#4 - How to enter Diagon Alley
In the following days, Moon became very busy, shortening his sleeping time under the bridge by another hour so he could carve one more little penguin.
Even with his improved wood carving skills, he could only carve two more small animals than usual each day, which was still far short of three hundred pounds.
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However, when Moon returned to Siling seven days later, a turning point appeared.
......
"Little Moon, the hazelnuts won't be ripe for more than a month, why don't you come home and see us? Your Aunt Daisy nags about it every day..."
The speaker was Moon's uncle, Neil.
As the manager of York Farm, he managed thousands of acres of orchards, including the hazelnut forest, and he arranged for Moon to work here.
"Uncle, after I finish this month, I will go to see Auntie and Sophia."
Moon said, but his carving didn't stop. He was working hard every moment to save money.
Looking at the various wood carvings in the wooden house, Neil curiously looked around.
He recognized some of the carved animals, but not others, but he was sure that his nephew Moon had never seen some of these animals.
Rhinos, lions, tigers......
He had only encountered these animals when he was a young soldier.
"Little Moon, are you hiding something from me?"
Neil looked at his nephew with concern. Moon's father had saved his life on the battlefield, which was why he insisted on taking care of Moon even with his disabled leg.
Moon had many secrets that he didn't tell Uncle Neil, such as being able to see the bars above the heads of spellcasters, and being able to go to that strange world.
At first, he didn't know how to say it. After all, Uncle Neil not only had to take care of his family, but also manage the entire farm, and he would often help and take care of the veterans who had retired from the battlefield.
Neil was too busy, so Moon felt that there was no need to tell these secrets.
Of course, sometimes, in order to relieve the pain in his heart, he would tell Boing Boing the secrets.
But in this world, Boing Boing can't come over.
"Uncle Neil, it's nothing important, I just need some money."
"Need money, huh." Watching Moon carve out the prototype of a monkey in the short time they had been talking, Neil reached into his pocket.
"I happen to have three Federal silver coins here, take them."
Moon didn't take the silver coins. He didn't know how to explain that Federal silver coins were not recognized in the other world.
"Uncle, you saved that money secretly from Aunt Daisy, so keep it. If you really want to help me, help me carve a few of your best wood carvings."
Moon learned his wood carving skills from Neil. He knew that the other party's salary was not high. Compared to silver coins, carving a few more wood carvings might help him more.
"So these wood carvings are for selling? But I haven't seen anyone in town collecting them?"
"Oh, I have an agreement with a traveling merchant. He will come to trade in a few days."
Moon glanced at Neil, who was still looking at the wood carvings, and carefully explained.
"I can tell you that these small animal wood carvings are not worth much. If you want to sell them for a good price, you still need to carve figures."
......
Under Moon's persuasion, Neil used his true skills.
One by one, soldiers riding steeds vividly appeared on the wood.
Each character was carved lifelike, and you could even see the military ranks and ribbons of the various levels of soldiers.
Under the guidance of Uncle Neil, Moon's carving skills gradually increased a lot, but he still couldn't carve the eyes of the characters so vividly.
Neil said that this required long-term observation, and even living with these people for a long time to understand the essence.
Moon felt that he had no chance, because the one who stayed with him the longest at this stage was a black furry long-nosed beast.
It didn't matter that he couldn't carve figures for the time being. Moon had already seen the hope of solving the problem.
He sold the knights carved by Uncle Neil for a good price.
Each for 2 pounds.
This was four times the price of a small animal sculpture.
After placing them at the entrance of the zoo, it didn't take long for them to attract many little boys, and even some adult men would buy several different versions of knight wood carvings at once.
As for the little girls, they still preferred chubby penguins.
......
August 31st, sunny, with a breeze.
This was the last day before Hogwarts started, and it was also the time Moon had saved up 500 pounds.
To be exact, it was 500 pounds and 50 pence, which was the exact number Moon had counted three times last night.
Of course, obtaining this huge sum of money was not without a price. Moon's hands had been cut more than thirty times, and the deepest cuts showed the white bone.
In addition to the cuts, the blisters on the tiger's mouth of his right hand, caused by holding the knife for a long time, had also burst three times.
But these pains didn't matter. Moon had finally obtained the admission ticket to study magic today.
Also, this day was Moon's most ideal shopping time.
According to the experience taught by the most skilled bargainer in Moon's circle, Aunt Daisy once said:
If you want to buy the most suitable yellow-striped fish, you must wait until the fishmongers are about to close their stalls.
In Siling Town, Moon had also used this trick to wipe out the fishmongers in the White Sand Beach area. After coming to London, this trick naturally couldn't be dropped.
Early in the morning, following the parchment instructions left by Professor McGonagall, Moon came to the long-awaited entrance to the magical world.
"The Leaky Cauldron"
Looking at the facade, which was even older than the bridge hole where he lived, Moon doubted whether this was a gathering place for vagrants.
After wandering around the street opposite the bar for a while, when Moon mustered the courage to cross the road, a bald man who looked like a shriveled walnut came out from inside.
A man in a black robe was lying diagonally on his body.
Seeing that the two people on the opposite side had the bars that only magicians had above their heads, Moon finally determined that the dilapidated facade might just be a disguise.
"Need help?"
Moon quickly walked across the road and said to the bald man.
"Oh, no, Valentine is just drunk, like every day, but I have to get him out, after all, there will be new guests soon."
Perhaps it was the fresh air, or perhaps it was the conversation that disturbed the drunk man.
The man named Valentine woke up, and after thanking the bald man, he staggered away on his own.
"Boss, I want to go to Diagon Alley."
Having just heard the drunk man call the other person the bar owner, Moon called out to him when the bald man was about to return to the bar.
"Hmm? Looking at your age, you should be a new wizard who is enrolling in Hogwarts this year. You are really brave to dare to go to Diagon Alley alone."
"Yes, Professor McGonagall is a bit busy, so she left me a guide."
Moon said, taking out a piece of parchment from his coat pocket.
"Professor McGonagall? Indeed, she should be the busiest professor at Hogwarts." The bald man said reminiscently, and then looked at Moon, "Come in, little wizard."
After entering the bar, Moon found that the interior decoration was indeed very old, but the style was very similar to the bars in Siling Town.
"I'm about to open for business, so I can't accompany you, but child, you must know that after buying everything according to Professor McGonagall's requirements, leave immediately, do not enter strange alleys, understand?"
Seeing that Moon was still observing the decoration of the bar, the bald boss shouted.
"Come to the backyard, child!"
"Boss, is Diagon Alley dangerous?"
Moon followed the boss to the backyard, his right hand still touching the slingshot in his pocket.
This was his weapon to deal with the squirrels that stole hazelnuts, and it was also something he could defend himself with.
"It's okay recently. I don't know which guy stole from Gringotts. Batches of Aurors are lurking in Diagon Alley trying to catch the other party, but even so, child, you must remember not to enter strange alleys."
"Okay, thank you, boss."
After receiving Moon's response, the bald boss took out a small wooden stick from his coat and tapped it on the wall a few times.
Then a small hole appeared on the wall, and then the small hole became a bright passage.
"Go, child!"
