The Return to Hogwarts

His cheeks tightened slightly, and Grevis's eyes flickered.

"I am only doing my best to maintain stability in the American magical community, but Mr. Blaine, your role in the security and stability of the international magical community is far more important."

Everyone knows that Mr. Grevis was praising Vice President Amosta Blaine's performance at last year's Quidditch World Cup and his recent annihilation of the large group of dark wizards, which, in retrospect, was indeed a remarkable achievement.

In the last century, perhaps only Dumbledore's achievement of defeating Grindelwald and ending the war between the decadent wizarding world and the Muggle world can surpass Amostrath Blaine's.

Although today's event was merely a routine business meeting, Amosta Blaine's status and prestige were no less than that of the British Minister for Magic; therefore, the current meeting was tantamount to a formal diplomatic visit. After Marcel White introduced the attendees to Amosta and Remus, the group spent approximately an hour answering reporters' questions and taking photos before finally being able to leave.

During this time, Grevis, who caused the most difficulties for Amosta's trip, tried his best to minimize his presence, and Marcel was the one who communicated with Amosta and Remus the whole time.

This was undoubtedly abnormal. Even Marsil frequently glanced furtively at his old friend, who seemed preoccupied, wondering what had happened to Trak, who had previously appeared to be a staunch supporter.

But regardless, the joint review meeting must proceed as scheduled.

The group took the elevator to a bright conference room on the second-highest floor of the building. When Amelia, who was the last to enter the conference room, closed the door, the view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows suddenly changed. The corridor and conference room separated by the window disappeared, and the entire conference room looked like a separate room suspended in the air.

Amosta's gaze swept around with interest, admiring the unique design. Only after Remus nervously retrieved all the backup materials from his briefcase did she finally look away, a slight smile on her face as she glanced at Ms. White, who was negotiating with Grevis at the main table opposite her, and said in a light voice,

Let's begin—

Chapter 919 Amosta's Counterattack

2024-05-16

Remus had already submitted the relevant materials and catalog to the International Department of Magical Cooperation for review. Now, Amosta and Remus needed to provide a detailed explanation of the submitted materials.

The atmosphere in the meeting room became solemn after Ms. White coughed a few times, and Marcel's warm smile vanished as he looked at Amosta with a serious expression.

"Now, we will begin questioning the 'Morning Star Learning Machine' product features and security submitted by Amosta Blaine and Remus Lupin. Please provide a detailed explanation."

Amosta glanced at Remus with a smile, and the latter, understanding, cleared his throat and began to introduce himself in a slightly strained voice.

This matter has dragged on for almost half a year. According to the requirements of the relevant parties, Remus has submitted several versions of the materials to the Magical Congress of the United States for review. Everyone who is in the meeting room today is very familiar with what Remus is talking about. Everyone also knows that the problem does not lie in those materials at all.

As the narration progressed, Remus's voice gradually became more fluent, while Amosta, Marcel White, and Trak Grevis, who truly determined the outcome of the review, remained silent.

An hour later, Remus, his mouth dry, finally finished reading the information he had carefully selected, and looked at the two high-ranking officials of the Magic Congress with a slightly expectant gaze.

"Is there anything else you would like to add?"

"Marsil asked in a serious voice."

A slight commotion arose in the conference room. Amosta, who had been sitting there like a smiling statue for half a day, finally recovered. He quickly glanced at Marcel and Grevis, who were expressionless across the conference table, weighed his options for a moment, and finally decided to first express the thoughts that had arisen from his Inuit's unintentional remark.

"Ahem-"

With a soft cough, Amosta drew all eyes to him. He smiled calmly, his loud voice resonating in everyone's ears.

"Mr. Remus Lupin has just given you a brief overview of the product efficacy and safety of the learning machine. I would like to add some considerations from our workshop regarding the marketing model for this product."

Marketing model?

A fleeting look of surprise crossed Remus's eyes; he had not been informed by Amosta beforehand.

Marcel's usually calm expression wavered slightly at Amosta's words.

As the person in charge of international magic trade, she is always more sensitive to the word 'marketing'.

She glanced casually at Trak beside her and noticed that even Trak's usually stern and still eyes had begun to flicker.

"I believe you are already aware that this highly practical alchemical tool, the learning machine, has already begun to be sold in various European countries. In Europe, we adopt a direct sales marketing model, which means that the workshop promotes the product to the outside world, and customers who are interested in purchasing place orders directly with the workshop."

Amosta's gaze swept over the focused faces as he spoke eloquently.

"Originally, if we could pass the Magical Congress's product review, we planned to adopt the same sales model in the United States. However, after these days of on-site investigation, I think this approach is not suitable for the American magical community."

Many people showed surprised expressions, and even the blue eyes of Ms. Marcel, who was in charge of international magic trade, seemed to light up.

Could it be that, given the resistance he has felt these past few days, Amosta Blaine is planning to back down?

Marcel's breathing became softer, and a faint chill emanated from him, causing Grevis to frown deeply. He knew that Marcel was determined to make this deal happen, but he hadn't expected Marcel to take it this seriously.

Whether we continue to shut Amosta Blaine out today, or allow his products to enter the American magical world smoothly, it doesn't matter much. The most important thing is to get Amosta Blaine out of the country as soon as possible. His condition can't hold on any longer, and we must experiment with that magic as soon as possible.

From any perspective, we cannot afford to get entangled with Amosta Blaine over this matter.

With these thoughts running through his mind, Grevis listened attentively to Amosta Blaine's next explanation.

"Because of the common trade agreement, the import and export tariffs on products from European countries are much lower than those on trade with magical civilizations on other continents. At the same time, due to the distance, the delivery fees we need to pay to the Owl Post Office have always been within a controllable range."

Amosta said calmly,

"But once the marketing business expands to magical civilizations on other continents, the proportion of these two expenses in the marketing costs will surge. Unless we raise prices significantly at the point of sale, it will greatly reduce our workshop's profit expectations."

"Mr. Blaine, what do you mean?"

Marcel narrowed his eyes, his tone tinged with displeasure.

"Do you hope the Magical Congress of the United States will agree to grant this product special treatment in terms of tariffs when it enters the American magical world?"

Not only Marcel White, but all the employees of the Magical Congress of the United States present harbored resentment and were somewhat resistant to Amosta Blaine's domineering attitude.

There is still no consensus on whether the learning machine can be sold in the American magical community, yet Amostra Blaine is already demanding more benefits.

The sudden shift to an unfriendly atmosphere sent a chill down Remus's spine. If he weren't under the watchful eyes of so many people, he probably would have been tempted to wink at Amosta.

My idea is this—

Amosta did not return to Marcel's question, but continued speaking calmly.

"In order to protect the interests of each learning machine, we can also accept the distribution model for selling learning machines."

"Distribution?"

Marcel's heart stirred, and the dissatisfaction in his eyes lessened considerably.

"Yes, Ms. White--"

Amosta nodded and smiled slightly.

"In other words, our workshop accepts the recommendation of the Magical Congress of the United States to cooperate with some powerful alchemy workshops or retailers in the American magical community. As long as they pay a deposit first, they can purchase goods from our workshop at a relatively low price and then sell them in the American magical community. At the same time, the transportation costs are borne by the purchasers, and the collection of tariffs is also negotiated jointly by the purchasers and the Magical Congress of the United States."

wow-

Before Amosta's voice had even finished, the quiet conference room immediately erupted into a commotion, with whispers as loud as the trembling of a swarm of Billywig bugs.

Marcel unconsciously tightened her grip on the quill pen, her gentle breathing became rapid, and a sharp light shone in her blue eyes.

Marsil saw through this tactic of transferring benefits.

Amostraine Blaine diverted a portion of the gold that would have gone to the Magical Congress of the United States to certain powerful families in the American wizarding world in exchange for a sales license for the learning machine in the American wizarding community.

wrong!

Looking at Amosta Blaine's smiling face, Marcel suddenly woke up again.

Amos Blaine's move was not entirely a "compromise," but rather an attempt to shift the blame.

Regardless of the outcome of today's review, once the review concludes and Amosta Blaine's proposed plan is circulated, the point of contention between him and the Magic Congress will completely disappear. He will no longer need to worry about the safety review of the learning machines, because those magical families eager to get a share of this trade will be able to crush the threshold of the Magic Congress!

Marcel knew those greedy guys who would use any means to try and 'persuade' the opposing forces in Congress in order to seize more gold coins.

Marcel knew that there had always been magical families who secretly wanted to get involved in the trade. The reason they had been restrained was not because they were afraid of the Magic Council or the Grevis family, but because they were wary of Amostra Blaine himself. But now that Amostra Blaine had opened the door, would they still have any reservations?

Marcel pursed her lips, and without realizing it, her heart began to pound.

Originally, she hoped to promote this trade to gain political achievements. But since Amosta Blaine was willing to sacrifice some profits to promote this matter, she might as well interfere in this interest as well!

Faced with this situation

Marcel glanced at Trak without showing any emotion. Her capable old friend's solemn face had turned slightly pale, and his hand on the notebook unconsciously clenched. This made Marcel feel a surge of schadenfreude.

Amosta Blaine's counterattack is so sharp, Trak, how do you plan to deal with it?

Chapter 920 Win-Win

2024-05-16

Regardless of rank, no one in this conference room was a fool; most of the attendees saw through Amosta Blaine's intentions.

Some were thrilled—a lucrative business; if they could get involved and share the profits, the income would be enough to ensure their livelihood for the rest of their lives. Of course, there were also honest people who frowned at Amosta Blaine's proposal.

This is because it undoubtedly infringes on the interests of the Magical Congress of the United States; however, from a legal point of view, there is absolutely no problem with doing so.

But Amosta's speech wasn't over yet. After taking in the changes in the expressions of everyone in the meeting room, Amosta cleared his throat and continued.

"This is just one option. In fact, there is another alternative: most of the general-purpose components of the learning machine can be custom-purchased from most alchemy workshops, and only the core components need to be produced in our workshop. Based on this, we do not necessarily have to ship the entire machine out of the factory."

"what do you mean?"

Marcel, who was completely captivated by Amosta Blaine's proposal, asked instinctively.

"--We can definitely partner with local workshops. They pay a deposit and a royalty fee, and we provide the blueprints and licenses. The learning machines will be manufactured locally in the American magical community and then sold through the local workshops' retail channels."

Amosta spoke succinctly, and his words predictably sparked a new wave of commotion.

Localized sales and production—Marsil pursed her lips, her rapidly pounding heart even bringing a flush to her cheeks.

For magical families who are willing and able to get involved in this trade, localized sales and production will greatly reduce their transportation costs and taxes. However, they will have to bear the labor and raw material costs incurred during the production process. The relative importance of these costs compared to the previous option needs to be carefully calculated.

The benefits for the Magic Congress, however, are much more complicated.

If we simply calculate the gold coin revenue generated by this trade, the Magic Congress might be at a greater disadvantage, but things are not that simple.