The Heaven Dou Empire.
Heaven Dou City always woke far too early.
The dust stirred up the previous night had yet to settle. The lamps, only just extinguished, seemed to still glow with colored light, but a closer look revealed it was the refracted light of dawn.
Few people would notice such a scene.
Young people wrapped in windbreakers waited for rickshaws by the roadside, their meticulous makeup unable to conceal the heavy exhaustion on their faces.
Rickshaws rushed past one after another. Their passengers were the empire's somewhat affluent middle class, who nevertheless wore themselves out every day scrambling to make a living.
At this hour, there was usually little sign of the "upper crust."
Far more common were mothers leading their children by the hand, lowly clerks running for dear life for fear of being late, middle-aged men riding little donkeys out to purchase goods, and countless other ordinary people.
Heaven Dou City had markets of every description: regular markets, prison markets, meat markets, military markets, official markets, and customs markets. By operating hours, they fell into four categories: morning markets, daytime markets, evening markets, and night markets.
On Imperial Avenue, trade never ceased, day or night. Only at the third or fourth watch did the crowds begin to thin; when the fifth-watch bell rang, the morning-market vendors opened their shops again.
The morning markets bustled with activity. Clothes, hats, fans, bed curtains, miniature landscapes, flowers, fresh fish, pork, mutton, pastries, candied treats, and seasonal fruit—anything one could want was available.
Local snacks alone offered plenty of variety: Li Ren Ward sold sweet bean-paste dumplings, Qin'an Ward sold ten-colored rice balls in soup, West Market Ward sold spiral-shaped butter confections, and Peaceful Ward sold musk candy.
The roadside breakfast shops were always packed, with shouted orders rising one