I Became A Black Merchant In Another World

The first thing that caught my eye was the sight of hundreds of people weaving fabric on looms.

"Don't rush, match your pace to the shuttle's movement! If the threads get tangled, you'll have to start over!"

With each click, the warp and weft interlocked, forming fabric.
Weaving cloth is something you can see in any rural village, but
the key difference here was the speed—the shuttle moved back and forth much faster than if it were being operated by hand.

Cloe was visibly amazed by what she was seeing, her excitement resembling that of a child discovering a new toy.

"My lord, this is incredible! Just by clicking with their feet and hands, they're making fabric! I can hardly believe my eyes!"

Christina covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide with wonder.

"If this technology spreads, it could turn the world upside down. I understand now why you'd want to keep it secret."

Indeed, after the invention of the shuttle loom, the world did change dramatically.
Clothes, once a necessity and a luxury due to the difficulty of production, suddenly became more accessible.
With the efficiency of modern looms, production increased fourfold, threatening the livelihoods of English textile workers and merchants.

Sebastian, though not the inventor, looked pleased and proudly explained.

"Christina, these workers have only been using this machine for less than ten days. Even so, each worker is producing up to four bolts of cloth daily. You, of all people, should know how impressive that is."

People often misunderstand the nature of medieval fabrics.
Cloth like cotton, linen, and hemp, though common among the peasantry, required immense labor to produce.
The cost of clothing, once on the market, could easily be two-thirds to seventy percent labor costs alone.

'If we could reduce those labor costs to a quarter of the original...'

"Without considering raw material costs, we could sell it at a quarter of the price and still profit."
"Exactly. But this isn’t the only wonder the lord has created, is it? Come along, I need to show you the ginning and spinning machines."

Sebastian led me to where the cotton gin and spinning jenny were in operation.

Unlike the shuttle loom, which required intricate design, these two machines were relatively simple in function.
The gin worked by having women and older folks feed cotton bolls into the machine, turning a crank that neatly separated the seeds from the cotton.
On Earth, before this invention, slaves were forced to pick out seeds by hand—a grueling task made easy here.

"I may have made it, but this truly is revolutionary."

Beside it, a spinning jenny with eight connected spindles was transforming cotton and wool into thread.
Operated by a simple foot pedal, it ran much faster than the hand-turned spindles used previously.

Sebastian, voice alight with excitement, explained further.

"By minimizing the effort needed to gin cotton and spin thread, we've cut the cost of producing raw materials for fabric by thirty percent. Factoring in these savings, production costs are now about..."

He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Only twenty percent of what they were before. At current market prices, the lord stands to make a profit more than four times the cost of production. It's nothing short of miraculous."

For centuries, fabric was a prized commodity that almost guaranteed sales the moment it was produced.
Historians speculate that the Hundred Years' War, ostensibly about territorial claims, was fueled by a desire to control Flanders' wool, essential for England’s textile industry.

England was, until its rise to infamy, simply a nation that sold wool and cotton cloth to sustain itself, rivaling France as one of Europe's two great powers.

Christina added her own endorsement of Sebastian's words.@@novelbin@@

"This is technology that could reshape the entire Albanian continent."

Knowing history as I do, I couldn’t agree more.
However, I intended to keep this technology under wraps for at least a decade, ideally two.

Why? If it got out, everyone would jump into the textile industry, diluting my profits.

‘To be valuable, one must do what others can’t or won’t.’

"That's why we can't let this technology leak. Even a single slip-up could jeopardize our family's wealth."

I’m no altruist; I have no intention of giving away my innovations for the greater good.

"I agree, my lord. This is your creation, not something to be shared for the benefit of others."

I patted Sebastian on the shoulder.

"Sure, I thought it up, and the artisans built it, but you laid the groundwork for this factory. Anything you want? I could bestow you with a knighthood for your service."

While I only hold a baronial title, there's no issue with granting him a knighthood.
It's even fairly common for knights to appoint their own vassals.

"Would it be too much to ask for, my lord?"
"It'll be a bureaucratic hassle to register it with the Imperial Heraldry Office, but a little bribe should smooth things over. I’ll even grant you nominal land to accompany your title."

I could assign him a small plot within the factory grounds, reported as Sebastian’s land, with its tax revenue as his salary.

This is technically a loophole, but the Heraldry Office answers to the emperor.
As long as I send a “facilitation fee,” it’ll go through without a hitch.

Cloe, unable to follow our conversation, genuinely congratulated Sebastian.

"Congratulations, Head Steward!"

While my head steward technically enjoys privileges akin to a knight, there’s a big difference between that and formal nobility.

Christina congratulated Sebastian and then turned to offer me some advice.

"Since the seaweed you’re exporting to Guillaume City is tax-exempt, why not bundle some of this fabric as seaweed packaging? That way, you could avoid duties on the textiles as well."

It’s not unheard of for precious items to be wrapped in fine cloth for transport in this empire.
Seaweed is a precious herb, after all.

"It’s too much fabric, though. It won’t all fit as packaging."
"If Guillaume's city treasury and viscount agree, we could avoid the textile tax. Offer them half the duty savings as political contributions."

Political contributions, or bribes, are always well-received.

"Viscount Guillaume has aspirations of becoming a life peer, so he’s spreading money around at the capital. He could certainly use the funds."
"But even if I keep the city quiet, what about the viscount?"
"He stands to gain more from under-the-table funds than from the tax revenue. He’ll have greater discretion to spend the money as he sees fit."

Politicians always need slush funds, especially when single-handedly pushing controversial policies.

"Yes, a little persuasion could save us half the textile tax costs."

Giving away half as bribes allows for steady tax ‘savings’ while avoiding detection.

‘This tax avoidance could save us a thousand gold coins annually.’

"Alright, the factory inspection is complete, so it's time to begin our first major transaction."

For smooth transactions and tax efficiency, I need to be hands-on once again.
Since there’s nothing to handle specifically, I should be able to return quickly this time.

"Sebastian, since I’m pleased with the inspection, organize a banquet and bonuses for the workers tomorrow."
"Understood, my lord."

That night, I dined with the factory overseers, discussing business plans.
From our conversations, it was clear things were running smoothly.

A week later, I arrived back in Guillaume City.

"There it is, the port of Guillaume City!"