The traveling alchemists

Traveling alchemists go from town to town, selling their concoctions during the market day: it is a well-established tradition since many small towns in the empire don’t have a resident alchemist (called a pharmacist in many places), and there is always a need for remedies or novelties.
Just two decades ago, a traveling alchemist could do business with simple potions and mixtures: pesticides to ward the vineyards, fertility treatment for cows, and soluble crystals to enrich the soil.
Most products were not magical by themselves, but magic and elaborate instruments were necessary to distill them. True magical potions were a rarity, due to the risk of creating them and their unreliable results.
Things gradually changed with the progress in magic theory and the real boost happened with the development of the Valley of Delights, a region where magical experimentation is encouraged by the nobility. Also crucial is the change in the people’s disposition, much more willing to endure some alchemical “accidents” to reap its benefits.
Now it’s possible to feed animals growing potion that will make them big or specially modified manure can change the flavor of lettuce. These modified living being can’t pass their modification to their offspring, creating a continual demand for the potions.
Not all innovation takes hold, as there is a cost-benefit analysis that even the humble farmer will do, at least after the first try. Feedsthat grow giant rabbits are a success (rabbit furs in a decent size are a good alternative to other more expensive animals), but other concoctions are just ephemeral fads (like the liquid to make pumpkins grow in the shape of the statue you bury underneath them). Managing these magic substances can have unpredictable side effects: some farmers may start to smell like bacon, have partial gigantism (like an oversized pinky), or develop syndromes (like the craving for non-food, like wood or rocks).

Thanks to this wave of innovations and acceptance, the number of traveling alchemists has grown dramatically, becoming a booming trade, and a competitive market.
Traveling alchemists had to become master sellers to persuade a demanding and careful public, ready to go elsewhere if not impressed. Alchemists are then not only scholars but also showmen, using bombastic rhetoric and musical accompaniment to get attention and rile up enthusiasm.
Such a lucrative job has attracted many swindlers that will simulate the miraculous effects of the potion through illusion or, more simply, just show the real stuff while selling fakes.
Right now chimeras are the new exciting trend: giving a potion to an animal is possible to make it produce a mutated offspring. For example, dosing a bull with the proper compound will make all the veal he father appear to be half chicken. This bovine-bird hybrid lay eggs with a delicious eggnog-like interior and soft yet tasty meat.