The sun has set, lazily leaning against the battlements of the western city wall.
Chen Ji bid farewell to Jin Zhu and rode alone through the bustling streets of Zhengyang Gate Street, filled with the smoke of thousands of families. Sitting on horseback, he watched the bone broth bubbling in the Zhang Family's noodle stall pot and smelled the pungent aroma of fried scallions and garlic from some unknown kitchen, enveloping everyone in warmth.
Stalls closing, people going home, jostling crowds, bumping carts.
Women in the alleys shouting for kids to come home for dinner, a few youngsters at the street corner still squabbling over the last few stones, arguing fiercely.
If he could, Chen Ji would sit by the street and watch all day.
Passing by a wonton stall, he dismounted and greeted the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, six bowls of wontons, please."
