Procuring Supplies

Chapter 35: Purchasing Supplies

On Saturday morning, students were eating breakfast in the Great Hall. The Weasley twins were telling Harry about Quidditch, while Ron listened on the side with a hint of envy.

Charles glanced at the professors' table. Dumbledore hadn't returned yet. He was probably off selling unicorn tail hairs and Acromantula venom in other countries.

At that moment, the arrival of an owl disrupted Charles's plan to go to the Forbidden Forest today. He immediately took the letter to find Professor McGonagall.

Half an hour later, green flames ignited in the fireplace at number 4 Privet Drive, and Charles emerged from the fire with a frosty-faced Professor McGonagall.

As soon as Charles came out, he saw Petunia in the living room looking at him with a look of panic. Just as he was about to greet her, Petunia pointed upstairs and said, "They're in the study."

Five minutes later, Jack and Dumbledore sat on the sofa like children caught doing something wrong, with Professor McGonagall glaring fiercely at them.

"Unbelievable, truly unbelievable!" Professor McGonagall's hands trembled with anger. "Albus, you... you... you actually played Muggle games for three whole days and nights!"

"Do you... no longer want to be Headmaster!"

Dumbledore shrunk his neck and whispered, "I was going to go back after just one more round."

Then Professor McGonagall gave him a fierce glare, and he dared not speak.

Jack watched Dumbledore being scolded with schadenfreude, not expecting to be next.

"Mr. Smith!" Professor McGonagall made the old man instantly sit up straight. "I thought you were a mature gentleman, but I didn't expect you to be like Albus, like a child who hasn't grown up!"

Charles hid in the kitchen under the guise of making tea, afraid he might accidentally laugh and then be targeted by the old man and the Headmaster.

Petunia had gone back. She had come to check on things because she hadn't seen Mr. Smith getting his newspaper for a few days.

Recently, the community had launched a "Caring and Mutual Aid Group for Empty Nesters." Charles had written to the community before school to suggest establishing it. It mainly involved neighbors visiting elderly people living alone regularly to prevent accidents from going unnoticed.

Petunia had initially worried that Jack had run into trouble, only to find the two old men playing Civilization in the study, and more importantly, the food in the kitchen had gone bad.

Hearing that Professor McGonagall seemed to have finished her scolding, Charles re-boiled the water and made tea, bringing it to the living room with some sandwiches.

When Professor McGonagall saw him approach, she gave Dumbledore some face in front of the students, but her expression remained stern. She picked up her teacup and asked, "How did the matter you went to handle go?"

It was Dumbledore's first time playing a computer game, and it was Civilization. He hadn't eaten for three days and nights. Holding a teacup in one hand and a sandwich in the other, he took a bite before saying, "I'm giving Mr. Smith this gold."

With that, he placed several gold bars on the table, and Charles's eyes widened.

Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore dejectedly. He hadn't even remembered this matter for the past few days. Could Muggle games really be that fun?

They had been close friends for years, and she had vented her anger by scolding him. She said to Dumbledore, "You go back to Hogwarts and rest. Charles and I will exchange the gold for Muggle currency and then go purchase supplies for the Centaurs."

At this moment, Jack said proudly, "There's no need for all that trouble. We can handle it here."

With that, he walked over to the phone, sat down, and started making calls from the phone book.

"…Yes, I have gold here that I want to sell you, left by my ancestors…"

"…Haha, I invested in a shop at a film school in Scotland and want to source from you… Besides food, I also need some kitchenware for props…"

"…That's right, arrows for archery, real ones, for filming… Alright, I'll wait for you at home…"

"…We'll talk about fishing later. I need to rent a separate warehouse… Okay, I've noted the number. I'll have someone pick up the goods later. Arrange for people to unload them, and come find me for money when you have time…"

"A sum of money will arrive in my account later… Yes, just like before, all of it to buy Dell computer stocks… Haha, that money is for Charles's future marriage, so it won't be used for other investments…"

After Jack finished his calls, he smiled and said to Professor McGonagall, "We can just wait here. While we wait, can you tell me how Charles is doing at school?"

Having been a councilor for years, he had made many friends, and one round of phone calls essentially settled everything.

Charles broke out in a cold sweat and took a bottle of Happy Water from the refrigerator before slipping away to the study to check on the computer.

An hour later, the manager of a gold shop in Surrey arrived with his subordinates. They were somewhat surprised to see Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore wearing ancient robes. Jack explained that they were the principal and a professor from a film academy.

After testing, the gold brought by Dumbledore had a purity of about 90%. After the gold shop manager and Jack agreed on the price, the manager issued two checks as Jack requested, one for a smaller amount for daily expenses.

Soon after, the manager of a large supermarket arrived. Jack purchased a large quantity of sugar cubes, granulated sugar, oats, salt, olive oil, Happy Water, pots, cleavers, hammers, axes, saws, nails, and some long-lasting fruits, all of which were transported to the warehouse he had just rented.

After signing the contract with Jack, the supermarket manager borrowed the phone to call back, instructing the supermarket warehouse to prepare the first batch of goods for delivery to the designated warehouse immediately.

At this point, a strong middle-aged man arrived. He owned a small metal processing plant and knew many colleagues, so he could take the lead in making arrowheads. Charles was called down to describe the shape and dimensions of the arrows used by the Centaurs.

Charles told him, "The arrowheads need to be durable. Good steel can be used, and the heat treatment should be done well. These will be reused, so don't worry about the cost."

"No problem," said the owner of the processing plant. "The quality will definitely be the best!"

Jack negotiated the price with them and paid by check on the spot.

Excluding waiting time, Jack efficiently resolved the procurement of supplies. Afterward, Charles could go to the warehouse first to bring some of the goods delivered by the supermarket back to Hogwarts.

Two hours later, the warehouse called to report that the first batch of goods delivered by the supermarket had been completely unloaded.

It was time to leave. Professor McGonagall chided Dumbledore, "You need to rest well when you get back. Do you think you're still young? I think you need a dose of the Draught of Living Death."

Jack, upon hearing this, "curiously" asked Professor McGonagall, "Professor, what is the Draught of Living Death?"

Professor McGonagall replied, "It's a potion made by wizards that can make people sleep soundly."

Thinking that Jack, also advanced in age, had played for three days and nights, she asked, "Mr. Smith, you also need to rest well. Do you need some? I can have the house-elves bring it."

Jack smiled and said to her, "If you could say 'goodnight' to me, it would be better than any sleeping potion in the world."