Eighty kilometers south of Flat Sand Valley, Huian City...
Huian City was a small city—by Great Xia's urban standards, merely a Class D, third-tier city.
The area within its walls was less than thirty square kilometers. Outside the city sprawled market towns and vast farmsteads. Great Xia had known peace for a long time, and Central Province, one of Great Xia's nine Divine Lands, had not seen war for centuries. Thus, Huian City still retained the appearance it had borne when first built. Though steam-powered city-defense equipment had been installed atop its walls, those walls stood only around ten meters high.
In a sense, Huian City could already be considered an ancient city. Its residents spoke of it with considerable pride. In a place like Central Province, where Class A metropolises were everywhere, a small city like Huian that still preserved its original character instead possessed a special, thought-provoking charm.
Dragon Creek Commandery was Central Province's granary, and Huian rice and Huian wheat were equally famous. Huian's local grain was excellent, and it lay close to the Hui River, whose water quality was ideal for brewing liquor. Several renowned liquors brewed by Huian's distilleries also enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout Dragon Creek Commandery. The most celebrated among them, Double Well Liquor, was even sold beyond Central Province, and could be found as far away as Xuanyuan Hill.
Huian City was famed for its grain and liquor. Its food and brewed spirits were sold far and wide. Over the centuries, through the accumulated diligence and wisdom of generations, the lives of those who lived here had grown better with each generation. By now, Huian City and its surrounding areas were prosperous and peaceful. Even the buildings on the farmsteads near Huian City displayed the distinctive elegance and refinement of lands governed