eyesore."

"Indeed, how can a couplet have seven characters on one side and six on the other..."

"Grandstanding. Do they really think they can lure people into their shop to eat and drink with these cheap tricks?"

"To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that people have died inside, I'd really like to give it a try..."

The lion dance troupe performed energetically amidst the sound of gongs and drums, and the onlookers discussed it heatedly.

In the past, if a new shop opened and hired a lion dance troupe to attract customers, the shop would have been packed long ago.

But the reputation of the Haunted House was too great; even though everyone in Jiamu City knew that the ghosts inside didn't come out during the day, no one was willing to risk the bad luck just to try something new.

What's more.

The restaurant's sign and couplets were full of flaws, looking incredibly awkward, and combined with the status of a Haunted House, it always gave people the feeling that it wasn't a restaurant for the living.

The onlookers were making all sorts of guesses about the restaurant.

Suddenly.

A young man with a fairly handsome appearance stood at the shop entrance, attracting everyone's gaze.

Deng Li Buduo stood at the shop entrance, feeling his mouth and tongue go dry. He opened his mouth, but couldn't make a sound; he had overestimated his own courage.

So shameful!

He didn't quite understand why an NPC like Lin Bai would appear in a Xianxia-themed game, as if he were completely out of place with the whole world—too maverick.

"Little Deng, sing!" Lin Bai clenched his fists behind him, making a gesture of encouragement.

"Shopkeeper, are you really going to waive my meal fee?" Deng Li Buduo swallowed his saliva, looked back at Lin Bai, and confirmed again.

"If you perform well, naturally I will waive it." Lin Bai glanced at him sideways, not only beginning to miss Longxi, who had stripped in the street, but thinking: in a game, why have so much psychological burden?

I, an NPC, am more like a player than you are!

Once the Positive Emotion Tree is planted in the future, I'll have to pour you a few bowls of chicken soup to help you boost your personal self-confidence.

Deng Li Buduo scanned the crowd and didn't see any other players. He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs: "You love me, I love you, Kitchen God Rice Divination welcomes you."

A moment of silence.

Even the movements of the lion dance troupe paused for an instant.

"Again," Lin Bai said softly.

If there were no system and no players, he would definitely not do such a shocking thing.

But the Nine Suns True Scripture and the Xianglong Shipi Zhang gave him enough motivation.

The safety brought by keeping a low profile and forbearance is like an ostrich burying its head in the sand; it is all false, and when danger strikes, it is vulnerable.

Only strength is truly one's own.

Since increasing strength requires such methods, then no matter how excessive he acts, it is not shameful.

All things are difficult at the start.

After bravely singing the first line, the string in Deng Li Buduo's heart snapped. He successfully broke through himself, and at the same time, he stirred up the emotions of so many NPCs; he even faintly felt a trace of pleasure.

After all, this is still a game!

And so.

He bravely raised his head: "You love me, I love you, Kitchen God Rice Divination welcomes you, you love me, I love you, Kitchen God Rice Divination welcomes you..."

"Shameless!"

"Offensive to public decency."

"A restaurant singing such filthy language in broad daylight—is this a place to eat, or a Goulan? It is the height of indecency!"

The carpenter, the Blacksmith, and the restaurant's suppliers all swallowed their saliva in unison. Does this guy have a problem with his brain?

Although he was arrogant yesterday, his conversation was still normal.

Has he gone crazy today?

Facts proved.

The destructive power and influence caused by a system holder plus a player are far from as simple as one plus one equals two.

Clang!

A gong sounded.

Lin Bai took the opportunity to borrow a gong from the lion dance troupe and, during the gap in Deng Li Buduo's singing, struck it hard.

Deng Li Buduo shuddered and stopped singing.

Clang!

Lin Bai struck the gong again, looked around at everyone with a smile, and said loudly: "Everyone, I am the shopkeeper of the Chef God Restaurant. The shop has just opened, and thanks to everyone's support, we have decided to offer some concessions to give back to our neighbors in Jiamu City.

I believe everyone heard the lyrics our shop assistant just sang. If any guest is willing to sing these lines at our shop entrance, they can enjoy a 20% discount when entering the shop to eat. If you can bring friends into the shop, two people singing together can enjoy a 30% discount, three people singing together a 40% discount, and four people singing together a 50% discount.

Our shop has small capital and thin profits, so we will offer these concessions for seven days. Supplies are limited, first come, first served."

In order to let everyone hear the promotion, Lin Bai used his Internal Energy.

I don't know if it was because it was his first time using it, or because the Nine Suns True Scripture was a Flaw, but the sound was high and low, sounding very unsmooth.

However, the scene was spacious, and the crowd had stopped talking, drawn by the sound of the gong, so the promotional content was still clearly transmitted into the ears of everyone present.

The ears of Deng Li Buduo, who was closest to him, were ringing, making him more certain of his guess that Lin Bai was an expert; he had come to the right place.

Wow!

The novel marketing method caused an uproar in the crowd.

20% off for one person, 30% off for two, 40% off for three, 50% off for four; as long as you sing at the shop entrance, it sounds very tempting!

"Is it real or fake?"

"It's probably real. His shop is newly opened, but it's located in such a remote place and is a Haunted House, so he must be using this to attract popularity. And singing that shameful song in public is enough to filter out a large group of thin-skinned people; just this one item alone means his investment won't be very high.

And once this peculiar method spreads, it will surely arouse the curiosity of many people, who will come here to watch the fun even if they don't eat. After all, such opportunities are rare. I believe that in less than three days, most people in Jiamu City will know that the Haunted House has become a restaurant."

Someone nearby interjected: "If people come, some will be unable to resist going in to eat. At that time, as long as the quality of his food is not bad, he will definitely be able to survive. With the Incomplete sign and the asymmetrical couplets, the shop owner is skilled at taking unconventional paths; he is a talent."

"Will anyone really go to eat?" someone asked.

The person who spoke before shook his head: "You underestimate the human heart. There aren't that many wealthy households in Jiamu City after all. For ordinary people, being able to eat cheap food, what does singing two lines of lyrics matter? You love me, I love you..."

As he spoke, he suddenly started singing. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he said indignantly, "Shameless."

"He is actually a martial artist."

"At such a young age, his Internal Energy cultivation is already quite high. Instead of practicing his Martial Art properly, he spends his energy on these clever tricks; his future is as good as ruined."

"This person opened a shop on top of a Haunted House; I'm afraid he doesn't really think his Martial Art can fight ghosts, does he?"

"Whether he can fight ghosts or not, we'll know tonight. Making such a huge commotion, if I were the vengeful spirit inside, I definitely wouldn't be able to stand it."

"He doesn't know what's good for him. Back then, Daoist Li exhausted his magic power to trap Lao Song's family, and they would have returned to normal in ten years. With him making such a scene, I hope he doesn't provoke them into becoming fierce ghosts."

"What you say makes perfect sense. Regardless, let's report the situation here to the City Lord first. There have been too many strange things these past few days; I suspect Jiamu City is about to face some major change."

Lin Bai could not hear the various discussions and guesses among the crowd, nor did he want to.

Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back.

He was now single-mindedly focused on grinding Martial Art moves to get them into his hands and arming himself. The Incomplete System is different from the Emotion System; it counts by the number of people, so Lin Bai must find a way to recruit more people to come and comprehend the beauty of the Flaw.

Handing the gong in his hand to Deng Li Buduo, Lin Bai urged: "Little Deng, don't rest, keep singing."

After saying this.

He walked toward the Blacksmith and the others who were watching the fun on the side.

Seeing Lin Bai coming over, the Blacksmith and the carpenter naturally did not give him a good look.

"Two masters, could you please do Lin a favor?" Lin Bai first cupped his hands and bowed to them, saying with a smile.

"Dream on," the carpenter said coldly.

"As the saying goes, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. A businessman cannot go against money." Lin Bai took out the ten taels of silver he had just exchanged and said with a smile, "Two masters, once my promotional plan is out, there will surely be many people coming to eat. Little Deng and I definitely won't be able to handle it alone.

I must trouble the two masters to find some shop assistants to come and lend a hand. After all, it is better to work with people you know; Lin is a stranger here, and finding others would ultimately be a waste of time. Naturally, I won't let the two masters help for nothing. After seven days, not only will the wages be paid in full, but I am also willing to pay an extra 30% on top of the wages for the shop assistants. How about it?"

Looking at the silver Lin Bai handed over, the two craftsmen were stunned at the same time. Can a person's face really be this thick?

"It is better to resolve grievances than to keep them. Two masters, are you willing to be friends with Lin?" Lin Bai pushed the silver in his hand forward, his eyes smiling, and said sincerely, "Everyone did things wrong before, so why not let this matter pass? After all, my shop has just opened, and I still plan to do business in Jiamu City for a long time!"

Lin Bai was not afraid that they would take the silver and go back on their word; the ghosts in the shop were secondary.

The key was the human heart. Ten taels of silver was just a little short of paying off their wages, but it was definitely enough for the material costs, so they weren't losing out.

But people are driven by profit. While Lin Bai paid part of the wages, he held back another part and offered an extra 30%. Anyone would harbor a fluke mentality, hoping to collect the full wages and then earn an extra sum on top of that.

Moreover, Lin Bai gave them a psychological hint by showing weakness, implying that he would be doing business here for a long time, and having a shop here acted as a guarantee, invisibly increasing their confidence in recovering their wages...

(End of chapter)