Seeing Fudge's expression, Alan smiled. Although the newly appointed Minister for Magic was mediocre, he had his own advantages, such as being much easier to deal with than Bagnold in some aspects.
"Firstly, after establishing the Alchemy Relay Base Station, the company will subsequently launch a series of civilian-grade alchemy tools in the style of these Communication Terminals. For every new terminal sold, we can provide the Ministry of Magic with a three percent share of the profits. Additionally, if this Magic Communication System is promoted abroad in the future, we will pay a trade tax of ten percent. There's no alternative; although this project is large, the costs are also very high, and my profit is quite limited."
"At the same time, I will also supply the Ministry of Magic with a portion of military-grade communication equipment, including the real-time communication headsets that were previously tested. This equipment could only be used within a narrow range before, but once the base station is established, its range can be expanded to cover the entire country. And besides the Communication Terminal product, if imaging channels opened by the Wizarding Wireless Network through the Magic Communication System are profitable, I will invest and jointly establish a Silver Flash Magical Broadcasting Company with them, specifically for the development of the entertainment industry."
"The accompanying alchemy products, such as Magical Projectors and magic recorders, can all form an industrial chain, continuously bringing us revenue. Of course, this part will also provide the Ministry of Magic with a three percent business share." Alan counted on his fingers, detailing the benefits this system would bring to Fudge. Listening to this, it sounded like a win-win situation for both the Ministry of Magic and the company.
"Then… according to your estimate, once this industrial chain is fully formed, how much revenue can it generate in a year?" Fudge's eyes lit up, having been swayed by Alan, and he couldn't help but ask.
"The entire industrial chain will take two to three years to set up. Just building the Alchemy Room to house the base stations will take one or two months, and then there will be testing. However, once it's fully formed, the annual turnover will be roughly this much." Alan casually extended his index finger, making a gesture for one.
"Ten thousand?" Fudge looked at Alan with some confusion. This didn't seem like very much.
"Your vision is too small." Alan decisively shook his head.
"Could it be one hundred thousand?" Fudge asked tentatively, his eyes widening.
But Alan still smiled and shook his head upon hearing this. "Add another zero."
"One… one hundred… one million? Are you referring to Galleons? And this can be considered a small thing?" Fudge felt his heart skip a beat after hearing this number, and his voice couldn't help but stutter.
"Conservatively estimated, it's that much, but that's just turnover; it doesn't mean the net profit is that much. Why are you so excited?" Alan rolled his eyes at Fudge, speechless.
"Well, that's still very extraordinary, isn't it?" Fudge felt his heart rising to his throat, and his body involuntarily edged forward, as if Alan in front of him were his boss.
"So, the preliminary preparation requires installing an Alchemy Room within the Ministry of Magic? How much will that cost?" Although Bagnold, who was beside them, was also surprised by Alan's grand plan, she remained calm. Fudge also reacted upon hearing this, then looked nervously at Alan. If the cost was too high, they might not be able to afford it.
"Don't worry." Alan smiled calmly. "As the first Alchemy Relay Base Station, I can build it for the British Ministry of Magic for free. You only need to provide some basic materials." With that, Alan took out several material lists from beside him and handed them to the people in front of him.
Fudge took the list and carefully examined it, finding that most of the materials on it were common ones like stone, magic alloys, and so on. The only relatively valuable items were a few pounds of refined mithril and a few kilograms of other specialized magic metals. Although these materials would deplete some of the Ministry of Magic's inventory, they were almost negligible compared to the subsequent profits.
"No problem! Mr. Wilson is truly too considerate of our British Ministry of Magic; I really don't know how to thank you!" Fudge excitedly agreed in one go.
"Since Minister Fudge has no objections, let's sign the contract. I will come to the Ministry of Magic to begin work soon. The construction of the Alchemy Room will take roughly one to two months, and with the subsequent debugging time, it will take at least half a year before it can officially operate. The sooner the construction is completed, the sooner our project can be launched." Alan smiled and took out a magic contract from his person, pushing it in front of Fudge. Fudge was more eager than Alan at this moment and immediately waved his hand, signing his name.
Bagnold, who was beside him, saw Fudge so eagerly agree to this project and couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. *This idiot, he's being sold out and still happily counting money for the seller.*
Building the alchemy room for free? Is there such a good thing? Who doesn't know that the cheapest things in the world are often the most expensive? And why would Alan insist on installing this Alchemy Room in the Ministry of Magic? Using the Ministry of Magic's magic as an energy source? That excuse could only fool an idiot like Fudge. As an Alchemy Master, couldn't Alan find a better source of magic? He certainly had the ability to establish an Alchemy Room independently outside!
Building the Alchemy Room in the Ministry of Magic and readily promising substantial benefits, in essence, was to bind the Ministry of Magic and the company into the same interest group. What Alan wanted to do then was to completely monopolize the market! In the future, whenever a new broadcasting venture, wireless network company, or even an imaging channel was established, wouldn't they all have to act according to Alan's wishes? Without his permission, could anyone even get it off the ground?
Additionally, what if another alchemy company wanted to imitate them and establish a magic communication network? No way! Because this would not only encroach on Alan's market but also affect the Ministry of Magic's interests, and it would certainly be ruthlessly suppressed, with the Ministry of Magic perhaps even leading the charge! As for replicas, don't even think about it. In fact, in the past two years, some products imitating the company's alchemy tools had appeared on the market, but they had all been wiped out by Alan's price reduction strategy.
And once these new communication, recording, and projection products were on the market, all replica products would no longer just harm the company. At that time, they would certainly face severe crackdowns from the Ministry of Magic, perhaps even more ruthless than dealing with Dark wizards! Bagnold could already imagine that the entire entertainment industry of the British magical world would probably become Alan's domain—a colossal commercial empire about to rise.
However, as a retired person, she had no standing to speak up for the Ministry of Magic at this time. Moreover, with Fudge currently in high spirits, her jumping out to pour cold water might even incur his displeasure. Thinking of this, Bagnold couldn't help but glance meaningfully at Alan. *This kid couldn't have specifically waited until she retired to pull off such a stunt, could he?*
Shaking her head helplessly, as the saying goes, "not in my position, not my concern," Bagnold was too lazy to think so much now. She just asked Alan out of curiosity, "By the way, what does the Rapid Response Alarm Module in your communication system mean? Is this also a new product?"
"No… this is a small gift I prepared for the Ministry of Magic." Alan explained with a smile, "Once Communication Terminals become widespread in the market, communication between wizards will become very convenient. And when these wizards encounter danger and emergencies, they can send out calls for help faster. At this time, the alarm module can improve the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's response capability. My idea is that the Ministry of Magic could establish a new office called the Magic Communication Dispatch Center within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, with dedicated personnel on duty to receive distress signals, which would greatly speed up the Auror Office's response time." Alan adopted a model similar to the Muggle world's emergency response system, explaining it to the two wizards who had limited exposure to such concepts.
"I see. Previously, the Auror Office mainly relied on the monitoring magic of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes to locate dangerous situations. With this active call for help channel, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will indeed be able to respond more calmly." Bagnold expressed great appreciation for this new module. Fudge, standing nearby, also showed a satisfied expression, though what he was thinking about was the positive impact that establishing such a new office would have on the Ministry of Magic's reputation. This would be a direct achievement during his tenure, and thinking of this, his gaze toward Alan became even more fawning.
"However, what does your development of this system have to do with me? Why didn't you just talk to Fudge directly?" Bagnold was curious about Alan at this moment.
"Currently, Britain and Germany have accepted this communication system, but if we want to expand further, we still need to communicate with other countries. This is a large project and must be discussed directly with the local Ministry of Magic, but I'm not particularly familiar with every country's Minister…" Alan said, hinting at something as he smiled at Bagnold.
"Oh… so you're planning to ask me to be your lobbyist!" Bagnold realized at this point that Alan wanted her to work for the company, promoting this system to other countries' Ministries of Magic. After all, she had been the Minister for Magic for ten years, and due to her firm style and efficient work, she was quite famous in the international wizarding world and had good relationships with many foreign ministers.
Bagnold lowered her head and pondered for a moment. She had already retired from the Ministry of Magic and was enjoying her free time, so she had plenty of availability. But then she looked back at Alan with a humorous expression, "I never thought the day would come when you'd recruit me. So, what kind of salary are you prepared to offer me?"
"If you agree, I am willing to pay a basic salary equivalent to that of a Minister for Magic, two thousand Galleons per year. In addition, for each deal successfully concluded, there will be a commission based on the proportion of the wizarding world's population in that country. For large countries like the United States and France, it's three thousand Galleons; for medium-sized countries, two thousand Galleons; and for small countries, one thousand Galleons per deal. How does that sound to you?" Alan smiled as he laid out his terms.