Kowloon, Mong Kok, Shanghai Street.

Shanghai Street is a street in Yau Tsim Mong District, running through Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok. The street runs from Austin Road in the south to Lai Chi Kok Road in the north, connecting with Nathan Road, Temple Street, Portland Street and Reclamation Street.

As early as 1909, before Nathan Road was developed, Shanghai Street was one of the most prosperous areas in Mong Kok and the whole of Kowloon.

Earlier, it was originally called Chalao Street, and it was named because of the Yau Ma Tei Police Station located on Zhongfang Street behind it, and it was named Chalao Street at that time, because when commuting to work, you can often see uniformed policemen coming home from work, and at a glance, most of them are chalao, so they are called Chalao Street by the locals.

Later, with the war in the mainland, more and more mainlanders fled to Hong Kong, and a number of wealthy businessmen and celebrities from Shanghai gathered here to open many Shanghai gold shops, pawn shops and other businesses, and finally in 1911, it was named Shanghai Street.

Today, in addition to the gold shops, the most prosperous street in Shanghai is the pawnshop.

Including Fok Chung-ming's Kowloon Lodge, there are now a total of eight pawn shops on this not-so-long street.

The pawnbroking business in Hong Kong has been around for almost as soon as the port opened, but before that, it has not been recognized by the British government in Hong Kong.

It was not until 1926 that the British Government of Hong Kong promulgated the pawnbroking legislation, and the first legal pawnshop was set up in 1926 near Sai Wan Shui Street.

After the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong affected the pawnbroking industry in Hong Kong, and many pawnshops closed their doors. It was not until 1945 that after the re-opening of Hong Kong, due to the "extreme shortage of currency" at that time, the Hong Kong government urged the revival of the pawnbroking industry in order to work around the finance, and with the support of the Hong Kong government at that time, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Mortgage Merchants Association was formally established in 1947.

That year, Huo Zongming also came to Hong Kong from Zhongshan, Guangdong Province in the mainland to make a living, and established his first pawnshop on Hong Kong Island.

At the beginning of the establishment of the club, there were only 11 members in Hong Kong, and Fok Zongming was one of them, and now, the total number of members has not increased too much, only more than 90 people, on the one hand, because the pawnshop business is already highly competitive, and I don't want too many people to get involved, and on the other hand, because many pawnshops have long been famous, and it is difficult for outsiders to get involved.

Fok Zongming's new Kowloon Dabao is located on the corner of Shanghai Street.

After Huo Yaowen came to Shanghai Street by car, he followed the house number he got before, walked all the way, and finally saw the four big characters "Kowloon Dazhu" at the end of Shanghai Street at the corner of the street.

In the independent and abrupt old-style low-rise Cantonese building on the corner of the street, a bat-shaped red background and white characters inlaid with gold edges are hung outside the door of the downstairs, and a woodblock screen with "Kowloon Da Zhu" written on the high level of Qi people inside the door blocks the curious sight of passers-by outside the pawn trading site.

Huo Yaowen walked straight in, passed through the screen, and found that the space inside was not very large, except for a small place to stand, and in front was a row of tall and solemn large counters with window frames.

There was an old man standing at the counter, dressed in Tang costume, with an indifferent face, and after he saw Huo Yaowen, he said coldly: "Pretty boy, what do you want to pawn?"

"May I ask, is Huo Zongming here?" Huo Yaowen saw that his grandfather was not there, so he opened his mouth and asked.

"You're looking for our boss to do it?" the old man frowned.

Huo Yaowen replied: "Oh, he is my grandfather, come and see him today." ”

Hearing Huo Yaowen say this, the old man glanced at the other party suspiciously and said, "Wait a minute, I'll ask." ”

Before turning to leave the counter, he suddenly thought of something, turned around and asked, "What's your name?"

"Huo Yaowen. ”

As soon as he heard the words Huo Yaowen, the old man affirmed what he said just now, after all, the surname Huo is also Yaozi, and he must be the grandson of his own boss.

But you still have to ask.

No, when the old man went to the backyard and told the boss who was sitting at the coffee table drinking tea that there was a person named Huo Yaowen outside looking for him, Huo Zongming hurriedly got up and ran out.

After seeing Huo Yaowen, he smiled and said, "Yaowen, why did you come here alone?

"Hello grandpa. ”

Huo Yaowen shouted politely, glanced at his watch, and replied: "I took the ferry directly from Hong Kong Island and didn't go home, but I think they should be there soon." ”

Huo Zongming opened the small folding door in the corner of the counter and said, "Hehe, okay, come in and say, come in and say, your grandmother and your aunt have already prepared meals at home, and you can go home to eat directly as soon as you arrive." ”

After Huo Yaowen got into the narrow doorway, he found that the space inside was quite large, in addition to the pilgrimage seats waiting in the counter, there was also a huge table, and a cabinet shaped like a safe.

Perhaps it was because Huo Yaowen had been looking at the situation in the counter, Huo Zongming said with a smile: "This long table is specially used to collect pawn items from guests, and generally things that are not very valuable will be placed here, and before closing at night, they will be stored in the warehouse in the backyard, as for this cabinet is a safe, which was bought by your uncle some time ago, saying that it is very safe, if you don't have a key, you can't open it even if you take a saw, and it is more than 100 catties, and ordinary people can't drag it away for a while." ”

"Someone else steals the pawnshop?" Huo Yaowen raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, how could it not be. ”

Huo Zongming sighed: "Last year, I was in the Zhongshan Dazhu store on Hong Kong Island, and there was a group of people who stole it, fortunately, there were not many goods stored in the house at that time, and there was not much loss, but the cash in it was all touched. ”

In fact, there are people guarding the pawn shop at night, but last year there was a curfew, and the door could only be closed at night, which was not taken by a group of thieves and stole some gold and silver jewelry and a lot of money.

"Boss, boss!"

At this time, a middle-aged man suddenly walked in a hurry outside.

When the old man in Tang costume on the side saw it, he hurriedly walked to the counter and said with a straight face: "What are you pawning?"

"Are you collecting machinery?" the middle-aged man asked anxiously.

"Mechanical?"

The old man in Tang costume was stunned for a moment and asked, "What machinery?"

The middle-aged man replied, "It's the printing press of the publishing house." ”

Printing press!!

As soon as he heard the printing press, Huo Yaowen's eyes lit up, and his eyes stared straight at the middle-aged man.

"Receive. The old man in Tang costume nodded, took out the account book, picked up the brush next to him, and said, "What brand is it? How many years have you used it?"

"It's RB's Komori brand, it took almost two years, all of them are seventy percent new, and it cost me 140,000 yuan to buy two printing presses at that time, and I want to be 100,000. ”

The middle-aged man deliberately emphasized the price he bought at the beginning.

"You have to look at the style. The old man in Tang costume did not directly answer how much money the middle-aged man should have, but said to the other party: "You should understand the rules of the escort." ”

"Understood, nine out of thirteen!"

"It's okay to understand, you tell me the address, I'll register, and I'll arrange someone to go to your place later." ”

"Can that be a hundred thousand?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know, we have to see the completeness and newness of your printing press, and whether you want to die or live, the price is different, we have to arrange someone to go and see it. ”

The middle-aged man said urgently: "Can you hurry up?"

"Okay, don't worry, you're not a small object, and the price of the pawn is high, so naturally you have to be careful. After registering the address of the middle-aged man in a hurry, the old man in Tang costume said: "No. 721 Goo Lung Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Shengbang Publishing House, right?"

"Yes, please tell someone to come and look at the object. ”

"Well, you go back and wait first, and I'll notify someone to come over. The old man in Tang costume waved his hand.

Although the middle-aged man was anxious, he also knew some pawn shop rules, and walked out sadly.

After the others left, the old man in Tang costume said a few words to Huo Zongming, and then made a phone call to a person who was familiar with machinery and equipment, and informed the person to inspect the goods.

Immediately, Huo Zongming took Huo Yaowen back to the inner courtyard.

After the two sat down, Huo Zongming poured him a cup of tea, and then asked, "Yaowen has something on his mind?"

Huo Zongming has been engaged in a pawnshop for more than 20 years, and he has long been a good person, just now he noticed that Huo Yaowen was a little wrong, and there were no outsiders at this time, so he asked one by one: "I see that you just heard the printing press, it seems that there is something on your mind, is there something on your mind?"

Huo Yaowen thought for a while and said, "Well, recently I was planning to set up a publishing house, and I happened to be worried about the printing equipment. ”

Hearing this, Huo Zongming frowned and said, "Yaowen, you want to open a publishing house, aren't you a teacher at the University of Hong Kong?"

"Hmm. Huo Yaowen nodded and said, "I want to open a publishing house and cooperate with the school to publish textbooks." ”

"The University of Hong Kong?"

"Yes. ”

Huo Zongming pondered for a few seconds and said: "I don't know much about publishing houses, but this year, there are a few people who pawn printing presses and other mechanical equipment, and I think the publishing industry should not be very good now." ”

"It's not easy to do, but it's man-made. ”

Huo Yaowen chuckled, although he said that he wanted to set up a publishing house at first, but in the past few days, he has investigated the situation of major publishing houses in Hong Kong.

Today, the most famous ones are Joint Publishing House, Chung Hwa Book Company Hong Kong Branch, Commercial Printing House, Zhonghe Publishing House, Oxford University Press, and Ming River Society, a subsidiary of Ming Pao.

Most of these publishing houses and publishing companies are famous on Hong Kong Island for printing all kinds of miscellaneous books and academic books, but so far there is no book company specializing in the publication of educational books.

In Huo Yaowen's view, this is not an opportunity.

After all, with the implementation of the six-year free compulsory education law in Hong Kong in the next two years, there will be more and more children and young people going to school on Hong Kong Island.

In addition, Hong Kong's economy will gradually rise in the future, and its influence will cover the entire area of the Chinese region in Southeast Asia, and the book market will be promising.

It would be wise to set up a publishing house early now to open up fame and sales channels.

"Well, that's a good point, it's man-made!!"

Huo Zongming likes Huo Yaowen's man-made momentum very much, after all, how can there be a 100% profitable deal in business, but the risk is more or less, although he and Huo Yaowen have only met for the second time, he may feel that this nephew is different from Huo Chengcai, not only assertive, but also courageous and confident.

"What do you say, so happy?"

At this time, a middle-aged man came outside the house, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, combing his oily hair, looking energetic.

Huo Zongming saw his son coming back, smiled and waved his hand: "Chengzhi is here, come here, this is Chengcai's child, Yaowen." ”

Immediately, Huo Zongming said to Huo Yaowen again: "Yaowen, this is your uncle." ”

"Hello uncle. Huo Yaowen got up and shouted.

"Yaowen has grown so big!" Huo Chengzhi looked at Huo Yaowen, who was a head taller than himself in front of him, and at the same time was surprised, he also smiled and said: "In the early years, I hugged you, and you were only so big at that time, but I didn't expect that after almost twenty years, you are taller than your uncle." ”

Where did Huo Yaowen remember things so young, hearing Huo Chengzhi say this, he could only laugh and say nothing.

Huo Chengzhi praised Huo Yaowen a few words, turned his head and glanced at the backyard, and saw that he didn't find Huo Chengcai and others, so he asked curiously: "By the way, what about Chengcai and Erniang?"

"Grandma Dou hasn't come here yet, but it should be almost there. Huo Yaowen answered.

"Well, it's been a long time since I've seen Chengcai and Erniang. Huo Chengzhi sighed, thinking of some things in the past, but turned his head and looked at Huo Yaowen with a smile and said, "Listen to your grandfather, you are a teacher at the University of Hong Kong?"

"Hmm. ”

"Teach what?"

"Philosophy of Electives. ”

As soon as he heard that it was philosophy, Fok Chengzhi sounded what he talked about at the meeting of the Education Department some time ago, and said: "Some time ago, the Education Department held a meeting to say that the University of Hong Kong would open a school of philosophy next year, and your president also specially approached the Governor of Hong Kong and the Director of the Education Department, saying that he hoped to send some philosophy lecturers from the Chinese University. ”

Huo Yaowen was slightly stunned, he didn't know how the uncle knew, but after thinking about it for a while, he vaguely remembered that the day before yesterday, the grandfather seemed to say that the uncle was working in the Education Department, nodded and said, "Yes." ”

"It's good to be a university teacher, it's promising, take your time and don't be in a hurry. Huo Chengzhi patted Huo Yaowen on the shoulder and encouraged.

"I'll work hard, uncle. ”

"Hmm. ”

Huo Zongming, who was on the side, suddenly remembered Huo Yaowen's words before, and also asked Huo Chengzhi: "Chengzhi, just now Yaowen said that he wanted to open a publishing house to publish some textbooks or extracurricular tutorial books. ”

Huo Chengzhi glanced at Huo Yaowen suddenly, and said in surprise: "Yaowen, this is your idea?"

Huo Yaowen nodded: "It's this idea." ”

"Yaowen knows how to seize the moment. ”

Although Fok Chengzhi is now assigned to the Kwun Tong District Education Branch, he has been working in the Education Department before, and he knows some inside information, and knows that next year or the year after, the Hong Kong Governor will officially promulgate a new education law to implement six-year free compulsory education, so there will be a demand for teaching materials and books.

In addition, the textbooks and books of Hong Kong's major primary and secondary schools are not uniform, and some printing houses or publishing houses are found to print them, so the implementation of the six-year compulsory education law, the Governor of Hong Kong means to hand over to several capable publishing houses for unified publication, and the government will allocate funds to provide money for printing books.

The British government in Hong Kong allocated funds, and it was certainly impossible to make any money, but there was no problem at all in maintaining the normal operation of the publishing house.

And the most important thing is that with the order, then the prospect of the publishing house has developed, as long as the textbooks are printed according to the prescribed standards, it is completely possible to use the channels of various schools to put some tutorial books.

At this point, when Huo Yaowen was studying in later generations, he often listened to the teachers of the three main subjects of Chinese, mathematics and English recommend some extracurricular books and exam papers that could improve his learning aid, and spent a lot of money to buy them.