A: Anyone who’d like a cup of milk tea?

B: No, thanks. It’s one o’clock and lunch break is over. Back to the salt mines.

Note: This idiom means “back to one’s job or daily work, especially when it is hard or unpleasant.” The term refers to the Russian practice of sending prisoners to work in the salt mines of Siberia. British lexicographer Eric Partridge cited an authority who believes it came from a play called “Siberia,” which was popular in the 1890s. It’s similar to the Chinese saying of “back to brick carrying,” referring to the menial work on a construction site.