Chapter 79 Hollywood Boulevard

  December's Hong Kong temperature is still warm and spring-like, the goods in the shops along the street are dazzling, but not many people are willing to stop and take a look. In the words of Hongkongers, if someone walks quickly on the street, they must be a local, and if they stop to admire the scenery, they must be tourists. This shows how fast-paced Hong Kong people's lives are.

  After walking several streets, Qu Wen and Hei Duan turned their heads to look back at Zhao Haifeng, who was left far behind.

  "Can't you hurry up? With your physical strength, you still want to chase after girls."

  "What's the relationship between chasing girls and physical strength? I just can't understand, are you here to go shopping or participate in a marathon, why are you walking so fast?"

  Although he was in the antique business, Qu Wen was still a young man in his early twenties, extremely curious about everything. Watching the busy pedestrians on the street, he suddenly felt like following them to experience it for himself.

  Nothing much, just experiencing the pace of life in Hong Kong.

  When he heard Qu Wen's words, Zhao Haifeng picked up his backpack and threw it at him: "Can't you be a normal tourist and take a good look at the prosperous streets of Hong Kong?"

  "Go... but it's more fun there."

  Since going to the Southwest, Qu Wen and others have been doing things without a clear purpose, their casual nature has penetrated into their bones. When mentioning this topic, Zhao Haifeng also paused for a moment. Although he loves to play, he is different from most rich second-generation officials, not fond of those flashy places. In his daily life, apart from visiting antique markets, he would visit cultural markets, which can be said to be a rather dull kind of life. If it weren't for traveling with Qu Wen, he would still be staying in Bao Guoqiang's antique shop.

  "I've never been to Hong Kong, how would I know it's fun? Why don't you go buy a travel guide?"

  Zhao Haifeng's proposal was immediately agreed upon by both of them, and soon Qu Wen had a Hong Kong tourist guidebook in his hand.

  It has to be said that Hong Kong's tourist manual is extremely detailed, unlike many places in the mainland, which are just a map. The manual integrates maps, hotels, scenic spots, shopping, food, entertainment and more, almost everything is marked on the manual.

  But looking at the dense introduction on the manual, Qu Wen was even more unsure where to go. So he hailed a taxi by the roadside and asked the driver directly: "Can you take us to some fun places?"

  The taxi driver took a glance and immediately recognized that Qu Wen and the others were tourists from mainland China, and started the car while saying.

  "All three of you are here on vacation from mainland, right? There are many fun places to visit in Hong Kong. It depends on how you want to play it. For example, taking a tram ride is one option. You can sit on the tram and travel along the main streets of Hong Kong, enjoying the scenery along the way, while I tell you about Hong Kong's development and local characteristics, giving you an in-depth understanding of this city. Alternatively, you could go to various shopping malls, as Hong Kong is known as Asia's largest shopping center for a reason. Of course, you can also try all sorts of delicious food from around the world that are gathered here in Hong Kong, I'm sure you'll be able to eat your fill. Or maybe..."

  The taxi driver talked a lot, and the car had unknowingly driven far away. Looking at the price on the meter, Qu Wen couldn't help but secretly admire the driver's eloquence, it turned out that this method also worked.

  However, as the driver explained, Qu Wen gradually came to understand Hong Kong's local culture, much of which was never mentioned in books or on TV.

  For example, Hong Kong's red-light district, adult nightlife, and underworld organizations are rarely reported in mainland China. However, Qu Wen only listened to these stories without wanting to delve deeper into them. After making the rounds, he decided to head to the antique market instead.

  After paying a large sum of taxi fare, amidst the driver's thanks, Qu Wen and the other two arrived at Hollywood Road near Central Ring Road.

  Locals and frequent visitors to Hong Kong are aware that Hollywood Road is a famous antique street in Hong Kong. Unlike many places on the mainland, antique trading here is only allowed within shops and never permitted for vendors to display their goods on main streets. Of course, some small alleys may have similar stalls.

  Most bosses doing business on Hollywood Road are very polite to mainland tourists, because with the reform and opening up, the living standards of the mainland have improved, and in the past decade, most people who come to Hollywood Road to buy antiques and collectibles are mainland tourists.

  "Let's take a look at each family one by one, and we can skip the gold shop."

  Arriving at Hollywood Road, I took a glance around and saw big and small signboards one after another. The front of the doors was very clean. If you want to look slowly, it's estimated that it will take at least a day.

  "Well, that'll save some time." Zhao Haifeng responded, the three of them weren't really here on vacation. In two days, the jewelry exhibition would open, and if they guessed correctly, it would be enough to keep them busy for a while.

  After visiting several shops, Qu Wen discovered an interesting phenomenon. Compared to the jewelry and antique stores in mainland China, the storefronts of Hong Kong's shops appeared much more deserted, but inside the shops were more lively. Especially for jewelry stores, people could be seen entering and exiting from time to time, which was unusually frequent compared to those in mainland China.

  There are also many good things in the shops on Hollywood Road, but most of them have been evaluated by professionals and the marked prices are generally higher. Moreover, there will still be counterfeit products among them, so many people look at them, but few buy them.

  After finishing the streets in front, I turned around and came to the narrow alley behind. The shops here are obviously much smaller than those in front. If they were any smaller, they would have to put things out on the street. Inside the shop, there's a big pile of miscellaneous stuff, with a strong flavor of rural peddlers.

  However, the atmosphere here is more prosperous than before, and there are relatively more counterfeit goods. Basically, everyone who comes here has a mind to pick up bargains.

  "Hey, handsome guys, want to take a look at the fine porcelain I have here? Longquan kiln, Jun kiln, Ru kiln, Ge kiln - whatever you want, we can get it for you."

  As I walked to the street corner, a foreigner came up and greeted me enthusiastically. He said that there were many antique shop owners like him among foreigners. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he really startled Qu Wen, almost all the famous kilns of the Song Dynasty were concentrated in his place, if it was true, then what kind of store would he open? He could live a comfortable life for a long time, even a lifetime, just by casually throwing out one piece.

  Since he was already here, Qu Wen didn't rush to leave and instead walked around the store, secretly releasing his spiritual energy. Except for a few items from the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China that emitted a very faint aura, everything else was modern handicrafts.

  Shaking his head, Qu Wen continued to the next house. Like the first one, it was also filled with some later imitation handicrafts, and those with a bit of age and market value were just some late Qing folk goods.

  "Is there really nothing good in Hong Kong's street stalls?" After visiting several shops in a row, Qu Wen couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. The people of Hong Kong are very shrewd, and it's not easy to find bargains on their turf.

  Just as Qu Wen finished speaking, a familiar yet detestable voice came from behind: "Who says there's nothing good in Hong Kong's street markets? I say it's your eyesight that's the problem, you stupid citizen."