Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

Di, which one do you want to buy? "

"But we're going to take them all, all the ads," Dieteld repeated.

So Lockhart pretended to be surprised: "But at your price... shouldn't you just buy one?"

Dieterd Ollerton was indeed a little impatient - he had just sworn in front of Miss Farley that he would solve the problem quickly, but there were twists and turns in the middle, where did he put his face?

The way in which Lockhart had just elevated his family no doubt played a role - by this method he implied that Ollerton, a family with a long history and a reputation, should not be "petty".

This was the first time for Gemma Farley to see Lockhart's true colors outside of the classroom and the club. Although she couldn't understand it, she could feel that Lockhart was using his own method to bring his negotiating opponent into consideration. to your own rhythm.

The idiot!She glanced at Dieteld.

After half an hour of negotiations, Dieterd Ollerton, who was a bit haggard, accepted the new conditions proposed by Lockhart, and signed the contract on behalf of Sweeping Company.

But Lockhart still seemed to be in good spirits, and the etiquette was not messed up from the beginning to the end. In the end, he invited Mr. Ollerton to drink a glass of whiskey to celebrate, with a look of ease.

Despite unintentionally making many concessions, Ollerton was still very happy in his heart, because as a member of the fourth generation of the family, he finally did something for the family, and Lockhart's asking price did not exceed his bottom line .

What's more, it's all done in someone's presence, which undoubtedly puts him at the top of the pack of pursuers.Chapter [-] Selling Anxiety

After seeing off the guests, the atmosphere in the office seemed much more relaxed, even though there were only Lockhart and Farley here.

Of course, Lockhart would never begrudge his praise at this time.

"Good job, Ms. Farley. Nimbus and Comet are in full swing now. With their sales in Europe, they would never spend so much effort on advertising. It is an excellent choice to choose the slightly weaker Sweeping Company. judge."

"Thank you." Gemma happily accepted the compliment, "Your negotiation skills are also impressive."

Lockhart waved his hand indifferently: "It's nothing, it's just a routine...Comparatively speaking, how to build a new industrial system is more troublesome."

"Industrial system. Is it in Hogsmeade?" Gemma asked sensitively.

"Yeah, I don't know if your family has found out, but our wizarding world is now facing a very serious problem." Lockhart said with a serious face.

Gemma was bluffed by him: "Do you mean Shishi?"

"It's gold, and it's getting less and less." Lockhart didn't make a fool of himself, "Although we still have a lot of gold reserves, they are gradually decreasing in terms of the overall trend, and the flow direction is towards Muggles. side."

When Gemma heard that he was talking about this, she became less worried.

"Although this is indeed a problem, it is not that urgent." She explained, "There are still many gold mines underground, which cannot be found with Muggle technology for the time being. We still have a lot of gold."

Lockhart chuckled, "Did the goblins tell you that?"

Gemma's expression changed, as if she had sensed something from Lockhart's words: "You

white spoon mean?

"The goblins may have found a lot of gold, but they don't have the ability to mine it," Lockhart pointed out. Production capacity, I doubt they can even supply Firebolt parts."

Gemma was a little nervous: "Are you serious? I mean, I know you have a good relationship with Gringotts, but the production process of goblins has always been a mystery..."

"It is precisely because of their good relationship that I know how greedy they are for gold." Lockhart said with emotion, "I am sure that if they had the ability to mine, they would have opened up all these gold mines a long time ago."

Gemma was stunned for a long time when she heard the words, she wasn't sure if she should tell her father and his father's friends about Lockhart's conjectures.

She decided to put the topic aside for now.

"If—I mean if—the goblins don't have enough gold mining power, how do you plan to solve this problem?" she asked.

"I personally think that we should implement a "trade balance policy" against Muggles." Lockhart obviously thought carefully, "No matter how much money wizards buy from Muggles, we should sell back the same amount, otherwise No matter how much gold we have, it will run out one day. "

"What are you going to sell to Muggles?" Gemma was puzzled, "It seems that Muggles don't need magic to live well."

"The human heart is always insatiable, Miss Farley. As a half-Muggle family with many Muggle relatives, no one understands Muggles better than me." Lockhart didn't know modesty at all, "We're wizards, and what we have is worth so much that it would drive the Muggle world crazy."

Although it seemed absurd for a Ministry of Magic clerk to talk to a Ministry of Magic trainee about this kind of issue, neither Lockhart nor Gemma felt that there was anything wrong with it.

, as if they really had the power to deal with this kind of thing.

This is of course because one of them is a child of a pure-blooded family with real power, and the other is a

Lion Pie's new spokesperson, so he's always better than other wizards in this kind of thing.

"The Shrine of the Protagonist

This was the only reason Lockhart came up with after thinking for a long time that would not make the pure-blood family object.

Although some people often compare these pure-blood wizard families to those noble gentlemen in the late feudal period, they are actually somewhat different.

Feudal landlords hoped to restrain the labor force because the manor economy was highly self-sufficient, and these aristocratic lords did not need much money except for buying weapons and dresses. The taxes that farmers were required to pay were often mainly grain taxes, furs, and meat.

For half-blood wizards, pure-blood families have the advantage of heritage, that is, ancient and special magic, family heirlooms and wealth, and use these to control Muggle-born wizards.

The existence of Hogwarts has neutralized this intellectual contradiction, and modern science and technology have provided substitutes for Muggle-born wizards, so the decline of pure-blood families has become an inevitable thing.

Now the only advantages left in their hands are wealth and ancient heritage, and when these are gone, the boundary between them and Muggle wizards will disappear.

Lockhart believes that these people will definitely try to find a way out, and they will definitely be moved by his proposal.

"We can set up a trading company to buy Muggle items, then magically transform them, and then sell them to rich Muggle people at a price dozens or hundreds of times the original price, which is the so-called Intermediary trade'" suggested Lockhart.

Gemma took a breath: "This will cause big trouble, let Muggles use magic

"No, no, no, it's not to let them use magic, but to let some of their rich people enjoy the ordinary items that every wizard can enjoy at a sky-high price." Lockhart changed his words.

"But...they'll tell!" Gemma retorted instinctively.

Of course Lockhart wanted to push back this doubt. If he couldn't even convince a little girl, how could he confuse those pure bloods.

"No, they won't." Lockhart said calmly, "Not only will those rich and respected people not leak secrets, but they will also regard them as the threshold of the 'elite' and voluntarily assist us in keeping secrets. "

Lockhart has seen countless times of this kind of high society threshold trick.

For example, Madoff, the father of financial fraud and Nasdaq, used a very simple method to absorb funds from rich people, that is, secret associations.

Because the interest rate he offered was very high, but not so high as to exceed common sense, rich people flocked to his fund, even when he said, "Don't let outsiders know about my investment channels, Otherwise, the interest rate will be lowered." Not only did the Wall Street tycoons who invested in him not raise any questions, but they all looked proud and took the initiative to help him cover up.

— Time, whether you can invest in Madoff's fund has even become a symbol of "status" in the New York financial circle. If you fail to buy his fund, it means that your net worth is not qualified enough.Therefore, even if these "Xianduoge" people want to invest in Madoff's Ponzi scheme, even if it is for the sake of face.

Because he knows the faces of those "high-class people", Lockhart is sure that if he throws some interesting things in the "high-class society", those who enjoy them will never leak the secrets, and even feel superior Feelings, help the wizards to drive up the prices of these things.

But there are also two problems - first, whether the Muggle upper class can restrain their greed and not try to meddle in controlling the wizarding world.The second is whether those who benefit from the "intermediate trade" can benefit the common people in the wizarding world.

It was precisely because of this previous concern that Lockhart had to bring the pure-blood wizards to the end. First, unify the upper-level consciousness so that the wizards could spontaneously resist the greedy tentacles of the Muggle capitalists, otherwise the rich people over there could use bribes Muggle-born wizarding family way to achieve indirect control.

Even scarier - marrying directly into a family of pure-blood wizards.In that case, a huge and terrifying trust group will be born because of the intermediate trade.

For this reason, Lockhart did not hesitate to sell anxiety and moderately provoke the confrontation between pure blood and Muggle family-born wizards-he repeatedly told Gemma that "your gold is going to be gone" because of this.

There will definitely be bloody conflicts in the process of provoking the confrontation between pure blood and "Mudblood". Compared with Dumbledore's approach as the "White Devil", Lockhart's approach is actually not much better, or even worse. evil, but his final purpose is very noble, even if it includes his own self-interest.

This is the true meaning of "heroes have never been good since ancient times"-the white lotus cannot exist in a politician unless he does nothing.

Pure-blood families have not yet realized that the theory of bloodlines is actually a double-edged sword for their rule, but after they realize the side effects of this thing, the confluence of the superstructure of the wizarding world and the Muggle world will inevitably bring "American Liberalism"-that is, the totalitarian and "free", chaotic, and antagonistic underclass of a minority of capital.

If you look at the political operation of the United States, you will know that it is not liberalism at all, but a kind of self-contradictory pragmatism.

Therefore, Lockhart personally tends to put up the shelf of trade first, and then use Voldemort's chaos to clean up the upper echelons of the wizarding world, and then use various small means to strengthen the role of public power in the wizarding world. One and these little tricks are not

What can be said to Gemma Farley.

The Ministry of Magic must become a real government with real power, not a loose and incompetent wizard's office like it is now.

This wasn't because Lockhart had suddenly become a socialist, but an instinctive reaction from an egoist who didn't want to wait until he became Minister for Magic and the position became a nominal title.

However, whether it is to solve the problem of bloodlines or the backwardness of the wizarding world, the key to unlocking all these must and can only be "intermediate trade", which Lockhart can guarantee.

Gemma Farley felt that what he said made sense, but felt very confused inside, unable to explain why.

In the end, she could only choose to hand over the power of judgment to her father.

"Can you write this down? I'll ask Dad," she asked.

"Of course." Lockhart smiled brighter.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

Lockhart didn't expect the pure-blood family to give him an answer right away, anyway, what he's doing now is just putting a nail in the ground first.

So far, Lockhart's apparent ability, wealth, and connections have been placed in front of almost everyone in the wizarding world. It can be said that as long as he does not die in the future, there will definitely be such a number one figure in the political arena of the wizarding world.

Everyone was curious about what Lockhart was going to do and what his actions would bring to himself and his family. After all, what he had done in the past had brought wealth to many people.

And this sense of expectation was something they had never felt for Fudge before.

People are like this, it’s fine when there is no hope, but once they have expectations, their mood will become flickering, whether it is for Sirius or a business person in the magic world This is true for all of us.

With the addition of Gemma Farley, companies indirectly controlled by pure-blood families began to come to discuss cooperation issues.

Although a little skeptical about Lockhart's plan, which is still mostly on paper, no matter who it is, after washing in the newly built Finnish bath on the edge of the village and watching a movie, their attitude will relax.

This is purely a business reception, the kind that can be paid.

Among the many sponsors, the biggest name is undoubtedly the Fengya wizard clothing store with a branch in Hogsmeade.

It is an international business, not only in Hogsmeade and London, but also in the United States, France, Italy, Australia and Greece.So for an international event like the Triwizard Tournament, it was determined to win from the very beginning.

In Hogsmeade's newly built Finnish bath cabin, which is said to have been driven over from the United States

The business representative of Fengya wizard clothing store and Lockhart met frankly and exchanged opinions.

Facing the sponsorship fee of 5000 Galleons promised by their representative, Lockhart even forgot to bargain for a while, because it was more than he thought at first.

Originally, he wanted to invite the Tuofan clothing store to bid together? But now it seems unnecessary, because the two parties are not on the same level at all.

As for Mrs. Malkin's gown shop... that kind of hand-made tailor shop is better to continue selling her school gowns. It is absolutely impossible for dresses such as golden time, swaying blue light, and psychedelic nebula to appear in Mrs. Malkin's robe shop. of.

"We don't have much time to spend on wrangling." The business representative of the Fengya Wizard Store said to Lockhart with great wealth

However, their sponsorship is not without requirements—in addition to the fact that contestants must wear the costumes provided by their company and enjoy exclusive reporting rights, they also require that during the Triwizard Tournament, Hogwarts should hold at least three public dances , and it was the kind reported by reporters.

This request was somewhat beyond Lockhart's expectations. It can only be said that he is worthy of being a well-known international company. He understood the rules he set so quickly, and also,,, I--

Li turned one against two.

"The Magical Congress of America has done something similar," the representative told Lockhart. "They even require wizards to use the sponsor's goods in order to watch the gemstone on the forehead of the Quidditch long-horned water snake as a decoration."

"Oh, and then?" Lockhart was interested.

The representative made a helpless gesture: "Later, the Magic Capitol Hill was attacked by a group of angry wizards, protesting their policies, and this matter was left behind... What a pity."

Lockhart's mouth dropped open in surprise, "They also... I mean, why?

"Because the horned water snake and the thunderbird are natural enemies, whenever a large number of wizards bring the gem of the horned water snake to watch the game, there will be thunder rolling beside the Quidditch field, followed by a torrential rain." The representative explained.

"I see... I personally agree with your sponsorship terms in principle, but I have to ask my superiors for instructions. As for the promotional efforts, please rest assured that it must be unprecedented." Lockhart assured.

"Then I'll just look forward to it." The representative said with a smile, "What is the 'movie' tonight?" "

"A war comedy co-produced by Britain and France—"Escape from the Tiger's Mouth" (1966)." Lockhart replied without thinking.

"You and the French will also cooperate?" The representative was very surprised.

Lockhart immediately refuted the other party's prejudice: "In fact, there has always been...Merlin blessed Principal Dumbledore, and he is now in France."

After securing several large sponsorship contracts, Lockhart suddenly discovered that the funds required for the competition had already been raised.

Moreover, the funds Lockhart set up according to the standard of four people participating, that is, a small addition of one-third to the series of figures calculated by Mr. Crouch, so in the eyes of others, Lockhart actually The task has been overfulfilled.

The problem that the Ministry of Magic has been worrying about for a long time was solved by himself in two months - Lockhart was triumphant.

However, his work cannot be stopped because of this. The sponsors paid real money, and he had to let them see the effect, so Hogsmeade's major transformation officially opened

Half a month later, the villagers of Hogsmeade finally understood why Lockhart insisted on introducing tap water.

Not to mention that without this thing, there is no way to talk about a beautiful public bath, just

Even if many follow-up constructions do not have this water supply system, they will be stretched when they need water.

For example, Lockhart opened up a piece of land by the lake into a Quidditch-twelve-pin-golf three-purpose court, and planted turf;

The back mountain of Hogwarts was used by Lockhart to build a ski resort because of the snow, which was connected to Hogsmeade with a magic cableway, and a log cabin was built on the mountain;

The movie theater has also accelerated its progress after receiving sufficient funds. Although the villagers still need to watch movies in the open space, a small theater that looks quite impressive from the outside has already seen its prototype.

In addition, the large open space between the back of the village and the Forbidden Forest was also used by Lockhart to build a chic hotel.

Because of the need to save money as much as possible, and because the British fairy tale "Jack and the Pea Vine" has been widely spread around the world, Lockhart suddenly got inspiration and wanted to build a building that "grows" on a large pea vine. room.

So he went to Hogwarts to find Hufflepuff's dean, Professor Sprout.