1144 Land of Gold (1/2)

Lazart walked towards his family shop a few steps, then stopped and turned around to look, not sure if that cat had understood his words or not.

The cat rose from its squatting position and meowed twice to the side, as if to greet other cats—but there were no other cats nearby.

The cat followed him back to the store, and when he opened the door and turned on the light, the beautiful gold and silver ornaments seemed to make its eyes brighter. Without waiting for him to say anything, it jumped into a chair and looked around with a critical eye.

Hearing the sound of dogs barking from the streets, Lazart wondered: what method could he use to help the Chinese tourists?

He intended to help but did not want to have a head-on confrontation with the local people. After all, many of them were doing business in the Khan el-Khalili market. As part of a minority group, it was better to keep a low profile. Otherwise, it could lead to a hatred for the rich. It was important that for a long time, the wealthier, more accepting Copts were stigmatized by the Egyptians as ”fake, foreign devils.”

The situation in Egypt was calm for the time being, but who knew when the next unrest would happen? Locals who hated the rich might take the opportunity to retaliate.

For the safety of his family, he could only do his best to secretly provide aid.

His gaze landed on the calendar, and he suddenly thought of a method that could work.

It was already June, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. It was about to be Ramadan in Egypt.

Firecrackers were imported from China. The custom of setting off firecrackers had also been influenced by China.

Egyptian people had a tradition of setting off firecrackers at weddings and holidays, and Ramadan was no exception. The time of setting off firecrackers usually began at the time when they started to fast every evening.

Because of frequent terrorist attacks and unrest, the sound of firecrackers was easily confused with the sound of guns, and because of a series of security incidents caused by setting off firecrackers, the government did not encourage them. Still, local people felt that there was no feeling of festivity without firecrackers, so they refused to stop.

Although Ramadan had not officially begun, firecrackers had quietly come onto the market. There were several firecrackers in the Khan el-Khalili market.

Thinking about that, Lazart started to come up with a plan.

There were many people who knew Lazart in the Khan el-Khalili market, so it was inconvenient for him to show his face, and his old feet and legs were not very agile. So he called his son Chris and asked him to run to a farther-away store to buy firecrackers and set them off to attract the local people's attention. Then he called his daughter Kate and let her slip into the crowd and bring out Chinese tourists, taking advantage of the messiness.

His son and daughter were smart and did not need him to give any more instructions. They followed his orders and left.

Lazart himself waited at the shop, and when the sounds of firecrackers began, he began to feel worried, not knowing if this plan would be successful.

Kate was afraid of being recognized by acquaintances, and she covered her face tightly with her headscarf, scared of causing trouble to her shop. She took Zhang Zian and the rest into small streets and made unnecessary turns even though the distance was actually very short, and she made sure that no one was following them before she was at ease and brought them back.

Chris, too, had taken a shortcut to an unfamiliar store to buy firecrackers, and after he set them off, he took the long route back.