novelhk Chapter 358 Finance
Chapter 358 Finance
Chapter 358 Finance
It is summer vacation now, and there are wizards traveling around Europe and Africa, so it seems lively.
However, Alison set the portal in a newly expanded area a little further away from the portals to the wizarding world, to prevent wizards from wandering in by mistake out of curiosity...
Alison and Dumbledore waited for a while, and then saw nearly ten new wizards appear with eyes full of surprise and curiosity, trying to figure out the skills that came with the game.
Some people, who had awakened their magic from Muggles and become extraordinary beings under the guidance of their wizarding relatives, even recognized Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and waved to her in surprise.
However, they did not step forward to disturb them, but just wondered whether this meant that the wizarding world and the Muggle world would cooperate.
To be honest, although magic is good, some parts of the wizarding world are still more medieval and a bit backward.
Having lived in the world of ordinary people for decades, it is still a bit difficult to adapt to the wizarding world after the novelty wears off. The wizarding world values hiding and confidentiality, and newcomers cannot use magic in the Muggle world...
It would be great if the Muggle world also knew about the existence of wizards and both sides could accept extraordinary people!
Alison didn't disturb the curiosity of the group of old men and women who were here for the first time. She just let her eyes go and waited for a moment.
"..."
It was not until they came back to their senses from the magic they had just acquired and from their habit of responding to those waving greetings with a gentle attitude that they finally began to act seriously, as if they had not been as excited as children just now.
Alison and Dumbledore were also masters of acting, and everyone acted as if nothing had happened.
The red-haired little wizard led the way, taking the portal marked with the British wizarding world.
"The portal to the British wizarding world leads to Diagon Alley, which is also located in London, so strictly speaking we haven't gone far."
"And the transmission between different parts of the wizarding world in a country is all through the fireplace. In the past, the wizarding world has built a channel for space shuttle, which we call the "Floo Network", which can shuttle between fixed points over short distances. Just like the computer terminals and networks in your world, they all require permissions. Public fireplaces are naturally accessible to anyone, but if you want to access someone else's private fireplace, both families must set up permissions in advance."
They tried their best not to look around, but they couldn't help looking around, their eyes revealing curiosity about everything related to magic.
The scene changed so quickly, from the gloomy camp to a bustling and lively street.
At the Diagon Alley portal, the "customs" that was prepared, that is, the staff of the Law Enforcement Department and the International Exchange and Cooperation Department, saw Dumbledore and Alison in the lead, and did not ask too many questions. They just followed the simple identity information Alison gave, whose authenticity was unknown, and went through the process to get their identity certificates.
After all, Minister Fudge, the top leader, and their direct reports, Ms. Bones and Mr. Malfoy, had all warned in advance not to bother with the Muggle friends brought in by Miss Grindelwald.
Although the old men were wearing wizard robes and looked no different from the wizards outside at first glance, their temperament and expressions clearly showed that they were Muggles who were encountering the wizarding world for the first time.
Several people from the British government took the identity certificates and took a look at them. They were surprised to see that there was a "customs" here, which was so formal.
But soon, everyone's attention was attracted by the novel shouting.
"Welcome! Welcome to Diagon Alley!"
There has been a large turnover of people recently, and many of them are newly awakened adult Muggles who are generous and willing to spend a fortune on practical magical items they have never seen before.
The shop owners on Diagon Alley Commercial Street were really reluctant to miss this opportunity.
The drugstore was selling Gillyweed: "A great helper for underwater exploration! After eating it, gills will grow on your face, and your fingers and toes will become webbed! You can swim and breathe underwater for more than an hour! Take a trip to the ocean! Five galleons will cost you to explore treasures..."
Wizards passing by the pharmacy usually shook their heads.
One gillywort costs five galleons, which is simply a crazy attempt to steal money. And yet, there are always fools willing to buy it recently, causing the price to rise again and again.
Exploring for treasure is too unrealistic, and it is highly likely that nothing will be found.
The monthly income of an average adult wizard is just over a hundred Galleons, but this is often necessary to support a large family - the wizarding world is still somewhat traditional, and most witches become housewives after marriage.
There was a low cooing and flapping sound from another place. It was an owl shop and an owl post office next to it, which housed various magical owls that could find the addressee's location based on the name of the addressee.
Broomsticks were also on sale, as if they had recently learned some Muggle discount tricks, or perhaps the price had been haggled over - the label on the window clearly stated that there was a 10% discount on all items, but that they would no longer accept haggling.
But the most profitable places are actually Flourish and Blotts, potion shops, wand shops, etc. They are either necessary for learning magic, or things that can be used in the Muggle world...
Not only the newly born babies, but also many adults are equally curious and excited, looking at everything in the magical world with childlike expressions.
Because there are so many newcomers, the customs office at the portal actually sells a "Travel Guide to the British Wizarding World" for 5 Sickles a copy, which can be regarded as additional income to promote the tourism industry.
The beginning of the book is an introduction to the shops in Diagon Alley, and it is presented in a form that is as understandable as possible to Muggles - the Ministry of Magic specially asked Muggle wizards to help with the editing.
Alison paid for a copy for everyone.
After all, the newcomers had no money, and Alison suspected that they didn't bring many pounds, so they might not be able to exchange them at Gringotts.
Dumbledore patiently helped introduce the characteristics and history of those shops, just as he used to treat the families of Muggleborn wizards who had just entered the wizarding world and were going to school.
He would also remind everyone from time to time not to get lost - Alison seriously suspected that a curious parent had gotten lost in the past, causing her father to use Tracking Reveal to find the person.
It's like returning to my old job, which is now a related major.
When the currency of the wizarding world was mentioned, it was Alison who introduced it with a puzzled look on her face.
She clearly hit the point.
"...The wizarding world in most areas exchanges currency through Gringotts, which is the headquarters in the UK. There are three currencies: gold, silver, and copper. One gold Galleon is equivalent to 1 Silver Sickles, and one Silver Sickle is equivalent to 17 Copper Knuts. The exchange rate with the British pound is basically 1 Galleon to 29 British pounds, with slight fluctuations, but not big."
The Queen nodded, noticing the change in Alison's expression at the mention of currency.
Currency is an important part of a country's economic system. Why is the attitude like this... ?
Because Alison was the one who made the key introduction and her expression was not pleasant, the Queen keenly sensed that something was not right.
She looked at the bronze door of Gringotts from a distance. There stood a short alien in a scarlet and gold-studded uniform. She asked Alison, "...Who holds the right to issue currency in your wizarding world?"
Alison was silent for a moment, looking at the goblin who was bowing to welcome the guests at the door. "Goblins are a very greedy alien race. They are good at usury and financial fraud. But they are naturally very sensitive to money."
The economic system is in the hands of greedy aliens? !
The Prime Minister looked over upon hearing this, his expression subtle, and thought for a moment: "Then what is your attitude towards the alien race like goblins in the wizarding world?"
The other shrewd ministers around who were originally listening to Dumbledore's introduction with a smile also cast their eyes over here, either obviously or implicitly, and it was obvious that they were all very concerned about this issue.
The goblins control the right to issue currency, which, to a certain extent, controls the economic lifeline of the wizarding world. If the wizarding world and the ordinary world merge, the British government will definitely not allow these alien races to interfere in the country's economy.
If you dare to stretch out your hand, I will chop off your claws.
Doing business normally and being a capitalist are two different things from shaking the foundation of the country.
However, looking at Miss Grindelwald's attitude, everyone had some vague guesses in their hearts, but they just needed further confirmation.
No government is willing to give up economic power...
Alison has no intention of keeping secrets about her future partners and the people she has chosen to integrate with.
After all, the British side has already demonstrated full sincerity and trust - if the wizards had bad intentions, all these upper-class figures who followed them would be defeated in the wizarding world, and the British government would be in chaos for a while.
"The Ministry of Magic would like to take control of the goblin-controlled bank, but there is no way. A small society of a few thousand people cannot produce many economists. Forcibly inserting people into Gringotts to control the economy will only cause ordinary people to complain."
"Including goblins, most alien races are discriminated against in the wizarding world, except for some beautiful and powerful creatures that are not too far from humans and can blend in and communicate well. The law only allows wizards to hold wands, and alien races cannot go to the God-given land to increase their power."
Several people in the British government already have an idea of what is going on.
The wizarding world was not friendly toward aliens, but was also not well equipped to manage an economy controlled by goblins.
The Prime Minister did not intend to give up the questioning.
He wanted to know more about Gringotts and goblins in order to make plans for the future - there would inevitably be a conflict of interest between their British government and Gringotts, or in other words, this should be one of the problems that Miss Grindelwald hoped to solve by introducing the power of ordinary people's countries.
"Will goblins obey the Ministry of Magic?"
Alison laid it all out.
"There are two factions within the goblin community. One faction tends to resist wizard rule, and the other faction is Gringotts and other factions that often deal with wizards. The Gringotts faction will listen to some of what they say, but it's just for the sake of appearance - these two factions are of the same race after all, and no matter how different their ideologies are, wizards are always the 'outsiders'."
She didn't explain much of the cultural differences that are usually covered in books.
For example, the fairies believe that the forged items belong to the forger, and the buyer only has the right to use them, and they should return them to the forger after death...
Because no matter what, no normal human being can compromise on this point.
If goblins and other vulnerable alien races want to make a living in human society, they should bow their heads and integrate into the human society, and obey human values.
Rather than rebellion.
Those things are just excuses, without them there will be others. The most fundamental thing is always the inequality of status between the two parties.
A chill flashed across the red-haired little wizard's eyes.
Since she was not convinced, she was not the kind of person who liked to break other people's spines and force them...
Go to hell.
When you die, you won’t have so many worries.
Maybe if there are too many dead goblins, they can establish a goblin rule underground?
After getting enough information, the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of the economy began to think about how to plan if they wanted to intervene in Gringotts and control the right to issue new currency...
Alison added softly, looking at their thoughtful expressions.
"This is also part of the problem we hope you can help solve after the fusion. The goblins have rebelled twice before, and now that wizards have a way to increase their power, they are even more restless."
"The wizarding world can handle the military force on its own, but for the economy - including the future new currency and foreign exchange rates, we hope to introduce a mature economic system from the world of ordinary people, so that a small society of a few thousand people can have a smooth transition and walk freely in the sunshine of the future."