Regarding the causes and trends of the collapse of the Soviet Union, scholars in later generations could analyze them in a seemingly knowledgeable manner.

However, at this point in time, almost no one would believe that this massive red nation would crumble overnight.

Just as that world's most unsuccessful former Soviet intelligence officer commented, "Whoever does not regret the disintegration of the Soviet Union has no conscience; whoever wants to restore the past Soviet Union has no brains."

(Second only to him, the second most unsuccessful intelligence officer was the British James Bond; the exposure rate of the two worldwide was unbelievably high.)

In Erina's opinion, if there really existed a convergence of world lines, then this most serious geopolitical disaster that occurred in 1991 was definitely one of the most unshakable "inevitable" events in human history.

If she could really participate in the great event of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Erina would definitely not choose to go against the tide of the times and try to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union from happening. Essentially, she, like most transmigrators, belonged to the heartless type, with her mind full of thoughts only about how to fleece some bear fur in this great tide.

However, before entering the magical world... or rather, before arriving at Gringotts, Erina had not devoted too much energy to the events surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union.

After all, for Erina, all of this was too far away, and she was too young. Neither exchanging cheap daily necessities for expensive military industrial materials, nor imitating many financial giants to carve up the Soviet national economy, was a realm that a ten-year-old girl in the Scottish Highlands could step into.

However... opportunity arrived so inadvertently.

"If... I want to take out a loan from Gringotts to obtain a certain Muggle currency?"

Erina took a deep breath, trying to suppress the excitement in her heart, and asked the goblin in front of her, feigning calmness.

Want to borrow Muggle currency from Gringotts?

The goblin behind the counter rolled his eyes, revealing a cunning smile. Yet another self-righteous human wizard. As the only wizarding bank in the entire magical world, they had seen too many of these self-proclaimed individuals. Foolish wizards would never know that goblins still had a considerable influence on non-magical currencies.

"Of course, but the fees we charge at Gringotts are not something ordinary people can afford. Alright, little girl, the question-and-answer service to satisfy your curiosity is over. Hurry up and exchange your Galleons and leave!"

The goblin stroked the pointed whiskers on his chin and replied impatiently. For Dumbledore's sake, he considered that he had shown enough patience.

*Snap!*

Without hesitation, Erina pulled out two banknotes from her little bag and slapped them on the wooden table.

"I don't have any Galleons. Here are fifty pounds, which should be roughly equivalent to ten Galleons, right? How many questions can that buy?"

"Oh~~ My dear Miss Caslana, that's enough for you to ask questions all afternoon. Andy Serkis is very happy to answer your questions."

The goblin, who identified himself as Serkis, his eyes lit up, and two slender fingers quickly pinched the banknotes, slowly put them into his pocket, and sat up straight with a smile on his face, making a humble expression of listening attentively.

"That's too much, Serkis! Just answering a few simple questions for a little girl who hasn't even started school yet, and you can collect fees with peace of mind. You won't be able to continue trading with your guests in the long run."

Gariverix, standing behind Erina, exclaimed with considerable dissatisfaction, while inconspicuously retracting his right hand, which had grabbed empty air on the table. Because of his standing position, his hand speed was roughly half a second slower than Serkis's.

"Shut up, Vicks! If you interfere with my transaction with the guest again, I have the right to have the guards throw you out!... Um, Miss Caslana, please continue."

Andy Serkis narrowed his eyes dangerously, tapping the wooden table with his long, pointed nails, threatening with an unkind tone, and then looked at Erina with a smiling face, and said respectfully.

Erina smiled slightly and asked softly.

"So, my question is, if I take out a loan, is there any way to break the annual limit of 50,000 and exchange Muggle currency for Galleons? Or exchange it for other currencies."

"Well..." The goblin Serkis looked embarrassed, hesitatingly stuttering, his right index finger and thumb rubbing slightly.

Truly... realistic and lovely goblins.

*Snap!* Another fifty-pound note was slapped on the table.

Erina shrugged. Compared to complex humans, mercenary goblins were sometimes more in line with her personality.

"Of course, no problem! Although the rules require it, we can help you complete extra exchanges by paying a little commission. After all, Gringotts is not only open to human wizards. Even a *fox spirit* can help you complete the exchange as long as they put their handprint on it." (Note 1: Click to view)

Serkis's attitude became more and more friendly. The look in his eyes was almost the same as when he looked at Galleons. He had never seen such a generous and foolish little witch.

"Oh? Is that so..."

The silver-haired little loli slowly scanned the magnificent central hall of Gringotts. As the goblin in front of her gave an affirmative answer, she felt every cell in her body excited - such a bank that could ignore national restrictions, at this point in time, if operated properly, what a terrible benefit it would explode.

You know, even though the Soviet Union has shown some decline in recent years, as one of the two poles of the non-magical world, the Soviet ruble still has a fairly strong currency value.

If Erina remembered correctly, until the situation took a sharp turn in mid-August, the exchange rate between the US dollar and the ruble was still stable in the range of [1 US dollar: 1.8~2.0 rubles].

However, as the Soviet flag was permanently lowered this Christmas, by the end of 1991 alone, the exchange rate between the US dollar and the ruble would suddenly change to [1 US dollar: 170 rubles].

And then, there was the Russian government's suffocating shock therapy - from January 2, 1992, 90% of consumer goods prices and 80% of means of production prices were liberalized. At the same time, restrictions on income growth were lifted, salaries for public officials were increased by 90%, retirement benefits were increased to 900 rubles per month, and family allowances and unemployment benefits also rose accordingly.

By April, domestic consumer goods prices in Russia had risen 65 times compared to December 1991, which meant that from the perspective of purchasing power, the ruble had depreciated again by 65 times, and after that... (Well, I really feel guilty about using graduation thesis to pad the word count. If you are interested, ask Baidu for the rest.)

In short, putting aside politics and national games, from a financial perspective alone, what shorting stocks and speculating is too weak. The simplest and most brutal way to make profits is only one, borrowing rubles on a large scale, and exchanging the rubles in hand for any non-Soviet currency system, such as US dollars or Galleons.

Then? Then you don't have to do anything, just leisurely drink a cup of red tea at Hogwarts, waiting for the ruble to completely collapse, and then exchange the US dollars or Galleons in your hand for rubles to repay the debt, so you can obtain thousands of times the profit.

(To give a simple example, if you readers borrow 11,700 rubles at this time, it is equivalent to exchanging it for 6,500 US dollars. When the exchange rate collapses to 1 US dollar: 6,500 rubles, you only need to take out a maximum of 3 US dollars to repay all debts, including interest.)

Erina thoughtfully stroked the smooth and fair back of her left hand. Just as Dumbledore said, as long as it was not deliberately stimulated, there was no trace of the Unbreakable Vow left behind.

The two most important things to keep a school going permanently are people and money. In terms of personnel, as long as human society exists, there will never be a shortage of students. And in terms of funds, she seems to have found a road that will be a panacea at least in her lifetime.

As long as these things are resolved, she will only have two vows left to bear. She doesn't want to carry the task of continuing a huge school in her long life.

The only problem is...

Erina glanced at the old wizard standing behind her, listening to her questions with a curious look - at least she had to wait until Dumbledore was not around.

"Anyway, please hurry up and exchange this pocket money for Galleons for me. Time is money, my friend. We still have many important things to do later."

Erina took out a stack of pounds from her small bag and placed it on the counter, slightly emphasizing "we" and "later", while subtly winking at Serkis, signaling him to look at Dumbledore standing behind her.

As for what kind of associations it would produce, for her, it would most likely be a good thing.

The immediate priority now is to end this Diagon Alley purchase as soon as possible and send Dumbledore away.

The time now is July 31, 1991, 9:00 AM.

Erina doesn't have much time left.

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(This chapter is particularly difficult to write. I don't want to copy too many papers. I also don't want to write it too hardcore and unfriendly. All the doubts can be answered one by one in the subsequent plot. I have buried all the foreshadowing before. Of course, if you are not afraid of spoilers, you can also come to my group to play~)

(Seeking recommendation tickets~~~!)

(Another 3000-word quality chapter, in fact, I can split it into two chapters~~嘤嘤嘤~Tangled)