Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 13 Stephen Cumberbatch

Slug was taken to Malfoy Manor by the house-elves, where Lucius Malfoy was already sitting in a high-backed chair waiting.

"What are you talking about in your letter? Is someone trying to steal your business?"

"Yes, sir. For the past two months, every now and then, people have been coming to the shop and buying large quantities of materials, mostly white peony, but also other potion ingredients. I've had to restock several times to keep up with demand."

Lucius tapped his gloved fingers on the table beside him. "Let me repeat what you said. You mean our potion ingredients are selling very well, but you don't think that's a good thing? Even if we make tens of thousands of Galleons because of it?"

"Yes, sir! I'm not saying Galon is a bad thing, I'm saying it's strange that they bought so many materials but not our potions."

"I'm listening."

"If a wizard needs potions temporarily, he will just buy our finished products. After all, the potion-making skills of ordinary wizards are not as good as those of the potion experts in our shop," Slug said.

Even if some wizards are highly skilled and want to save costs by making their own potions, they will only need to buy a few ingredients.

Lucius nodded.

Slag and Giggs Pharmacy had a stake in the business, and although he rarely participated in the operation of the store, he would occasionally look at the basic accounts. What Slag said was consistent with what he knew.

"In the past, only Hogwarts professors would buy large quantities of potion ingredients at once, because they usually needed to provide enough for a semester's worth of practice."

"But this time, the buyers were not any of the professors I knew. Although they used different appearances each time they appeared, I had reason to suspect that they were actually in cahoots because the items they bought were roughly the same."

"Why would they buy so many materials if they're not professors?"

Lucius thought for a moment, but had no clue, and said, "Tell me your thoughts, don't make me guess!"

"Yes, yes, sir. I suspect they're planning to open a potion shop! Only a potion shop would need so many materials! They're probably stockpiling herbs right now. And by doing this, they can prevent us from gathering enough materials in a short time, making it impossible for us to supply our customers with the potions they need, thus lowering our reputation."

Lucius understood. "You mean, we're going to have a competitor?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely certain!"

Lucius was skeptical. "Are there any shops for sale in Diagon Alley? Do you know where they'll be opening them?"

Slug shook his head. "No, I haven't found their target yet."

"Perhaps it's Knockdown Alley?"

Lucius stopped guessing. "This isn't good. Go and find out! I need to know who's buying our materials. If they're planning to compete with us, you also need to find out where they plan to open a shop and what potions they specialize in!"

"Yes, sir. If they come back to buy more materials, should we sell them to them?"

Lucius hesitated for a while, "Sell it, and we can raise the price a bit. Just say that materials are in short supply."

After all, that was a huge sum of Galleons, and he really couldn't bear to part with it.

"But leave enough for our own needs," Lucius added as a final instruction.

"Yes, sir."

……

"This is the key to your vault." Locke handed Murphy a small gold key. "You can use it to withdraw money from any teller, just like a regular vault."

On the seventh day after receiving the Locke Coin, Murphy summoned this special fairy.

There was no other way; Yunnan Baiyao's orders were growing too fast, and he needed to continue buying materials.

Murphy handed a briefcase to the fairy. "There's 150,000 pounds in here. I only need 28,000 gallons more in the vault; the difference can be your commission."

Converting pounds into gold and then into gallons was a last resort. Now that we have Locke as an inside man in Gringotts, there's no need for such trouble.

Moreover, this exchange rate is much more favorable than Gringotts.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Murphy. But what name would you like to use to withdraw the money? I suggest you don't use your real name."

Murphy never intended to use his real name.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to name him Stephen Cumberbatch.

"From now on, we'll use this name when we meet."

Murphy was somewhat helpless about having to create a secondary account, but what could he do when his actions were somewhat shady?

"Yes, Mr. Stephen, your gold coins will be ready in two days."

"Then we're allies from now on." Murphy was in a good mood, having finally settled the important matter of acquiring wizard currency, and extended a hand.

Locke was somewhat surprised. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and shook hands with Murphy.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Locke."

Locke seemed somewhat flattered. "It's a pleasure working with you, Mr. Stephen."

Locke only breathed a sigh of relief after Murphy had vanished in an illusion.

As a fairy, especially one who was not recognized by his own kind and engaged in such shady business, he rarely received any kind treatment.

This was the first time Locke had ever seen an attitude from a wizard that went beyond contempt and disdain.

Stephen Cumberbatch, no, Murphy Darkholm.

This wizard seems a little different.

……

"When can we build the research institute?" Murphy asked again in Patrick's room.

This was the third time he had asked this question.

Although Patrick said he wanted to build a vertical farm, Murphy automatically imagined it as a research base integrating production and research. After Patrick said it twice, he tacitly agreed.

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush it," Patrick said. "We've got so much going on lately. We need to move, hire people, do marketing, buy equipment, buy materials..."

"The Umbrella Corporation is no longer a small workshop. We can't always work from my home. To be honest, Audrey is starting to worry about too many strangers coming to my house."

Audrey was Patrick's wife and a very elegant Latino designer.

"Uh, sorry."

Murphy felt genuinely bad for disturbing people's lives because of his work.

"And we also need to hire people—HR, finance, marketing—we need at least twenty people just to set up the framework... So, we don't actually have that much money available."

"Aren't we making a lot of money?" Murphy asked.

"Indeed, but we've also been spending a lot lately. Establishing a research and development base... we don't have that capability yet."

"Okay." Murphy was a little disappointed.

After all, making money by selling potions is just a means to an end; what he really wants is magical research.

But Patrick is right. The umbrella is still in its infancy, and the makeshift team hasn't even been set up yet. It's a bit too hasty to start a research and development center.

"However, we can first find someone to do preliminary design and planning, as well as site selection and the needs of researchers, and do some preparatory work, which can be outsourced."

"Okay!" Murphy nodded. "Let's do it that way."

After the meeting, Murphy was about to leave when Patrick stopped him and gave him a package.

Murphy opened it and found it was a mobile phone.

"You're always disappearing without a trace, I can't get in touch with you. Keep this with you, I'll call you if anything happens."

(End of this chapter)