The three of them stood at the intersection of a busy commercial street.
They had just come out of a clothing store. The twins changed into dark blue casual suits and jeans. They looked at each other and pointed at their new looks.
"The clerk almost touched my wand on my waist." Fred said with lingering fear.
Felix called a taxi. "First go to Charing Cross Road, then go to Sam's Precision Machinery." He said to the driver, then looked at the twins, "We are going to pick up Professor Lupin, he will come with us."
The taxi driver had a listless look on his face that was unique to early morning, and he lazily walked through the streets and alleys. "Charing Cross Road is in front. Where do you want to park?"
"A little further ahead, park next to the record store in front."
The driver glanced at it, "Is it to do business?"
"Almost," Felix twisted a glowing coin. The driver shook his head and felt dizzy. The car stopped to the side. He said vigilantly: "Waiting on the roadside also takes time."
"You can't miss it." Felix said casually.
Not long after, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared next to the record store, as if he had been there from the beginning. Fred rolled down the window and waved at him, "Professor Lupin, this way!"
Lupin walked over with a smile and got in the car, "I didn't expect you to come this way."
"How about recruitment?" Felix asked, and then he explained, "It's more convenient to go by car. In fact, I wanted to rent a car."
Lupin glared at him, "You think of asking now? You said you would help before, but you disappeared for a week."
Felix shrugged, "I went to Albania."
Lupin's face became serious. He heard from Sirius that Voldemort once lurked in the Albanian forest. He glanced cautiously at the twins who were listening attentively, and asked vaguely, "Did you find anything?"
"It's not what you think," Felix said, "I wanted to look for the former residence of an old friend, but it's too old and only a dilapidated ruin remains."
Hearing that Felix was not going to search for Voldemort's traces, Lupin didn't pay much attention. He talked about the company's situation: "The candidates have been interviewed. According to your requirements, I recruited 37 people-"
"Do I know any of them?"
"The six people you recommended are all capable. In addition, not counting Clearwater, there are three new graduates this year..."
After about half an hour, the car stopped in front of a factory.
Felix paid the fare and took them to the door. After reporting their names in the guard room, a middle-aged man trotted over a few minutes later.
"Is this Mr. Hepp?" The man said enthusiastically, "I am the director of Sam Precision Machinery, Hobot Nutt. We talked on the phone before." The twins winked at each other and mouthed: Nutt.
Felix had no reaction to this surname which had a special meaning in the wizarding world. He introduced them naturally, "This is Remus Lupin, the general manager of Future World. These two..." He looked at the twins who straightened their chests, "They are here to visit, um, for social practice during the holidays."
"No problem, welcome! Welcome!" Hobot said hurriedly.
On the way into the factory, Lupin asked in a low voice, "How did he know about Future World? Did you tell him?"
"I registered a shell company with the same name with the British government." Felix said with a smile.
"Is this necessary? It seems very troublesome..." Lupin asked in confusion.
"It's not that troublesome. I just found an interesting fact." He whispered to Lupin.
"What did you say!" Lupin's eyes widened in disbelief. The twins and the director Hobot looked over. He smiled apologetically and whispered, "Are you telling the truth? Someone in the magic world is reselling gold and silver utensils?" "
Not new," Felix said, "There are always some smart people who find some silverware from ancient families and sell it to civilian collectors in the non-magical world. Imagine that the silverware made by goblins can repel dust, but it has a unique sense of history."
"Aren't they afraid of being discovered by the Ministry of Magic?"
Felix smiled, "There is no law in this area, and guess who did these things, just a few petty thieves? Although they did it very covertly, everything can be traced."
Lupin's heart was filled with turbulent waves. He felt that his understanding of the magic world was overturned.
"Pure-blood family?" He kept thinking, "No, I remember that many families have declined. Maybe they are part of it. They have been keeping this secret!"
The names of several families flashed through his mind quickly. Some families have a short history, but they have become very rich in just a few decades.
Lupin said hesitantly, "But Gringotts stipulates that there is a limit on the number of Galleons that can be exchanged for pounds."
Felix said casually, "On the black market, barter is not a problem. Pure gold and pure silver are also valuable in the wizarding world, and the profit can be at least dozens of times when they are resold."
Before Lupin could think it over, Hobot took them to a factory building. He said modestly, "We have prepared a variety of precision engraving equipment, and we hope to meet the needs of your company."
"This is a mechanical engraving machine. It has an all-steel structure, a diamond blade, and uses high-precision ball screws and guide rails. It can be operated manually or with a simple program. We have ready-made samples. Wait a minute, I'll get it..."
He left for a while and brought back a three-foot-long brown wooden board with complex patterns engraved on it. He introduced, "Many customers use it for patterns on high-end furniture."
The twins looked at the sharp conical blade and were about to reach out to touch it when it suddenly began to buzz and turned into a blurry shadow.
"Be careful!" Hobot shouted, "It's already rotating at two thousand revolutions, it's very dangerous." He glanced at Felix, which meant, keep an eye on your naughty child!
"Fred, George, you don't want to leave your hands here, do you?" Felix whispered.
The two grinned, and Fred asked, "Can you demonstrate it once?"
Hobot saw that Felix and Lupin had no objection, and felt that the hope of the deal had increased greatly, "No problem!" He said in a relaxed tone, and then called a professional. The employee took the board, looked at it carefully, turned the board over and clamped it on the workbench, and then pressed the control button next to it. The rotating conical carving knife began to move. When it came into contact with the board, wood chips flew and rolled up strips of wood.
The twins stared blankly at the knife head moving flexibly on the board. After five minutes, when the board was taken down, they repeatedly compared the patterns on the front and back. They were exactly the same and there was no difference.
"Think about it, can it be used in your products?" Felix said. Hobot glanced at them strangely, guessing that they might make some toys, but as long as they could sell them, he didn't care what they were used for. Anyway, there were hundreds of dangerous matters marked in the manual. If you don't follow the instructions, don't expect them to pay a penny if an accident occurs.
"Next is the laser engraving machine..." "
It has higher precision, faster engraving speed, and delicate and natural transitions, which are no less than some hand-carved artists. It can work on various planes, such as metal sheets, glass, leather, cloth, canvas, etc."
"What about parchment?" Fred asked with interest.
"Parchment?" Hobot was stunned for a moment, "Maybe you can try the printer?"
"Okay, Fred, don't make it difficult for him." Felix said lightly: "Mr. Nat, can you help me find a slate?"
"Of course, I remember there are similar samples in my office." Hobot left in a hurry.
There were only four people left at the scene, and Lupin asked, "Can we use it?" He pointed to the small computer, "It looks complicated."
"No need to worry about it," Felix said, "I only need the mechanical part..."
He put his hand on the mechanical engraving machine, and used magic to sense and touch it bit by bit. In the barely visible perspective, ripples of magic continued to spread. After a few seconds, the stationary conical blade suddenly turned, and under his control, the conical carving knife left a magic symbol on the edge of the wooden board.
Felix gently blew away the sawdust, and his fingertips brushed across the carved marks, leaving a trace of magic.
"What do you think will happen if this thing is combined with the principle of magic portraits and given the most basic wisdom?"