Chapter 42: The Inn Opens

The new inn finally received its roof two days later.

By then, the Roadside Hub had begun showing its effect.

The busiest stretch through Central Blackstone stayed firmer under wagon wheels, and the shallow ruts left by daily traffic faded faster than before.

Lin Yuan was more interested in the building across from him.

Master Zhou climbed down from the inn roof and brushed dust from his sleeves.

"Roof’s done."

Lin Yuan looked up.

"How much longer?"

"Three days."

"You said two weeks."

"I said around two weeks."

"You’ve been here longer."

Master Zhou stared at him.

"You added nothing. Changed nothing. Complained very little. That’s why you’re only slightly late."

"That sounds like praise."

"It isn’t."

Master Zhou walked away.

Lin Yuan looked at the inn again.

The exterior was almost finished.

Twelve rooms.

A common area downstairs.

Storage.

A basic washing area behind the building.

No kitchen.

Guests could eat at Wandering Cloud Tavern instead.

There was only one problem left.

The inn needed someone to run it.

Lin Yuan had known that from the beginning.

Knowing it and solving it were different things.

He couldn’t run between the tavern and inn every time someone wanted a room.

Su Mei already handled much of the tavern’s front room.

Xiao Lan served, cleaned, and helped with cooking.

Moving either of them permanently would only create another shortage.

So Lin Yuan did something simpler.

He put up a notice.

Not on the western road warning board.

Beside the tavern entrance.

WORK AVAILABLE

Blackstone Inn

Room Registration

Cleaning and Daily Management

Food and Lodging Provided

Wages Negotiable

Xiao Lan read it.

"You named it Blackstone Inn?"

"No."

She pointed at the notice.

"It says Blackstone Inn."

"It needs to tell people what the job is."

"So that’s not the name?"

"No."

"Do you have a name?"

"No."

Xiao Lan nodded.

"Very prepared."

Lin Yuan took the notice away from her.

"Don’t you have tables to clean?"

"Two."

She went inside.

Lin Yuan put the notice back.

The first person to ask about the job was a cultivator with a sword.

He wanted eight spirit stones a month.

Lin Yuan asked about his experience.

None.

He left.

The second was a merchant’s nephew who had never worked at an inn but assured Lin Yuan he learned quickly.

Then he asked whether the job included free cultivation resources.

It did not.

He lost interest.

The third applicant came the following afternoon.

She arrived with an eastbound caravan.

Lin Yuan noticed her because she stood in front of the notice long enough to read it twice.

She looked around twenty-five, perhaps a little older.

Plain brown traveling clothes.

Hair tied back.

No visible weapon except a small knife at her waist.

She entered the tavern.

"Who owns the inn?"

Lin Yuan pointed at himself.

"Not open yet."

"I can see that."

She looked through the doorway toward the construction site.

"I’m asking about the job."

Lin Yuan set down the cup he was drying.

"Experience?"

"Four years."

"Where?"

"Golden Reed Inn."

Lin Yuan knew the name.

Not the inn itself, but Golden Reed Town sat east of Green River City.

"Why leave?"

"The owner sold it."

"What did you do there?"

"Front desk. Rooms. Payments. Cleaning when we were short on people. Dealt with guests who thought paying for one room meant six friends could sleep there."

Lin Yuan paused.

"That happens?"

"Constantly."

Useful experience.

"Name?"

"Fang Yu."

"Cultivation?"

"Qi Refining Four."

Lin Yuan nodded.

Strong enough to handle ordinary trouble without expecting her to act as a guard.

"What are you looking for?"

"Stable work."

She glanced around the tavern.

"And somewhere cheaper to live."

"Blackstone is cheaper because there isn’t much here."

"I noticed."

Lin Yuan liked that answer more than someone pretending the wasteland was beautiful.

"What were you paid before?"

"Four low-grade spirit stones a month, with a room."

Lin Yuan considered it.

Su Mei and Xiao Lan both earned three plus food and lodging.

Fang Yu had several years of directly relevant experience and would be responsible for an entire building.

"Five. Food and lodging included."

Fang Yu looked at him.

"Six."

"Five."

"Five and I don’t pay for washing water."

Lin Yuan stared at her.

"You were planning to charge me?"

"No."

"Then we agree."

She smiled slightly.

"Five."

Master Zhou finished the inn three days later.

He walked through the building with Lin Yuan before handing it over.

The common area downstairs held several tables and benches.

A counter stood near the entrance.

Behind it was a small room for records and storage.

The twelve guest rooms were simple.

Bed.

Small table.

Chair.

Wooden chest.

Nothing expensive.

Nothing unnecessary.

Fang Yu inspected every room with them.

In Room Seven, she pushed one window open.

It stuck halfway.

"Fix that."

Master Zhou looked at her.

"Who are you?"

"I’ll be running the place."

He tried the window.

It stuck.

He looked toward one of his workers.

"Fix that."

Fang Yu continued.

Lin Yuan followed.

By the time they reached the last room, she had found a loose door latch, one uneven floorboard, and a washing-room drain that emptied too slowly.

Master Zhou fixed all three before sunset.

Lin Yuan decided the extra two spirit stones compared with his tavern workers might already be worth it.

The building was finished.

Lin Yuan stood outside after Master Zhou’s crew packed their tools.

For the first time since construction began, there was no hammering.

The inn sat quietly beside the road.

Ordinary timber.

Ordinary stone.

Ordinary roof tiles.

A building made by craftsmen.

Lin Yuan waited.

The Territory Core responded.

Permanent Structure Detected

Lodging House

Condition: New

Quality: Ordinary

A second line appeared.

Recognition Available

The completed building had finally drawn the Core’s attention.

Lin Yuan confirmed.

A faint pulse passed through the structure.

Nothing visibly changed.

The panel updated.

Blackstone Lodging House

Quality: Ordinary

Capacity: 12 Rooms

Territory Structure Recognized

Another option appeared beneath it.

Enhancement Available

Lin Yuan didn’t open it.

Not today.

He had already spent fifty spirit stones on the Roadside Hub.

There was still the 180-stone tavern enhancement waiting.

And eventually, he needed a Foundation Establishment technique.

One finished building didn’t mean he had to improve it immediately.

Lin Yuan dismissed the interface.

Fang Yu came outside carrying a wooden board.

"What’s the name?"

Lin Yuan looked at the blank board.

He had avoided the question long enough.

"Blackstone Inn."

Fang Yu glanced across the road at Wandering Cloud Tavern.

"Simple."

"That’s the idea."

She took the board inside.

The sign went up before sunset.

BLACKSTONE INN

The first customer arrived before Fang Yu had finished arranging the counter.

It was the merchant who had asked Lin Yuan for a room several days earlier.

He stood outside staring at the sign.

"Open?"

Fang Yu looked toward Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan looked toward Master Zhou’s empty construction site.

No workers.

No tools.

No missing roof.

He nodded.

"Open."

The merchant immediately entered.

"One room."

Fang Yu stepped behind the counter.

"How many nights?"

"Three."

She opened the record book.

Lin Yuan watched for a moment.

She didn’t need help.

Another traveler crossed from Qiao’s shop and noticed the open door.

Then two cultivators from Wandering Cloud Tavern came outside to look.

Within an hour, four rooms were taken.

By nightfall, six.

Wandering Cloud Tavern remained busy, but for the first time in weeks, nobody asked Lin Yuan whether someone could sleep downstairs because every room was full.

Across the road, light shone from the windows of Blackstone Inn.

Qiao’s shop remained open nearby.

Duan He’s sign was visible farther down the road.

Wagons stood on firmer ground beside the roadside cluster.

Lin Yuan leaned against the tavern doorway.

A few months ago, travelers had crossed Blackstone without slowing down.

Now they were asking whether there were rooms left.

He looked at the new sign across the road.

BLACKSTONE INN

Simple.

Good enough.

Behind him, Xiao Lan called from the kitchen.

"Boss!"

Lin Yuan sighed.

"What?"

"Table Six wants noodles!"

He turned back inside.

Blackstone had gained an inn.

Wandering Cloud Tavern still had dinner to serve.