"I'm sorry, Mr. Fletch... My mistress said she had never heard of this surname. In addition, the mistress also said that she would never do business with inferior wizards like you outside the pure-blood family - so, you three, please come back!"
House elves are always direct in their words, for they are only loyal to their masters. No matter how unpleasant the words of their master are, they will only repeat them truthfully without taking into account the feelings of the listener.
For example, right now, Mundungus felt hurt.
"Dunge, it seems that your face is not even worth a copper nut?" Sirius heard what Elf Rice said and couldn't help but tease Mundungus.
However, even the contempt of "Ms. Higgs" was already obvious to this extent. Sirius, who was talking about leaving just now, now did not mention a word of what he had said.
Obviously, this change in his attitude undoubtedly originated from Lu Ping's previous speech.
Not only that, after mocking Mundungus by the way, Sirius actually went on to say to the house elf Rice:
"Go tell your master that there is a guy named Black standing outside her workshop!"
As soon as Sirius finished speaking, the elf Rice suddenly bent his waist. He pressed his upper body down with all his strength, and the bow was so wide that his curved pointed nose almost touched the dusty ground.
But after seeing this scene, not only Sirius was unmoved, but even Mundungus and Lupine didn't feel the slightest bit strange about it.
Except for those special cases with ancient wizard heritage, the Black family can be said to be one of the oldest pure-blood families in the British wizarding world, and its family tree can even be traced back to the Middle Ages.
When a cruel ancestor of Sirius started a tradition related to house elves, the image of the Black family became extremely high among the servile elves.
And the so-called "family tradition" is that when the house elves who have served the family all their lives are too old to carry the dishes, their heads are cut off and nailed to exquisite carved wooden boards, and then hung on the wall to fill the gap. For decoration.
There is no doubt that this is a rare honor for those house elves who only want to be loyal to their master and family.
"'Black'? Oh! Are you a member of the noble and long-established Black family? Please forgive the humble Rice for being rude just now, Rice..."
"Isn't it rude?" Sirius said with vacant eyes, "Then tell me, where were you rude just now?"
"Because Rice doesn't know that you are a distinguished guest of the Black family... This is Rice's fault, it is Rice's discourtesy..."
Sirius interrupted impatiently:
"anything else?"
"And...and..."
If he was discourteous, it was also the fault of his master, Ms. Higgs. But, as a house elf, how could he say anything wrong with his master
No, Rice didn't even dare to think about it.
"Look, can't you tell me? You want me to—"
"Sirius!"
It was Lupine who interrupted Sirius' verbal pressure on Rice, but he saw him reaching out and pressing the latter's shoulder and said:
"How much time do you have to have trouble with a house elf?"
After stopping Sirius, Lupine turned to the elf Rice and said:
"Why don't you quickly explain the situation to your master? Go ahead..."
After hearing this, Rice hurriedly owed himself several times in a row, mumbling apologies. Then he disappeared from the door of the workshop with a "crack" sound.
"Hmph," Sirius curled his lips and said, "I can't stand these elves who only know how to kowtow to pure blood, as if they can't live without wizards."
"Then if you force him like this, can you make him resist? No, in the end he will just kneel on the ground and beat his head until it bleeds..." Lu Ping said angrily, "Isn't this the same thing as before? Did you tell me yourself?"
"I've been in jail for more than ten years, can't I change my mind?" Sirius hummed, "I don't believe that every house elf is a kowtowing bug."
Lu Ping listened and shook his head helplessly.
"Then let's think more about what we can do to effectively make them change. The method you just used will only be a waste of time."
"That's right! Hehe, you are such a big person, but you are still so childish..."
Hearing Lupine's words, Mundungus, who had just been squeezed by Sirius, couldn't help but take the opportunity to mutter something, but was immediately met with a glare from Sirius.
"you-"
Before Sirius could reply, the door of the workshop in front of the three people was finally opened from the inside, blocking all the words that Sirius was saying.
Immediately, the witch who came out of the workshop frowned.
"When I heard about the Black family, I thought who it was! It turned out to be you, who had been removed from the family name by your mother a long time ago... Why, do you still have the nerve to call yourself Black?"
But I saw that although the witch had a fair and beautiful face, her words were extremely harsh. While sarcastically mocking Sirius, she also glanced at Mundungus and Lupin.
Descendants from pure-blood families basically have a very detailed family education. This made Higgs, while mocking Sirius, also cautiously confirm the identities of other people present, so as not to offend the wrong person by making a mistake.
Of course, regardless of whether she remembered Mundungus, at least she could still recognize Lupin.
After all, when Lupine was hired by Dumbledore as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, it was considered a minor event in the British wizarding world.
Not to mention, Lupine's father was a well-known expert on mysterious phenomena in the magical world during his lifetime.
It's a pity that just because of Lupine's mixed blood, it's impossible for Higgs to see where he went.
After casually looking at Lupine for a few times, her eyes fell on Mundungus. She could tell by the elimination method that this slovenly looking wizard must be the elf Rice. The "old schoolmate" mentioned.
But just when she wanted to belittle Mundungus again, Sirius sarcastically said:
"I don't want this damn surname for a long time, but I am the only one left in the Black family? How about this! If you are willing to give up your surname, maybe I will Are you so happy that I give you the key to the Black family’s vault as a gift?”
At this point, Higgs' originally fair face had turned livid, but she still swallowed involuntarily.
How much is the Black family coffers worth? At least that was the wealth accumulated by a huge family over hundreds of years. Although Sirius was obviously teasing her, it still made people unknowingly frightened.
"Okay," Lupine secretly shook his head in amusement, and then said, "Ms. Higgs, although you said before that you would not do business with wizards other than pure-blood families, I don't think you will refuse a deal. A simple and lucrative deal. Even if Mr. Black was just joking, he is always right to have a lot of Galleons in his hands... "
As he spoke, he took another step forward, spread his hands and said:
"Please forgive me for being presumptuous, but you know better... In today's world, every family has a hard time. I don't think you can have trouble with Jin Jialong, right?"
When it comes to the current situation, a pure-blood family like Higgs is the most embarrassing.
When Maka, a Muggle-born guy, was fighting against Voldemort and Herbo, their families neither had enough background to imitate the low-key wait-and-see attitude of the big families, nor did they have the courage to fall in the opposite direction when Maka showed no signs of decline. The dark wizard's side.
What's even more sad is that they still can't lose face and mix with the "inferior wizards" in their eyes in the past.
Despite Higgs's brightly dressed appearance, his tone is equally domineering. But in fact, even her parents are not living a happy life now, let alone how much inheritance they can leave to her in the future.
Speaking of which, the potion workshop she currently runs is not enough for her to embellish her pureblood surname.
"What deal?"
After hesitating for a moment, Higgs seemed to finally put aside the resistance in his heart.
"Oh, it's a long-term order for healing potions - it's about white essence," Lu Ping said with a smile, "How about we go in and discuss it in detail?"
"White essence?" After hearing this, Higgs' eyes lit up slightly, but he still managed to say, "Hmm... Okay! Please come in..."
Looking at the back of the other party who entered first, Lu Ping turned around slightly and winked at Sirius. When the latter saw this, he nodded slightly.
Originally, they had never thought of ordering a treatment potion of the level of Bai Xian Essence. You know, its market price is quite high.
After exchanging a look with Sirius, Lupine took the lead and followed Higgs' footsteps towards the workshop. Behind him, Sirius and Mundungus, who had been arguing just now, also looked at each other, and then walked through the door together.
However, as soon as he entered, Sirius frowned at the house elves inside.
When he followed Lupine two steps closely and passed through the long table, he couldn't help but mutter to himself in a small voice:
"...This is really an annoying place."
"follow me."
Higgs opened the door at the back of the room, and after saying a few words, he walked into a corridor behind the door.
After Lupine and Sirius entered the corridor one after another, Mundungus, who was walking at the end, glanced at Higgs' potion preparation table without changing his mind, and then hurriedly followed.