This time, Remus' injury was not serious, just fell from the upstairs when it was injured, the impact of being imprisoned in St. Mungo's for two days, he basically also has been seven days and eighty per cent good, but when he really recovered from hospital, time had passed a few days.
On the day that Amos was visiting the Ministry of Magic, Fudge sent Sirius Black to negotiate with the public face controller of the Weasleys, the family known as Wiltshire Smiths, to confirm if Remus had merely suffered an innocent misfortune.
But everyone knows that this is undoubtedly a lame excuse. If Remus had really been summoned to the Ministry for business, they should have made it clear when the Aurors were posted there. Sirius Black and Tony Stark immediately wanted to rush to St. Mungo's to release Remus from detention, but they were stopped by Amos.
He spent a lot of effort to build a ladder for Fudge to step down gracefully, and obviously aware of what's going on, Fudge did not break the truth but instead cooperatively gave Remus a chance. But if they had immediately released Remus, the face of the Minister would be somewhat shameful.
So, he still managed to contact someone from the Weasleys through Goblet of Fire's channels and obtained a hiring contract for 'three months ago,' which showed that Remus Lupin had been employed by Flitwick's Pub for security work. This brought the whole incident to a close.
"---The general-purpose parts list and material performance requirements of the machine are included in the list I just gave you. These parts are completely unnecessary for self-production. Elves will help you investigate some factories with actual capabilities, and if you think it's okay, you can negotiate cooperation agreements with the factories yourself."
At the end of October, the midday sun was like a subtle, soothing wine, lazily spilling over the black cobblestone of the complex entrance alleyway in Diagon Alley's industrial district.
Amos Ta, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, just released from St. Mungo's, walked leisurely down the alleyway, basking in the warm sunshine while conversing.
As the group moved deeper, the originally quiet surroundings began to echo with the rumble of machines like thunder, and the road widened dozens of times over. The factories along the roadside rose into the sky, with tall chimneys belching out huge white clouds of smoke.
There were many people of all sorts of attire busy in the workshops. Most of them were the indigenous people of the magical world, just like the villagers of Hogmeade who lived on agriculture.
Rarely do wizards from Muggle backgrounds choose to take the most menial jobs in workshops after graduation. After all, they might as well return to Muggle society and take up that profession. A significant portion of those who do choose such jobs are akin to Squibs. They have a bit more magical power than Muggles, but their magical talent is limited even to the extent that they are not admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So, they have to eke out a living in noble factories.
They strive their best to stay in the magical world, only hoping that one day, the descendants of their family will have enough talent to enter Hogwarts and have a respectable job after graduation, thus escaping their fate as being lowly.
Perhaps stung by the blank expression of the workers, Remus withdrew his gaze.
"Where are the important parts?" Remus asked. "Can the magical corridor core that realizes the function be mass-produced?"
"Not yet --"
Amos Ta slowly shook his head.
"There is no workshop on the market that can produce a magical corridor as complex as our product. Although I've designed this, we currently don't have the capability to mass-produce it."
Right now, I can only rely on my own hand to carve magic symbols. But to create a machine for mass production, this requires highly specialized knowledge that I do not possess. So, you'll need to make use of the alchemists at the Goblin workshop, of course, if you decide to hire them at a high salary from outside there's no problem--”
"The cost of research and development is astonishing, Amos Ta--"
"Fudge, there's a saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
"Although you've reached an agreement with the goblins, we can't count on them to continuously dig up gold to invest--"
"Yeah--"
Amos Ta calmly replied,
"We can't fully rely on them, so we need to adopt a presale mode. Currently, we have two prototype machines in hand. I've promised one to Fudge and donated it to the Ministry of Magic. The other one will be handed over to you. You can first advertise in the Daily Prophet and major mainstream newspapers of magical civilizations in various countries. With my and Hogwarts' reputation, there will certainly be a lot of people interested. At that time, you can take the prototype machine to introduce it--"
If anyone is interested in purchasing, they can sign a contract first, paying a deposit to support the research and development. The product delivery period is tentatively set at half a year. If we can achieve mass production capabilities within that time, then there will be no problems. Even if not, I will manually make some core components for production and supply--"
Remus was silent for a few seconds and then nodded his head.
"Don't feel too burdened, Remus--"
Amos Ta smiled, comforting him.
"I'm definitely not going to sit idly by, including Dumbledore. If it really does encounter difficulties, he wouldn't just stand by and do nothing, as we've said, we set up this workshop to ensure that if there is a war in the future, Hogwarts won't be constrained in operating funds. Ah, we're here."
In front of them was a workshop covering an area roughly twice that of two Quidditch pitches. This scale was considered medium-sized even in the refinery industrial zone with workshops dotted everywhere. Inside the factory area, there were four factories and one office building styled like Gringotts, with white marble as its exterior walls, looking quite grand and imposing. In front of the office building, all the workers in the workshop were lined up waiting for their new boss to arrive. Meanwhile, Jinko was leading a group of goblins guarding at the big iron gate outside.
"That's the little goblin, Jinko, whom I told you about. He's the one sent by the goblins to help the workshop get on track."
As Amos Ta watched the little goblin Jinko running over, he smiled at it, but spoke in a low voice.
"You don't need to be too restrained in front of them, Remus. Remember, you are the decision-maker of this workshop, and they are just your subordinates--"
"I understand."
Remus took a deep breath and said.
For Remus, it was impossible not to be nervous. Although he had been involved in the magical world for many years, with a wide network and extensive knowledge, he had never before managed or operated a workshop. Especially since Amos Ta had clearly stated that the success of this workshop would be significant to them.
"Mr. Brenn!"
"Greetings, Master Amos!"
"The entire workshop has gathered. They are waiting for your command!"
"This is Remus Lupin. As I've already told you, he will be responsible for the production and operation of this workshop from now on--"
Amos Ta made a gesture towards Remus.
"I give Mr. Lupin full authority to represent me. I hope you will respect him."
"Of course--"
"Yes, he immediately changed the direction of his lowered head, facing Remus instead."
"It's an honor to work with you, Mr. Lupin. All the workers in the workshop will follow your management. Do you have anything to say to them?"
Aside from the half-year teaching position at Hogwarts, Remus had not often been given opportunities to earn respect over the years, especially not from a group of proud goblins. He moistened his lips, turned back to look at Amos Ta and Sirius Black, who were both smiling at him.
"It's an honor to work with you, Mr. Gage -"
Remus clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and turned his head back with a smile, saying to the goblin.
"Let's go, Mr. Gage, let's go greet the staff together."
(Chapter completed)
