Pet King

Indeed, as Jack had said, many things in the Khan el-Khalili market had been made in China, but they were absolutely not available in China, probably because there was no market.

The shop window showed a series of plaster statues or reliefs, such as Ramesses II, Tutankhamun, Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and other famous ancient Egyptian pharaohs and queens.

Of course, it was hard to convince people that there was no trace of Cleopatra VII’s face in there. After all, she was no less well-known than any of the others.

In fact, there were several pieces of her plaster statues, all in striking positions in the window.

“Habibi, what do you need?”

A plump shopkeeper with a mustache greeted them with a smile. His eyes paused slightly on Zhang Zian’s hair, and he stared at Fina’s fur with slight surprise.

The meaning of “Habibi” was “dear friends.” Although the tone was very warm, they might stab this friend in the back with their prices.

Gao Ke and the rest, who were walking ahead, found that Zhang Zian had fallen behind and returned to check the situation.

Jack told the shopkeeper, “We want to look at your goods for sale.”

“Welcome, welcome! The goods in our shop are of high quality and low price. It’s perfect to buy them as souvenirs.” The shopkeeper gestured, welcoming them in. “Where are my distinguished guests from?”

“My friends come from China,” Jack said.

“China!” The shopkeeper stared. “Very few customers from China come to our shop. My humble shop is honored by your presence!”

Those words were true. Not many Chinese tourists went to Egypt. Although many people would buy some souvenirs to return, basically no one would buy these ancient leaders’ plaster figures. Most Chinese people were not interested in such things as plaster statues. It also conflicted with standard norms to buy them and put them in their homes. The most suitable place for display would be art classrooms or European castles.

Zhang Zian was a layman. If it had been his decision, he would not have gone into this kind of shop of his own accord. Its style was too elegant.

“Our products are handmade, and the quality is impeccable. Please choose at will.” The shopkeeper was confident. He raised his hand to block He He’s mobile phone, smiled, and said, “Our shop does not allow customers to take photos, and I must ask the guest to put down her mobile phone.”

“Why? It’s not like it’s something rare!” He He was very dissatisfied.

Instead of translating her words, Jack explained to her that when people arrived in Egypt, they had to comply with Egyptian rules. Photographs were not allowed in many parts of Egypt. A while ago, some foreign tourists had been put in a police station for a month after they refused to listen when someone advised them not to randomly take photos.

“Hmph! How meaningless!” He He put down her phone, losing her temper. She pulled on Gao Ke and said, “Elder Brother Gao, let’s go look at other shops.”

Gao Ke and the rest were also not interested in the shop because they didn’t know any of them. Ancient people’s aesthetic outlook had been quite different from that of modern people. These plaster statues had neither handsome men nor beautiful women. They felt uneasy when they looked at them. They did not feel as happy looking at them as the plastic figurines in the houses. At least they would show off their fatness and bestow fortune on them.

But it was not good for them to leave Zhang Zian like that. It would seem that the team was too disunited and would be seen as a joke to outsiders. So Gao Ke coaxed them with a few sentences in a low voice and finally managed to pacify He He so she would stop making noise about leaving.

When they were finally quiet, Zhang Zian pointed to the display cabinet and asked, “Are these the only plaster figures of Cleopatra VII?”

Jack translated his words over.

The shopkeeper was shocked in his heart, but he did not show it. He smiled and said, “This guest has a good eye. These are the plaster figures of Cleopatra VII. I wonder, which one do you like?”

“What? This is Egypt’s Cleopatra?”

When Gao Ke and Xiao Tianyu heard it, they immediately became interested. After all, Egypt was famous for its beautiful queen. They wanted to know exactly what the famous historical beauty had looked like.

He He, who had just been making a fuss about going, was also curious. Out of the psychology of comparison, she wanted to see how beautiful Cleopatra was such that she could overthrow all sentient beings.

In the display window, a row of gypsum works of art lay quietly on the red velvet fabric, elegant and exquisite against the soft light.

The first was not strictly a head or chest image, but an enchase made on gypsum board. The subject of the enchase was a woman wearing a high feather crown, holding a cup-shaped object in her hand. Beside her, there was a little boy. The woman’s face was turned to the side, facial lines smooth, but that was all. There were no distinct personal characteristics. If this was Cleopatra, the boy next to her must be her son with Caesar—Caesarion.

“What! I can’t see what she looks like at all!” He He said what everyone was thinking.

“This is a mural from the temple of Dendera,” the owner said with a smile. “The theme is Cleopatra VII’s sacrifice to the cow goddess, Hathor. So this picture represents the connection between man and god. It has a very deep moral meaning.”

But they didn’t care about the morals at all. They just wanted to know what Cleopatra VII looked like, so they went on looking.

The second was the plaster full-body statue—a woman’s bare body, hands holding a scepter to watch the distance with dignity, crown in the middle, and three fierce cobras standing side by side. Although the woman’s face was three-dimensional, it basically lacked feminine features and looked very fierce. It was not so much a woman as a deified ruler to deter the enemy.

Xiao Tianyu exclaimed, “If this were my wife, I might become sexually apathetic.”

Gao Ke joked, “Sexually apathetic is not a major thing. If this was really your wife, it would be estimated that you will always be in the sage model in the future!”

Zhang Zian was worried that Fina would be angry when it heard their jokes. He looked at it quickly, but strangely, it was not angry and did not even pay too much attention to the statue at all.

The third one was a gypsum enchase. On the round gypsum board was a woman’s profile with a bun. Compared with the other two, this woman was more like a person than a god. She had a high nose, deep eyes, slightly protruding chin, and typical European characteristics. It also conformed to Cleopatra VII’s Greek identity. But the problem was…the face was not really good-looking. It made people wonder, “Is this the true face of Cleopatra?”

“How ugly! This is Egypt’s Cleopatra? It really makes me disappointed!” He He could not help but insult it. “The beauty standards of the ancient people were really so strange?”

Gao Ke and Xiao Tianyu also had a disappointed feeling they could not hide.

Fina’s eyes were frosty, and it showed a wave of intolerable anger.