After stepping outside, Tver did not leave Diagon Alley. Instead, he turned toward Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions Shop on the other side.
Thanks to the Werewolf Workshop's cheap herbs and the vast global channels for selling Beautification Potions, Mrs. Primpernelle's income over the past few years was at least several times that of the Weasley brothers.
According to a Gringotts goblin's "accidental" revelation, the value of the various gems she had stored in her Vault over the past few years had already surpassed that of most declining pure-blood families.
This level of wealth might not be particularly impressive among Britain's muggle tycoons, but in Diagon Alley, where most businesses had pure-blood families as shareholders, Mrs. Primpernelle had suddenly gained a rather detached status.
The merchants of Diagon Alley could not possibly avoid envying such enormous profits. For those who had already tasted the benefits of cheap raw materials, cutting costs alone was no longer enough to satisfy their appetites.
And so, under the intentional or unintentional guidance of their shareholders, they naturally found their way to Tver through Mrs. Primpernelle.
The charming Mrs. Primpernelle was leaning against the shop entrance. The moment she saw Tver appear, she took him by the shoulder and pulled him inside.
Then she said, seemingly complaining but clearly pleased, "They were blocking the door first thing this morning. I almost thought Death Eaters had come looking for me."
"Doesn't that just prove your business is doing well?" Tver replied with a smile.
Mrs. Primpernelle also knew that Tver was the source of her enormous profits, so she did not dare overdo it.
"No matter how well the business is doing, I only got this far because of you."
Tver looked at Mrs. Primpernelle's somewhat deferential manner in surprise. To be honest, he had thought she might resent him for taking a share of the profits.
Greed was human nature, and Mrs. Primpernelle certainly would not mind earning even more money. But in the wizarding world, where supplies were scarce and consumption was weak, she had already earned so much that she no longer knew what to buy.
If she were not worried that exposing this shady business might affect Tver, she would have run off to the muggle world and lived as a carefree rich woman.
At that thought, the little idea she had been suppressing slipped out.
"Mr. Fawley… do you think I could make some other potions… that is…"
Hearing that, Tver's hand paused on the door handle. Standing in front of the closed door, he turned back with slight surprise.
"You mean… sell them to muggles?"
A flush of hesitation and anxiety rose on Mrs. Primpernelle's face.
"No, I heard that your potions workshop is considering producing other potions…"
She swallowed, suddenly feeling that this self-deceiving excuse was a little insulting to the intelligence of the young man in front of her.
"All right." She held her breath nervously. "What I mean is, if you need it, I can adjust the production capacity of the potions shop at any time, or even open branch factories in other countries, just like…"
She hesitated, unsure whether she should be honest with this professor.
Tver turned fully around and looked at the hesitant Mrs. Primpernelle without expression.
"Just like Lucius and the others?"
After the last showdown, those Pure-bloods had eagerly left Britain, searching all over Europe for suitable people and places to establish plantations.
They were merely very cautious, or rather timid, and had not publicized this enormous business that had yet to begin. After all, they had not even established a single proper workshop yet.
Still, since someone, whether intentionally or unintentionally, had leaked this news to Mrs. Primpernelle, Tver did not mind giving that sluggish team a little push.
Looking at Tver's expressionless face, Mrs. Primpernelle felt a wave of unease rise in her heart, even though the two of them rarely interacted.
"No, I didn't mean…"
"It's fine." Tver instead smiled. "I don't oppose it. In fact, I'm very pleased that you have this idea."
"I'll have Lupin tell you about the potions workshop. As for what potions to produce…"
He hesitated for a moment, feeling that he should still leave the pure-bloods some face and profit. After all, they still had value.
"That will be something you need to discuss with Lucius."
"Thank you very much for your understanding!"
Mrs. Primpernelle was instantly so excited she could hardly contain herself. If the occasion and the person had not been wrong, she would have wanted to throw her arms around Tver and kiss him twice.
"So how do you plan to run the potions workshop? After this, you and Lucius and the others will count as competitors."
Tver seized the chance to ask the question he cared about most.
As long as they did not interfere with his plan, the more people running potions workshops, the better.
But among them, only a small number would ultimately grow into true giants.
He did not want Mrs. Primpernelle, this catfish, to merely tear a piece of meat from the pure-bloods' mouths. If possible, he wanted to see a predator capable of hunting on its own.
Mrs. Primpernelle did not know Tver's expectations. She only felt that his attitude had suddenly become more serious than in their usual conversations, and she could not help restraining the smile on her face.
"I wonder if you've heard of Self-Stirring Cauldrons?"
"Of course." The moment Tver spoke, he felt a surge of pleasant surprise. "Cauldrons that can automatically stir potions according to the user's requirements. They became popular after I graduated."
Mrs. Primpernelle smiled confidently, as if she had a different understanding of those cauldrons.
"The Self-Stirring Cauldrons on the market can only execute commands rigidly. In reality, even the simplest potion requires at least five different stirring methods while it is being brewed."
Tver nodded in understanding. Brewing potions required too many human-controlled factors. That was also why potions could only be brewed by hiring wizards, rather than produced in standardized factories.
"But when Patche came by this morning, he told me…" A smile tugged at Mrs. Primpernelle's lips. In truth, ever since she learned that Tver was developing a potions business, she had been gathering information in this area.
"He once developed a cauldron that could stir automatically according to the user's intent. But that kind of cauldron was expensive to make, could only stir in one particular way, and had no other functions, so he had no choice but to abandon production."
Being able to stir in only one way meant it could produce only one potion.
Given the poor consumer market in the wizarding world, it truly was not worth spending such a high price to buy that sort of cauldron.
Without demand, there would naturally be no supply.
But for a potions workshop, the importance of such a cauldron went without saying.
Although it only reduced the stirring step, and many other steps such as slicing, juicing, and even adding herbs still had to be handled personally by wizards, that was already enough.
Business was not about pursuing the lowest possible production cost. As long as your costs were lower and your production efficiency higher than your competitors', you would have a decisive advantage.
"But if it were my potions workshop, I would equip the production of every potion with this kind of cauldron!" Mrs. Primpernelle declared boldly, not caring at all about the cauldron's high cost.
"Lower costs and higher efficiency. Sooner or later, the potions I produce will spread across the entire world!"
Looking at the impassioned Mrs. Primpernelle, a strange feeling rose in Tver's heart.
It seemed he had cultivated a potions tycoon.