Chapter 521: Chapter 521: Business Opportunity (Edited)
To be precise, it's not a proper "Finnish wood stove" because the wood is too fresh.
Fresh wood contains a lot of moisture, making it difficult to ignite and generating unnecessary smoke. However, the difficulty is relative because the wood doesn't need to be completely dry to catch fire. After all, how would forest fires spread? Trees that burn in wildfires are also fresh.
Tom's match instantly lit the twigs and dry leaves placed in the center of the assembled log, and a little smoke began to emerge from the log.
"It's burning, it's burning!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed like a child, waving his hands and feet. For him, lighting a fire in a Muggle way was a completely new experience.
He took Tom's matchbox in his hands. "I'll give it a try too!"
However, like many children using matches for the first time, Mr. Weasley couldn't get them to light. He was puzzled, as Tom had succeeded with just one attempt, but he couldn't manage it no matter how hard he tried.
The matches broke or wore out in his hands, losing the igniting part. The sandpaper on the matchbox was completely worn down.
Mr. Weasley sighed deeply.
Tom stepped closer and tossed the scattered matches on the ground into the wooden log, reviving the fire.
Finally, Mr. Weasley managed to light a match, but the sudden burst of flames startled him, and he dropped the match on the ground.
Onlookers: ...
Fred couldn't help but cover his face with his hands.
"The sandpaper on this matchbox is no good anymore," Hermione said gently, taking the matchbox from Mr. Weasley's hands and showing him how to do it.
"She'll make an excellent mother someday," George remarked as he listened to Hermione's patient explanation, making his own judgment.
Under Hermione's guidance, Mr. Weasley finally learned how to light the matches. He continuously lit them and threw them into Tom's wooden log.
By this point, the inside of the log was already ignited, and the smoke coming out made it difficult to keep their eyes open.
The principle of this stove was to allow the flammable material to ignite the core of the log, then gradually carbonize and form a coal fire that would continue to burn, effectively extending the burning time of the wood. In the end, the inside of the log would burn away, leaving a large triangle-shaped hole.
"Cough, cough... the fire is already burning," Tom said as he stepped back from the burning wood.
"The Finns insert a Z-shaped pipe into this hole," Tom explained, pointing to the log, "one end is outside the wood stove, and the other connects to the tent. This way, when the cold air from outside passes through the wood stove, it heats up and becomes hot air, which is the heating principle of the Finnish stove."
Mr. Weasley nodded repeatedly as he listened, now understanding how Muggles without magic survived in cold, snowy climates.
"It's important to note that the air intake of the pipe should be outside the wood stove," Tom began to provide some safety explanations, as he wasn't sure if wizards had the concept of carbon monoxide poisoning; he felt they did, as all the chimneys at Hogwarts had ventilation to prevent tragedies where students would be trapped on winter nights.
"Ah, now I understand! Tom, you're quite well-informed," exclaimed Mr. Weasley excitedly, feeling like he had learned a lot of knowledge that he didn't know when he could apply. He patted Tom on the shoulder and said, "By Merlin! Where did you learn all these things?"
"Uh, all of that is common knowledge among Muggles," Tom replied in that manner while observing the strange looks from the Grangers. "After familiarizing yourself with Muggle science, you realize many things that aren't common sense, like the fact that houses made of ice and snow aren't really that cold inside, or that the 'gas' you see when a kettle boils isn't actually gas."
Seeing the Weasleys' looks around him as if they were attending an advanced mathematics class, Tom knew they hadn't paid much attention. And he couldn't blame them. After all, why had wizards only attended magic classes from a young age? In most of the magical world, there are no natural sciences, and they simply can't grasp the physical principles and have poor logical reasoning when it comes to understanding the nature of the world.
The solution might be to offer a mandatory course at Hogwarts where students learn some basic physics and chemistry. As for mathematical calculations, that skill could be complemented through Arithmancy divination, where numerous operations are performed. Inadvertently, wizards would end up reviewing mathematics.
At that moment, the smoke coming from the wood stove had stopped, and a flame was rising from within it, indicating that the wood stove had been successfully lit.
After a while, Harry and the others returned with a kettle. Tom placed the kettle directly on the wood stove to heat water and prepare tea.
The waiting process for the water to boil wasn't boring. Their tent was located next to the road leading to the Quidditch field, where many Ministry of Magic officials were busy. Mr. Weasley was quite popular at the Ministry of Magic, and many officials would stop to greet him as they passed by. Mr. Weasley made an effort to introduce all the officials to Tom, Harry, Hermione, and the others.
That was the invisible advantage of coming from a pure-blood family. Although the Weasleys were poor and couldn't afford to buy textbooks, they were still an ancient pure-blood family and had a presence in the lower levels of the Ministry of Magic.
Director of the Goblin Liaison Office, members of the Experimental Spell Sub-Committee, Memory Modification overseers, Unspeakables... Tom was getting to know one Ministry of Magic official after another.
When the water boiled, Mr. Weasley prepared a teapot of tea, a pot of porridge, made several fried eggs, and hung sausages on the wood stove to roast. The way they roasted the sausages was wonderful, as the sausage fat slid over the top as they cooked, thoroughly infusing them. In the end, the sausages looked roasted but tasted fried. In addition to the sausages, they also roasted potatoes, making the most of the heat and fat.
The fatigue from the early morning walk had completely disappeared.
Tom held a skewer of sausages in one hand and a bowl of porridge in the other, sitting on the ground next to Fred and George.
"Everyone here is a wizard."
"Yes," replied Fred as he cut the roasted sausages and placed them between two slices of egg.
"They're all potential customers," Tom said, taking a big bite of sausage.
"We know, but they confiscated all our Skiving Snackboxes," George frowned and drank the porridge in one gulp, as if the vegetable rice had tasted like bitter wine.
"I wouldn't have suggested selling Skiving Snackboxes here; think about all the kids here, their parents would kill you if they ate them by mistake." Tom shook his head and seemed to have a good idea.
Chapter 522: Chapter 522: Try It (Edited)
"So, what should we sell?" Fred frowned. He thought Tom had come with a plate of food specifically to console them, right?
"Some harmless little items," Tom said discreetly, taking out a small box. "The products I bought from you before... I'm really glad I didn't bring the Skiving Snackboxes."
Facing Mrs. Weasley's indiscriminate Summoning Charm, Tom was sure that if he had brought the Skiving Snackboxes, they would have been discovered. The situation would have been very embarrassing.
Seeing the box in Tom's hands, Fred and George's eyes lit up.
"I'll pay you the initial price."
Fred, George: ???
"I need the money to buy some souvenirs," Tom shrugged. During this time, he had invested too much money in alchemy, which had quickly depleted his cash reserves. Without an option, he needed to get some money from Fred and George.
But the way to get money was not through these small items in the box. The contents of the box weren't even worth two Galleons. What interested Tom was the future development of the Weasley brothers.
"You surely have other intentions with us," Fred and George were very shrewd and perceptive people, and at a glance, they understood Tom's intentions.
"That's right," Tom snapped his fingers. Talking to intelligent people was much easier. He explained his idea of surprise boxes to Fred and George.
"It's just an idea, an immature idea. Right now, we probably don't have a chance to make it happen, but when we return to Hogwarts, the possibilities will be great..."
After hearing the idea of surprise boxes, Fred and George were amazed by Tom.
"Brother, you're a trading genius," Fred put his hand on Tom's shoulder and said seriously.
"Great boss, please have some tea," George raised a cup of tea over his head, offering it to Tom as a sign of respect.
While the three of them were conversing in hushed voices, they had already caught Hermione's attention. She approached behind the three and suddenly leaned towards Tom, asking in a whisper, "What are you talking about?"
Hermione's sudden appearance startled Tom, but Fred and George had "strong hearts" and smirked at Hermione.
"Dear Miss Granger, haven't you heard a saying? A secret makes a man a man."
Not only did she not get a response, but she also felt bad, and Hermione walked away in a huff.
"What I envision goes beyond surprise boxes," Tom showed a devilish smile. Next year, Hogwarts would welcome many visitors, and the wealthy ladies from Beauxbatons would be an ideal group of consumers. This would be the opportunity for him, Fred, and George to shine.
Magical prizes, surprise boxes, limited-edition toys, customized action figures, and even a casino based on test scores... Tom could do it all.
Tom loved making money. But it wasn't Tom's fault; it was because alchemy was a bottomless pit, and Tom couldn't even gather enough money for materials. Plus, the pressure from a certain weird bald guy forced him to find ways to enhance his power.
Next year, he would focus on making money. Tom set his goal for the upcoming semester.
While Tom chatted with Fred and George, Bill, Charlie, and Percy approached them from the forest. Since they could all use Apparition, they could sleep in and come when it was already bright.
"What a feast!" Bill sniffed a couple of times and sincerely praised. Percy quickly approached and took a slice of tortilla and put it on his plate.
Fred and George were devouring the food they had brought. They were eager to do business and sell the items they had retrieved from Tom at a good price.
But the appearance of a special guest interrupted their plans.
"Ludo!" Mr. Weasley jumped up, smiling and waving to a conspicuously dressed man.
The person who appeared was Ludo Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He was wearing a long Quidditch robe in the colors yellow and black, with a large bee emblem on the chest. It was the uniform of the Wimbourne Wasps team he had played for in the past.
Since Quidditch was a sport, it naturally fell under the jurisdiction of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, but Bagman seemed exceptionally idle. That was his way of managing his department: delegating all the work to his subordinates.
"What great weather! All the preparation work is going smoothly, I have nothing to do," Bagman said as a group of exhausted Ministry of Magic officials ran past behind him, and in the background, there were more problems that required the Ministry's attention.
He had only had a brief encounter with him, but Tom had already noticed that this individual was untrustworthy.
But even if Bagman was untrustworthy, he was still the head of a department, and Percy was eager to get along with him. When Bagman appeared, Percy quickly stepped forward, extended his hand, and shook his.
Unfortunately, Harry stole Percy's spotlight, and Bagman was completely drawn to the "boy who lived."
After chatting for a while, Ludo Bagman revealed his true intentions by seeking out Mr. Weasley: he wanted to involve him in a betting game!
Mr. Weasley wasn't interested in the game, but Fred and George were excited about it.
Tom watched as they pulled out their money bags and prepared to bet. He sincerely admired the twins' bravery.
They weren't reckless; their bet of "Ireland winning and Krum catching the Golden Snitch" was the result of careful calculation. Although it sounded very risky, they were actually betting that Krum wouldn't catch the Snitch in time.
Suddenly, the bet didn't seem so far-fetched. On the contrary, they had good odds of winning.
Fred and George had no other choice. They were desperate for money, needing to save enough capital before graduating to support their dream: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. That's why they were willing to take risks and use gambling to expand their funding.
If they won, they would have enough money to open the shop. If they lost, it would only be thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and three Knuts.
That was their entire net worth, but they didn't care. Because the money, whether they lost it or not, wouldn't be enough to back their shop.
So why not take a little risk?
That's what characterized Fred and George: their gambling spirit.
They had confidence because they now had enough new products for steady production. If they managed to open a market at school, the money would come back quickly.
Tom watched indifferently from the sidelines. He had no intention of stopping the twins, as Fred and George's failure would simply be bad luck: they won at the gaming table, but the casino collapsed, which was truly disappointing.
In any case, he was there to support them. If the two brothers were only technical investors, he might even increase his influence.
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