When Vivian was doing her design work, her imagination could be described as boundless, bringing forth all sorts of ideas regardless of their feasibility. For example, she designed a special magic lamp where the entire lampshade was like a large glass sphere, and inside, the wicks transformed into various cute young animals. Or a colorful gramophone with its vinyl record designed like a stage; as soon as the music played, magical figures would appear and perform songs and dances. She even created seasonal versions where the magically transformed scenes and characters on the gramophones varied with each season, truly beautiful beyond compare.
While Vivian's designs were like daydreaming, Alan had a much tougher time. He had to figure out if what Vivian came up with was feasible and then make samples for testing. Sometimes, he even thought he was the employee and Vivian was the boss. Eventually, he saw that Vivian was truly letting her imagination run wild, with many ideas being difficult to implement or not something that could be produced in the short term.
Considering that the shop couldn't stay closed indefinitely, he could only extract some simple, operable designs first, produce them, and start selling. The others could be saved; Alan's idea was also very practical: first, make some simple products, and then use the more elaborate ones as future releases, allowing for sustainable development.
In terms of production, inspired by Vivian, he also came up with a better method. Alan planned to outsource all non-magical physical components—such as pendants, belts, bracelets, and pocket watch casings—to the Muggle world. He happened to have a Muggle shop, so he could directly set the specifications, have outside factories handle the manufacturing, and then just insert those amulets into them, turning them into magic items. As for other decorative items like gramophones, lamps, music boxes, and clocks, he also bought them ready-made in the Muggle world and then transformed them.
In any case, Arthur was in charge of this area at the Ministry of Magic, so Alan was uninhibited in modifying Muggle items. If anyone else were to cast spells on so many Muggle items, they would have been arrested by the Office for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts long ago. In the process of dismantling and modifying these tools, Alan gained more business insights and decided to focus on magic lamps and magic gramophones as his main civilian alchemy tools in the future.
Alan understood a very cunning business principle known as the razor-and-blade model. He found that he could split many tools, like lamps and gramophones, into two parts. For example, his lamps didn't have bulbs; they relied entirely on internal magic-storing components to emit light. As long as an energy-absorption rune was inscribed, they could draw magic and glow for a long time.
But Alan didn't do that. He discovered a better way to make money: he deliberately made the magic-storing components detachable, just like light bulbs. He intentionally reduced the efficiency of these storage components so they would only work for two or three months before their magic ran out, which was about the same efficiency as the magic candles and oil lamps on the market.
Then he sold the main body of the lamp very cheaply. For example, a standing magic desk lamp that could automatically draw magic and glow continuously would originally sell for four to five Galleons, but with this new design, he only sold it for two Galleons, while the magic component sold for five sickles. Thus, as long as the customer continued to use the lamp, they would have to continuously purchase storage components, making the actual profit from one lamp far higher than its original selling price.
Moreover, he could offer a discount: if customers brought back a used magic component for replacement, they would get a one-sickle reduction. This could reduce costs because the magical part of the lamps was actually only the magic component; other parts were adapted from Muggle lamps. The returned components just needed to be recharged and refurbished to be reused. This also increased customer loyalty, making them visit the shop regularly. Once they entered and saw more products, it was hard for them to resist making impulse purchases.
Products like the magic gramophone were similar. A gramophone might be priced at only three to five Galleons depending on the style, but records that stored music and featured different light and shadow effects could sell for ten sickles or even more. Once customers grew tired of their previous music, they would have to buy other records. In the wizarding world, there were actual singers, and Alan was even considering collaborating with them to produce specialized music records.
Influenced by Vivian, Alan's business acumen had developed quite a bit, and it wouldn't be long before he became a qualified capitalist. After more than ten days, Alan readjusted his strategy and produced a batch of ready-made products. He took these, along with the improved multi-version Humanoid Targets, and headed to the Ministry of Magic. He also brought along the remaining equipment for his initial contract, delivering the goods while conducting the hazard assessments.
This trip went very smoothly. Alan delivered all the equipment without a single missing item and received the final payment, which made him once again marvel at the Ministry's wealth. The hazard assessment part was also simple, as he had already spoken with Minister Bagnold beforehand. The relevant departments knew Alan was coming, and the products he brought this time were inherently not dangerous.
During this period, Alan discovered something interesting. The hazard assessment was to be conducted and graded by officials from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The former assessed the danger, and the latter assessed whether it violated the law. Alan discovered that the assessor from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was actually Arthur.