Under the scorching sun, dozens of workers were sweating profusely as they loaded cut limestone blocks onto ox carts.
At this time, it had been five days since His Majesty the Holy Pharaoh returned to the court.
"Well, take these stones back to Cairo!"
"Let's move faster!"
"Hey, come on!"
A sturdy man with a dusty face lifted a stone on his shoulder and shouted to his companions.
"The supervisor said that whoever carries 20 pieces today will receive an extra bag of wheat!"
He was carrying stones, and the scorching sun burned his skin, tanning him.
However, his smile never stopped since he started working.
Not only that, everyone here is getting more and more motivated.
"This is the new policy of Holy Egypt!"
The sturdy man gasped and shouted, sweat rolling down his dark cheeks: "The more you work, the more you get!"
"I moved twenty-five pieces yesterday, and not only did I get double rations, I also got ten copper coins!"
Then he bent down and picked up another stone, grinning to reveal his dusty teeth: "My wife's hands were shaking when she counted the money. Where have we ever seen such a good thing before?"
Upon hearing this, a young worker nearby immediately picked up the stones and moved one more: "I moved 18 stones the day before yesterday, and the supervisor gave me half a bag of sack of wheat!"
"I can't wait to finish my work, get my things and go back to bake bread!"
Hearing this, the sturdy man wiped his sweat and patted his bulging waist bag.
"That's nothing to you!"
"The copper coins I received yesterday are enough to buy my son a new pair of straw sandals. In the past, I would never have earned this much even if I broke my back!"
An old hunchbacked craftsman at the edge suddenly interrupted: "I moved five more pieces yesterday. The supervisor not only gave me wheat, but also a piece of pickled fish..."
At this point, he swallowed his saliva and said, "My old wife said that this is the first time she has eaten fish meat that is not reserved for festivals in the forty years since she married me."
The strong man laughed and picked up another stone: "Everyone, work harder! I want to move thirty stones today! Saint Pharaoh said that as long as you work hard, good days are ahead!"
They were busy with their work, when a tall and thin man next to them wiped his sweat, put down the stone, and joined their conversation.
"Haha, what are you doing!"
"I'm telling you! I moved thirty pieces yesterday and got fifteen coppers!"
"My five little kids can now eat bread with honey for every meal!"
"You didn't see what those five little brats looked like! Haha!"
"We must take this opportunity to earn more money so that we can raise our baby healthily."
When everyone heard his words, no one was jealous and no one expressed any dissatisfaction.
They just laughed and continued with their work.
An older worker carefully stacked the stones and grinned with a missing tooth: "My wife said that what she earned in the past half month can support her in the past half year. Yesterday, she even bought a piece of linen for her little daughter to make a new dress..."
At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice and looked around: "I heard that these are all new rules set by His Majesty the Holy Pharaoh?"
The sturdy man patted his pants, raising a cloud of dust: "Isn't that right?"
"Since His Majesty Saint Pharaoh returned from his victory, wages have increased and food has improved."
"My mother said that this was a gift from His Majesty the Holy Pharaoh, and that I had to kowtow towards the palace every day before going to work."
As they were talking, a young worker came over and said, "Hey? What do you think His Majesty the Holy Pharaoh needs so much stone for?"
"I saw dozens of trucks heading to the market yesterday."
The older worker suddenly changed his expression and spat on the ground: "You stupid boy, you know nothing!"
"Can we guess what His Majesty Saint Pharaoh is thinking?"
"My second uncle works in the palace. He said that some of these stones were transported to build temples, and some were piled up in the city. Even if we knew where the stones were transported to, we would never know..."
At this moment, the strong man suddenly shouted: "Shut up!"
He looked around nervously, making sure no one was looking in their direction. "It is disrespectful to talk about His Majesty the Holy Pharaoh! You will have your tongue cut off!"
As he spoke, he knelt down and kowtowed heavily towards the palace: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, these idiots did not mean it..."
The scene suddenly became quiet.
The tall and thin man also knelt down quickly, took out a rough, hand-carved scarab amulet from his arms and stuck it on his forehead: "Please bless me, Your Majesty the Holy Pharaoh, my children are still relying on my wages to survive..."
The young worker was so frightened that his face turned pale and he kept bowing: "I was wrong! I was wrong! I will go and move five more stones to atone for my sin!"
The supervisor arrived at this time, breaking the solemn atmosphere.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"If you're not working, go to the side and be careful not to get hit by stones."
The workers were shocked and immediately stood up and worked even harder.
The talkative young man was now moving more diligently than anyone else, as if he wanted to wash away his recent offense with sweat.
As the sun sets, the horn sounds, signaling the end of work.
As the workers lined up to receive their wages for the day, their faces were beaming with happiness.
But some people were still whispering about the whereabouts of the stones.
After all, the amount of these stones was huge, enough to build a small pyramid.
Of course, for those workers, this is just some little gossip after work.
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