The city gate closes at the last moment of the hai hour at night.
There is still half an hour left until the Forbidden City time.
The carter Old Li opened his cloudy eyes, estimating the time. He has a son and a daughter, but unfortunately his son is not ambitious and hasn't found a proper job, so the family relies on him for food.
Old Li's carriage spot is five hundred meters from the city gate, next to the moat, with willows along the riverbank, swaying lightly as the breeze passes.
His colleagues have finished work and gone home. At night, he occasionally encounters people with urgent matters who need to travel through the night, offering generous pay.
Living days of exposure to the elements isn't something many can endure.
The sky grows darker and darker; the time for the Forbidden City is fast approaching. Old Li stroked his coarse little goatee and murmured:
"Another day without business today."
