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Chapter 10 It's hard to make money (medium)

In the main hall of the Egyptian royal palace in the city of Thebes, among the various powerful families from all walks of life, wandered a foreign traveler wrapped in a turban.

His name is Hassan and he claims to be a merchant who travels around the world, and was originally not qualified to appear in the palace, but because he had saved the lives of his Nile daughter many times before, he was allowed to enter and leave the palace by Princess Carole and King Memphis as a benefactor.

- Although the character of this product is a businessman, the strange thing is that in the plot of "Daughter of the Nile", I basically don't see how this gentleman does business, but instead plays the important role of Kyrol's plug-in: for some reason, this gentleman can always appear suddenly at the most critical moment, without being telepathically with Kyrol. Moreover, he is also one of the few male characters in the plot of "Daughter of the Nile" who does not commit a nymphomaniac for Carol...... Well, can you call him Carol's "confidante"?

Let's take a look at how many great achievements this seemingly lowly "businessman" has made in this world:

His second appearance was in the Assyrian royal palace, where he saved Kairol, who had just swallowed the poisonous flower. Next, when Carol was kidnapped for the second time in Babylon, it was he who secretly transported oil to the Tower of Babel where Kerol was imprisoned, and achieved the great feats of the Nile's daughter to "burn the Tower of Babel". Next, when the group fled to the Devil's Desert, the Hittite spy Luka deliberately pointed in the wrong direction, trying to let Kairol go to the Hittite to throw himself into the net, but it was Hassan who corrected it with experience, so that Kairol finally succeeded in returning to Egypt and reuniting with King Memphis.

Then, not long ago, at the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) Temple, when the pregnant Kairol was forced to fall into the Salt Sea by Queen Isis, so she was seriously injured and miscarried, and was dying, it was the "merchant" Hassan who somehow quietly appeared and saved Kell's life - although Hassan was not very good at gynecological medical problems, the anesthetic he provided at least alleviated the pain of Kell's miscarriage and allowed her to hold out until the rescue team arrived.

Up to now, this powerful Mr. Hassan has saved Carol four times, and most of the crises will appear, which can be called the strongest professional plug-in of this golden little girl - he knows astronomy and geography, has a wide range of contacts, can get anything, can cure diseases, and is proficient in martial arts, and occasionally reciting some lyrical poems, such as: "In the blue eyes of the daughter of the Nile, nothing can be seen...... so Miss Carol can't help but sigh sincerely: "...... Hasan, you are so versatile, what else will you not do besides having children?"

Originally, after the royal fleet arrived at the Thebes palace in Upper Egypt, there should have been the highlight of the scene of Mr. Hassan - that night, King Memphis was unfortunately plotted by his rival in love, and drank poisoned wine at a banquet for guests from all over the world, and almost died. As a result, Mr. Hassan showed his housekeeping skills and offered some precious herbs to save Memphis's life, thus avoiding the death of the king of Egypt and the martyrdom of Kairol......

However, due to the chaotic intrusion of the travelers, this scheduled diplomatic night banquet has not been held until now, so it has disturbed another opportunity for Mr. Hassan to make meritorious contributions. But just by virtue of his previous merits, it was enough to mix like a fish in water in the Egyptian royal palace.

At this moment, he took an Egyptian palace maid who had just hooked up in the past two days, and walked around this crowded department store with great interest, enjoying the unprecedented wonderful pleasure of "shopping in the palace", and crowded around with many dignitaries and dignitaries - because of the exquisite swordsmanship displayed by a certain purple violent royal sister, the booth displaying swords and weapons was now surrounded by water, and Hashan, who was late, couldn't squeeze in for a while

Moreover, Hassan is also worried that even if he buys a large number of steel swords, he may not be allowed to be trafficked out of Egypt in the future.

Therefore, Hassan pragmatically focused on those civilian goods that are not easy to arouse vigilance, and also felt that it was very rewarding.

He first noticed a number of small bowls, cups, plates, and saucers of fine workmanship, each of which seemed to him so colorful and ingenious. Although it is also said to be fired from clay, it is smoother than jade. Some of the patterns adorned the dishes were flowers, fish, clouds, and ears of wheat that he could distinguish, while others were completely incomprehensible to him, such as flying metal birds. But no matter what kind of pattern is decorated on it, the smooth appearance and beautiful pattern still make Hasan and his female companion love it. By comparison, even the finest pottery in the palaces of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon was as crude as sand when placed together.

Then there were some plastic vessels (a word that Hassan had to memorize from the mouth of Princess Carole) that looked as gorgeous and fine as the "porcelain" that preceded them, and were lighter, but not heat-resistant enough to cook food directly over fire. One of the most amazing things is that the shoes made of this "plastic" are as light as straw sandals, but they are stronger than wood, and even if they are stained with rain and mud, they will not be soaked and soaked. Among them were some particularly beautiful plastic shoes, which, despite their soft texture, were incredibly almost completely transparent, making Egyptian court ladies exclaim that they were crystal slippers

Therefore, the Egyptian court maid Nafir, whom Hasan recently hooked up, gritted her teeth and took out a silver ring that she treasured, and exchanged it for the most expensive pair of purple "crystal shoes" from the stall - I have to admit that this is indeed a work of art, except for the sole, the top of the foot and the upper are all carefully carved into layers of flower shapes, dyed in various bright colors, and then covered with a completely transparent substance to keep its surface smooth. Wearing such shoes on your feet, from a distance it looks like stepping into a flower. If it is illuminated by the sun, it is as bright as a rainbow after a rainstorm...... Miss Nafil really likes it so much that she can't even take it off when she sleeps.

Since you have such beautiful new shoes, it is natural to match them with the same gorgeous and good clothes...... It's a pity that this Miss Nafir is just an ordinary palace maid, her status is not high, and she has very little money. In addition to being shy, she could only look at the colorful and brightly colored brocade satin, chintz and chemical fiber cloth on the stall, and salivate with envy - so, this ancient Egyptian court maid Miss Nafir, who lacked discipline, immediately and decisively sold herself to a large sum, took the initiative to act as a shopping guide and tour guide, and had a hot fight with Mr. Hassan who seemed to have a lot of pockets, pestering him to flatter and softly begging, and soon Mr. Hassan who had not tasted meat for many days was fluttering, and made many promises from clothes to accessories to perfumes……

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In the bustling hall, while the men were watching all kinds of swords, axes and weapons with bright eyes, and the women were chattering and selecting cloth and ornaments, the children of the noble officials who came with the adults also found their own fun:

Many small colorful transparent squares, packed in large glass bottles, look as sparkling as gemstones. It contains the sweet taste of various fruits, and the taste of it will make you linger after tasting it - at this time, the first Indians in history to learn to grow sugar cane have just learned to grow sugar cane, and as for the art of sugar making, I don't know if it has been tinkered with. So at the other end of the Eurasian 6, neither the Assyrians, nor the Babylonians, nor the Egyptians, had ever seen such a thing as "sugar", and could only use fruit juice and honey as sweeteners...... Unfortunately, the weather in Egypt was so hot that the travelers didn't dare to put the chocolate out so as not to melt into a lump of paste.

On top of that, what also excites the children is the cylindrical metal cans with some patterns painted on the surface and delicious sweet drinks inside. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of skill to open this kind of metal can, and although the big sister who sells things has demonstrated it many times on the spot, most of the children still don't understand how to get it.

Moreover, when opening this kind of jar, you must not shake it casually, otherwise the drink inside will "poof" and squirt out, pouring people all over their faces... It's just a small thing to get dirty, but it's a shame that so many rare drinks are wasted.

- For children, this is nothing more than a luxury for recreation, but in the eyes of merchants, it is a high-quality goods that can be sold for a huge profit as soon as it changes hands

In the eyes of a professional businessman, in addition to these delicious sugar cubes and sweet drinks that can excite every child, the salt that is laid out here is also an unprecedented high-quality product, and at first glance, it is really as white as snow, as fine as sea sand, and there is almost no impurities. Rao is well-informed with Hashan, and he couldn't help but exclaim: "...... How is this done? How can there be such pure salt in the world?

——Although modern people have long been accustomed to fine white refined salt, this ancient salt is not so fine and white

In ancient times, when the technical conditions were backward, whether in the East or the West, the method of making sea salt in most countries was very simple to put seawater in a large pot and boil, and finally scrape the remaining crystals out of the bottom of the pot, which is sea salt that can be sold on the market.

However, it is obviously impossible to dissolve only sodium chloride in seawater, so this rough sea salt will inevitably be mixed with some other impurities, such as magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, magnesium carbonate, etc., and the taste is also very bitter, plus some dust and wood chips that go into the process of boiling or transportation, etc., there are more impurities mixed in the salt grains - not to mention that there are many profiteers who like to mix sand into salt to cheat money.

Even those produced in natural salt ponds or salt mines, which are purported to be pure mineral salts, contain much less impurities than sea salt. But it can't be like modern refined salt, which looks like snow, and you can't find even a trace of dark spots...... And there is a little yellowing and blackness, which makes modern people lose their appetite at a glance. As for the coarse salt eaten by the poor, it is directly called "black salt", and it is said that the bitterness is stronger than the saltiness

Based on Hassan's experience, it is estimated that if these snowflake-like refined salt can be transported and sold to the Inner 6 region, far from the coast, then it will definitely be sold for a high price equal to that of gold. Even in coastal ports, such salt is at least equivalent to silver.

In addition, there is a thing called a match, which also amazes Mr. Hassan - just a short wooden stick, just rubbing it on the box, can actually ignite an orange flame, which is really convenient, and can be called the best companion of a traveler.

In ancient times, whether it was the East or the West, making a fire was an extremely troublesome thing, and in those martial arts novels, the martial arts masters carried fire folds with them, and the scenes where they could light a bunch of bonfires with a casual flick were obviously overly artistic fabrications by novelists, at least it was a very late age. In fact, when the ancients really needed to light a fire, they could only use a special knife to repeatedly hit the flint stone - a stone with a relatively hard texture that can produce sparks when it is struck violently - so that it bursts out of the spark, burns in the dry velvet, and then ignites the dead leaves and hay, and finally ignites the firewood, so as to light a bonfire...... You don't have to try it, just listen to it and you know how troublesome it is. If you encounter a clumsy guy with clumsy hands and feet, or encounter rainy and humid weather, it is not uncommon to toss for half an hour and still not ignite the fire.

In ancient densely populated villages or towns, lazy housewives often went to the neighbor's house to "borrow a fire". But the problem is that in the sparsely populated ancient world, you can't find a home anywhere to "borrow a fire" - compared to modern matches, which are easy to use, reliable and easy to carry, they are extremely practical in the wild for travelers who often need to travel far and wide.

Therefore, almost as soon as he saw this magical "match", Hasan made up his mind to buy it in large quantities...... Before that, though, he had to deal with Miss Nafir's soft pleas—a sugar daddy Egyptian girl who had accurately touched Hasan's net worth and bottom line, grabbed a roll of Japanese silk, a dyed cotton cloth and a butterfly-shaped aluminum trinket from the stall, and waved to her boyfriend and mobile wallet.

In short, under the coquettishness of his female companion, Mr. Hassan, who had just received a large reward from the king of Egypt, boldly took out a handful of loose silver nuggets and slapped them on the stall. And looking at the small silver nuggets that Hashan took out of his bag, Nan Lixiang, who was sitting behind the stall, also sighed with relief:

“…… Finally, there is another guy who is willing to take gold and silver to pay the bill, Ma Tongsang, Ma Tongsang, hurry up and collect the money here."

“…… Let him wait a while, I'm busy here" Senior Sister Ma Tong, who was standing on the other side of the main hall, replied casually without even looking back, without the slightest sense of "the customer is God", "...... You fools be careful with me, don't break the rope and let this brute escape and run into all the distinguished guests here, or King Memphis will skin you, even if I can spare you."

- At this time, she was directing a group of ** black slaves with big shoulders and round waists, and they worked together to lift a live crocodile tied up and stuff it into the [Automatic Pawn Machine]. And behind the Nile crocodile, which was used to settle the account, was followed by a hippopotamus, a lion, a herd of goats and two elephants......

Well, if a pawnshop in modern China in the 21st century unfortunately receives such a large number of living and aggressive "pawns" one day, then I am afraid that everyone from the store manager to the temporary workers will immediately be hysterical and have a nervous breakdown

However, this was the sad commercial situation of the Egyptians and even the entire Middle Eastern civilization at the beginning of the New Kingdom era of ancient Egypt......