Chapter 13 Shopping
Although the specific population of the wizarding world is not very clear, in Wright's impression, the number of freshmen admitted to Hogwarts every year is not very large, so by extrapolation, the total population of the British wizarding world is not very large either. And judging from what Wright saw in Diagon Alley just now, the industrial level of the wizarding world is not very high. Most of the goods sold in most stores are handmade by the store owners themselves, which means that the goods in these stores are most likely produced in the form of handicraft workshops.
The level of producers, who are the main participants in economic activities, is not high, and the number of goods they can provide is also very limited, which to a certain extent restricts the economic development in the wizarding world. Coupled with the confusing currency values and complicated exchanges in the wizarding world, this has reduced the enthusiasm of wizard consumers to participate in economic activities.
If this is coupled with the population restriction factor, then a more intuitive and reliable conclusion can be drawn, that is, the overall economic size of the wizarding world is relatively small.
At the same time, since the promulgation of the International Statute of Secrecy, the wizarding world of various countries has gradually separated from the Muggle world, and the economies of the two parties have been almost completely disconnected for hundreds of years. Since he has never been to other countries, but with these questions asked by Gringotts who came to the UK today, Wright easily concluded that the goblins paid almost no attention to the development of economic theory in the Muggle world.
At least, the goblins have never heard of the word 'arbitrage trade'.
Wright walked out of the hall and stopped at the bronze door of Gringotts. He turned and looked at the sign shining in the sun, and let out a sneer.
During the six years he was in primary school, Wright did not just read British primary school textbooks. After discovering that his memory was greatly enhanced, Wright also read many other books. Otherwise, how could he get a perfect score based only on the contents of primary school textbooks?
If you want to explain it professionally, arbitrage trading refers to the trading behavior of taking advantage of the price difference changes between relevant markets or related electronic contracts to conduct transactions in the opposite direction on the relevant markets or related electronic contracts in order to make profits in the expectation of changes in the price difference. .
Of course, if you want to put it into a simpler explanation, it is to buy silver in the Muggle world, then sell the silver at Gringotts, convert it into Galleons, and then sell it in the Muggle world. Take advantage of the huge difference in the value of gold and silver between the Muggle world and the wizarding world to grab a lot of wealth.
Wright remembered that the median price ratio of gold to silver in the Muggle world was around 50. For investors in the Muggle world, if the ratio of gold to silver is greater than 50, then silver has a further tendency to move toward gold and has more room to rise. For investors, buying silver can earn higher profits.
Anyway, the 1:17 gold to silver ratio in the wizarding world is a very high ratio for the price of silver. If the goblins did not cast protective magic on those gold galleons or had other methods to avoid such losses, then the above mentioned The kind of practice you come across is definitely profitable, and it is very profitable! Wright kept this in mind in case he ran out of money or developed a collecting habit in the future.
After exchanging the gold galleons, Wright began to wander slowly in Diagon Alley. Now that there was no pressure from school and the orphanage, Wright was in a completely free summer life. There was no need to worry about the shopping list. In fact, Wright was already prepared to rent a room in the Leaky Cauldron for more than a month.
If compared with London outside, Diagon Alley can actually be regarded as the center of the British magical economy. The area here is larger than Lite expected. In addition to the well-known ones like Flourish and Blotts Bookstore and Ollivander's Wand Store, there are many other shops here, not including the stalls on the ground.
Wright bought a suitcase at the Wieseek Magic Supplies Store. The suitcase was cast with a traceless expansion spell. The space inside was about seventy-five cubic meters, which is about a five-by-five-by-three square meter. A small room, but this suitcase is still very different from what Wright expected.
First of all, in terms of price, Wright originally thought that the price of this kind of box would not be very high, because in his impression students of the Seamless Stretch Curse could learn it at Hogwarts, but the clerk told him that the production of this kind of box requires a Approved by the Ministry of Magic. In other words, the box made by the wizard himself using the traceless stretching spell is actually illegal...
This regular suitcase cost Wright fifteen gold galleons, but the only good news was that after Wright learned the traceless expansion spell in the future, he could continue to expand the space on it by himself.
Another thing is that the storage function of the box is far from what Wright thought. Wright originally thought that this kind of leather box would be like Doraemon's four-dimensional pocket, where items can be stored at will. As long as you put your hand into the box and your mind moves, the thing you want will jump into your hand. However, in fact, this suitcase is far from what I imagined! When Wright needs to get something, he has to get into the suitcase, find the corresponding item from inside, and then climb out from the ladder...
"What's wrong? Not satisfied?" The clerk in Wieseek's magic supplies store couldn't help but ask when he saw Wright getting in and out of the box with a frown on his face.
"Well, yes, this box is a bit different from what I thought." Wright said bluntly.
"Actually, I also think this is very troublesome." The male clerk shrugged, "But if you are only going to store those inanimate items in the suitcase, it will be much easier after you learn the flying spell. ”
"Besides that, what other methods are there?" Wright asked, "Do you still have that kind of magic item that has been casted with the fetching spell in your store?"
"Then what you need is a deformed lizard bag. This bag is made of deformed lizard skin." The clerk pointed to the silver-green bag next to where Wright just took the suitcase. "That bag is blessed with a retrieval charm. And the expansion spell is undetectable to outsiders, and it will automatically shrink when a stranger approaches, making it difficult for thieves to steal the pocket made of deformed lizard skin.”
"Very good! How much does this bag cost?" Wright's eyes lit up. But the deformed lizard pocket is really ugly. Since the deformed lizard is called a moke, let’s call it a moke bag!
"This bag is very precious!" The clerk's face showed a philistine expression, "It's also fifteen gold galleons each."
"No problem! Give me one." Wright said cheerfully.
After paying another fifteen gold galleons, Wright tied the bag around his waist before walking out of the magic supplies store. However, his next stop was not a wand shop, but Madam Malkin's Robe Shop, a clothing store that was contracted to make Hogwarts school uniforms.
The speed of making clothes in the wizarding world is also very magical. Wright quickly got his own school uniform, including all the clothes including wizard robes, wizard hats, protective gloves and cloaks.
The next stop was the Flourish and Blotts Bookstore next door, and the textbook purchase process went smoothly. Since the textbooks for Hogwarts students rarely change, the clerks at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore will be ready every summer to put all the textbooks needed for each grade in piles.
The next stop is a pot shop, then a drug store, then a sundries store, then a stationery store.
Finally, there's Ollivander's Wand Shop.
