When they reached the Ruins of St. Paul's, the two groups, whose purposes were different, bid each other farewell.
Watching Wu Ke and the others head toward the scenic spot, Chu Chen and Zuo Shan—with A Chao on the other side—followed Zhao Qirui, already a regular visitor to Haojing, to the antique shop owned by Dai Ziming's friend.
Strictly speaking, there were not many genuine antique shops in Haojing—fewer than forty at most. Among them, shops selling antique furniture were the most numerous. Their furniture styles bore the characteristics of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and they also sold carved chests, chamber pots, and other pieces of furniture.
However, unless the old furniture was particularly valuable, Chu Chen generally did not buy it. Most of it had been purchased cheaply from rural areas of the mainland, then refurbished here. Chu Chen usually had little interest in such treated antique furniture.
Besides shops specializing in old furniture, there were shops dealing in jade, bronze, pewter, porcelain, coins, stamps, calligraphy, and paintings. Of these, the porcelain business was the most prosperous. Calligraphy and paintings, antique artworks representing the distinctive features of Chinese culture, also sold fairly well.
After taking in the sights along the way, the three of them arrived at the antique shop Dai Ziming had mentioned the previous day.
Once inside, Chu Chen looked around and found that although the shop was not large, its decoration and layout were quite tasteful. As for the items it dealt in, they were miscellaneous antiques.
Chu Chen had only taken a brief look around when an old man who appeared to be the shopkeeper, in his fifties, walked over to them.
In relatively standard Mandarin, the old man asked, "Excuse me, are you Manager Zhao and Teacher Chu?"
The fact that the old