Chapter 162 - 160: Lining Up Early for the Buying Rush

Chapter 162: Chapter 160: Lining Up Early for the Buying Rush

In the evening, a long line had already formed outside the Lin Xian Village Restaurant, even before its doors had opened.

These were all customers with reservations, who had come early to line up and fight for a chance to get the evening’s Medicinal Cuisine.

"Don’t push, don’t push! It’s no use. There are already a hundred people ahead, so the Medicinal Cuisine is definitely gone."

"Not necessarily. Maybe someone won’t buy it. That price isn’t cheap, after all."

"What are you thinking? People came all the way here to line up, how could they not buy it?"

Those who wanted to get in line at the back felt instantly dejected upon hearing this. If they had known it would be this popular, they would have come to line up earlier.

That’s right. How could anyone who was able to stay for dinner and came to line up not be here for the Medicinal Cuisine?

Even if they didn’t eat it themselves, they could sell it elsewhere and make a few thousand.

"Sister Qingqing, there are so many customers tonight!"

"They were all drawn in by the Medicinal Cuisine. We used to only have a few dozen tables in the evening, but tonight we’re approaching two hundred."

’I thought the customers who couldn’t get the Medicinal Cuisine would cancel their reservations, but after checking the online system, only three people canceled.’

"Alright, open the doors. We’ll open up a little early, otherwise, who knows how late we’ll be busy tonight."

In the back kitchen, the chefs hadn’t expected so many customers. It was a good thing they hadn’t slacked off and had prepared in advance; otherwise, they had no idea what time they’d get off work tonight.

Besides, they still had to cook the Medicinal Cuisine after their shift, so they couldn’t finish too late.

"Master Huang, Fang Qingqing told us to get the Medicinal Cuisine ready. It needs to be served soon."

"Tell her it’s ready."

At noon, they had discovered that they couldn’t cook the Medicinal Cuisine right on schedule. If they did, it would be served too hot for the customers to eat.

So, they started preparing it ahead of time and just kept it warm after it was cooked. This also gave them more time to prepare the Medicinal Cuisine itself.

Under these circumstances, they could increase the daily amount of Medicinal Cuisine, selling about 80 more servings.

With bonuses and commissions on the line, they were of course more than willing to sell more Medicinal Cuisine. It meant a bigger monthly paycheck.

Of course, they would have to wait for the new cooking equipment they ordered to arrive. The pots they were currently using to stew the Medicinal Cuisine were still on loan from the pharmacy.

These tools were originally meant for brewing Medicinal Tea; no one had expected the kitchen would end up using them too.

Uncle Li and Chu Xiuhong had planned to come and buy Medicinal Cuisine in the evening, but when they arrived, they found the line was already very long.

Unable to buy the Medicinal Cuisine, the two of them didn’t leave. They decided to have a meal at the Restaurant instead.

The main reason was that everything in the Restaurant, even the steamed buns, was more fragrant than what you could get outside. The only downside was that the price was a little higher.

The two Bakers Huang Yi had recruited, inspired by Zhao Shiyun, were constantly researching and developing all sorts of baked goods.

They had already developed many small baked snacks. When customers left, they would usually choose to buy some to-go.

Before long, these would also become one of Lin Xian Village’s specialty baked delicacies.

After coming to Lin Xian Village, the two Bakers realized they had truly made the right choice. Their skills were improving every day.

In the village staff lounge, Hu Xia complained to Lin Feng, "A lot of tourists gave us suggestions again today, telling us to hurry up and build a hotel."

"Or, they said, we could offer annual passes. They’d be willing to pay for them."

"I know. It’s not that there’s no way to do it, it’s that the village can’t accommodate that many people yet."

It wasn’t that Lin Feng didn’t want to let more people in. The problem was that given the village’s current situation, it simply couldn’t handle more people.

Hu Zhiming said, "Lin Xian Village is still too small. There isn’t enough usable space. Once the valley on South Mountain is developed, we’ll be able to solve the current problem."

The area over there is huge, enough to hold fifty thousand people without a problem, but developing it is too difficult.

Large machinery can’t get in, so they can only develop it bit by bit with small machines. The speed is just too slow.

Of course, if they disregarded the environment and engaged in destructive development, they could speed things up.

Zhao Shiyun said, "If the construction of the Houses at the foot of the mountain speeds up, this problem can be solved."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven’t you guys noticed? Most of the tourists who come to Lin Xian Village now want to stay for a few days after seeing the Arrow Towers and the performances."

"These tourists generally have money and are fond of Lin Xian Village’s environment and food. Because of the reservation restrictions, once they leave, they can’t get back in."

The three men realized Zhao Shiyun’s point was spot on. The sights in Lin Xian Village could be seen in just a few hours.

Why was it packed every day? It was because most tourists, after arriving, wouldn’t leave until three or four in the afternoon.

Another portion of tourists would only leave after stargazing on the mountain at night.

Unlike other tourist spots where visitors usually leave quickly after they’re done sightseeing, they didn’t linger in the scenic area.

These tourists who wanted to stay were actually drawn by the environment and the food. Some of them hadn’t even been able to get a reservation at the Lin Xian Village Restaurant.

If they could stay the night, they could make a dinner reservation at the Restaurant and wouldn’t have to be in such a rush.

Hu Zhiming noticed the other three were all looking at him. "Don’t look at me. Construction at the foot of the mountain is already going very fast, and we still have so many buildings to construct up on the mountain."

"You can hire more construction crews. And for the custom wooden houses, you can find a few more companies."

"Find more? Our construction crews in Lin Xian Village are already close to two thousand people!"

Lin Feng said, "Find them. Speed up the construction. We have money, so don’t worry about spending more."

"Then I’ll make some calls tonight and see if there are any companies that can take on our project."

Hu Zhiming thought of the construction team from the provincial capital that was working at the foot of the mountain. They seemed fast and very professional. He would go ask them in a bit.

Also, the sanatorium they were building looked pretty good. He could ask them about design matters as well.

"Next, I want to bring something up. The approval for the Clearing Heat and Stopping Cough Pills is about to come through. Should we in Lin Xian Village keep a batch to sell?"

Hu Xia asked, "Are we still going to sell the Medicinal Tea?"

"No. That was just a temporary solution we came up with because we couldn’t sell the Clearing Heat and Stopping Cough Pills."

"Then let’s keep some to sell in the Medicinal Tea shop."

Zhao Shiyun also said, "We should definitely keep some to sell in the Medicinal Tea shop, just like before."

All three of them knew that once the pills were approved, they would sign a contract with the medical department and sell the pills directly to them.

Moreover, they had heard that due to the limited quantity of the pills, there would be certain restrictions on doctors prescribing them.

The medicinal effects were just too good. Without restrictions, some people would clear out the entire stock.

"Then let’s set aside two thousand pills each day."

Once the matter was settled, they stopped discussing work and started chatting idly.

"Brother Lin, do you remember the thing about the panda?"

"I remember. What’s wrong? Did someone spot it again?"

"Someone did. I heard it was an old man who went into the mountains to gather wild goods, but he didn’t get a photo."

Hu Xia said, "So a panda really did wander over here. I thought it was a hoax."

Zhao Shiyun’s eyes sparkled. She pictured how cute a panda would be. ’I’d love to rub its head!’

Lin Feng asked, "Where was it spotted?"

"Here." Hu Zhiming opened a map on his phone and marked a location.

Lin Feng noticed that this location was more than ten kilometers away from the last one. That was a bit strange.

A panda’s typical range is between two and seven kilometers. This was data he had seen when he looked it up last time.

Hu Zhiming drew a diagonal line on the map. "Brother Lin, have you noticed? It seems like this panda is moving toward us."

"It’s probably not moving toward us, but deeper into the mountains."

The place where the panda was just spotted, although in the mountains, was actually inhabited.

The panda was moving from east to west. While this was indeed closer to Lin Xian Village, it was also closer to the deep mountains, and nearer to the Qinling Mountains.

As for that Golden Eagle that was spotted, he heard from the people at the animal protection bureau that they had photographed it again, flying high above an area not far from Lin Xian Village.

It was certain that the Golden Eagle was migrating toward Lin Xian Village. It must have been attracted by the village’s environment during its last visit.

Plus, Lin Xian Village had an abundance of small animals, which meant a plentiful food supply for a Golden Eagle. It was a perfect place to live.

"By the way, what’s the situation with that ancient tomb that was discovered?"

"That tomb is a funny story. First, two counties fought over it. Then, the two counties teamed up to fight the city for it."

"In the end, after all that fighting, they discovered it couldn’t be excavated, so they could only seal it off for preservation for the time being."

"Why can’t it be excavated?"

Zhao Shiyun raised her hand and said, "I know about this one. My mom said it’s too deep in the mountains, and it doesn’t seem to be the tomb of a prince or noble, so the city doesn’t have the money to excavate it."

Lin Feng understood. In other words, the excavation value wasn’t high, and because it was in the mountains, it would most likely be a money-losing venture.

The county museum and cultural relics department definitely wanted to excavate, but they couldn’t win against the higher-ups. Their application couldn’t get approved.

At that moment in the Imperial Capital, Zhou Jun was packing his things to go stay in Lin Xian Village for a while, when his mother dropped a bombshell on him.

"Mom, Sun Lili is going to Lin Xian Village, so why do I have to take her? You’re not trying to set me up on a blind date with her, are you?"

"I told you to take her, so just take her. Enough with the nonsense!"

"But her mental state... Mom, it’s not like you don’t know. What if something happens in Lin Xian Village..."

If it were a normal person, Zhou Jun wouldn’t be resistant, but Sun Lili was too special.

She had been kidnapped as a child and suffered some trauma, which led to some mental health problems.

When she wasn’t having an episode, she was fine, just a gentle and quiet girl. But when she had an episode, she became frantic.

"You’ve been following Lin Xian Village, haven’t you? Don’t you know they built an experimental treatment center for mental illnesses there?"

"Uh, I know that, but isn’t it just experimental? Wait, Mom, don’t tell me it can actually treat mental illness?"

"You’re not a complete idiot. Otherwise, why would the Sun Family let you take Sun Lili there? What were you thinking, that you’d get so lucky?"

"Mom, I’m your son. And I’m not bad-looking."

"Remember to pick up Lili tomorrow. If you forget, I’ll break your legs."

"I know, I know! I definitely won’t forget."

After understanding why he was taking Sun Lili there, Zhou Jun’s resistance vanished. If she could really be cured, the Sun Family would owe Lin Feng a huge favor.

Over at the Sun Family’s home, four elders and several middle-aged people were gathered together, discussing Sun Lili’s situation.

"Dad, can that Lin Xian Village really cure Lili?"

"Who can guarantee a cure for something like this? However, it’s true that some people’s mental illnesses have been cured there."

"Moreover, their experimental data is very good, and there are people among the test subjects whose conditions are similar to Lili’s."

The family now understood what was going on. They were no longer opposed to the idea and instead began discussing what to do after Lili went to Lin Xian Village.

They had quite a bit of information on Lin Xian Village themselves. They could only say it was very mysterious, especially its owner, Lin Feng.

Almost every major family in the Imperial Capital had a copy of this information, and they even warned certain family members to be on their best behavior if they went to Lin Xian Village.

Lili’s father asked, "Dad, should our family send someone over to make contact with that Lin Feng?"

"There’s no need right now. After Lili is cured, we’ll send someone over with a gift."

"Alright, Dad. I understand."

"The Zhou Family’s luck is really good. They’re one step ahead of everyone."

"By the way, Dad, I heard today that a new Medicinal Cuisine called Matsutake and Bamboo Pith Chicken Soup has appeared there. That Lin Feng said it has tremendous health benefits."

"If it’s true, maybe the four of you could go there to recuperate for a while."

"We’ll talk about that later. If we really go, finding a place to stay will be a problem."

"Yes, once the sanatorium over there is built, the accommodation problem will be solved."

A daily environmental monitoring report for Lin Xian Village was sent to the Science Academy. The environment there was truly excellent.

If it weren’t for so many people paying attention, someone would have rushed over to start development there long ago.

When word spread among certain circles in the Imperial Capital that Zhou Jun was taking Sun Lili to Lin Xian Village, many people started paying close attention.

The fact that Lin Xian Village could treat mental illnesses was no secret; many people were even involved in it.

If Sun Lili was actually cured, then even more people would likely get involved next.