Clark was looking at hats. He saw a huge pile of Mexican style hats at a stall near the eastern side of the main gate, which were brightly colored and eye-catching.
Aside from him, there were lots of tourists crowded in front of the stall. A Mexican lad with brown skin held a stack of hats over two meters high in one hand, while he enthusiastically introduced them with the other, waving it about as he talked.
Lex nudged Clark with his elbow and said, "You didn't buy a hat when you went to Mexico, why do you want one now?"
Unexpectedly, Clark shook his head and said, "Rural Mexico doesn't have a Mexican style, and frankly there isn't much of it in the towns either, except for souvenir shops in big cities specifically catering to tourists. Not many places carry such vibrant variety."
Lex remained silent. Clark, staring at the towering stack of colorful hats, said: "There are large deserts and Gobi there, but also rivers, lakes, and rain forests. It has cowboy towns often seen in western films and arid stone cities. It's a very beautiful country."
"Is the countryside also good?"
"A typical rural area, if I have to describe, has a very primal way of life." shrugged Clark, "Actually, life in the countryside is better than in the slums of towns, because they can get nutrients from nature. Although it's hard, they can still survive. It's just underdeveloped."
"Is your family like that as well?"
Clark chuckled, "America doesn't have real peasants. The Kent family are farm owners. We have a large farm, fields, all sorts of facilities, and large farming machinery in two warehouses, employing hundreds of help every year."
"Similar to a small company?"
"More or less. But we don't have shareholders. Decisions are generally made through internal family discussions or accepting advice from professionals."
"The most original form of a company."
By the time they finished chatting, it was their turn in the queue. Clark sized up the Mexican lad doling out hats, listened carefully to his English accent, and then stepped forward and said, "Hello, could we get a hat with an eagle pattern? Maybe another one with a cactus flower?"
Upon hearing Clark speak in Spanish, particularly Mexican Spanish—with exclusive vocabulary of Nawat—Lex found him sounding like a genuine Mexican.
The Mexican lad was astounded. He hastily put down his hats and hugged Clark, speaking in indigenous Spanish, "My god, are you from Guadalajara? My parents are town residents near Mexico City, and my grandma is from Mencity. How are you doing?"
"I'm good. Though I'm American, I lived in Guadalajara for a while. The fields there are beautiful."
"I could tell from the way you chose gifts that you must understand our culture very well." The Mexican lad gave a bright smile, gave him a thumbs-up, and started looking through the pile of hats.
"Tourists often just like simple stripes of color or items related to Mayan civilization. I'm not saying those are bad, but if you're talking about typical Mexican patterns, men would pick the eagle and women flower patterns, with cactus flowers being the best. We all love them."
"You're right. I want to gift it to a male friend and my girlfriend. Her name is Lois, she's a journalist."
"Here you go." The lad handed Clark two hats, then signaled for him to wait and fished out two more hats from the bottom.
"These are my top choices. See them? The moon and sun on the pyramids, surrounded by murals from them. Aztecs believed the moon stands for females while the sun for males. When they're together, they form rocks, sand, and oasis." The lad held the hat with one hand and gestured the introduction with the other.
"That's amazing." Clark exclaimed.
He decided to buy the four hats, but the lad only charged him for two. He shrugged, "I can tell from your accent that it is more native than mine. It even sounds a bit like that of a countryman."
"The executives of those agricultural companies wouldn't bother learning such an accent. I bet you're probably a rural teacher or a doctor. Only those who deal with villagers daily would learn such native vocabulary."
"Anyway, thank you, big guy. Even if it's just for saying these words to me in that language, it's better than I expected."
After bidding farewell to the Mexican lad, Clark put the hat with the eagle on Lex. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I think Lois will be more interested in the hat with the pyramid. The two of us can have one each, but then the one with the cactus flower doesn't seem quite appropriate. Who should I give it to?"
"Maybe you can keep it for yourself. This isn't Mexico. Nobody would mind you wearing a hat with a female pattern."
As Clark was contemplating, he realized his cell phone was ringing. After answering the call, he looked surprised and began looking around.
"My God, you're here too? Where? I can't see you. I'm now at the ticket office of a restaurant called the Shaji Tea Room... Oh! I see you!"
Clark took off with his cell phone in hand in a certain direction. Lex trailed behind him, seeing a tall woman waving at them.
"God, Diana, why are you here too?"
Diana smiled at Clark and said, "I'm here for the music festival, I guess you are too."
"I just didn't expect you'd be interested in this type of music festival." Clark joked, "You look like the kind of person who goes to the theatre every weekend."
"I am, music of mankind is one of the few art forms I appreciate. Other forms are a bit too advanced for a demigod. In fact, I really like avant-garde music, especially the renowned west coast avant-garde art group Buxter. Their last performance of Hummingbird at the Metropolis Theatre left me wanting for more."
Clark immediately stuffed a hat into her arms and said: "I bought it especially for you, lady. By the way, what brings you here?"
Diana looked at the hat in her hand and said, "Before I came to Gotham, I was invited to a dinner here, but I found out that the dinner was more upscale than I had imagined, and my normal dress is not appropriate."
"Out of respect and identity, I need to wear the formal dress of the Amazon Princess, but lack some suitable accessories. I heard there is a Paradise Amazon exclusive store here, so I am planning to check it out."
Clark knew that Paradise Amazon is an official brand launched by the Amazon nation. It has many sub-brands, including souvenirs, sports goods, outdoor gear, and even cosmetics and jewelry. After decades of evolution, it has become a globally popular foreign brand in the United States.
Then they walked towards the shop together, which was quite eye-catching since it was probably the largest store in this whole market.
"We've always wanted to open a shop in Gotham, but for some reasons, you know, several attempts have failed. We were about to give up, but this time we were personally invited by the mayor. Under my guarantee, the Royal Family decided to try one last time."
"This is actually just a pilot." Diana stood in front of the door of Paradise Amazon and said, "If it works out well, we'll open a full shopping center here and open a direct tourist route to Gotham Dock."
"Most of the brands here are like this," Lex started, "When Gotham opened for investment, most people were skeptical. They worry that the terrible city would fall back into old patterns, but they simply can't give up the commercial territory of a huge city, so they decided to test the waters first."
"If things go as expected, the shops here will benefit greatly from the surge of the music festival. This can reassure foreign investors, so that's why Roy wants this event to be so big."
"Lex Luther, I've heard a lot about you, Princess His Highness."
"Diana Prince, don't call me that, just Diana is fine."
They shook hands, then started shopping. The various product lines of the Paradise Amazon brand were condensed into a small area and did not seem very crowded. However, because of the large number of tourists, they felt more like they were being pushed forward.
Diana apologized, but Lex proposed that Diana accompany them later to shop for fashion. Her advice would be very helpful, as it was clear that she was also a traditionalist.
Diana quickly picked out a pair of armlets, because there were simply too many people here, and her tall stature and striking looks were already attracting attention. The crowd was chattering, all guessing if she was the famous princess.
They had to wriggle their way out of the crowd like a fish through a dense coral reef, and witnessed the argument between Bruce and Selina near the door.
To be precise, Selina wanted to drag Bruce out, but Bruce absolutely refused.
About ten minutes earlier, they had finished their drinks, and Selina decided to take a stroll on the dock. It was 11 in the morning, the sun was high, and as seen from the door, the crowd was gathered beneath the sun umbrellas placed on the dock plaza.
Until the moment Bruce stepped out of the door, he had not realized the severity of the problem. As soon as he took a step outside, he felt like he had jumped into the magma of hell.
Bruce instantly recoiled and looked outside with a shocked expression.
What was outside did not match his perception of Gotham. Under the scorching morning sun, everything outside was gleaming like glass, or perhaps shimmering like crystal. All things were so blurred and reflecting light everywhere, making it impossible to keep one's eyes open.
The sea was typically deep blue. Near the easternmost beach of the dock, one could see a bit of green, but now it was almost emerald.
The chemical components in Gotham's seawater could fill a periodic table. This led to them having a perfect glass sea without even needing to pour in any purification agent. This was unlikely to happen on the East Coast of America, but it did.
This also meant that ultraviolet rays here would be unrelenting like at a tropical island, not sparing any kid who hadn't prepared for sun protection. Bruce was unfamiliar with the sight before him, but his skin told him, every white man has a day of becoming a redneck. For others, it was the past, but for him, it was today.
"Listen, I'm not going out," Bruce said, leaning against the iron at the side of the door. "The conditions outside are not suitable for any human being. I'll stay here until the sun sets."
Selina, one hand on her hip, the other lifting her hat, said, "Who was it that said they wanted to make up for the 20 years of sun they haven't got before?"
"That's not the sun," Bruce refused to admit. "The sun should not be like this. Definitely not."
"Well, then you must have misunderstood the sun."