"My Lord!" The three individuals busy in the shop immediately straightened up and respectfully greeted Alan after he Apparated into the center of the store.
After a year, Alan's appearance hadn't changed much, though he had grown his black hair long again. He wasn't wearing his usual formal attire, but a practical hunter's outfit with leather bracers on his hands, looking very agile.
"I'll be leaving for the Forbidden Forest for a few days; you all watch the shop," Alan said directly, without much pleasantry. Then, he looked at Hog, "Do you want to come along this time? I'm going to visit the centaur tribe. I remember it's been a while since you've seen Firenze and Ronan, hasn't it?"
"Go back to the Forbidden Forest? Yes, yes!" Hog immediately jumped up in agreement. During his two years at Hogwarts, he had often run into the Forbidden Forest and become good friends with several young centaurs. Now that he had a chance to go out and play, he naturally wouldn't refuse.
Shalltear, standing nearby, pouted enviously, "My Lord, why are you only taking Hog and not me? I also love nature, and I've never experienced the Forbidden Forest you speak of."
"You? Forget it. The centaur tribes in the Forbidden Forest hate dark creatures the most. If they saw you, it would be a miracle if they didn't chop you up," Hog retorted mercilessly, his triumphant mouth wide.
"I'm going for serious business this time, and you can't be out during the day, so it's out of the question," Alan also refused. He then looked down at Hog, "First, come with me to the laboratory. I need to prepare some things."
With that, he stroked Hog's head and instantly Apparated with him directly into the basement.
The basement had undergone significant changes. The entire underground space had been expanded by Alan using the Extension Charm. The original basement, which was only about two hundred square meters, had now expanded several times over. This was thanks to the spatial expansion techniques he learned from Newt's magical creature park. If he weren't saving his premium materials, the space would be even larger, but the current area was already more than enough.
Within this vast space, Alan had re-partitioned everything. In addition to the original alchemy laboratory and charm laboratory, he had specifically added a study, a bedroom, a potions room, a medical room, and a production workshop. The demented Aethonan had been moved to the medical room.
Alan led Hog into the production workshop. The room was neatly arranged with eight uniform magic lathes. With these, the production efficiency of his shop was extremely high. The reason for adding so many was also related to his cooperation with St. Mungo's Hospital and the Wizarding Broadcasting Company; as sales increased, production capacity had to keep up.
Moreover, the current magic lathes had been upgraded. They had been transformed from multi-functional machines into specialized lathes for processing single components with greater precision. While multi-functional lathes were versatile, their detail work was often rough. After upgrading to precision lathes, the craftsmanship immediately rose to a very high level.
Most of the lathes were off at the moment, with only one dedicated to producing records. It was pressing Celestina Warbeck's new song, "Catch the Snitch, Throw the Quaffle, Boys!", which had been chosen as the anthem by the Puddlemere United Quidditch team. Alan heard from the singer that she intended to donate her profits from these sales to St. Mungo's. Alan supported such charitable activities in spirit, though Celestina could only donate her own share.
With the combined appeal of a famous singer, a Quidditch anthem, and a charity angle—plus an autograph session—Alan knew this record would set a new high. He planned to produce a surplus. Even if he made too many, he could have a "Summer Special" in six months, a trick he'd learned from a certain game platform in his previous life. If that failed, he could bundle them with the new phonographs scheduled for release. He even had a theme in mind for the new model: "Quidditch Summer."
As soon as the phonograph was activated, several exquisite Quidditch figures would materialize on the disc, riding brooms with colorful tail flames and chasing each other on a circular track. He even thought of collaborating with different teams; fans could buy a model featuring their favorite team's colors and mascots. Furthermore, he considered joint promotions with broom companies, offering discounts for purchasing a Nimbus series broom and a Silver Flash Phonograph together.
He had quite a few corporate clients now. Many broom companies ordered equipment from him for their security, as did Gringotts across the street. Alan had even customized equipment for the goblin guards to fit their stature. He had truly grown into a skilled businessman.
Upon entering the workshop, Alan walked past the lathes toward a workbench in the corner. A rectangular glass tank sat there, over a meter long. It was filled with liquid, and within the fluid, silver and blue electric sparks constantly flickered like lightning. Immersed in the center was something shaped like a dried branch. Upon closer inspection, it was the one-meter-long dragon heartstring he had obtained from the Rowle family.
Under the influence of the current in the liquid, the heartstring was constantly absorbing and releasing electric arcs, making it look like a silver metal branch. Alan placed his hand on the glass, his eyes fixed on the object bobbing in the water.
"It's been soaking for ten months. The properties have merged perfectly. Now all that's left is the final processing. I hope your final form will be satisfactory," Alan muttered. He reached into the tank and pulled out the dragon heartstring.