The Main Street of Suotuo City was much wider than Lan Tian expected, more than spacious enough for two carriages to run side by side.
The storefronts on both sides of the street were nestled closely against one another, their hanging signs swaying slightly in the afternoon breeze. Restaurants, pharmacies, blacksmith shops, and draperies were all completely accounted for.
The air was permeated with a scent that blended food aromas with the flavor of worldly hustle and bustle, completely worlds apart from the quiet tranquility of Nuoding City.
The two walked a section along Main Street and discovered that the pedestrians on the road were even more numerous than they had seen at the city gates just moments ago, and the closer they got to the city center, the denser the crowd became.
Many people's faces carried a festive-like radiance; small children raised sugar figures and windmills in their hands as they shuttled through the crowd, occasionally bumping into a passerby's legs only to be pulled back by adults and scolded a couple of times, then turning around and running off with a smile.
Lan Tian stopped a peddler selling Candied Hawthorns to inquire, and the burly man enthusiastically told them while spinning the straw target in his hands stuck full of Candied Hawthorns that today was Suotuo City's once-a-year Lantern Festival, which was held once every year after autumn arrived, lasting for three days and three nights, with the entire city celebrating round the clock.
Starting from this afternoon, Main Street would feature a Food Street and Lantern Market, the City Center Square would have celebratory performances and a float parade in the evening, and the Auction House in the east of the city would also host a special auction tonight, meaning the people gathering for the excitement were