Chapter 224: Chapter 224: The Cat's Secret (Edited)
Tom looked outside at the darkening sky and at the owner, who had the typical appearance of the Nubians, and decided that the shop was the place he was looking for.
"Nubian black tea, please!" As Tom was thinking, the shopkeeper fetched a teapot from somewhere and poured two cups of black tea for Tom and Hermione.
Tom waved his hand and apologized, but the owner laughed, "It's free!"
But Tom kept waving his hand in a gesture of refusal. Sometimes it's not so easy to haggle for someone else's tea.
"Are you sure you don't want some tea? We're all friends, and friends should always offer a cup of tea when they visit."
'When did we become friends?' thought Tom, but he knew he wouldn't accept the offer if it meant being short-handed. Seeing Tom's determination, the owner had no choice but to wave his hand with a hint of regret and place the Anubis statue on the table.
"That statue is too small. I have a bigger one here." He even brought a ladder and attempted to retrieve the merchandise from the top shelf.
Tom's face turned green at the sight. Being too hospitable to a shopkeeper at a tourist attraction is not always a good thing.
The owner brought out an old statue that was approximately forearm-length, covered in dust, but the movement of him holding the statue seemed to startle a creature on the top shelf.
A hairless black cat leaped from the top shelf, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and nearly knocking the shopkeeper off the ladder. In a hurry, the owner swept the pile of items from the top shelf.
As the dust filled the air, Tom noticed what appeared to be a tablet among the swept objects and leaned in, pretending to be concerned about the shopkeeper, while subtly taking a glance at the tablet to make sure it was indeed the fourth piece of the expedition's pattern they were looking for.
"Are you okay?" Tom clung to the shopkeeper's ladder, memorizing the design on the tablet.
"I'm fine," he said while dusting himself off, "It's just a kitten. What harm could a cat do? In Egypt, cats are forgiven for everything they do."
He brought over a small stool, sat on it, and began picking up the merchandise that had fallen to the floor.
Tom realized that he had set aside the intact statue, cleared the two broken ones to a corner, and set aside the tablet along with a cat statue the size of a shoebox.
These two items were completely different from those statues that, at first glance, seemed of poor quality and appeared as relics from the past.
"What is this?" Tom asked, pointing to the tablet and the carving.
"I don't know, it belongs to the old man of the family. Well, we can talk business now." He lifted the statue with long and short arms and pulled out a pink towel, dusting it off, and it was clear that he had no intention of selling either of the two objects. Whether he was pretending or not, Tom couldn't tell.
As he cleaned the statues, his son entered silently and carefully stored the two antiques, cleaning up the broken pieces from the floor.
"My friend, let's sit and talk." He guided Tom and Hermione inside his shop, found a small table to sit at, and brought two chairs for Tom and Hermione.
"A very beautiful statue."
Tom had achieved his goal for the trip and had no desire to continue shopping. All he wanted was to return to Cairo, reunite with Dr. Hunter and the others, and venture into the desert.
But it would be nice to buy a souvenir, so Tom was willing to engage in a conversation with the shopkeeper.
"How much does it cost?"
The shopkeeper paused, by now having cleaned off all the pumice stone from the wooden carving, revealing the dark reddish-brown wood inside. "280 dollars."
Tom: "!!!"
"Dollars?"
"Yes, dollars, not Egyptian pounds."
The price seemed utterly unacceptable to Tom. How dare you ask for $280 for this statue, which was excavated from the backyard last week?
"280 Egyptian pounds." Tom changed the currency unit.
"1,800 Egyptian pounds."
"200 Egyptian pounds."
Both men fell silent.
"What about this?" the shopkeeper pulled out a small book, "800, how about this?"
He simply crossed out a "1."
Seeing how painfully the shopkeeper had lowered the price, Hermione silently put her wallet away. She had almost paid.
Tom continued shaking his head.
"Are you still students? Well then, it's not 200 pounds, it's not 800 pounds, it's 500 pounds, student price."
Tom shook his head, "250 pounds."
"£400!"
Tom: "..."
Shopkeeper: (￣ー￣)
"How much did you say it was then?"
"£250."
"Now look, all of Aswan, there's no more authentic Anubis statue than mine!" The owner was also becoming impatient, "350 pounds, will you buy it?"
"I only have 250 pounds." Tom seemed unafraid to buy or sell, and if they pushed him too hard, he would give those Muggles a hard time.
The owner relented and waved his hand, "Alright, alright, because we're friends." He quickly pulled out a black plastic bag and swiftly placed the statue inside, so quickly that Tom felt like he had overbid.
For Hermione, it was a refreshing change of pace. 1,800 Egyptian pounds down to a hard bargain of 250 pounds. It was a good price, considering some of the stalls where saints had their seals engraved could haggle up to 10%, and she wondered what the folks at Gringotts would think.
Hermione opened her wallet and pulled out three one-hundred-dollar bills.
Shopkeeper: ...
It only cost 250 pounds! You came looking for a fight, didn't you?
But he didn't say anything more. After all, he had just made a profit.
"Are you here as a tourist?" The owner was in a good mood after the wordplay and successful sale, and he chatted with Tom while folding the clothes.
"Actually, we would like to go into the desert to explore." Tom wasn't afraid to speak freely, as expeditions to the Sahara were common in those days.
But the owner was stunned, and his hands stopped moving. He said to Tom seriously, "My friend, I suggest you postpone it for a few days. It's not a good time to venture into the desert."
Tom: ???
"You can't go to the desert these days. To be safe, I suggest you postpone it until August. This is the wisdom of the land passed down to my ancestors."
Tom thought the current owner was telling the truth.
"The arrow is on the bow, I have no choice."
The owner sighed, went into deep thought, and asked his son to bring the cat statue.
Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Riding the Servant of God (Edited)
The old man held the cat statue, took out a piece of white silk from his chest, and carefully rubbed it.
"Do you have to go?"
"We must."
The old man sighed, "Then I can give you two pieces of advice as a gift for the statue you just bought."
"One, hire a trustworthy guide. Two, never drive through the desert."
"You don't drive?" Tom froze, recalling the dream he had before.
"God, I don't like machinery. Camels are the best means of transportation because they are God's servants and will bless you."
"Good thing God doesn't like machines, not creatures," Tom muttered. "I'll remember that, thank you."
The shopkeeper looked at the cat sculpture he held and fell into thought for a moment.
"Take this and return it to me if you come back from the desert." The owner handed the cat statue to Tom. Tom put his hand on it, pulled, but it didn't move.
"One hundred thousand Egyptian pounds as a guarantee. If you come back from the desert, I'll give it back to you." The old man said seriously, "After all, this is my family heirloom, and it's most likely you won't be able to bring it back from this journey."
For a moment, Tom thought it was some kind of new trick, but he instinctively felt that the cunning old man in front of him wasn't joking about this matter.
But one hundred thousand Egyptian pounds wasn't a small sum; it was nearly five thousand pounds. Tom wouldn't be able to get that for a while.
"I'll have to go to the bank..." To withdraw the money, Tom would have to go to the bank and exchange some gold, but of course, if he could get in touch with a local wizard, it would be faster— a few hundred Galleons would be enough.
"It's not necessary." Hermione took out a checkbook and a pen directly from her pocket, signed it with a flourish, and handed a 5,000-pound check to the shopkeeper.
"We will definitely come back."
The shopkeeper kept the check in the cash register drawer.
"Actually, if you could be our guide..."
"No way. Money to take, not life to spend." The old man was very pessimistic about Tom's journey and was unwilling to take on the job.
"Good luck!" He waved Tom and Hermione out of the store.
Only when they had walked a certain distance did Hermione become worried and asked Tom if it was a scam set up by the old man. Tom was speechless; that wasn't the attitude she had when she paid!
"It's because you want to rent it!" Hermione pouted, slightly displeased.
Only then did Tom realize, "Hermione, you just..."
Hermione had just shelled out 5,000 pounds all at once!
"I have an account where I store my future university tuition fees." Hermione felt a little embarrassed. "After Hogwarts, I'll only be eighteen, so I still have a chance to get a degree from a Muggle university...".
Tom: What the hell?
He knew Hermione was rich, but he didn't think she was that rich. In the UK, bachelor's degrees last three years, except in Scotland, where they last four. Unlike on the continental Europe, universities in the UK cost at least £20,000 per year, and some of the most expensive ones, like Oxford and Cambridge, £58,000 per year!
Only with the academic fees for one year, the entire cost of a French student for two years could be covered, including the cost of the return flight home.
This also means that Hermione has at least £60,000 in her account, with a possible maximum limit of £180,000, making her a true human ATM!
Hermione: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
Oh no, I think I've revealed something!
"What are we having for dinner?" She changed the subject.
Tom: "..."
Damn it, don't think I don't know you're trying to change the subject!
"Some Egyptian food, perhaps?"
But Hermione succeeded.
...
When they returned to Cairo,
Dr. Hunter was still not ready to leave. The next morning, Alyosha knocked on Tom's door with Peter, the interpreter, and led him to Dr. Hunter's room.
Upon entering the room, Alyosha opened the door and expressed his intentions.
"By definition, the doctor is the captain of this journey, and I am under Mr. Yodel's complete authority, so I am not in a position to say anything about his expedition or his route. I am just a bodyguard, responsible for ensuring his safety and safely taking you back and forth."
Alyosha said kindly, "In fact, we are no different from the weapons we have in our hands. But after all, we are all living people. I have to be responsible for my own men. I can't let them die in vain... Do you understand?"
Looking at the AK47 on Alyosha's thigh, Dr. Hunter nodded.
"Great," Alyosha felt relieved to see Dr. Hunter's cooperation. "A guide, a reliable guide is necessary under these conditions. Have you chosen a guide already, doctor?"
Hal Hunter shook his head. Of course, he understood the need for a guide. The team had been stranded in Cairo for the past few days, partly because he hadn't been able to find a suitable guide. Hal had decided to try his luck in a village on the edge of the desert after encountering a bunch of braggarts in Cairo.
Alyosha wasn't worried at all that Hunter hadn't found a guide yet. It was actually a good thing for him because the guide Hunter would find wouldn't be able to earn his trust, and there would be boring trials and skirmishes on both sides – too many troubles to use his own side.
It's like working in a group task where you have to look at what your teammates have written. What a heart he must have to send it to the professor without looking at it!
"Peter used to work with the organization in North Africa. He should have a good candidate." Alyosha looked at his colleague.
Peter raised his glasses, "I have a good candidate. We could go to the desert first. I have an informant there who would make a good guide."
After a few more minutes of discussing the details, the decision was made to head to Alhaya, on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where Peter said the informant would be.
The team had a bus loaded with supplies: ammunition, drinking water, food, tents, medicine, fuel...
Alyosha's six-person combat team, Dr. Hunter, and four of his students, a total of twelve people, rolled towards the edge of the world's largest desert.
Alhaya, an Arabic word meaning "life," gets its name because it is a large oasis on the edge of the Sahara. At the edge of this oasis is a small town with nearly 1,000 inhabitants.
The bus entered the town on a bumpy road, and through the windows, they saw a scene of decadence and desolation.
In this small village, Peter found his informant: Yushadu.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment