great-warnovel Chapter 132 Business Negotiation
Chapter 132 Business Negotiation
Chapter 132 Business Negotiation
Another week has passed, and more than half of November has already gone by.
In the biting cold wind, Beauxbatons' negotiating team arrived late. They did not come in a carriage, presumably because the sales department had already gone elsewhere. There were only Mrs. Maxim, Mrs. Sinta, an unfamiliar alchemy professor, and two well-dressed sales managers who flew into the Hogwarts barrier on broomsticks.
Although there are only five people, the lineup is already quite impressive, and these are all people who clearly have a lot of influence with Beauxbatons.
When Professor McGonagall informed Hermione through her cat Patronus, Hermione had just left Professor Flitwick's office. Her paper on the shattering rock magic had finally completed its final revisions and was awaiting review and publication. It seemed that, like last time...
The published version will be available by Christmas.
The negotiation took place in the Potions classroom located underground. The professors had temporarily put the tables together to form a long table, with the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons professors sitting on either side.
Hermione was flattered and sat to Lily's right, next to Professor McGonagall, while Sprout sat on Lily's other side, in a rather central position.
Dumbledore only received Mrs. Maxime at the beginning, and then left under the pretext of having something to do. His role was only to deter Beauxbatons from trying to intimidate him. If he were present for a proper negotiation, Beauxbatons would probably try to morally blackmail Hogwarts. If he were to press too hard and haggle over every little detail, they would spread the rumor that Dumbledore was not as great as he appeared.
"Our tests show that while the inducing spray has a good catalytic effect, it performs poorly when it comes to river-type adhesives," the old alchemy professor rambled on.
But Lily immediately interrupted without hesitation: "Come on, who still uses this type of adhesive these days? Even the cobblers in Malfoyburg complain that it's slow to work and unreliable!"
"It's kind of you to have tested for so long and finally found a few inert materials, but do you think you can use this method to drive down the price? Do you think Hogwarts doesn't teach alchemy?"
The old man was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, but Lily's reputation was much greater than his. In the professional field, strength speaks for itself. Although potions and alchemy are not the same thing, he still felt that she was at a disadvantage.
The half-giant Mrs. Maxim occupied two seats by herself, a slight smile appearing on her stern face: "Of course we know the practical value of the inducing spray; this has been affirmed by all the alchemy professors."
"However, when it comes to business, we need to understand all its advantages and disadvantages first. Openness and transparency can reduce many potential future risks."
Professor McGonagall, with her habitually stern face—an expression that usually terrified her students—was surprisingly effective at this moment: "Since we're going to be open and transparent, why don't we announce the effects of the induced spray to the public, have it evaluated by multiple large settlements around the world, such as Malfoyburg, and then have everyone bid on it?"
"In the field of alchemy, which company can compare to Beauxbatons?" a smiling sales manager remarked.
He was quite approachable, but before the negotiations began, Lily politely asked him to wash off some kind of perfume, probably because he would normally be even more likable.
We have the largest and most complete alchemy supply chain, with countless production lines operating day and night. We supply 80% of the world's alchemy products. Similarly, 80% of the highly valuable Hogwarts elixir spray will be consumed in Beauxbatons in the future.
"It's not just in the field of alchemy," Professor Sprout, who had been silent all along, began. "It also has remarkable effects in potions, medicine, and the cultivation of some magical plants. You can't imagine that the inducing spray can actually increase the pollination success rate of Mibumibo, who are almost extinct due to environmental problems!"
Lily bluntly pointed out, "In fact, even without getting involved in the alchemy industry, Hogwarts could sell it for an astronomical price just based on its outstanding performance in other areas, instead of listening to some old men complaining here."
The alchemy professor wanted to stand up and hit Lily, but he was just a professor with some minor inventions. The rest of the professors had risen through the ranks by accumulating seniority, or rather, most alchemy professors were like that. They rarely made any new breakthroughs. Although he was a powerful figure in Beauxbatons, he was nothing on a global scale.
The negotiations were not equal. After the value of the trigger spray was discovered, Hogwarts had already gained the upper hand. If Beauxbatons wanted to maintain its monopoly, it had to share a piece of the pie.
Hermione didn't need to say anything; she just needed to sit quietly and watch the professors engage in a war of words with Beauxbatons.
Mrs. Sinta didn't say much either, just staring at Hermione. She was probably an advisor to Beauxbatons, without any real authority, but Mrs. Maxim respected her opinions, and sometimes she could represent Beauxbatons.
The two sides negotiated on the core issue of price, covering aspects such as raw materials, workshop location, and supply model, and finally settled on a price that satisfied both parties.
Most alchemy industries after Beauxbatons gradually incorporated trigger sprays. Even though Hogwarts took a cut from every single product they produced, overall, their reduced costs, increased production capacity, and faster, more extreme market monopoly still resulted in huge profits compared to what they paid to Hogwarts.
"Now that the cooperation has been finalized, I suggest that we send a liaison officer to be stationed at Hogwarts. This will help solidify the cooperation between the two sides. I have a recent graduate—" the alchemy professor said.
"I think Miss Fleur Delacour would be perfect." This was Hermione's first time speaking.
"Who is that?" Professor Alchemy frowned and asked the person next to him.
"A fifth-year sales student, she was one of the Hogwarts students and teachers we met last time," Madam Sinta said slowly, looking at Hermione with a meaningful smile. Only she knew what Hermione was thinking.
She admired Fleur's difficult situation and her spirit of self-reliance; even a fool could guess what the Hogwarts liaison officer was thinking.
It's a coveted job that everyone would fight tooth and nail for. Not only would you get to live in a castle with an excellent environment for a long time, but you'd also have an enviable resume. These are probably things that the alchemy professors had already agreed on before they even arrived.
However, Hermione believed that this position was more suitable for Fleur. The position of liaison officer did not require strong professional skills, but it would give her the opportunity to audit classes at Hogwarts and learn knowledge that she would not have access to before. It would also make people inside Beauxbatons hesitant to do anything to her grandmother and sister. After all, a seemingly unintentional remark from the liaison officer could lead to a change in the entire business or the supply chain.
"A student who hasn't graduated yet? And from the sales department?" The alchemy professor frowned.
He looked at the little girl sitting at the negotiating table, whose head and most of her upper chest were above the table. In fact, he had been wondering why she was able to sit there, and even sit in the middle with Lily.
"Are you serious?" They had already decided on a child from a family with connections, but now this unexpected situation has arisen.
Lily glanced at Hermione, and although she didn't know why she did this, she obviously had her reasons.
Professor McGonagall said calmly, "I think she has the right to decide this matter."
The unequivocal confirmation made the people of Beauxbatons realize that this little girl could even determine the fate of the cooperation, even if it was just about the selection of a mere liaison officer.
"Then it's settled." Mrs. Maxim made the decision on the spot. There was no need to cause any unpleasantness over such a small matter, and besides, she wasn't the one who would suffer a loss.
"Next, how about you show us around your future workshop?"
Actually, it was just an empty classroom next to Potions class. After it was cleaned up, it became the new workplace for the perfumery apprentices.
But in the future, the profits generated there will make the nobles of Malfoyburg envious.