Chapter 30: Chamber of Commerce and the Beginning of Paper
The Tian Family courtyard no longer felt as empty or lifeless as before.
When the morning sunlight fell upon the old pillars, Li Tian often felt that this place was slowly changing—just like him. He had returned home, but his journey was only beginning.
Li Tian knew clearly that everything achieved so far had been a matter of opportunity. Sugar, salt, chili, fuel, delivery routes, inns—all were profitable, but each was moving in a different direction. If this continued, growth would certainly come, but control would gradually slip away.
With this thought in mind, he called for a family meeting that very day.
In the main hall, Li Huwa, the uncles, and a few trusted people gathered. All eyes were fixed on Li Tian.
"Until now," Li Tian said in a calm but clear voice, "all our businesses have been running without a central system."
"Therefore," he continued, "from today onward, the Li Family will establish its own Chamber of Commerce."
For a moment, silence filled the hall.
"All our businesses will come under this chamber," Li Tian explained. "Each trade will have its own ledger, profit distribution will be clear, and expansion will follow a single, unified plan."
His gaze moved toward Miss Bai.
"You will handle daily operations," Li Tian said. "I will focus on new ideas, new markets, and long-term planning."
Without hesitation, Miss Bai bowed her head.
"I will take full responsibility."
After the meeting, Li Tian walked alone through the courtyard.
His eyes fell upon a servant recording accounts on bamboo slits. Nearby, someone else was writing notes on pieces of cloth with ink.
Li Tian stopped.
He picked up a bamboo slit—heavy, rigid, and expensive. The ink on the cloth was spreading, the words slowly blurring.
This is far too inefficient for writing, he thought.
Maintaining accounts was difficult.
Writing contracts was slow.
Copying knowledge was costly.
At that moment, Li Tian noticed a flaw that people of this era had never truly questioned.
Paper.
Lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to produce—sheets that could make writing common and accessible. If paper existed, it would not only change business, but also education, contracts, manuals, and record-keeping.
And where writing becomes easy,
growth never stops.
A faint smile appeared on Li Tian's face.
"It seems," he murmured, "the next business of the Li Family Chamber of Commerce won't be just for profit."
"It will change how this entire era records and thinks."
That day, Li Tian did not merely decide on a new business.
He decided to introduce something that would transform the way this world functioned.
Paper.
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