The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 458 Songjiang Collection (Please subscribe, please bookmark, please vote)
Ryan had been to several wizarding business districts before, including Diagon Alley in the UK and Saga Street in Iceland. But Songjiang Market in China was very different from them.

First of all, it is big. Whether it is Diagon Alley or Saga Street, they are just one or two streets with various shops around. Songjiangji is completely different. It is more like an alternative imitation of the Chenghuang Temple commercial district outside. There is a beautiful pool in the middle and an exquisite nine-curve bridge on it for easy communication. And around the pool are various shops, selling all kinds of things.

"Why does it feel so different from Diagon Alley?" Hermione said, looking at the Chinese wizards on the street. The big difference here does not refer to the large number of people on the street or the oriental-style buildings on both sides of the street, but the style of the entire street is more inclined to the ordinary people's world outside. Whether it is the tiled road surface, the street lights, or the clothes worn by the wizards coming and going. Only the signs on the store doors and the products seen through the glass windows can prove that they are indeed on a wizard's commercial street.

Perhaps because they had been standing at the intersection looking around for a little longer, a young man in a plaid suit came over and said in fluent English, "Hello, how can I help you? I can provide you with tour guide, shopping guide and translation services. It only costs 20 silver coins a day."

"How much if we don't need a translator?" Ryan asked in standard Mandarin. "Can I get a discount if I miss one service? I don't think we need a translator."

"You can speak Mandarin? That's great. The money can't be any less because it's a unified regulation, but I can find the best store for you, and I guarantee you'll have a great time here." said the young man.

"Okay, deal." Ryan took out 20 Sickles and put them in the young man's hand, but the young man took a look and said he couldn't accept the money. "Haven't you exchanged the money here? These foreign currencies can't be used here."

So their first destination was the Tianchao Alchemist Bank. No matter where a financial institution is, its buildings are always magnificent, and Tianchao Alchemist Bank is no exception. Under the guidance of the guide named Li Lei, they walked across the Nine-Curve Bridge and prepared to go to the tallest building across the pond to exchange currency.

As they were walking across the Nine-Curve Bridge, they saw several black shadows emerging from the water and approaching quickly. When those black shadows approached the lake, white traces appeared on the lake surface behind them.

"What is this?" Ryan asked, looking at the dark shadows that were as fast as torpedoes underwater. But he didn't think there would be any danger, because this was one of the largest wizard markets in the Celestial Empire, and he was not Conan. So the probability of encountering danger was not high. Not to mention that the Celestial Empire wizards around him did not react violently.

"Oh, them." Li Lei said after taking a look at the black shadow. "They are mermaids from the East China Sea. There is a passage in this pond leading to the East China Sea. Mermaids often bring some precious seafood and special products from the seabed here to trade. You are lucky today. These special products from the ocean are often sold out in a very short time every time they are put on the market. I personally suggest that you go over and take a look after you withdraw the money. You may find something you like."

"So beautiful! Much better looking than the fishmen in the Black Lake." Just as Li Lei was introducing them to Ryan, Hermione was heard praising them in a low voice. Ryan turned his head and found that the black shadows quickly emerged from the water. As soon as the upper body emerged from the water, the colorful fish tails turned into human feet. Led by a middle-aged female mermaid, the six mermaids, carrying large bags on their backs, walked out along the stone steps submerged in the pool.

These mermaids are indeed much more beautiful than the fishmen in the Black Lake. They look like slightly taller humans, with beautiful features and tall stature. The only difference from humans is that their skin is more tender and fair. At the same time, you can see that they have some colorful scales on their joints and foreheads while wearing short-sleeved shirts and shorts, and their ears are similar to fish fins. However, these racial characteristics do not reduce their appearance, but make them look more beautiful.

"Okay, we're here." Just after crossing the Nine-Curve Bridge, there is a small square with a large flowerbed in the middle. After passing the flowerbed, there is the Tianchao Fangshi Bank building. This is a five-story building, standing out among the surrounding low-rise shops. And next to the vermilion door with gold nails, stood a furry figure.

"Hey, Ryan, look. They're pandas." Hermione shook Ryan's arm excitedly. Standing at the door of the bank as a greeter was a (only?) panda standing upright in a beautiful tuxedo.

"Well, there is a little difference. You can call them panda people." Because Hermione spoke Mandarin, Li Lei explained in a low voice after listening to what Hermione said. "According to our name, they should be called Pixiu. They grew up with the earliest wizards in the Celestial Empire and are also regarded as the most steadfast non-human allies of the wizards in the Celestial Empire. Panda people are kind, loyal and friendly by nature, but one thing you need to remember is that they love wealth very much. Although they will not use any evil means to obtain wealth, when they sell you something later, remember to keep an eye on your wallet, otherwise it is easy to walk out empty-handed with a bunch of so-called financial investment products that are not very useful."

"Well, this is a little different from what I imagined." Ryan thought as he looked at the black and white bear face of the panda man at the bank entrance with a simple smile. "You can't judge a bear by its appearance."

After entering the hall, there is a tall wooden structure hall, and on the roof is an extremely gorgeous painted gold caisson. In addition to the beautiful appearance, Ryan also felt that the caisson was actually a powerful magic circle, and the bead spit out from the dragon's mouth in the middle of the caisson was the center of the circle. There were rows of iron chairs in the hall. After entering the door, the wizards would press a button on a brass machine next to them, and the machine would spit out a piece of paper with Arabic numerals on it. After that, they would wait at the chairs.

Except for the door, the three sides of the hall were all long counters with thick transparent glass. Every few meters, there was a panda sitting behind the counter. Some were weighing gold with a small beam scale, some were identifying gems, and others were there to receive customers who came to handle business.

After getting their numbers, Ryan and his friends quickly lined up in front of the corresponding panda counter. Although the panda man is so big, he speaks in a baby voice and sounds very cute.

But he wasn't so cute when it came to gold coins. After exchanging 500 Galleons, the panda in front of Ryan recommended a financial fund. He declined many times before getting away from the enthusiastic panda.

When he walked out of the bank, Ryan began to look at the currency he had withdrawn. The currency of the Celestial Empire wizards is divided into four types: gold, silver, copper, and bronze. The exchange rate between them is 1:10, which is much more humane than the currency exchange of British wizards. The bronze coin has the lowest value, each of which is equivalent to a dime of ordinary people's currency, while the gold coin with the highest value is equivalent to one hundred yuan.

In order to maintain this ratio, the size of the coins from gold to bronze coins actually increases. The largest bronze coin is as big as a beer bottle cap and is very thin. But the smallest gold coin is only slightly larger than a shirt button. However, regardless of size, these coins are very beautifully minted. There is a shallow square depression in the center of the coin, which should be a commemoration of the ancient round copper coins with square holes. The front side has the word Tongbao written on both sides of the square hole in Jiu Die Zhuan, and the back side has the symbols of the sun and the moon vertically.

The most interesting thing is that wizard currency can be exchanged for RMB in unlimited quantities, but the reverse is strictly limited. In the market outside, only magic-related goods must be exchanged for wizard currency, and many daily necessities can even be paid directly with RMB. This may be because the magic world in China is not as closed as the British magic world.

With a bag of money, Ryan and his friends started their shopping trip. The first stop was the East China Sea boutique owned by the mermaids. Ryan bought a lot of mermaid silk in the store. On the one hand, this kind of textile was indeed exquisite and beautiful, and on the other hand, Ryan found that this kind of textile was actually an alchemical material that could be used to make clothes with magical effects.

After buying it, Ryan asked the merman salesman if he could place a long-term order, because he wanted to buy some raw materials for his store. Unfortunately, the production of these things is somewhat random, and there is no guarantee of fixed supply. So Ryan had to give up this idea with regret.

"Ryan, we are here to travel. Can you put your work aside for a while?" Hermione said unhappily after Ryan finished talking about things. "It's so hard to finally have some time to rest -"

"Sorry, it's my fault." Ryan admitted that it was indeed inappropriate for him to do this now.

They then strolled through the entire Songjiang Market, tasted a variety of delicious snacks, and bought a lot of souvenirs for their friends. At this time, we can see the importance of finding a good guide. With the help of Li Lei, they can buy the best things at the most suitable price. For example, some special magic spices, some wooden signs with seal characters that have a certain degree of damage to evil creatures, and some handicrafts with local characteristics.

It finally took them 20 minutes to get permission to cast the spell locally.

All in all, this was a fruitful day, and it was a good start for Ryan and his friends’ trip to China.

(End of this chapter)