Chapter 541 Bus

In the early morning, the noise of the alarm clock sounded on time. Nelson turned over and folded the pillow over his head as usual. The noise in his ears weakened a little, but it soon became louder and harsher, disturbing the habitat Flying birds on the billboard outside the window.

Nelson was so noisy that he could no longer sleep late, his brain ached, and he sat up from the bed with a blank expression. The pillow, which had been fixed, was trying to return to its previous state relying on its poor elasticity, and slowly slipped off his neck. He felt as if someone was beating gongs and drums in front of his ears, and he was short of playing some orchestral instruments that could pierce the eardrums.

He followed his memory and slapped the direction of the bedside table, but when his hand fell, it was empty, and his forearm hit the edge of the bed heavily. The pain woke him up immediately. Nelson realized that he was no longer Hogwarts. It wasn't the familiar four-poster bed either, and there was naturally no cabinet for the alarm clock at the head of the bed. He rubbed his forehead, and heard the sound of the alarm clock mixed with the rapid knock on the door and Tom's scolding.

"I'll give you five seconds to get dressed, and then I'm going to break in!" Tom yelled angrily. "Thunderbolt—"

"Okay Tom," Nelson almost teleported from the bed to the door, and saved the poor wooden door before it exploded. He opened the door, with a toothbrush in his mouth, raised his hand, and said hello , "Good morning, are you hungry?"

...

A moment later, Tom appeared on the sofa in the living room with a pair of heavy dark circles under his eyes and a haggard face. He slowly turned his head to look at Nelson, like a bird that just escaped from Azkaban The dementor, looking at Nelson who was standing by the window eating breakfast with a plate, said quietly: "What kind of perverted person must be to make a 6:30 am appointment on the first day after graduating from school?" Alarm clock."

There was a pile of scattered pieces on the coffee table, parts like gongs and drums and a few hands on the dial could be vaguely seen. Under Nelson's repeated obstruction, Tom still firmly found the one that had just reached its full age. alarm clock, and broke it into pieces.

"I thought you'd been used to it after listening to it for seven years." Nelson said without turning his head, his mouth became slurred from chewing bread. He turned his back to Tom and turned his head slightly to avoid Tom. Throwing a piece of gong forcefully, he even pushed open the window with his elbow to prevent the glass from being smashed by the parts. He turned his head, looked at Tom and asked, "Are you sure you don't want breakfast?"

"Later," Tom said drowsily, leaning back on the sofa to take a nap with a bitter face, "wait until you're gone, I feel sick seeing you now."

"I left the food in the kitchen, remember to warm it up before you eat it," Nelson swallowed the last piece of bread, pinched the empty glass of grass juice, and the clear water filled the glass with the strength of his fingertips , He took a big gulp, rinsed his mouth, spit it out into the flower bed outside the window, put down the plate, turned and walked towards the entrance, "Wash the plate for me later, I'll go out."

"Okay, get out of here." Tom had already completely lay flat on the sofa, his legs resting on the armrest, and he was waving his arms weakly. "What are you going to do? Are you going to play the beautiful music of your alarm clock to the citizens of London?"

Nelson stood in front of the door. Under his gaze, the wooden door turned into a dressing mirror that was one person tall. He adjusted his collar and cuffs, put on the leather shoes he polished last night, and tightened his belt. He turned his head and said, "I'm going to the Ministry of Magic to find a job."

"Hope you don't start too early for a job," Tom yawned. "Good luck... no, bad luck."

"Thank you," Nelson put on his overcoat, grabbed the soft felt hat from the coat rack, put it on his head and walked out the door, "I also hope that it will be dinner time as soon as you wake up."

Walking into the garden, the door and the lights are closed behind you. Compared with yesterday when you just came back, everything was decayed. The green grass in the small garden at this moment is even more lush and kissed by the flower buds that grow overnight. In the early morning dew, the sky was dim, and several alchemy puppets wielding small shovels raised their heads from the grass, and saluted Nelson awkwardly.

"Thank you," Nelson nodded at them, "remember to be more symmetrical."

A black and shiny car is parked on the road outside the garden gate. Looking at the fog on the door, it seems that it has been waiting for a long time. The overall round body does not mean much cuteness, but because of its too long body And it looks full of heavy feeling. Even though the sky is already bright, a pair of bulging headlights are still brighter than normal car lights, making the passing residents look sideways.

Nelson tried to identify the model, but because he didn't know much about cars, he finally gave up and could only comment "it's pretty good-looking". He couldn't even tell the brand of the car because the logo on the front of the car had been removed. It was deducted and replaced with a golden M-shaped badge-the logo of the Ministry of Magic.

There was even the abbreviation of the Ministry of Magic and a small line on the rear of the car. He approached the car, and the door opened by itself when he approached. Nelson blinked, and a man in wizard robes was standing He opened the car door for him. This scene looked extremely weird. He suppressed a smile and sat in the back row. The space inside the car was much larger than it looked from the outside, just like a passenger on the Hogwarts Express. Like a cubicle, he sat on a soft sofa and could even straighten his legs. There was a small table board in his hand, and a clean and transparent goblet was placed on it.

"Mr. Williams, you can take what you want to drink. There is an ice bucket under the table."

"Okay, thank you." Nelson opened the hidden drawer under the table, found a bottle of iced butterbeer from it, unscrewed the stopper, and poured it into the glass, "Actually, it doesn't need to be so troublesome, from West City to Magic It's not far away, and I can Apparate there."

"Minister Rich told me specifically to let you feel how you will be treated in the future."

After Nelson sat down firmly, the wizard who opened the door returned to the driver's seat, turned his head and said to him, "Should I go directly to the Ministry of Magic? Or take a stroll in London first."

"Let's take a stroll first. I heard that Minister Rich is going to receive foreign guests today, and he has to deal with yesterday's affairs." Nelson looked out the window. From the outside, the black glass looked like it was not there when viewed from the opposite direction. The scenery on the street can be seen Completely caught in the eye without reservation, he asked curiously, "Does the Ministry of Magic drive to work now?"

"No, sir," the wizard driver shook his head, "Most people don't know how to drive. This car was given by the Magical Congress of the United States a few years ago to thank Minister Rich for helping them tide over the difficulties. We also tried our own Modified Muggle cars, but I don’t know why, they are not as comfortable as Americans, but they frequently break down, but now many wizards who used to make flying tools such as flying carpets or brooms have begun to study this Muggle invention Yes, although it is slower, at least you don’t have to worry about falling from the sky, and you don’t have to be afraid of getting caught in the rain.”

"Oh." Nelson nodded. This wizard had clear logic and a lot of knowledge. He didn't seem to be just a driver, but he didn't ask his name, but said softly, "Take me to see the Ministry of Magic in London." New buildings, I hear there are a lot of places open to Muggles now."

The wizard driver nodded, lightly stepped on the accelerator, the car started slowly, and the scenery outside the window quickly reversed, but the butter beer on the small table did not even startle. It has to be said that in terms of enjoyment, the wizard has already There are too many ahead of Muggles, Nelson recalled his pitiful ride experience, most of the cars of this era are wilder than knight buses, coupled with the original road conditions, it seems to be driving Tanks, or driving tractors, every ride was a memory in his ass.

Soon, the car drove out of the neighborhood where Jonas's house was located, and the church and the Westside Orphanage in the distance flashed outside the window.

"Sir," the wizard driver asked, staring at the rearview mirror, "do you want to go to the commercial street first?"

"Follow your route, the guest does as he pleases."

"I understand," the wizard driver smiled as the scene outside the window receded at a speed of almost an afterimage, "You will soon be a 'lord' too. As a member of the Ministry of Magic, of course we must respect your opinion."

Not long after, the speed of the car slowed down, the scenery on the roadside no longer flashed quickly, and Nelson's ears became noisy. Looking around, there were people on both sides of the road, and it was still early in the morning. Londoners, whose Parisians are lazy, have surrounded the street.

"Sir, this is the Commercial Street of Inclined Side Lane. Muggles like to call it the 'Magic World'." The wizard driver introduced, "The wizarding goods that have passed the inspection are currently circulating here, and some of them are Muggle products. In the beginning, there were only some specialty products such as beverages and food. Although the types of commodities were scarce, Muggles became more and more enthusiastic about them. Wizards in London also liked to come here for consumption. At the earliest, it was the most popular drink among Muggles. It's butterbeer, which sells as much as the Leaky Cauldron in a month every day, and the most popular among wizards is the unlimited Muggle soda, and I have a nephew who likes a strange green drink."

Listening to his introduction, Nelson looked towards the side of the road. This might be the strangest street in the world. One side of the road looked orderly, with English-style buildings of uniform style and size lined up in neat rows. Common goods are also neatly placed in the window—including basic necessities, food, housing, and transportation. It is no different from the commercial streets seen in other places, but just opposite them, the style of the building becomes strange—there are people watching Matchboxes like dilapidated buildings, fat huts like mushrooms, iron boxes like containers, soft rubber houses with eaves pulled up by balloons...

It is not surprising that these buildings are placed in any wizarding settlement, but seeing them in the center of London seems to be very inconsistent, not to mention that they are crowded together, and the painting styles on both sides of the street are extremely fragmented.

"Is it possible to attract so many people with just drinks and snacks?" Nelson asked.

"Of course not, sir. Minister Rich has successively issued more than forty permission orders in the past year since the opening of the commercial street of Inclined Side Lane. In order to encourage wizards to understand Muggles, the behavior of improving Muggle products with magic It can be directly commercialized without a permit, as long as it is practical and safe," the driver of the wizard stopped the car on the most crowded section of the road. On the one hand, he wanted to show Nelson the grand occasion; The long queue has extended to the road, and vehicles are even impassable. He continued as if reciting a manuscript, "According to the statistics of the Department of Commerce and the Muggle Liaison Office, magic daily necessities, magic furniture and magic luxury goods have become London's The new Muggle fad."

The Ministry of Magic's car was parked in the middle of the road. People in line noticed this bus, which is rarely seen on weekdays, and began to discuss. The last time this bus appeared here, it was still carrying Nobby Rich himself to patrol the slopes. On the commercial street in the side alley, the Muggles did not express any malice towards wizards, but moved to both sides of the road because of the blocked traffic.

The wizard driver rolled down the window and poked his head out, indicating that he was just stopping here for a while. Soon, the road was blocked again. Those who lined up cast curious glances at the car, guessing who was sitting inside. people.

"Magic daily necessities and magic furniture mean things like brooms and massage sofas that clean the house by themselves?"

"That's right, sir, the best seller is the Woods brand magic kitchen set," said the wizard driver, "It has been on the market for two months, and tens of thousands of sets have been ordered, and the daily orders have increased. Unabated, according to the report of the Muggle Liaison Office, women in many families are able to go out of the house to work because of the appearance of magical daily necessities. Magic factories employ many such Muggle employees. After all, there is magic, and the production process does not need too much physical labor."

"Hmm..." Nelson nodded, "I understand that, but what is magic luxury?"

"Some such as luminous ornaments, singing clocks, and even some magical animals that have been restricted by harmless magic, they are very popular among Muggles, and the profits of such products are the highest. The new Ministry of Magic Most of the melon trade commodity tax comes from this kind of luxury goods." The wizard driver continued to introduce, "Although the total price is high, the sales volume is much lower than other practical goods. You know, consumption power is a big factor. restrict."

"When wizarding goods are used as a luxury item for Muggles to show off, that's enough of an endorsement."

"Minister Rich also meant that," the wizard driver nodded, "Do you know what the people queuing outside are buying?"

"How would I know?"

"It's Chocolate Frog, Mr. Williams," the wizard driver smiled, "Chocolate Frog is the newest sales king recently, and Muggles are very interested in the information revealed in the chocolate frog picture. Open the door, and the chocolate frogs on the shelves will be snapped up, while other products will be sold out, sir, your chocolate frog cards are hard to find in the second-hand market."

"I don't even have..."

"Sir, a little further ahead is the area where wizards like to shop," the driver of the wizard pressed a small button next to the gear handle, and the car flew up lightly, flying forward over the heads of the crowd blocking the road Go, "You should be interested, what wizards prefer."