Chapter 494 Zuko’s Joke Shop

It was late at night, and snowflakes were falling in Hogsmeade again. The moonlight reflected on the snow, making the night a little brighter.

After leaving the Twilight hut, Ada and the twins walked on the path with one foot deep and one foot shallow. It was not until they turned into the main road of the village that the crunching sound under their feet gradually subsided.

It was getting very late, there were almost no pedestrians on the road, and the shops on both sides had their doors closed. The usually bustling Hogsmeade is about to fall asleep.

Ada and the twins walked all the way to Zuko. The joke shop also closed its doors and closed for rest.

Fred stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Who is it? We're closed!" A young voice came from inside the door panel, it was the clerk here. He would stay in the store at night, which not only saves him the cost of finding a house, but also makes some money for rent.

"It's me, Fred Weasley," said Fred, "and George Weasley."

The young man inside the door panel muttered something and then fell silent. Ada looked at the twins with confusion. They came to discuss the transfer of the store tonight, but they were turned down. How could they talk about it?

George motioned to Ada to be calm and not to rush.

After a while, there was a series of footsteps inside the door, and a middle-aged man asked again: "Who is it? We are closed. If you want to buy anything, come back tomorrow!"

"It's me, Fred Weasley. We talked before," Fred said.

There was a sound of a door latch, and then a door panel was removed, revealing the face of the owner of Zuko's joke shop. He glanced at the twins, and then stared at Ada, who was dressed in bright red behind the twins, for a long time.

"who is she?"

"This is Esmeralda Drizzt, our partner, Mr. Zuko." George said, "Our purpose today is..."

Mr. Joko, who looked to be in his forties, raised his hand to stop George. He said, "Let's talk about it first if you have anything to say. It's very cold outside." As he said that, Mr. Joko removed another door panel and pulled out three doors. Let people into the store.

After all three people entered the store, Mr. Joko closed the door again. He continued: "You came at the right time. If it is a little later, I will go home."

At this time, the young man who had spoken before came out carrying a tray with a pot of hot tea and four cups on it.

"We wanted to come here during the day, but we were afraid of affecting the store's business." Fred said, "So we waited until now, but we didn't expect that we would still disturb your rest."

Ada looked at the twins beside her, and she was a little surprised by the performance of the two brothers tonight.

Mr. Joko walked back from the door, asked the three of them to sit down, and poured tea. Mr. Joko said, "No need to bother me. I quite like you two brothers. How about you join me after graduation?"

After taking the tea cup and thanking him, George said: "Our brothers signed a contract of sale to this lady a long time ago, so your invitation, we are really..."

"Oh!" Mr. Zuko looked at Ada, who had been silent, with interest, "I didn't expect Miss Drizzt to be very discerning!"

"Thank you." Ada said politely and quickly raised her tea cup to drink tea to hide her embarrassment. She has a shrewd eye, but she just believes in the abilities of the twins.

Fred put the tea cup down, looked at Mr. Zuko, and said seriously: "Sir, we took the risk to come here just for this shop. We hope to buy this shop."

Mr. Zuko took a sip of the steaming tea, and after a while he said: "You have a good sense. This store is in Hogsmeade, the only pure wizarding village in the UK, and it is backed by Hogwarts, so there is no need to worry about it." Customers. It is indeed a rare and prosperous shop."

"Yes, sir, the most important thing to us is the location of this store." George said, "That's why our brothers bother you again and again. We really like this store."

A look of pride appeared on Mr. Joko's face. In addition to its superior location, the reason why this joke shop is so popular is also inseparable from Mr. Joko's good management.

"But why does it have to be my store?" Mr. Zuko asked, "There are many stores in Hogsmeade. I think you should have other choices besides here."

Ada also looked at the twins, wondering what their answers would be. In her opinion, in addition to geographical reasons, people and people are also important.

Mr. Zuko has been operating here for a long time and has built a good reputation. Many people know that there is a very good joke shop in Hogsmeade, and foreign tourists come here here.

If they can successfully take over this store, the twins' Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes can be said to have a catapult start, taking advantage of Mr. Zuko's success to get off to a good start.

It's just that it's easy to say, but it doesn't sound good! What's the difference between speaking out and blatant robbery?

"The two of us have been troublemakers since we were little and love playing pranks," Fred said. "The best gift we ever received was products from Zuko's Joke Shop."

"It was given to us by our brother, and we two brothers had feelings for this shop at that time." George continued, "Later, when we came to Hogwarts to go to school, we liked this joke shop even more. "

He told lies with his eyes open. Except for the sentence "I have been a troublemaker since I was a child and loved playing pranks", the rest of the words were all false. Ada didn't even believe a single punctuation mark!

Mr. Joko didn’t believe it either, but he didn’t expose it or continue to ask questions. He said: "I can understand your feelings, but this shop is also my hard work... I'm sorry, Mr. Weasleys."

Hearing this, the twins' eyes darkened. This was not the first time Mr. Zuko rejected them.

Although what they just said was false, the two brothers' feelings for this store are true. It was precisely because of the existence of this joke shop that the twins came up with the idea of ​​​​Magic Wheezes.

Fred and George wanted to keep the store going their way.

"Sir, we sincerely want to run this store." Fred pleaded. "If the price proposed last time does not satisfy you, we can negotiate again."

Ada raised the tea cup again, and while drinking tea, she carefully looked at Mr. Zoko's facial expressions and movements.

Mr. Joko shook his head and said in a deep voice: "To be honest, I have been moved by your sincerity, but it is not a matter of money. I have been running this store for half my life, and it is like my child. "

Fred and George looked at each other, feeling disappointed.

Having said that, it would be difficult for them to negotiate the transfer of this store tonight.

At this time, Ada put down the tea cup and said bluntly: "Mr. Zoko, we know that this store is very important to you, so we can double the price. Or you can offer a price and we will not counter-offer."

Ada never inquired about the twins' business matters, so she didn't know the specific price proposed by the twins, but she had an estimated value in her mind.

Even if this value is doubled, it is still within the acceptable range. It is nothing more than an expansion of operating costs. Unless Joko the Lion opens his mouth and asks for a huge price.

But Ada's words were too direct and not tactful enough, and it seemed to mean using money to pressure people. The twins looked at Ada in surprise, wondering why she suddenly said such a sentence.

Mr. Zuko's face instantly turned foul. Fred quickly stood up and said sorry while pulling Ada out of the store. George stayed in the store to comfort Mr. Zuko, who was shaking with anger.

It wasn't until he pulled Ada outside the store that Fred said: "You're crazy! I've never seen you talk about business like this! What do you mean by casually raising prices? Aren't you throwing money at people?"

Ada gave Fred an angry look and put on the red hood slowly.

She replied: "I just want to help you! Joko is obviously moved, but he just doesn't mean what he says. He thinks the price you offered is too low. In this case, I will give him a price that he cannot refuse to save the back and forth. waste time!"

Fred tapped Ada with his finger, and a thousand words of "wasteful bitch" floated through his mind.

"I told you about this problem a long time ago. You can't spend money arbitrarily. Where is the Ada who tied Nat to the ribs?"

Before Ada could say anything, George shook his head and walked out of the store. Behind him, Zuko closed the door with a bang.

"The talks completely collapsed, and Mr. Joko almost threw tea in my face."

George said as he walked: "Ada, this is not how business is done, it should be discussed. What you did just now humiliated Mr. Joko. Even if he wants to agree now, he is too embarrassed to say it."

"Then I will use gold galleons to build a staircase for him tomorrow!"

Ada said an angry word, and then walked away angrily, and the bright red cloak quickly disappeared on the main road. She was angry with herself for not being helpful, and also angry with herself for being impatient. She really couldn't stand it now when someone was nagging.

"It seems we can only find a solution in Diagon Alley."

"Yes, I'm afraid we can't bear the price that Joko feels."