The craze for chili dishes had already spread beyond marketplace gossip and reached the tables of the upper class.
Every inn, every restaurant was asking the same question—
"Where does this burning red fire come from?"
And then one day…
the biggest name of the region came personally.
---
The region's largest hotel—Golden Crane Pavilion.
Their manager arrived in silk robes, his posture alone radiating authority.
Sitting calmly in the Tian family courtyard, he didn't bother looking around and spoke directly—
"Li Tian."
Just saying the name was enough.
"We will pay 1 gold coin per kilogram of chili powder,"
he said evenly.
"And if you share the recipe… 2 additional gold coins."
Li Hua and his brothers, listening from the hall, nearly forgot how to breathe.
Gold coins.
In the Murim world,
1 gold coin = 20 silver coins.
Li Tian's expression remained perfectly calm.
But his mind had already entered calculation mode.
"Quantity?" he asked.
The manager replied without hesitation—
"Ten kilograms."
---
Li Tian agreed immediately.
"Delivery in three days."
The manager raised an eyebrow, then smiled.
"If the quality remains the same… this will only be the beginning."
The deal was sealed.
---
The next three days were like wartime for the Tian family.
Li Tian divided the work precisely—
some handled drying,
some grinding,
some packaging.
At every step, Li Tian personally supervised.
Moisture control.
Particle size.
Color consistency.
This wasn't just a spice—
it was becoming a brand.
---
Delivery day.
When the red powder was opened in Golden Crane Pavilion's warehouse,
the manager took only one sniff.
"Perfect."
Payment arrived instantly—
10 kg chili powder = 10 gold coins
Recipe = 2 gold coins
Total: 12 gold coins.
Li Tian held the coins in his hand.
They were heavy.
12 gold coins = 240 silver coins.
That night, for the first time, laughter echoed freely in the Tian family courtyard.
The shadow of poverty slowly began to retreat.
Li Hua said softly,
"You're not just earning money… you're changing fate."
Li Tian looked up at the sky.
"This is only the foundation," he thought.
"In this world, I won't merely survive—
I will stand at the top."
And in the Murim world's business circles,
a new name was quietly written—
Li Tian.