Chapter 55: 55
Chapter 55: Marchionne's Magic Workshop
Marchionne was a man driven by the pursuit of wealth, and he was always very explicit about it.
After signing the contract, Marchionne urged everyone to proceed immediately. He wasn't willing to waste a second of potential earnings. This time, Professor Murray asked Steven to entertain the guests at the party while he accompanied Wade to Marchionne's magic workshop.
"It's best to put the first batch of goods on the shelves before the start of school. Students and their parents will definitely be willing to empty their wallets to buy our goods," Marchionne said enthusiastically. "We can also launch different packaging, different quantities, different qualities. Even just adding some printing on parchment and sprinkling some gold powder, the pure-blood nobles will pay three times the price. By the way, I need to rush a batch of posters and put them up in Diagon Alley tomorrow morning!"
Wade couldn't help but be speechless and asked, "Isn't it too late?"
"Of course not!" Marchionne blinked. "Dear Wade, the world of magic is omnipotent!"
Wade thought he had some magical spell that could speed up production, but when he used Floo powder to get to Marchionne's company, he discovered it was the power of money.
The company hall was very spacious, with a small waterfall in the center, and the large characters "Aslan's Magic Workshop" shone in gold above the water. The arched dome was painted with pictures of various magical creatures, some of which were still moving slowly. There were burning fireplaces all around, with green flames rising and falling, and wizards coming out of them from time to time.
"Why were we suddenly notified to work overtime during the Christmas holiday?" A young man, not noticing his boss nearby, complained loudly. "I was planning to travel to Italy!"
"I heard there are products that need urgent production," another witch said with joy. "Overtime pay will be three times the usual rate!"
The short-haired young man immediately calmed down. "That's not bad, then."
"Make way—please make way—"
A goblin shouted loudly, directing a box as high as a hill to move with difficulty. He moved slowly because there were many people in the hall, making the goblin look very irritable.
The sudden increase in work tasks made everything look messy. Several house-elves were running between people's legs, quickly delivering various items.
Colorful paper airplanes hovered in groups over the hall. From time to time, they would dive down from above with a whooshing sound.
"Oh, damn!" A wizard suddenly wore a paper airplane on his hat. He took off the airplane and unfolded it to look, then immediately shouted, "Why did I just find out that there's not much oil in the stone scale fish! I said long before the holiday to check the inventory and replenish it promptly! Don't let me know who neglected their duties!"
He hurried through the crowd, almost knocking over the goblin, who was so angry that he dropped the box and cursed loudly.
Wade was very surprised.
Judging from the current messy state of the magic workshop, Marchionne may have just ordered all employees to prepare to work overtime after seeing the effect of the Book of Friends. At that time, everyone still held out hope of negotiating with Professor Murray, but Marchionne, who must win, may have already thought about how to carry out the follow-up work.
"Sorry, it's really messy here today! It's not usually like this. Wade, Professor, follow me, this way."
Marchionne led Wade and Professor Murray through the crowd and into a special elevator. He breathed a sigh of relief, pressed the button for the sixth floor—Technical Department—and loosened his collar.
"Your workshop now has seven floors?" Professor Murray squinted at the row of elevator buttons. "I remember it was only five floors when I came here last time."
"Yes, we've developed well in the past few years," Marchionne said proudly. "The transformation of the magic radio was a big step, thanks to your willingness to give us authorization."
"There aren't many wizards willing to take the initiative to accept new things, let alone modify Muggle objects. Many people still think Muggles are inferior creatures. They're really ignorant!"
"When I first went to school, I saw the scarlet train running like a giant beast in the Scottish Highlands. I was deeply impressed by the wisdom and power of Muggles. After graduating from school, I originally wanted to attend a Muggle university, but due to various reasons, I regretfully gave up..."
"For various reasons, isn't it just because you didn't understand?" Professor Murray revealed the truth bluntly.
"Hahaha—don't speak so bluntly in front of the children, Professor!"
Wade suddenly discovered that although Professor Murray often complained about Marchionne, their relationship was much better than it seemed on the surface. When talking in private, there was a special tacit understanding.
He looked at the posters in the elevator and listened silently without interrupting.
There were two goblins and five or six wizards in the technical department. They had prepared various tools and were waiting in the office. This place was different from a Muggle office. There were all kinds of wonderful, slowly moving magical objects, lights of different colors flashing from time to time, and the room was filled with many tiny sounds.
When they arrived, Professor Murray and Marchionne found an empty table and sat down to drink tea while Wade communicated with the people in the technology department.
Wade first demonstrated the production process of the Book of Friends. He brought ready-made potions that took a long time to prepare. All the people present were experts. They almost mastered the general process after watching it once. Then they disassembled the whole process step by step, finally reaching a point where more than 80% of the small steps could be completed even by third-year students at Hogwarts. Some people were constantly calculating how to further reduce the cost and find various materials for preparation. In less than half an hour, the technical department had determined the production process of the first batch of products, and the entire magic workshop really entered the stage of high-speed operation.
During this time, although Marchionne only occasionally chatted with Professor Murray in a low voice, he was also observing Wade without leaving any trace.
The black-haired boy was not very tall. He rarely spoke after showing his work, but every time he did, he spoke meaningfully and to the point. The members of the technical department tried to change his magic rune circuit several times, but before they did, he pointed out the consequences of doing so—either reducing stability or causing delays or even loss of transmitted information.
As it turned out, he was right every time.
Marchionne secretly stuck out his tongue, finally understanding why Professor Murray had always looked down on his level—he had clearly scored an E (Exceeds Expectations) in the Ultimate Wizard Registration Exam.
Look at this kid. He not only has genius creativity and a diligent attitude towards study but also a very pragmatic and hardworking experimental spirit. If he had not tried dozens or hundreds of times, how could he know all the changes?
No wonder Professor Murray, with his current status, is willing to give up his face to stand up for this kid and personally fight for greater benefits for him.
There are many geniuses in the world, like flowing water, and Marchionne himself is also called a genius by some people, so he understands even more—if many geniuses only have smart minds, they will be lost in the crowd as they grow up, and even go straight to Azkaban for further study because they are too "smart." Only a genius like Wade—as long as he does not die halfway—his achievements are unquestionable, and his glory is obvious.
How to win over such a genius?
Marchionne changed his strategy, which he had adjusted three times.
Eleven years old... Is this child really only eleven years old? It makes him feel as if he has lived on the body of a Flobberworm for more than thirty years...
Could it be...
Suddenly, Marchionne leaned forward and said in a low voice, "Professor—Professor Murray—tell me the truth—this child is actually your illegitimate son, right?"
Wade, who was discussing the lead powder ratio with the technical department, suddenly heard a scream. He turned around and saw that Marchionne had rolled off the table to the ground, and Professor Murray smiled and indicated that everything was fine.
But for some reason, his smile was a little hideous.
Wade blinked blankly.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone