Harry Potter: This senior is pretty strong

"Professor Snape, you are our first Venom customer. We'll give you a discount: one pint for one hundred Galleons!"

Although he said he wasn't afraid of Qin Yu, Professor Snape still felt a headache coming on when the child said this and stretched out his hand with a smile—he hadn't expected the child to be so adept at asking for money!

“…I’ll buy two ounces first.” Snape pulled out a small test tube, his lips twitched slightly, and said calmly.

“Severus, if you don’t have that much money with you, I can lend it to you!” Professor Swinton said deliberately, looking at Snape.

“Professor Swinton, I don’t think we’re close enough to lend each other money. Besides, my potion research only requires one ounce, and I’m only buying two ounces for emergencies!” Professor Snape glanced at the man and raised his voice.

"Okay, Professor Snape, I'll get you two ounces right away!" Qin Yu could tell that Snape didn't have much money on him, but Qin Yu certainly wouldn't expose him, after all, he was his customer. Two ounces was a small amount, but it was still a good start.

So he took the test tube from Snape and asked Hagrid to find a one-ounce wine scoop.

However, just as Qin Yu was about to use a grape to extract the venom for Snape, Snape raised his hand to stop him.

"Wait a minute, I don't want this can, I want the one from there."

As Snape spoke, he pointed to the jar of eight-eyed giant spider venom on Qin Yu's right.

Qin Yu was taken aback, then frowned and asked, "Professor Snape, what's the difference between these two cans?"

“Of course there’s a difference! The jar you’re taking is clearly the venom of a young giant spider, its color is greenish-yellow, while the jar next to it is different, it’s a pure light green, which is obviously the venom of a giant spider that’s over ten years old. The toxicity of the two venoms is worlds apart!” Professor Snape said to them, pointing to the two jars of venom, his tone seven parts arrogance and three parts contempt.

Upon hearing this, George and Fred quickly went over to take a look, their faces showing blank expressions, because they didn't see any difference between the two cans of venom, weren't they both the same color?

Qin Yu only vaguely felt that there was a slight difference, and he did not rule out the possibility that it was psychological.

Hagrid, needless to say, looked at the three jars over and over but couldn't figure it out.

"Professor Snape, can you really tell the difference between them?" Qin Yu asked again.

“Of course,” Snape said coldly, showing his impatience with Qin Yu’s rambling.

Qin Yu completely ignored Snape's sour face. He shoved the test tube and grapes into George's hands, excitedly walked over, and shook Snape's hand, saying, "That's wonderful! Professor Snape, your arrival has been a huge help! It has saved us from unnecessary losses!"

Qin Yu didn't understand the difference in venom, but he clearly remembered that when they were squeezing venom from the giant spiders, they selected them from largest to smallest because the venom glands of the larger spiders were easier to find. They would fill one container before replacing it with another empty container, and that's how the venom in the container was unintentionally differentiated.

Now that Professor Snape had pointed out the differences in Venom, and with both sides confirming it, Qin Yu naturally believed his words.

When Qin Yu suddenly grabbed his hand, Snape instinctively stiffened. After a moment, he pushed Qin Yu away with disgust and said angrily, "Don't touch me like that! Don't say things that don't make sense. I didn't do anything."

After being pulled aside, Qin Yu showed no displeasure. Instead, he rubbed his hands together and chuckled, saying, "Professor Snape, how about this? If you do us a small favor, we'll give you these two ounces of venom for free!"

"..."

Snape was taken aback by this, thinking to himself, "Is this for real?"

Professor Swinton, who had come with Snape to watch the spectacle, glanced at the three canisters of venom, then at Qin Yu and Snape, a look of understanding dawning on his eyes.

……

What Qin Yu asked Snape to do was actually very simple, at least for Professor Snape, the Potions Master.

That is to package the venom according to its grade.

Qin Yu and his group originally thought that all the venom of the eight-eyed giant spiders was the same, and that they could just sell it all to the merchants in Diagon Alley.

He hadn't expected that the giant spider's venom was divided into different grades. If Snape hadn't inadvertently reminded them of this today, they would have lost a lot of money if they had just sold the venom indiscriminately.

When Snape heard Qin Yu say he would give him two ounces of venom for free, he was initially a little skeptical. But after hearing Qin Yu's request, he understood the purpose of the offer to him.

So, in order to make his work seem more valuable, Snape decided to help Qin Yu divide the three cans of venom into four portions according to their color.

It's obvious that three divided by four cannot be divided.

But this is no challenge for our great Potions Master, Professor Snape.

Qin Yu and the others watched as he began his "performance".

Of the original three canisters of venom, the best quality was rated S by Snape, the worst was rated C, and the canister in the middle was singled out by him.

Professor Snape drew his wand, chanted a spell over the jar of venom, and the venom immediately began to spin.

After observing for a while, Snape waved his wand at the spinning venom, which split in two instantly as if cleaved by a knife.

This scene left Qin Yu, George, and Fred completely stunned, and even Hagrid and Professor Swinton showed expressions of great interest.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take some of it!" Snape said to Qin Yu impatiently.

Qin Yu quickly found a large wine grape and put one half of the venom, which had been split in two, into an empty jar.

"Professor Snape, that was brilliant! You're practically a modern-day Lu Yu!" Qin Yu couldn't help but exclaim.

“Lu Yu? Who is Lu Yu?” Snape asked, frowning.

"Um... Lu Yu was an ancient Chinese potion maker who was skilled at using tea to concoct potions," Qin Yu fabricated.

“Oh, tea, it is indeed a good ingredient for potions, and I use it often,” Snape nodded.

In this way, Snape easily classified the three canisters of Venom into four levels: S, A, B, and C.

Then, in exchange for the two ounces of service fee, he helped Qin Yu and the others repackage the venom into small, transparent glass vials.

Afterwards, Qin Yu not only kept his promise and gave Snape 2 ounces of S-class venom, but also gave him one ounce each of the A, B, and C classes of venom.

……

Swinton couldn't help but laugh as he watched Snape emerge from Hagrid's hut, his face still cold but his eyes clearly smiling.

"What are you laughing at?" Snape asked, frowning in displeasure.

"It's nothing. I just think that this kid is really clever. He only used a little bit of venom and got you, a genius potion master, to do all the work for him all afternoon, and you even seemed to enjoy it so much," Swinton said with a mischievous smile.

"...Hmph, what do you know? I only did the work commensurate with my pay," Snape said coldly.

As for whether he was happy or not? He was doing something related to potions, so naturally he was in a good mood.

……

“If we continue with our original, haphazard approach to selling, we'll definitely earn far less. Now, thanks to Professor Snape's grading system, we can price our Venom according to its grade, allowing us to sell it for a higher price. At least, our high-grade Venom won't be sold at rock-bottom prices…”

Qin Yu explained to the other three "partners," and they quickly understood his intention.

Next, Qin Yu had them fill about ten small vials, each containing only a few drops of venom, and then mailed them as samples to potential customers in Diagon Alley.

By the time we finish all this, it will be almost dinner time.

Qin Yu and the Weasley brothers declined Hagrid's dinner invitation in unison and fled Hagrid's cabin as if they were escaping.

However, Qin Yu turned back halfway, took the book about magical creatures that Hagrid had promised to give him, and then ran away again.

...Divider line...

Note: The mention of Lu Yu in the text stems from a legend known as "Lu Yu's Appraisal of Water." Zhang Youxin's "Record of Boiling Tea Water" from the Tang Dynasty recounts a story about Lu Yu. It tells of Li Jiqing, who, during the reign of Emperor Daizong of Tang, served as the prefect of Huzhou. In Yangzhou, he met the renowned scholar Lu Yu. The two drank tea, and Li Jiqing instructed his men to fetch the Nanling water (located in the middle of the Yangtze River) as Lu Yu requested. Upon the return of the water, Lu Yu immediately noticed something amiss, stating that although it was from the Yangtze River, it was definitely not Nanling water. The men admitted to spilling half a bucket of water and, to avoid trouble, had mixed the remaining half on the riverbank. Then, after some manipulation, Lu Yu poured out the remaining half bucket and declared to everyone, "This is the Nanling water I requested."

This is the legend of Lu Yu's ability to judge and separate water, and it's very similar to Snape's actions, which is why the protagonist mentions it.