Diagon Alley in the post-Dumbledore era is like the United States during the Great Depression in 1926. The streets and alleys are full of closed shops. Most of the passers-by who occasionally pass by are in a hurry, wearing loose wizard robes and hoods, as if
I'm afraid someone will rob me.
Wang Xu was walking in Diagon Alley. Among the shops on the street, there were many shops with transfer and for sale signs.
A gust of wind blew by, bringing with it a copy of the Daily Prophet.
He lowered his head slightly, and saw the news of Dumbledore's death on the front page of the newspaper, and the accompanying picture showed the Dark Mark fired into the sky by Death Eaters.
"Dong dong dong!"
Wang Xu walked a few dozen meters forward, and in front of a potion store with a transfer sign on it, he reached out and knocked on the door.
After a while, the door of the store opened. The owner looked outside in a panic and said hurriedly: "You are not being followed, are you?"
Wang Xu shook his head slightly, letting the shop owner breathe a sigh of relief: "Come in quickly, we don't have time to waste."
Walking into the potion shop, the owner quickly closed the door and cast a defensive spell on the door.
After doing all this, he took a breath and said with a pale smile: "This morning, five shops in Diagon Alley were robbed, including a potion shop. It was terrible. Those people were wearing black robes and belts.
Wearing masks, they blasted open the store door with powerful blasting spells, and there was a burst of looting after entering. My friend who runs a grocery store is still lying in the hospital because of his resistance, and I don’t know if he will wake up."
"Who did this?" Wang Xu asked casually as he looked at the layout of the store.
The shop owner shook his head, lowered his voice and said: "Everyone says they are Death Eaters, but I don't think so, because after Death Eaters commit crimes, they will emit the Dark Mark to identify themselves. And these people robbed and ran away, but
Dressed like a Death Eater, there was no Dark Mark left at all at the scene."
"The world is declining, and people's hearts are not as old as they used to be!" Wang Xu nodded in agreement. Today is Voldemort's big day. He will definitely hold a celebration banquet. The Death Eaters won't even mess with Dumbledore's funeral. How can they come?
Diagon Alley store robbery.
Obviously, this was a group of rogue wizards dressed as Death Eaters who came out to take advantage of the situation.
However, Wang Xu also wanted to thank them, because if these people hadn't caused trouble, this largest potion shop in Diagon Alley with a history of 500 years would not have been sold.
"Let's talk about the price, Mr. Isaac!" Wang Xu touched the ring on his hand and looked into Isaac's gray-blue eyes.
Isaac is also a member of the pure-blood family, but his position is biased towards Dumbledore. Now that Dumbledore's era has passed, Voldemort is the one who has the last laugh. People who stand on the wrong team usually end up not well.
Isaac also understood this. Since last night, he had begun to transfer assets and sell his ancestral property to a family related to Death Eaters.
Now, he only has this largest and most valuable store left in his hands, which has not been sold due to price issues.
"My store is divided into two floors, plus a basement. It adds up to four hundred square meters. For only 800,000 gold galleons, it is yours, including the magic potions in the store." Isaac answered.
It's categorical, and it looks like you got a big advantage.
Wang Xu frowned slightly, glanced at the potions on the shelves, and said, "The potions on the shelves are all mass merchandise. They seem to be in large quantities but not valuable. I think the high-end potions must not be among them.
600,000 gold galleons, I will not offer a higher price. If I can, I will pay it now, and you can get the money and leave the UK immediately."
Isaac jumped up when he heard this and exclaimed: "600,000, impossible, the minimum is 800,000. If three days ago, my store was worth at least 1.5 million gold galleons, not counting the potions in it, I would
Now it’s only sold for 800,000, which is already a very favorable price.”
"You said it yourself, 1.5 million was the price three days ago. Dumbledore was not dead three days ago, and the Dark Lord was not in the sky. Now, everything is different. The Dark Lord has stepped onto the stage, and the profit cake will definitely be there.
It needs to be redistributed. He has so many heroes who need to be appeased. He can't pay for it himself. The wool comes from the sheep. If he wants your shop, he won't give you a penny. I think you understand this."
Of course Isaac understands, otherwise he would not sell the store at this juncture, after all, the current market is not very good.
Moreover, his friends who were related to the Death Eaters were also warning him to move quickly, implying that the magic world was about to change, and it would be too late if he didn't leave.
"Seven hundred thousand, I will also sell you the store's sign. Your potion store can still be called Isaac's Potion Store in the future. This is a time-honored brand that has been passed down for 538 years. No one in the magic world doesn't know it." Isaac's Potion Store.
Ke said through gritted teeth, but Wang Xu still did not agree.
He is not short of money, but he doesn't want others to think he is a fool, and he doesn't want anyone to bid higher than him.
After a long stalemate, Isaac compromised. His wife and children had already gone to Belgium. If he wanted to make a comeback in Belgium, it would be impossible without money.
What's more, Voldemort's era is irreversibly coming, and Isaac doesn't dare to delay it any longer. Who knows if Death Eaters will come to his door at this time tomorrow.
With the transfer contract in hand and watching Isaac's back, Wang Xu finally opened his first shop in the magic world.
However, the most important thing about a potion shop is not the store but the supply of goods. Without the support of a potion master, it would only sell low-end goods, which would be different from Wang Xu's original intention.
Where to find a Potions Master? There were only two Potions Masters he knew. One was Slughorn, who signed a contract with Edward's Potion Shop, and the other was Professor Snape.
Slughorn didn't need to think about it. The contract in the wizarding world was very binding and he couldn't change jobs within three years.
In this way, it seemed that the only potions master Wang Xu knew was Snape.
"Please allow me to refuse"
Returning to Hogwarts again, Wang Xu found Professor Snape and talked to him about potions.
There is no doubt that Snape refused immediately. Even if Wang Xu offered a high price, he remained unmoved.
"If the money is not enough, I can add more."
"I'm not short of money"
As the Potions Master, Snape never had to worry about Galleons, and he was well fed and not hungry when he was alone, unlike Slughorn who had a large family to feed.
After getting frustrated with Snape, Wang Xu left with regret, thinking about who else could be his potion supplier.
After much deliberation, he didn't have a clue. There were five recognized potion masters in the entire British wizarding world.
They are Felton, Director of the Dangerous Potion Disposal Center of the Ministry of Magic, Slughorn, the former Head of Slytherin Branch at Hogwarts, Snape, the current Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Slytherin Branch, and St.
Derwent, the chief physician of the Potions Department of the Magic Hospital for Sickness and Injury, and Essendil, who is traveling around the world without a trace.
Of the five people here, Slughorn, who has a contract, can be eliminated first, and Eisendil, who is missing, can also be eliminated. Then Snape, who rejected him, doesn't have to think about it for the time being.
Wang Xu didn't even know the remaining Felton and Devonte at all.
The former is a senior official in the Ministry of Magic, responsible for the dangerous potion processing center, and is unlikely to serve him.
The latter is the attending physician at St. Mungo's Hospital of Magic. She has to prepare medicines for many patients every day and enjoys the high benefits and treatment of the hospital. It is unlikely that she can provide him with magic medicine.
However, to be on the safe side, Wang Xu still took a trip. First, he went to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Maladies and talked to Dr. Derwent.
Dr. Derwent was a middle-aged woman. She first expressed her gratitude to Wang Xu for his visit, and then declined in a tactful tone.
She apologetically told Wang Xu that she had many patients to take care of and no longer had the energy to provide potions for the potion shop. Rather than using her potion knowledge to make money, she was more willing to use her knowledge to save lives and heal the wounded.
This was especially true for Felton. Wang Xu was kicked out by Felton's assistant before he could even enter his office.
After paying ten Galleons as the consulting fee, the assistant quietly told him that Felton's potions mainly go to the international market. Every year, he holds an auction at his home to auction off the refined high-grade potions and never competes with the potions.
The store signs the contract.
And told him that if you want to open a potion shop, you don't need to find a master potion master to cooperate. The three potion shops in Diagon Alley and the two potion shops in Knockturn Alley usually only sell ordinary potions.
, just have a few bottles of high-end magic potions a year to show off the facade.
He also suggested that Wang Xu take a step back and find cooperation with those who are not at the master level but have a relatively high level of potion production. There will be more such people in the magic world and they can make 99% of the magic potions on the market.
medicine.
"Ordinary magic potions are fine. Similar to lucky water, powerful love potion, invisibility water, attribute resistance potion, and enchanting potion, they all require master-level production techniques. Without a master-level pharmacist, it means that these five kinds cannot be made.
Magic potions. Not to mention the legendary intelligence-enhancing potions, life-extending potions, and immortality potions, which are god-level potions that modern wizards are no longer able to make."
Wang Xu was filled with reluctance. Ordinary potions were of little help to him. Master-level potions were his goal.
Nowadays, there is no master-level pharmacist, so refining these potions is impossible. Could it be that if he wants high-grade potions, he can only buy them from other stores?
"Hey, there is no ready-made potion master, I can train one myself!" Wang Xu's eyes lit up. Potion science is a costly subject. The difference between senior pharmacists and master pharmacists is that they cannot make magic medicine.
Make a master potion.
If there is a senior pharmacist who can refine a large amount of magic potions every day without any lack of talent and with his support, will there be a high chance of being promoted?
Others are afraid of burning money, but Wang Xu is not.
The ingredients for refining a piece of lucky water only cost one thousand galleons on the market. Others were reluctant to spend this money and asked senior pharmacists to try it without restrictions, but Wang Xu didn't care at all.
If it doesn't work once, ten times, if it doesn't work ten times, a hundred times, if it doesn't work a hundred times, just a thousand times.
Failure is the mother of success. If a huge amount of resources are thrown at it, a pig can climb a tree, let alone a very talented senior pharmacist.
"Set a goal, a pharmacist training plan, select a talented senior pharmacist, and train him to become my own potion master. This person should preferably have no foundation in the magic world and be easy to control. Let me think about who is suitable.
.”
Wang Xu closed his eyes and thought hard. After a long time, he opened his eyes and whispered: "Peter Pettigrew!"