Since the Egyptian government announced the implementation of the floating exchange rate system at the end of 2016, Egypt's inflation rate in 2017 was as high as 34.2%. The Egyptian pound had depreciated rapidly, and the real income level of Egyptian locals had further declined. The low-level civil servants could barely make ends meet, let alone ordinary people.
Egyptians could not be blamed for racking their brains. It was because it was impossible to support a family with a dead salary alone. The side income outside of the basic salary determined their living standards.
The Chinese who had just arrived in Egypt were often not used to the Egyptians always asking for tips. They even asked for tips for directions, because in the eyes of the Egyptians, tips were also an indispensable part of their income.
Even if there was no reason to accept tips, Egyptians would find ways to make excuses. For example, when shopping in a luxury shopping mall in Cairo, if you paid in cash, branded clothes priced at 299 and 298 would be charged 300, and the cashier's unified statement would be that there was no change.
Obviously, the staff of the pyramid scenic spot in front of Zhang Zian was very good at opening up sources of income and saving money. He had come up with a good way to increase income, which was to cash in on the principle of "the county magistrate is not as good as the person in charge" and sell the unopened areas that should have been off-limits to tourists at a high price.
However, he did not dare to do so blatantly when there were many people. He would only wait until the daily limit of 300 tourists was about to run out before jumping out to sell to the few remaining tourists.
And he was quite smart. He did not accept the Egyptian pound, which could depreciate at any time, and directly asked for the hard currency of US dollars.
In fact, as long as they were willing to spend money, the staff of most scenic spots in Egypt and even the police could be accommodated.
Zhang Zian's doubts were suddenly answered. The missing dozen or so tourists must have been generous and paid to enter the unopened area.
So, should he pay or not?
Of course, he had to pay.
This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enter the Great Pyramid. If he could pay some money to enter the unopened area that few people could enter, it would be quite worth it.
In addition, the elfins' expressions were strange. It seemed that something unusual was happening in the side passage, but in front of outsiders, it was not convenient for him to communicate with the elfins, which made him even more curious.
The principle of doing business with Egyptians was to ask for a high price and pay on the spot.
He held up a finger. "One dollar."
The staff was speechless. He had probably never seen a person haggle directly to the floor.
“No！ No！ 5 dollars！ Good value！ No cheaper！”
The employee put on an expression as if his flesh was being cut, and waved his hand, indicating that it couldn't be any cheaper.
How could Zhang Zian be fooled by him? It was a profitable business for him to block the road and collect money. Every business he solicited was pure profit.
“2 dollars and these，or I will leave。”
He took out a few bottles of cooling oil from his pocket and waved them in front of the employees.
“OK！ Deal！”
The employee beamed and agreed.
After pocketing the cooling ointment and two dollars, the employee pointed at the corridor and urged, "No time! Quick in！ Quick out！”
There was not much time left before the closing of the Great Pyramid. The employee was also afraid that his money-making trick would be known by other employees, so he kept urging Zhang Zian to go and come back quickly.
Zhang Zian entered the side passage, and the staff resumed their serious look of guarding the entrance of the passage. In fact, they were just keeping a lookout.
Just like the Forbidden City, since modern archaeologists had entered the pyramids, most of the tunnels and tombs that they had excavated were not open to tourists. People were always curious about the unknown, and the mysterious unopened area in the mysterious pyramid aroused countless people's imagination.
It was a very long passage, and there was only one light at a distance. It seemed that a few of the lights were broken but not repaired, making the passage very dim.
Zhang Zian walked for a while and looked back to see that the employee had not followed. He asked in a low voice, "Did you find anything?"
Old Time Tea's brass eyes were particularly bright. It stared ahead and said, "There seems to be a lot of people in front."
Famous agreed. "I heard it too. They seem to be talking. Their voices are buzzing, but I can't understand what they're saying."
"Quack! At this time, just watch me show my power! "Richard said excitedly.
At least one thing was certain. Zhang Zian did not count wrong. The tourists were not missing, but had entered the long passage like him.
The passage was basically horizontal, or at least he could not detect an obvious slope.
After walking for about 50 meters, even he could hear the buzzing of voices.
No, it didn't seem to be looking for voices. It was more like … praying.
Richard tilted its head in confusion. It could tell that it was chanting the same passage in many different languages.
The end of the passage was connected to another stone chamber. After Zhang Zian stepped in, his eyes suddenly opened up.
He guessed that this was the legendary queen's tomb.
Whether it was the king's tomb or the queen's tomb, it was just people's speculation. The real purpose of building these two stone chambers had not yet been determined.
The king's tomb had a stone coffin, but there was almost nothing left by the ancients in the queen's tomb. The floor was surprisingly rough, as if it had not been completed. The walls and ceiling were built meticulously.
However, it was not empty. More than a dozen tourists of different ages, different skin colors, and different clothes sat cross-legged in the center of the tomb, forming a circle. They held hands with each other and seemed very close.
At the center of the circle, which was the center of the tomb, was a lit candle. The dim yellow flame rose straight up, and the candlelight shone on each of their faces.
Their faces were filled with indescribable joy and smiles. It was a smile that came from the bottom of their hearts, as if they had been freed from all the troubles of the world.
In this stuffy tomb, they seemed to be in heaven.
This strange scene almost made Zhang Zian stop breathing.
These people did not look like ordinary tourists. What were they doing here?
Zhang Zian's sudden entry also disturbed these people. Before he came in, they were chanting some scripture-like sentences in unison. His arrival made their voices stop abruptly, like a recorder that had its power cut off. They all raised their eyes and stared at him.
The breeze caused by his movement blew the candles, causing the candles to tremble slightly. The shadows of these people, which were cast by the candles on the walls of the tomb, also shook, like a group of demons dancing.
He had a hunch that he seemed to have appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The elfins also held their breath and looked at these people in surprise. Pi hid behind his legs, not daring to show its head.
He did not know whether to go forward or retreat. He could not help but feel sorry for the two dollars he had just spent. If he had known this would happen, he would not have come in.
"Kong … Konikiwa?"
In the suffocating silence, he imitated Japanese.
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