The old man held the cat statue, took out a piece of white silk from his arms and wiped it carefully.
"Must go?"
"Must go."
The old man sighed, "Then I can give you two suggestions, just treat them as gifts from the sculpture you just made."
"First, hire a reliable guide. Second, never drive into the desert."
"Can't drive?" Tom was stunned for a moment, and he remembered the dream he had before.
"God doesn't like machines. Camels are the best means of transportation, because they are God's servants and they will bless you."
"Fortunately, God doesn't like machines, not living things," Tom muttered, "I will remember it, thank you."
The shop owner looked at the cat sculpture in his hand and thought for a while.
"Take this first, and remember to return it to me if you come back from the desert." The boss handed the cat statue to Tom. Tom put his hand on the sculpture and pulled it, but it didn't pull.
"One hundred thousand Egyptian pounds as a mortgage. If you can come back from the desert, I will pay you back." The old man said seriously, "This is my family heirloom after all. You will probably not be able to bring it back after a narrow escape."
For a moment, Tom thought this was some new type of deception, but he instinctively felt that the cunning old man in front of him was not joking with him on this matter.
But one hundred thousand Egyptian pounds is not a small amount, it is nearly five thousand pounds. Tom really can't get it out for a while.
"I need to go to the bank..." To take out the money, Tom needs to go to the bank to cash out some gold. Of course, if he can contact the local wizard, it will probably be faster. A few hundred galleons will be enough to solve the problem.
.
"No need." Hermione took out a checkbook and a pen from her arms, signed her name in a flash, and wrote a check for 5,000 pounds to the shop owner.
“We will definitely come back.”
The shopkeeper casually put the check into the cashier drawer.
"Actually, if you could be our guide..."
"Impossible. You have the money to take it, but you have no life to spend it." The old man's attitude towards Tom's trip was extremely pessimistic and he was not willing to take the job at all.
"Good luck!" He waved and sent Tom and Hermione out of the shop.
After the two of them walked a certain distance, Hermione became a little worried. She asked Tom if this was a scam set by the old man. Tom was speechless: You didn't have this attitude when you just paid!
"Isn't this because you want to rent it?" Hermione pouted, a little unhappy.
Only then did Tom react, "Hermione, you just..."
Hermione just took out five thousand pounds in one go!
"I have an account that contains my future college tuition fees." Hermione was a little embarrassed. "After I graduate from Hogwarts, I am only eighteen years old. I still have the opportunity to find a Muggle university and get a diploma...
…”
Tom: What the hell?
He knew Hermione was rich, but he didn't expect Hermione to be so rich! In the UK, except for Scotland, which has a four-year undergraduate education system, other regions have a three-year undergraduate education system. Unlike mainland Europe, those in the UK
University tuition fees are at least 20,000 pounds a year, and some majors at Oxford and Cambridge, which have relatively high tuition fees, even cost 58,000 pounds a year!
A British student's tuition fee for one year can cover the entire expenses of a French student for two years - including the air ticket home.
This also means that Hermione has at least 60,000 pounds in her account - the upper limit may reach 180,000 pounds. It is a real humanoid ATM.
Hermione:Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
It’s over, something seems to have been exposed!
"What's for dinner?" She changed the subject.
Tom:……
Damn it, don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to change the subject!
“Egyptian food?”
But Hermione did succeed.
…
When they returned to Cairo, Dr. Hunter was not ready to leave. The next morning, Alyosha knocked on Tom's door with his translator Peter and took him into Dr. Hunter's room.
After entering the room, Alyosha expressed his intention straight to the point.
"Logically speaking, the doctor is the captain of this trip, and I have to completely obey Mr. Yoder, so I am not qualified to comment on how you explore and arrange the route. I am just a bodyguard responsible for ensuring your safety.
Take it there safely and bring it back."
Alyosha said in a gentle tone, "In fact, there is no difference between us and the guns in our hands. But after all, we are all living people. I need to be responsible for my brothers. I can't let them die in vain... You
Do you understand?"
Looking at the AK47 lying across Alyosha's thigh, Dr. Hunter quickly nodded in agreement.
"That's great." Alyosha breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Dr. Hunter's cooperation. "Guide, a reliable guide is necessary in this environment. Doctor, have you chosen a guide?"
Hal Hunter shook his head. Of course he understood the need for a guide. The team had been stranded in Cairo these days. It was also because he had not found a suitable guide. In Cairo, he met a lot of liars who could only talk.
I have decided to try my luck in a village on the edge of the desert.
Alyosha didn't care at all that Hunter hadn't found a guide yet. For him, this was a good thing. Because the guide Hunter found couldn't gain his trust, and the two sides had to conduct boring tests and find out.
——It’s too troublesome. It’s better to just use your own.
Just like working in a team to do group homework, you still have to take a look at what your teammates have written. Send it directly to the teacher without even looking at it. How brave you must be!
"Peter once traveled with the organization in North Africa. He should have a good candidate." Alyosha looked at his colleague.
Peter adjusted his glasses and said, "I do have a good candidate. We can go to the edge of the desert first. I have an informant there who should be a good guide."
The few people discussed the details for a while and then made the decision to head to Arahaya on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where the informant Peter mentioned was there.
The team has prepared a busload of supplies: ammunition, fresh water, food, tents, medicine, fuel...
The six members of the Alyosha combat team, Dr. Hunter and his four students, a total of twelve people, traveled to the edge of the world's largest desert.
Arahaya means "life" in Arabic. Its name is very appropriate because it is a large oasis on the edge of the Sahara Desert. Relying on this oasis, there is a small town with a population of nearly a thousand people.
The bus drove into this town along the bumpy road. Through the car window, there was a scene of decay and desolation.
In this small town, Peter found his informant: Eushadus.