Chapter 976: I have the confidence to say that I am tough

That afternoon, Fudge "invited" Lucius to the Ministry of Magic.

Without much politeness, the two got straight to the point.

"Tell me, Lucius, what is going on here?"

Minister Fudge is so busy that he has no time to care about news reports.

Lucius hesitated for a moment, then mentioned the previous article that discredited Harry, and repeatedly stated that he did not write it.

If there is benefit, even if it is only a little bit, it is possible to say that it is his work.

However, this smear article not only failed to gain any benefit, but even provoked Sirius's crazy revenge. It was obviously an extremely stupid move.

Fudge certainly believed it, but what was the point of his believing it? People had come to the Ministry of Magic to ask for proof of where the donations had gone, so they couldn't just falsify it to fool them.

Lucius rubbed his frowning brows, "Obviously, someone wants Malfoy and Black to fight."

He has been busy with the development of a series of new products centered around the magic base station and has no extra time to deal with other things.

Fudge thought more, since the smear article could appear in the newspaper, it meant that there was something wrong with the newly established Department of Magical News.

"Lucius, the whereabouts of the donations prove that you have found a way to solve it. I will fully cooperate with you on my side."

Fake certificates can only fool ordinary wizards, but Blake and Shafik are both from the Twenty-Eight Holy Families, and they have plenty of ways to determine the authenticity.

There must be an invoice for the charity money spent on the Ministry of Magic’s daily expenses, but can the Ministry of Magic’s invoice be shown to outsiders?

Well, the simplest way is to purchase it. As long as it is not something as outrageous as one Galleon for one piece of parchment, you can still inject water into it.

Lucius became unhappy when he heard this.

Asking him to find a way to solve the problem means that he has to pay money to fill the hole. Fudge, this stingy man, is taking him for a sucker.

But could he refuse? He could only smile on the surface, cursing in his heart as he agreed.

He can pay the money, but Fudge must also give him an explanation and find out who is behind the smear article.

"Don't worry, Lucius. I will definitely explain to you."

After seeing Lucius off, Fudge immediately came to the Department of Magical News with a gloomy face.

The three young men from the former Prophet newspaper were busy typeset tomorrow's news and did not notice the arrival of him, the Minister of Magic.

"Cough-cough-"

After coughing several times, Gary finally poked his head out from behind a pile of drafts.

"Minister Fudge!" He stood up excitedly and accidentally knocked all the drafts on the table to the floor.

The remaining two young men also looked over in panic, and the spilled ink dripped onto the drafts scattered on the ground.

Fudge's expression became even uglier.

By the time he learned that Umbridge had changed her newspaper supplier, resulting in the inability to revise the strange smear article in time, his face could no longer be described as overcast.

She has only been in the position of senior deputy minister for less than two years, but she already knows how to use her power to seek benefits for herself. If she is not taught a lesson, won't she get more than me?

Fudge calmed down a little and looked at the three nervous young people. "The Magical News Department is an important department for us to control public opinion. I will have a meeting with the senior management later to discuss how to improve the efficiency of the department. Thank you for your hard work during this period."

He patted the three of them on their shoulders and said, "Don't be nervous. Can you tell me what problems the Department of Magical News is facing right now?"

The three of them looked at each other, and Gary, who was the most confident, calmly listed many problems.

The first is the severe shortage of staff.

"Mr. Minister, the Magical News Department cannot be run by just the three of us. Although we have experience working in a newspaper office, the amount of news each day is too large. We have to work overtime for at least two hours just to typeset the next day's news."

The shortage of staff is obvious, and when the newspaper was taken over, those older people should have been taken away as well.

Then there are the issues of management.

"We are just small staff members. Sometimes we have no way to refuse requests from the upper management. We can only do what she asks."

This "she" obviously refers to Umbridge.

The newspaper supplier can be changed at will, and the news content can be changed at will. It is really not good without a decent director.

Then comes the review of the article content.

"Mr. Minister, I think the Department of Magical News should set up a separate review department to be responsible for reviewing, rather than handing it over to the higher-ups for review as it is now."

The original intention of the Ministry of Magic to take over the Prophecy Newspaper was to better control public opinion. Therefore, it was not important whether the review department existed or not. What was important was that the reviewers must be smart enough.

Then there is the issue of salary and benefits.

Gary became more and more confident as he spoke, and he even dared to look Fudge in the eye. "Mr. Minister, the Magical News Department is a department that often works overtime, and our workload is also the largest. I think our overtime pay and remuneration should be appropriately increased."

It's almost the 21st century. It's not feasible to expect the horse to run without eating grass.

The reason why these three young people were chosen was that they had no family burden and could save a lot of unnecessary expenses.

Now it seems that some expenses really cannot be saved.

Seeing Fudge nod gently, Gary quickly struck while the iron was hot and asked for employee benefits.

The prophet newspaper where they used to work had performance rewards, which were broken down into each position according to the monthly newspaper sales. Although the job in the Ministry of Magic was a stable rice bowl, they would eventually get married, have children and support a family.

Fudge patted Gally's shoulder heavily, and the smile on his face seemed a little angry. "I understand that everyone's work is not easy, but the Ministry of Magic is not my one-man show. I need to discuss this issue seriously with the senior management."

The benefits were basically gone, but Gary did not stop there. "Mr. Minister, this is not just a problem for our department. If the benefits were good enough, I believe all departments would be able to complete their work more efficiently."

The other two young men looked at him in horror.

They were confident and spoke with conviction, and they didn't know what the new jobs that Sirius promised them would be like.

Fudge's smile became gentle again. "Young man, your name is Gary, right? We will definitely consider your suggestion seriously."

He took a deep look at Gary in front of him and said, "It's getting late. It's time for me to go to the meeting."

After leaving the Department of Magical News, his face had become extremely ugly.

It's okay for young people to speak without manners as they are inexperienced, but the key is that Gary is too blunt. Some things can only be said briefly; if you say them more clearly, they will become meaningless.

……

……