Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

At noon, it was still the same plain biscuits and jam, paired with a cup of steaming coffee, just like Charlie's usual days, without any change.

The only special thing was that Russell was so busy with the candy vending machine that he was overwhelmed.

So, for the first time, he didn't wait for Charlie to finish his meal.

After personally delivering the food to him, he left with Charlie's permission and went back to deal with the related matters.

But fortunately, Charlie was not alone—Vivian was with him.

Since returning from the American wizarding world, his daily routine has returned to its original state.

But he didn't mind it at all, and instead enjoyed it.

After all, only after experiencing a series of various events can one understand that this most inconspicuous ordinariness is often the most precious.

No fighting, no accidents, no infighting, and no deceit… All there is is the leisure and comfort brought by the midday sun shining on him.

On his desk, Vivian was sleeping soundly.

I don't know if it's his own quirk, but when he sleeps, he never stands on a small branch or anything else that can support him like other owls, and closes his eyes to rest.

Instead, he shrinks his whole body into a ball, then completely buries his head in the fluffy feathers, and his claws are also retracted into it, and he falls into a deep sleep like this.

Sometimes when he sleeps soundly, the "owl ball" made of feathers will rise and fall with his breathing, while making continuous and weak unconscious calls similar to "coo coo coo".

Charlie was in a good mood, put down the half-eaten biscuit in his hand, and with a thought, couldn't help but reach out and patted Vivian's shrunken head.

“Coo—”

The little bird on the table poked its head out with a bit of annoyance, half-opened one eye, glanced at Charlie, and called out twice.

Then, like a suddenly started motor, it shook the feathers on its body vigorously, and after shaking off the biscuit crumbs from Charlie's hand, it continued to sleep.

Looking at Charlie again, he couldn't help but laugh like a child who had succeeded in a prank.

Just as Charlie was about to tease Vivian again, suddenly, a familiar knock on the office door stopped him from reaching out his evil hand.

Almost without thinking, he knew who was coming.

“Come in, Russell.”

He said casually, then somewhat regretfully retracted his hand and wiped the corner of his mouth.

The door opened, and as Charlie expected, Russell walked in first.

However, what he didn't expect was that behind Russell, a slightly shorter little guy also walked in.

The visitor was none other than Dobby.

At this moment, after a period of practice, he was already able to skillfully use the wooden leg that served as a prosthetic.

Except for the somewhat strange posture when walking, whether in terms of speed or flexibility, it was almost the same as before.

Even if he didn't see it with his own eyes, Charlie could probably imagine how much effort this child had put in in such a short period of time to achieve this step...

“Good afternoon, my great and noble Master Charlie.”

Russell was still saying the same old thing every day, without the slightest discomfort because Dobby was behind him now.

He even seemed to be more serious in front of others, so that no one could find any fault with him.

Dobby's eyes were clear and bright. He looked up at Russell, then at Charlie.

Perhaps because it was his first time in this office, he was not as lively and outgoing as Charlie had seen him outside before, but instead had a kind of nervousness and shyness.

“Good afternoon, great and noble… Mr. Black.”

Listening to Russell's greeting, he quickly followed the other party's example and said good afternoon to Charlie.

Charlie couldn't help but smile dumbly when he saw Dobby's completely different appearance.

“Good afternoon, Russell. Good afternoon, Dobby.”

After responding to the two little elves one after another, he curiously shifted his gaze to Russell and couldn't help but ask,

“Dobby has already started working as your little assistant so soon? I thought you would ask him to rest for a while longer.”

Hearing Charlie's words, Russell's expression couldn't help but become a little strange.

He first looked back at Dobby, who was timidly following behind him.

After a moment of silence, he explained as follows:

“Actually… Little Dobby wasn't called here by me.”

“Not called by you?” The curiosity in Charlie's eyes could not help but turn into surprise.

He raised his eyebrows and refocused his attention on Dobby.

At this moment, Dobby was lowering his head and fiddling with his hands, looking like he was somewhat conflicted.

“I just finished dealing with the matter at hand and was planning to come and report some things to you.

As a result… I ran into this little guy on the way here.

He seemed to want to talk to you about something, but because he didn't know where your office was, he was stuck at the fork in the stairs, not knowing which way to go.”

Speaking of this, even Russell couldn't help but laugh.

He raised his hand and rubbed Dobby's head dotingly.

Russell simply loved this child next to him.

Because he had watched him grow up since he was a child, and because of the special nature of the little elf race, in a sense, he treated Dobby as if he were his own child.

“Uh… yes, Mr. Black.” Dobby finally raised his head, scratching his head a little embarrassedly, and then continued to say what Russell had just said.

“Actually… I have some small things I want to discuss with you.” After speaking, he raised his head and looked at Russell next to him.

Seeming to have thought of something, he quickly added, “Of course… it's not a very urgent matter.

If you and Uncle Russell have important things to talk about, I can go out first and come back later.”

Hearing this, Russell and Charlie exchanged a look, and then smiled at each other with tacit understanding.

Although they didn't say anything, the look of satisfaction in their eyes didn't hide much.

“No need, they're all our own children, what can't we hear?”

Charlie smiled and shook his head, waving his hand to reject Dobby's suggestion.

“Besides, you're about to become an adult and stand on your own… It's also good to hear more about the things in the factory.”

Seeing him say this, Dobby didn't insist anymore. After nodding obediently, he took two steps back and stood quietly at the door.

“Okay…”

Ignoring Dobby, Charlie took a breath, changed to a more comfortable sitting position, and began his daily conversation with Russell.

“The most important thing in the factory recently is still the candy vending machine.”

Russell quickly entered the state, took out the notebook and held it in his hand, and reported to Charlie.

“How is it? If I remember correctly, by today, all fifteen machines that we prepared for trial operation should have been installed in Hogwarts, right?”

Charlie understood, sorting out his thoughts in his mind while nodding.

“Yes, that's right!” Russell's voice was a little excited.

“Dada just sent me a message not long ago, asking us to hurry up and replenish the goods for the second time!

All the candies that the factory prepared at the beginning have been sold out!

Originally, we calculated that each machine could maintain a week's supply.

As a result, at the latest, in just half a day, all these candies were snapped up!”

Saying this, Russell looked down at the notebook again, took a deep breath with excitement, his eyes shining brightly, as if relying solely on this candy vending machine plan, he had already seen the future of the factory fifty years later.

"At this rate, once all the candy vending machines are installed, the factory's profits could double in less than half a year!!!"

Hearing Russell's words, even Dub, who had been acting as a background character, couldn't help but widen his eyes, his face full of surprise, as if he was already imagining what it would be like to double the profits.

Although he hadn't directly participated in the factory's actual operations, as Chaffcha's son, he watched his father sit in the office every day, helping Uncle Russell handle the factory's cash flow.

Under such influence, he naturally understood what kind of money-making monster Mr. Black's factory was.

Take a simple example... Before Charlie founded the candy factory, most of the candy making and selling in the British wizarding world was still in the form of self-production and self-sales, like family workshops, and there had never been any further concept.

However, when he really succeeded in rising from the ground in front of everyone, no matter how stubborn the candy and pastry shops were, they could only bow their heads and reform their original family workshops, becoming retailers.

After all, scattered family workshops could not compete with such a behemoth as a factory. Whether it was price, taste, or even quantity, it was almost a dimensional crushing. Forcing them to compromise and surrender.

Only those with exquisite craftsmanship like Honeydukes, who could indeed surpass the factory to some extent, could barely keep their products alive.

But even then, they still had to add a shelf specifically to display Charlie's candies.

Such a leader, who could almost unify the British wizarding world's dessert market, was now said by Russell to be able to double its profits within half a year! Therefore, Dub's shock can be imagined.

However, facing Russell's words, Charlie shook his head noncommittally.

"It's not that simple. The current popularity of candy is only because Hogwarts is a small, still semi-developed market, plus the novelty of candy vending machines creates a short-term curiosity and promotes consumption."

Reaching out, he gently stroked Fawn's head a few times and continued, "Besides, the candies don't have a short shelf life. After buying a lot, the young wizards will need a long time to actually finish them all, so it won't be long before the sales of those fifteen candy vending machines will return to normal—which is the weekly supply we initially set."

After hearing Charlie's words, Russell also regained his composure from the excitement brought by the huge profits.

He nodded, then picked up his pen and began to record "swish, swish, swish" in his notebook. However, after all the recording was completed, he couldn't help but sigh quietly, muttering to himself, "A wasted joy."

"Actually, it's not a complete waste of joy... There will definitely be growth, but it won't be as high as you imagined... After all, the factory has already reached this point. To imagine it turning over several times from time to time like when it first started is completely impossible."

Charlie smiled, comforting Russell. Without wasting any more thoughts on this issue, he quickly asked Russell to continue talking about the following matters.

"Besides the candy vending machines..."

Russell flipped through his notebook, his eyes scanning up and down, quickly integrating the data on it in his mind, and said hesitantly, "Also, our manpower... seems to be a little insufficient."

Hearing this, Charlie's eyes narrowed slightly. Then he raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything, waiting for what Russell would say next.

"First of all, the new candies, Snow Lemon and Violet Candy, will soon be put into production. As the main products of the new quarter, they will require three to four more production lines than ordinary products to ensure their supply. Secondly, the preparations in the United States are almost complete. After the liquor-filled Ice Plum Sweet Candy is expected to start selling, it will also take up a lot of manpower. Plus the candy vending machines..."

Russell didn't continue, but looked at Charlie with a slightly furrowed brow, his meaning self-evident.

Accurately speaking, this was actually a good thing. After all, everyone wants their products to sell better. Reaching this state of demand exceeding supply is proof of the success of Charlie's Candy.

Charlie still didn't speak, seemingly thinking about something, his brow also furrowed slightly, with a slight hesitation.

"Perhaps we can reduce the production quantity of some other candies and free up a few production lines for other products?"

Russell looked at Charlie, who was silent and thoughtful, and suggested cautiously.

"...No need." Charlie shook his head, as if he had made some decision, and the brow that was originally furrowed also relaxed again.

In fact, he had considered this issue before making this series of actions.

The factory's house-elves are not endless. If he wants to continue to develop, the number of people will one day be stretched thin, becoming a fatal flaw that limits Charlie's Candy.

And Charlie's original idea was the same as Russell's, to give up a part of the market share that originally belonged to other candies, let those individual candy brands take it, and then use new products to iterate on his own side.

Although it was a helpless move, it was actually the most feasible way to ensure quality and increase profits at present.

However, during those short ten days in the American wizarding world, a new idea suddenly arose in his mind...

"How much stock do we have in the warehouse?" Charlie asked immediately.

"Uh... if all of it is released, it will be enough to meet the supply of goods before Christmas." After a moment's pause, Russell quickly gave the answer.

"But after Christmas..."

"That's enough." Charlie raised his hand, interrupting what he was about to say next. The expression on his face already carried the same inscrutability that Russell had seen before...

........................................

Russell left. After reporting the content that needed to be reported to Charlie, he took Charlie's finished plate and left the office, starting to handle the afternoon's affairs.

"Okay, Dub."

And at this point, Charlie finally relaxed. He smiled, his eyes on Dub, and said softly.

"Russell's matter is finished... Now it's your turn. What do you need to see me about?"

Hearing the call, Dub, who had been studying attentively at the door, seemed to realize the purpose of his trip, and instantly returned to his original nervousness and hesitation.

He took small steps forward, stopping at the position where Russell had just stood.

".........I"

Dub raised his head, looked at Charlie in front of him, opened his mouth, but only said "I", and then stopped.

Charlie wasn't in a hurry, just smiled and continued to wait patiently, also guessing what the little boy in front of him was here for.

After a while, finally, as Dub took a deep breath and straightened his back.

He finally mustered the courage to tell Charlie the purpose of his trip.

"Mr. Black! I... I want to apply for a transfer to Hogwarts to manage those candy vending machines!"