"…There are a total of 350 workbenches here, 400 potion makers, 190 laborers, and 28 administrative staff."
"Every month, this factory produces over 50,000 bottles of common magical potions such as White Fresh Concentrate, Hair-Growth Elixir, and Cough Suppressant. It is the largest potion factory in all of Germany, supplying nearly half of Europe's market demand."
As Beckman calmly introduced the place, Link and Emily were still composed, but Krell was already so shocked that he started biting his fingers.
Probably only he truly understood how terrifyingly powerful a factory like this was in a wizarding world where manpower was scarce.
Beckman was quite pleased with Krell's reaction, so he turned his gaze toward Snape and, smiling, asked, "I've heard that Professor Snape is one of Europe's top potion masters. I wonder, what do you think of my factory?"
"Heh! Trash."
Snape's reply was short and sharp. Beckman didn't get angry, on the contrary, he nodded approvingly and said, "From your lofty position as a potion master, of course you would look down on this place, it's as filthy as a garbage dump."
"After all, the operation here is open and unprotected, full of potential hazards. Explosions happen frequently."
"The sanitation conditions are terrible, the workers are poorly trained, and the result is potions of atrocious quality."
"But to the countless ordinary wizards living at the very bottom of society, this factory is heaven itself."
"It's because of this place that they can afford cheap, practical potions. And it's because of this place that the Squibs, who would otherwise be trampled into the mud, starved to death, or live lives of humiliation like pigs and dogs, can earn a wage and survive."
"Now, do you still think this factory is trash?"
Snape fell silent.
Because he realized that what Beckman said might actually be true.
Especially when he saw those Squibs crouched in the corners, gouging out toad eyes or pre-processing other ingredients, even someone with a heart as hard as his couldn't find the words to respond.
The others present reacted in much the same way.
Only Link, while wearing an expression of pity and inner conflict, still had a faint glint of disdain and mockery in his eyes.
He had seen this sort of talk and behavior countless times in his previous life.
Clearly, it was just capitalists squeezing every drop of surplus value out of their workers, yet they made it sound as if they were doing charity work.
'If you're so noble, why don't you give all your profits to them then?'
Link mocked Beckman silently in his heart.
Of course, he didn't actually say it out loud, because, at the moment, he was sitting in the exact same kind of chair as Beckman. Exposing another man's tricks would only harm others without helping himself.
Seeing that everyone's reactions matched what he had expected, Beckman smiled in satisfaction.
Then he led them next door, to a row of adjoining concrete buildings, his high-grade potion workshop.
Compared to the metal sheds earlier, this place was indeed much better, but only marginally so.
The real difference lay in the skill level of the potion makers.
Just watching their clumsy stirring motions, and learning that their success rate for brewing Awakening Potion was only twenty percent, with just five percent being high-quality batches, made Link's teeth ache.
He couldn't help but sigh, potioneering truly deserved to be called one of the twin pillars of the wizarding world, alongside magic itself. Potion makers truly were rare and highly sought after.
Even those potion makers, whom Link considered third-rate at best, enjoyed top-tier treatment here, weekly pay of 500 Galleons plus generous bonuses.
And the reason? Simply because they possessed a few advanced potion recipes and could technically produce them, albeit at abysmal success rates.
Link was sure Snape must feel the same, probably even more strongly.
After all, no one knew better than Hogwarts students how strict and proud Snape could be.
If one of his advanced class students brewed a potion the way these "high-level" potion makers did, Snape would've already torn them to pieces with his tongue.
Yet after what he'd seen in the tin sheds earlier, Snape said nothing, only maintained his silence.
Beckman was finally satisfied.
Then he led Link and the others to their next destination, the Beckman family's herb plantation.
Compared to the grim potion factory, the plantation was far more pleasant.
Sprawling across nearly ten thousand acres, it was densely filled with herbs like White Fresh, Purple Radiant Flowers, Bloom Beans, and Bubo Tubers.
At the very center stood several enormous greenhouses, similar in shape to Professor Sprout's glass classrooms, but dozens of times larger.
The temperature, humidity, and other conditions inside were all magically stabilized, ideal for cultivating rare plants such as Mandrakes and Dragon Scale Grass.
As a wizard who still carried foreign soul, Link couldn't help feeling happy at the sight of fields full of "crops."
The only thing that spoiled it for him was the sight of the workers, gaunt, half-naked peasants, some even chained with iron shackles, laboring in the fields.
And these laborers weren't just humans, they included centaurs, goblins, giants, and more.
The sight stirred up many unpleasant memories in Link and dimmed the joy in his eyes when he looked upon the "crops."
Snape, Emily, and Krell, however, didn't share his mixed feelings.
Krell's eyes gleamed with greed and excitement, Link guessed he was already imagining what it would be like when all this became property of the Flamel family.
Emily, on the other hand, was enchanted by the vast field of Purple Radiant Flowers.
And Link had to admit, the flowers truly were stunning. Evergreen all year and shimmering with violet light under the sun, they were mesmerizingly beautiful.
Especially when Emily, laughing, ran through the fields with a wreath of those flowers on her head, even Link couldn't help but be entranced.
As for Snape…
Link had thought he'd be the least likely to be swayed, after all, Beckman had just tried to morally manipulate him half an hour ago.
But Link had underestimated the longing of a true potion master for rare ingredients.
The moment Beckman gifted him a Mandrake that was three hundred years old from his greenhouse, Snape's attitude flipped completely.
He even shamelessly declared that Beckman's potion makers were all trash, and that such precious ingredients should all be sold to real masters like himself.
Beckman only smiled faintly.
Link, however, gained a whole new understanding of just how low Snape's emotional intelligence could be.
After that, Beckman showed them the rest of his family's industries.
There were potion and product retail stores, luxury-service beauty salons, and even a printing press run in partnership with the German Ministry of Magic…
But what impressed Link most was the Beckman family's smuggling business.
Tax evasion has always been the favorite topic of the rich, and wizarding magnates were even more obsessed with it than Muggles.
After all, most Ministry taxes were outrageously high and utterly senseless.
Worse still, the Ministry's tax department was armed to the teeth.
Muggles had a version of this too, like the infamous U.S. IRS, which proved through countless cases that in America, you might get away with murder, but if you dodge taxes, they'll drag you back from the ends of the earth, strip your assets, and execute you.
Wizards took it even further.
The Ministry didn't even bother with a separate tax bureau, they simply handed tax enforcement to the Auror Office, a literal combat division.
Under such conditions, smuggling naturally became the best option for the rich.
After all, Portkeys, Apparition, and Undetectable Extension Charms made it absurdly easy.
They called it "avoiding the Ministry's unreasonable exploitation" and "bringing cheaper goods to the common people."
Sound familiar?
It should.
Everyone does it.
Before visiting the Beckman family's smuggling site, Link had imagined seeing a bunch of scarred, muscular thugs, more like bandits than wizards.
That was the impression left by too many Muggle movies.
But when he actually arrived, he froze.
Standing before him were several maimed house-elves, busily tying up huge sacks of goods, enchanted with Undetectable Extension Charms, and preparing to transport them.
It was obvious Beckman had far more house-elves than a family of his size should normally have.
What was even stranger was their demeanor, these house-elves worked sluggishly, without enthusiasm, and their cold, indifferent gazes toward Link's group held not a trace of respect.
Link had seen this before, the same attitude as lazy, jaded workers in his past life's companies.
But seeing it in house-elves was downright unnatural.
Noticing the puzzled looks, Beckman chuckled and explained, "Using house-elves for smuggling is an excellent strategy. Their Apparition, unlike a wizard's, easily bypasses most wards and barriers."
"And most importantly, they're cheap."
"Cheap? You mean… you actually pay these house-elves?"
Krell shrieked, instantly catching the key point.
No one understood house-elves better than him.
Paying a house-elf was an unbearable disgrace; give one a single Knut, and it'd kill itself out of shame.
Unless…
"They're all Abandoned Ones," Beckman explained, making Krell's frown ease as realization dawned.
The term "Abandoned Ones" had two meanings.
First, they were house-elves cast out by their masters or clans for committing grave mistakes.
Second, they had abandoned their own traditions, living not as servants, but as independent beings.
In other words, they were free.
To them, taking money for work was perfectly natural.
Such elves were extremely rare. For Beckman to gather this many, he must have gone to great lengths.
After hearing Krell's explanation, Link felt conflicted.
He couldn't help but think of Hermione, founder of the "S.P.E.W." society, who dreamed of giving house-elves freedom and rights.
He wondered what she would think if she saw these "free" elves before him.
Probably not happy, because, according to Beckman and Krell, these Abandoned Ones were mostly violent, chaotic, and immoral creatures, freedom had only driven them to another extreme.
By the time they finished the smuggling-site tour, night had completely fallen, and Beckman led the group back to his castle.
They didn't use a Portkey this time, so naturally Link grabbed onto Snape's arm to Apparate with him.
Beckman noticed, and for the first time, the ever-smiling man's brow twitched slightly.
"You really should learn Apparition," he said sincerely once they landed.
Link smiled and nodded. "You're right. I've already asked Professor Snape to teach me."
He glanced at Snape as he said this, and though the man turned away, his silence said enough.
Link's smile brightened, because he knew that meant Snape had agreed.
Seeing this, Beckman swallowed the words "I could find you a teacher" and stayed quiet.
After a pause, he said solemnly, "Today I've shown you many things, things that, in the near future, will all belong to you."
"But there is still one last, most precious treasure of the Beckman family I haven't shown you yet."
"Link, would you come with me?"
"With pleasure," Link replied with a smile, stopping Krell and the others from following. He went alone after Beckman.
He had already caught the subtle meaning behind Beckman's use of 'you all' and then 'you.'
As for the possibility that Beckman might want to use this opportunity to kill him, Link wasn't worried. If Beckman wanted him dead, he'd have done it long ago.
So, under everyone's gaze, the old man and the young one walked slowly through the courtyard toward the deepest part of Beckman Castle.
"Link, what do you think of the Beckman family?"
As they passed through a dark corridor, Beckman asked in a deep voice.
All the scenes from the day flashed through Link's mind. After some thought, he finally answered, "It's… not bad."
The portraits along the corridor all stared at him in disbelief.
Link guessed that if Krell or Snape had heard him, they'd react the same way.
After all, in their eyes, the Beckman family's industries were magnificent beyond compare.
But to Link, "not bad" was already high praise.
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