Chapter 409 Visiting Zhang Qiu

7 month 16 day.

In the dim light of the evening, Xie Lin stood in front of Zhang Qiu's house, carefully looking at this unique wizard's mansion.

The main body of the house is a typical English country building, with lush ivy climbing on the blue-gray brick walls and dark brown wooden window frames, giving off a rustic feel. But upon closer inspection, some oriental elements quietly emerge in this house: a string of copper wind chimes hangs under the eaves, making crisp sounds when the wind blows; there is an exquisite stone lantern in the courtyard, surrounded by verdant bamboo and several elegant plum blossoms.

The path in front of the house is paved with white gravel on both sides, as if extending a road to tranquility and harmony.

The door slowly opened, and Zhang Qiu stood at the door, wearing a simple sky-blue dress, looking both elegant and friendly.

Seeing Xie Lin coming to visit, she showed an unconcealed surprise on her face and said, "Xie Lin? Why are you coming to my house today?"

"As the leader of the Sleeping Dragon Society, isn't it normal for you to occasionally care about your subordinates' lives outside of school?" Xie Lin smiled slightly, took out an exquisite flying broom from his cloak, along with an exquisite silver-edged admission ticket box, and handed it to her. "This is for you, I hope you like it."

"What is this?" Zhang Qiu's eyes suddenly lit up. She took the broom and ticket box with both hands and looked at them carefully in her hands.

The broom Zhang Qiu is currently using is still the old model "Comet 260" produced by Comet Company. Before the launch of Nimbus 1991 in 2000, that broom was indeed the leader in the flying broom market at the time. Even Draco was once obsessed with it, but Draco and the entire Slytherin team upgraded their brooms to Nimbus 2 in their second year.

The Comet 290 is a new model that just appeared this year. According to the latest edition of the Flying Broom Encyclopedia, the speed of this broom can increase from zero to 11 miles per hour in ten seconds, but only with a tailwind. Compared with the Sweep Stars that was just launched last week, it is indeed slightly inferior.

However, the Comet series of products have never been known for their speed, but rather for their patented "Horton-Cage Braking Spell" technology, which allows Quidditch players to better control their brooms, reducing the possibility of off-field scoring and offside flying.

The flying broom in Zhang Qiu's hand was obviously different from the ones bought outside.

The broom handle was made of dark brown mithril wood with a faint luster on the surface. The handle was also engraved with the emblem of the Tutshill Tornadoes: a winding silver tornado with a shining star in the middle. It was obviously specially customized for the Tornadoes by the Comet Broom Company and could not be bought outside.

Xie Lin coughed lightly, interrupting Zhang Qiu's thoughts as he stroked the broom up and down, and said, "The person who gave me this broom said that this broom is a specially customized version, different from the version sold outside. It seems that an accelerator specially forged by fairies has been secretly added to the tail of the broom. If it is fully activated, its speed can reach 150 miles per hour. Although it is not as fast as the 11 miles of the Firebolt, it is still easy to beat the miles of the -star sweep."

Zhang Qiu immediately opened the silver-rimmed ticket box and saw the ticket inside. He screamed excitedly, "Is this... a VIP ticket?"

"Yes, this is an admission ticket for all Quidditch matches in which the Tornado team participates, and it also provides free VIP seats all year round. Not only can you watch the games up close, but you can also get in close contact with the players and ask for their autographs after the games." Sherin said with a smile, as if he was looking at a little girl who got her favorite toy. Sherin himself was not interested in Quidditch as a sport, so it was difficult for him to understand the feelings of crazy fans who admired the players.

"This... is this true? The Comet 290 with the team emblem? And VIP seats?" Zhang Qiu looked up at Xie Lin, his voice filled with unbelievable surprise, "Xie Lin, you actually spent so much time on this?" "Uh..." Xie Lin said a little embarrassedly, "Actually not really, it was just this morning that I contacted the management of the Tornado team through Professor Horace Slughorn and invested 3000 Galleons in their team, and then they gave me these two things..."

Yes, in this short morning, Sherin was not idle. He went to Tuthill in the west of England to meet with the Tornado management to discuss investment and sponsorship. The Tornado had a glorious past in the early 20th century, winning five league championships and being a strong team, but was gradually replaced by new teams.

Now, the Tornado team is rising again. If they want to maintain this momentum, they need to invest a lot of money in various training equipment, consumables, labor wages, and upgrading flying brooms. Xie Lin's initiative to come is just a timely rain for the team. Both parties are willing to cooperate, so they hit it off. In the end, Xie Lin bought a quarter of the shares of the Tornado team for 3000 Galleons.

As a result, of the top three teams in the Anglo-Irish League, two are owned by Shearing (the other is Puddlemere United, in which Shearing owns one-third of the shares). It is foreseeable that Shearing will have a strong influence in the future of British sports.

"I remember you told me that you have been a loyal supporter of this team since you were six years old, so I thought of giving these two things to you. How about it, do you like it?" What Xie Ling didn't say was that he didn't like flying on a broomstick and watching Quidditch games. These two things were of no use to him and were a waste. It was just right to give them to Zhang Qiu.

"I like it! I like it so much!" Zhang Qiu hugged the broom and the ticket tightly, with a bright smile on her face. She walked closer to Xie Lin, with sincere gratitude in her eyes: "You are so thoughtful, Xie Lin. This gift means a lot to me."

Xie Lin's tone was calm, but with a hint of pride that was difficult to conceal: "As the leader of the Sleeping Dragon Society, I am also very happy to see my most trusted right-hand man happy."

Suddenly, two red clouds appeared on Zhang Qiu's fair face. She quickly stood on tiptoe and kissed Xie Ling on the cheek playfully and decisively. Her movements were brisk and natural, and her face was flushed, but she did not hide her joy at all.

Xie Lin was slightly startled, but then a meaningful smile appeared on his face, and he said softly, "It seems that my gift is to your liking."

Zhang Qiu took a step back, still smiling, but the blush on his face was more obvious: "Not only is it to my liking, it's a real surprise. Now I finally understand why so many girls like you."

"Okay, stop flattering me." Xie Lin put away his smile and said seriously, "Murray and Luna have moved into Greengrass Manor. I'm still a little worried about you here. I'm going abroad in a few days. You have to be careful about everything, okay?"

Zhang Qiu was already overjoyed when she saw Xie Lin did not resist her initiative to kiss her. When she heard Xie Lin's caring words, her heart was filled with a warm feeling of happiness. She whispered, "Well, I will be careful. You should be careful too. I, I will wait for you to come back."

"Well, have a nice night, and goodbye!" Xie Ling turned and left, waving as he walked.

The last ray of sunset gradually faded away, and the weak sunlight hit Xie Lin's departing back, dragging out a long shadow. Zhang Qiu stared at Xie Lin's back infatuatedly, with other thoughts turning in his mind. (End of this chapter)