#336 - Chapter 336 I hope the old guys still remember me

"That's impressive?!"

Sebastian raised his eyebrows, looking at Grindelwald with a surprised expression.

The handsome old man had gathered quite a complete collection of information about him, even noticing some of his minor actions in Hogsmeade New Town.

This couldn't have been done in just two days.

Those supermarkets selling Muggle goods had indeed been lowering prices, but this spanned months.

The price reductions weren't significant each time, with most people not noticing these small details, except for housewives and househusbands who frequented these supermarkets more often.

Seeing Sebastian's surprised expression, Grindelwald pointed at Dumbledore.

"Albus told me these details; he often buys Coke at those supermarkets and, after noticing the price fluctuations, casually observed other products."

"He discovered that they were all consistently decreasing in price. Albus said that you were subtly seeking benefits for the wizards."

"That's why I asked if you had changed careers to become a philanthropist."

"Sebastian," Dumbledore said with a smile, "I didn't intentionally investigate your New Town; it's just too lively. I was hoping to settle down here after retirement."

"So, I observed things a bit more carefully. I'm also very curious about why you're doing this."

It turned out that Old Dumbledore had discovered it. However, what these two people said wasn't entirely accurate.

In reality, it wasn't that Muggle goods in the supermarkets were decreasing in price, but rather that the basic resources in the magical world had become cheaper.

Under Swan Alchemy's operations, meat, eggs, milk, grain, cloth, and even non-magical items made from these basic resources, were all decreasing in price, such as non-magical food, drinks, and ordinary clothing, etc.

The wizarding world used to be a small, self-sufficient type of society. Although they didn't lack food and drink with the help of magic, the production capacity was ultimately limited.

Compared to the powerful productivity of Muggle industrial society, this production capacity was somewhat insufficient.

When integrated with Muggle society in the future, these basic resources would inevitably experience large-scale price reductions due to the impact of industrial society.

Ordinary wizards would naturally be happy to see this situation, but wizards who made a living by selling these resources couldn't withstand the sudden impact.

Now, by slowly letting these wizards feel the price changes in advance, they would naturally start to change careers and seek other livelihoods.

For example, fully utilizing wizards' magical talents to do more meaningful things.

Sebastian wanted to use this 'boiling frog' method to slowly transform these wizards, and then allow all wizards to enjoy the convenience brought by Muggle industrial society.

Until one day, wizards realized that they could solve the whole family's food and clothing problems with only a small amount of Galleons, everyone would have extra money to make their lives richer and more comfortable.

At that time, wizards would naturally be happy to proactively integrate with Muggle society.

After all, who wouldn't want to live a more comfortable life?

As for the philanthropist label...

There are many countries in this world where food and clothing are cheap and of good quality.

Utilizing the mobility of wizards, it's entirely possible to use the earned pounds to purchase goods in those countries, as there will be profits no matter what.

Sebastian explained his ideas to the two old men as he walked, and they nodded repeatedly as they listened.

"There's a very interesting phenomenon among Muggles called immigration."

"They like to immigrate from one place to another country with higher welfare, and these countries generally have one thing in common: their money is worth more."

"The same working hours, the same work intensity, the same job content, but the money earned is vastly different. The purchasing power of the same amount of money also varies greatly."

"My goal is to turn the British wizarding world, or rather, Hogsmeade New Town, into such a place, and then attract wizards from all over the world to settle down here."

Looking at the Hogsmeade New Town in front of him, Grindelwald praised softly.

"You have ideas! And there is indeed a possibility of realizing them."

"However, there are two problems here. The first is whether wizards will become completely dependent on Muggle products and be controlled by them."

"The second is," Grindelwald said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "If you want to make wizards' money worth more, there's an unavoidable obstacle, and that's the goblins."

"How are you going to solve these two problems?"

As they spoke, the three entered Hogsmeade New Town. The shops on both sides of the street were bustling with activity, and the shop windows were filled with various magical items, attracting the wizards passing by to stop and admire.

There was an even longer queue in front of Swan Alchemy, as everyone wanted to be among the first to experience the newly launched magical mobile phone.

Looking at the crowded people, Sebastian said easily.

"Regarding the first problem, the relationship between wizards and Muggles isn't a one-sided dependence, but a mutual one."

"For example, Muggles greatly need our potions."

"Our main demand is for basic resources like grain and clothing, and many countries sell these resources, so it's impossible for them to control us."

As for the second problem, it can only be said that when the goblins stand in the way of wizards' progress, they have already become the enemies of the wizards.

It's already a ridiculous fact that the wizards' economy is controlled by goblins.

This time, when launching the magical mobile phone, Sebastian intentionally added a mobile payment function to the phone, but the goblins stubbornly refused.

They said that anything related to Galleons was entirely the goblins' business, and wizards had no right to interfere.

This was a bit unbearable.

Putting aside personal grudges, on a larger scale, there are irreconcilable contradictions between wizarding society and goblins.

The goblins are too greedy. They believe that anything they make is owned by the goblins, and wizards are only temporarily using it.

The Sword of Gryffindor belongs to them, and the Galleons also belong to them.

Therefore, they have been working hard to ensure that all wizards' Galleons are stored in Gringotts.

For wizarding society, the best way is to allow Galleons to circulate completely within wizarding society, rather than letting them lie in Gringotts as a pile of useless metal.

Therefore, if wizarding society wants to develop, conflicts between wizards and goblins are inevitable.

Thinking of this, Sebastian said mysteriously to the two old men: "Don't worry about the second problem for now, someone will definitely attack the goblins."

"When the time comes, we'll take advantage of the situation, throw all the blame on that person, and take all the benefits for ourselves."

Hearing Sebastian's words, several prophetic images instantly appeared in Grindelwald's mind.

He smiled slightly and said: "Never mind, when the time is right, you will naturally take the initiative to find me."

"Let's relax now. After relaxing, I'll leave here."

"I hope some of my old buddies still remember me."