Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

"Well, I'm really a little puzzled..." He held up a knife and fork, and said to Horace slowly.

"Say it, please." Horace was about to write it down.

"It's the open space between our hotel and the lake—" Gann deliberately found fault. "It really seems too open, why can't we plant a flower field?"

"Flower field?"

"Yes, Hanada. Without it, I always feel empty when I look out of the window, as if something is missing... I thought your artists would notice this."

Gunn finished his opinion triumphantly, then waited to see the uncomfortable look on Horace's face.

Although he is in awe of those "company directors" who have never met before, he is not afraid of the waiter in front of him, and a little bit of trouble can make him feel more psychologically balanced.

But Horace just frowned, and then nodded.

"Flower field...is really a good suggestion," he said, "and it doesn't cost much."

With this proposal, he can go on a job.

Chapter 250 Second Little Trouble

Although Lockhart believed that he had already expected the degree of trouble, the wizarding world still gave him a lot of surprises.

In his vision, Hogsmeade's shop cluster was the easiest place for trouble.

So under his strong suggestion, the stores temporarily put away those things that are obviously wrong at first glance, such as Honeydukes ice cream balls that can make people fly and pepper candies that can make people breathe fire, and Zoko’s joke shop Various trick products inside and so on

But Hogsmeade's storefronts, such as the Literary House stationery store, can still make visiting Muggles scream.

Quill pens and parchment have basically faded out of people's daily life on the Muggle side since the 19th century. Even churches rarely use them to copy the Bible, but they are now sold in stores. It is impossible not to surprise those who have been dealing with documents all year round and often need to sign.

In the 90s, computers and mobile phones were not as popular as they would be in the future, and the quality of ballpoint pens and fountain pens was not so good that they lost their sense of cheapness, so fountain pens are still very common writing supplies.” Even if the fountain pen industry has already seen its first signs of being a sunset industry.

However, even if the pen, like the mechanical watch, is almost reduced to a pure gift, it can still exist as a high value-added product, and what it sells is the brand value, just like diamonds.

The quill just meets the needs of users, and even has an additional attribute of "handicraft", so the Muggle elites naturally flock to it.

In addition, the price of quill pens that have not been enchanted by the literati generally does not exceed 1 Galleon, and the most luxurious ones are only 3 Galleons. Compared with the price of the Parker gold pen on the Muggle side, it is really not expensive.

So as far as Lockhart knew, most of the people who visited at the end bought several quill pens and a dozen pieces of parchment, probably to take them back to show off.

In addition, the Fengya brand wizard store also has some income. Even though many wizard robes and dresses are considered exotic clothes by Muggles, because the price is so cheap, these rich ladies can't help but buy a lot.

Although the operation of these shops was smooth, Lockhart did not appear to be very happy.

/

Because whether it is a quill or a special style of wizard robes, they cannot be used as the core export industry of wizards, they can only be used as handicrafts or hand-made tailor-made products.Although the profit is not small, the scale cannot increase, and it can only be reduced to a luxury item, or a temporary existence for Muggle pictures.

Those that can be exported on a large scale are either daily consumer goods or industrial products needed for production, and Lockhart has not yet paid attention to these gadgets.What he really aimed at was the potion industry, and the industrial intermediate industry that he tried to promote to the pure-blood families.

But even these things that Lockhart didn't appreciate had satisfied the residents of Hogsmeade.

Although Hogwarts students consume a lot, they are still just students: the consumption per person is not large, and they often focus on snacks, stationery and toys.

But the consumption structure of tourists is completely different. They are more concerned about whether they can buy some novel experiences or commemorative things.

Therefore, whether it is a clothing store, a stationery store, a candy store, or a tavern, Muggles choose to buy the signature goods that are usually only used for display in those stores. Not only are the unit prices "expensive", but as long as they provide good service Muggles will also happily tip them.

Especially the Fengya wizard clothing store, little wizards actually rarely come here to buy clothes

clothes, but these Muggle women bought seven or eight or a dozen pieces at a time, which undoubtedly made them feel overjoyed.

The Muggles only came to more than 20 people in total, but the profits they generated were hard to bring even a hundred little wizards. This made the residents of Hogsmeade have a new understanding of the financial power of Muggles.

Because Lockhart continued to show Muggle movies in the village, the residents of Hogsmeade did not have a bad impression of Muggles, but now that these Muggles are giving generously in their stores, they Feeling even better.

So at noon, many residents warmly invited these Muggles to their homes for dinner, wanting to have a closer look at these Muggles that they had only seen in movies.

And that's where the problem arises—these residents don't have any scruples at home, they can cast magic whenever they want, and the content of the conversation gradually begins to go out of line, and these are things that Lockhart could not have foreseen in advance.

After reprimanding a resident who baked a whole plate of sausages with magic again, Lockhart felt physically and mentally exhausted. He couldn't remember how many times he used forgetting at noon today.

J~UJ

"I repeat, don't use magic in front of Muggles!" he exclaimed angrily.

As a result, the family looked aggrieved: "I didn't use magic in front of them."

I "

■

Lockhart laughed back angrily: "Yeah, there was no magic in person. So you took a string of dried sausages off the roof in front of him, and after 10 seconds in the back kitchen, you held a plate of ready-made sausages." Come out one by one, of course it’s not a face-to-face use, is it?”

"It's really useless in person." The villagers tried their best to quibble, "and there should be something for quick cooking on the Muggle side, right? I remember that so-called "Terminator" holding a thing that can breathe fire and roast people in the blink of an eye. cooked. "

Because of time constraints, Lockhart didn't bother to talk to him about it, and just disqualified him from running a homestay.

Small troubles like this continued until that night, and Lockhart had to write down all the problems that occurred during the day, so as not to make them happen again in the future.

Hogsmeade is really overkill for entertaining a group of Muggle elites. Lockhart has even more ambitious plans for Hogsmeade in the future, but if he can't even overcome this small problem, then he can just You can choose to put the plan aside for now.

This is where he played Muggle movies for more than half a year. If it was another wizarding settlement, there would probably be more problems.

Tsk, miscalculation—should start with some semi-wizard settlements, so at least those wizards know how to hide themselves.

After finishing the first day of sewing and mending, Lockhart thought that everyone would be better the next day, but in the early morning, Horace, who he had always been relieved of, created new troubles for him——

Looking at the large sea of ​​purple lavender flowers outside Jack's Pea Hotel, Lockhart was speechless for a while, and didn't even know what to say about Horace.

But Horace didn't realize it, and even took credit for it from Lockhart.

"The Muggles told me yesterday that the outside of our hotel was too empty and lacked a flower field, so I went to Professor Sprout to get some quick-growing potions, and I made these overnight... How about it? It's spectacular, right?"

Lockhart covered his face and put on a pain mask: "Yeah, it's really spectacular

P.So it took a while to go back to Wuhan

Chapter 250 New Business Opportunities Brought by Muggles

Because the sudden appearance of the flower field is too eye-catching, and there are too many places to be modified if the Oblivion Charm is used, so after thinking twice, Lockhart decided to give up exerting influence on the memory of Muggles.

"For your experience, we bought the turf of these flowers and plants from the nearby flower market overnight... I wish you a happy mood!"

Lockhart didn't know if this set of rhetoric could fool those Muggles, anyway, he said it with a face of sincerity, as if he believed it himself.

Then he could see from the dull eyes of those people that their brains were so numb that they stopped working, and they no longer knew how to react.

Among these people, Gann was the first to react: "You are really willing to spend money."

When this happened, Lockhart had no choice but to slap his face swollen and put the blame on the legendary "company board of directors"

"This is a reasonable request. The board of directors will never get too entangled in such small money," he said with a smile on his face.

The facts are in front of them, and these tourists have to believe it or not.Unless they believed there was magic in this world, they could only admit to the deep pockets of the Niffler Drilling Company.

"Thanks for the hospitality, I can't thank you enough," was all they could say.

In the next few days, these Muggles were eye-opening.

In addition to the advertised golf courses and alpine skiing projects, boat rides on the lake and various small shops full of "medieval style" also made their trip worthwhile.Especially when they found out that there is actually a cinema dedicated to playing old movies, they were even more pleasantly surprised.

Of course, these rides did not cost the Muggle elites any money, they were all "gifted" to them by Lockhart's initiative, and while bribing, it was equivalent to spending money on quality inspections.Although there were a lot of small incidents, such as being seen by a Muggle tourist and seeing creatures in the Forbidden Forest, Lockhart finally managed to deal with them.

When the seven days were over, the Muggles took their souvenirs contentedly, and bid farewell to Hogsmeade, a hospitable town, with a relaxed and radiant face.

After sending these people on the train, Lockhart called Horace and counted the consumption of Muggles in these days.

That was all he really cared about - what the Muggles were buying in Hogsmeade.

Some people bought a bunch of handicrafts that people like to look at, some bought a 17th-century Baroque costume, and some people bought a bunch of special candies, which seemed to be going back to give away.

Based on the combination of more than 20 invitations, each family spent an average of about 45 Galleons, which was better than what Lockhart had expected.

As for the potions that Lockhart had placed high hopes on, they were not as popular as expected. Although some were sold, the potions sold were diluted hair growth elixir and beauty potions that had immediate results. And it's really easy to use after the customer has tested it.

Among them, the hot sales of the hair tonic was not expected by Lockhart in advance. He doubted that the reason why the hair tonic sold so well was all due to the very common baldness of British men.

As for the potions that Lockhart thinks can be used, such as euphoria, palliative, dreamless sleep, brain refresher, and intelligence enhancer: these social elites are skeptical of them, and no one dares to buy them.

After all, they have never heard of the "Extraordinary Pharmacists Association", and

None of these unbranded prescription products have any certification from the Yangguo Pharmaceutical and Health Care Supervision Administration on their labels. It is normal for them not to dare to use them.And according to the clerk who sold potions, these Muggles even suspected that their euphoria potions were mixed with illegal narcotics.

Lockhart considered the needs of Muggles, but he didn't consider the issue of their knowledge, so he stumbled a little.

This was entirely due to an accident, and it was an inevitable phenomenon caused by insufficient brand promotion. However, Lockhart believed that as long as his "upper plan" could go through, these medicines would be sold sooner or later.

It's just that the person who implements this upper-level plan must be a suitable person. Not only must he be able to be recognized in the British high society, but he must also like to do this kind of thing himself.

Fortunately, there was such a person in the wizarding world, and after Lockhart proposed that plan, Dumbledore might have allowed it.

It's just that the Quidditch World Cup is imminent, and if Lockhart wants to start that plan, he can only wait for Hogwarts to start school.

Just when Lockhart, with all kinds of thoughts, asked Gemma to go to the Three Broomsticks to prepare a meal, but he was suddenly notified that starting tomorrow, the price of wine and food would increase.

"Because everyone has more money in their pockets, there is not enough food and wine, so I can only increase the price." Rosmerta said with a shrug.

Lockhart sighed - sure enough it happened.

Because many large companies sponsored the construction of Hogsmeade, and Muggle tourists generously donated money in Hogsmeade, the small town poured in hot money close to tens of thousands of Galleons in a short period of time.

If this money is handed over to the Ministry of Magic or the big family, maybe they can spend time slowly digesting its impact, but these circulating funds are too much for a small village like Hogsmeade. up.This is equivalent to equal

Both received a few hundred Galleons, and it is normal for prices to fluctuate.

Although Lockhart had thought about inflation, he hadn't thought that it would come so quickly.

If trade with Muggles in the future, pounds and gold will definitely flood into the wizarding world, even if the purchasing power of gold in the wizarding world will gradually return to the same level as that of Muggles, and the inevitable inflation will quickly eliminate it. price difference.

If inflation really happened, then most of the middle and lower class wizards would be negatively affected, while upstarts and pure-blood wizard families who had mastered the trade would take the opportunity to inflate their assets.

At that time, it is very likely that the Lions will change their pro-Muggle stance, and turn to oppose trade and communication with Muggles, and demand the strengthening of the "Secrecy Act"; while the Snakes will support trade with Muggles, and denounce the Lions The "narrowness" and "racism" of people

While that's fun, it also defeats Lockhart's original purpose.

It seems that we have to think of another way.Lockhart thought.

Because he was immersed in thinking all the time, Lockhart didn't even notice that the dishes on his plate were cold until he was awakened by Gemma's voice calling the waiter to reheat the dishes.

"Sorry, I was distracted." Lockhart quickly apologized to Gemma.

"It's okay, I like the way you think." Gemma said that she didn't care. "There are many people who are good at telling wisecracks, but very few people with brains. I like the latter, but..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that if you're willing to tell me what's in your head, that would be even better, Gildero." Gemma raised the glass in her hand, "Would you like a sip?"

Lockhart also squeezed the wine glass beside him: "Trust me, you will know soon

Yes, even if you don't want to know at the time, I will desperately want to tell you.

When he found a business opportunity, he had to take action immediately. After sending the Muggles away, Lockhart went to Mr. Granger of the Extraordinary Pharmacist Association and asked him whether the hair growth potion could be mass-produced.

The effect of Io doesn't have to be very good. It's best to let the Muggles cure their baldness within a week. If it's too fast, the Muggles will be suspicious. said Lockhart to Granger.

Granger had never heard of such a strange request. People's hair tonic potions were required to take effect on the spot, but Lockhart asked him to reduce the potion's effect to the point where it would take a week to see the obvious effect.This kind of reversing not only seems unnecessary, but even because of the need to add some additional medicine, it seems a bit redundant

But after hearing Lockhart say that it was going to be sold to Muggles on a large scale, Granger expressed his understanding. After all, no one wanted to miss out on a big sale.

"We can dilute a bottle of hair tonic to 15/[-] of its original volume, and then add a little slow-release agent, so we should be able to achieve the effect you mentioned." Granger said after thinking for a while.

"Can it be mass-produced?" Lockhart asked tentatively.

"What scale do you mean?" Granger looked confident, "The formula of Hair Tonic is very simple, and the scrap rate is extremely low, and unlike Felicia Elixir, it can boil a large pot at a time instead of a small pot. It is made in a small pot, so 30 bottles can be brewed at one time, and if it is diluted, it will be 450 bottles..."

"Is 10 vials of diluted… a week possible?" Lockhart asked.

"How much?" Granger thought he had heard wrong.

"I said, 10 bottles per week, and I'll give you the price of 8 silver Sickles per bottle." Lockhart repeated.

Granger's confident expression slowly diluted from his face, and finally turned into

dignified.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked.

He has no objection to the price that Lockhart asked, because a bottle of undiluted hair tonic is about the same price, and they can make a lot of profit from it

But what surprised him was the sheer volume of what Lockhart was asking for.

The Extraordinary Pharmacists Association says it is an "association", but in fact there are only a dozen core members and dozens of official members. The manpower that can be organized is actually very limited.

If they work five days a week, they have to produce 2 bottles a day, and if one person cooks a pot a day, they have to draw 45 people.