What's the Use of Money?

What's the Use of Money?

"Is that so? As far as I knew, the Weasley Family was so poor they could barely put food on the table. Yet the Weasleys had seven children in this generation alone. Looking across the entire wizarding world, there probably wasn't another family more prosperous than theirs, was there?"

Thinking of the Weasley family made Bell think of Harry's sidekick and best friend, Ron, and his mood inexplicably turned a little sour.

"And the Black Family, one of Britain's oldest Pure-blood Families, had no idea how many Galleons. Yet the family heir—Sirius Black—had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban, so he probably wouldn't have any descendants. The Crouch Family was another ancient family with a long history, and they seemed quite wealthy as well. The current head, Barty Crouch, had even nearly become Minister for Magic. He could be said to possess both power and influence. But the family heir—Barty Crouch Jr.—died in Azkaban. And Old Crouch had no intention of having another child, so the family could also be considered on the verge of extinction."

Bell glanced at his father.

"So, what was it you said about Galleons?"

William didn't want to speak and cast a pleading look at his wife, Elena.

If this went on, William felt like he was going to shut down. Could anyone imagine a thirty-year-old man being left speechless by a five-year-old brat? Right now, he just wanted a bottle of 82 Lafite to soothe the wounds in his heart, then sleep until tomorrow morning. Hopefully this wouldn't leave him traumatized, or he probably wouldn't dare speak to his son again.

Elena, who had been listening to the father and son chatting nearby, had long since been stunned.

"Bell, why did you know these things? Did you read them in some book?"

"You know, Mom. I used to be stuck in my bedroom and couldn't get out. Staying in one place for too long inevitably got boring, so I had to find things to do. Whenever I got tired of reading, I would often think randomly about all sorts of things. Over time, I gradually formed my own views on things."

"Oh, my poor Bell!"

With tears in her eyes, Elena rushed over and held Bell tightly in her arms.

"It's all right now, baby. You can freely go wherever you want."

"I'm fine, Mom," Bell said with difficulty. "But if you don't let go soon, I won't be. You're holding me too tightly. I can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry."

Elena apologized as she hurriedly released Bell.

"You're right, baby, but what can we do? Strengthening the family isn't easy. The ancestors of the Menethil Family worked for hundreds of years before there was the Menethil of today."

William turned his gaze toward Bell again. He had decided that if Bell couldn't come up with anything convincing later, he would definitely make fun of him properly. Today, he was going to be petty and hold a grudge, and no one could stop him!

But what if Bell came up with a feasible solution? If he couldn't think of a solution, couldn't he just pick fault with Bell instead!?

"Take out the Galleons and secretly cultivate wizards loyal to the Menethil Family. As far as I knew, many wizards weren't living very well. If we used both benefits and favors, we should always be able to recruit a few reliable people, right? Don't care about how much money it costs. Money is just money; if it's gone, we can earn more. Besides, the value of those wizards far exceeds Galleons."

"We can take it slowly in the early stages and prioritize stability, trying not to draw outside attention. And most importantly, it's better to have too few than too many. For the family's wizards, loyalty must always come first. And after ensuring their loyalty, they must undergo strict training regularly. At the very least, their combat ability can't be inferior to an Auror's. We can set a small goal first... like possessing the power to overthrow the Ministry of Magic at any time."

William and Elena stared at Bell speechlessly. Being able to overthrow the Ministry of Magic at any time was a small goal? Even The Dark Lord, at the height of his power, hadn't been able to overthrow the Ministry of Magic! So what was the big goal? Conquering the world?

"But if there are too many people, it'll be hard not to attract the Ministry of Magic's attention. The Ministry definitely won't allow this sort of thing. And if there are only one or two people, there's no point," William deliberately found fault.

Sure enough, Bell was still too inexperienced. He hadn't even noticed such an obvious flaw. Today, Dad would teach him a lesson—reality was cruel!

"Our family should have a lot of businesses, right?" Bell asked.

"Of course. Our family's main business is manufacturing Magical Statues, while Wizard's Chess is a side business. We also have breeding farms in many places around the world, mainly producing magical materials used to make statues. In fact, nearly every industry in the wizarding world has basically been divided up among the various Pure-blood Families."

"Then the problem is simple."

Bell spread his hands.

"There are so many Dark Wizards these days, and who knew where some fugitive Death Eaters were hiding. So our factories need guards, don't they? There are so many dangerous magical creatures at the breeding farms, and untamed Magical Animals cause trouble every now and then. We need wizards skilled in combat to watch over them, don't we? Their work is so dangerous, and our family is so kind. We spend money to help train their spellcasting abilities and ensure their safety. Surely no one could object to that? Whoever dares object can take responsibility if someone dies! They can't work during training, but the facilities can't be left unguarded either. It's perfectly normal to hire more wizards for shifts, right? Hiring twice the staff is called meeting job requirements; hiring three times the staff is called caring for employees. Keep those willing to be loyal to the family and dismiss those who aren't. The Ministry of Magic can't interfere with normal staff turnover, can it? Bit by bit, after a few years, won't our numbers grow? For the first stage, how about setting a goal of one hundred people?"

William and Elena were both dumbfounded. William didn't even bother finding fault anymore.

Just listen to those ideas! He was clearly taking enormous advantage of everyone, yet he made it sound as though he were so noble and selfless. If he could come up with such sinister schemes, what if William kept picking at him and Bell remembered it? What if Bell plotted against him later?

William felt that Bell must have taken after his mother. He hadn't inherited any of William's own uprightness and honesty.

"Wait a moment."

As William spoke, he kept rummaging through his pockets.

"Let me write this down."

And so, the Menethil Family's expansion plan was settled.

As the head of an ancient Pure-blood Family, William was highly capable after being immersed in such matters since childhood. Most of the time, he had simply been constrained by the era and the limits of his perspective, so he hadn't considered so much. With Bell's reminder, a whole series of plans and precautions immediately appeared in William's mind, and he wished he could put them into action at once.

William remained in the dining room alone, excitedly refining his plan, while Bell had already been carried away by Elena.

"Bell, shall we take a bath together with Mom? Come to think of it, we've never bathed together as mother and son." Elena said excitedly.

"Mom!? I can bathe myself. And I can walk on my own too, so put me down!"

ヽ(*.>Д<)o゜

Bell struggled with all his strength, but it was completely useless.

"Little Bell is shy! So cute! Hahaha."