Before the Zhang brothers stretched a broad avenue two or three times wider than the streets of Lu Town. Countless shops stood along both sides, crowds surged through the street, cries of vendors never ceased, and the bustle was extraordinary. It was practically a replica of Lu Town's streets during the New Year. No wonder the Zhang brothers had mistaken it for one—they had never seen such a spectacle in their everyday lives.
Zhang Xiaohu scratched his head. "It's already the hot season. Where would a New Year come from?"
Zhang Xiaohua also smiled. "Yeah. Pingyang City is truly bustling. If we hadn't come to see it, we really wouldn't have known."
Though everything before them was fresh and novel, they had been out for several days now and had come to realize how little they had seen before. They took many things in silently, slowly digesting and accepting them. After watching the lively scene for a while, they gradually grew used to it. Zhang Xiaohua himself did not notice that the speed at which he accepted new things, and the way he viewed them, had slowly surpassed the bounds of an ordinary thirteen-year-old child. Perhaps this was what maturity meant.
Zhang Xiaohu was older, after all, and had usually heard others speak of the prosperity of the outside world. He had imagined it before, though always with Lu Town as the model. What he saw now was greater than he had expected, but he was still able to accept it quickly.
Filled with curiosity, the two moved through the crowd, looking here and there. At first, they were somewhat restrained, but they soon discovered that although many people wore bright, fine clothing, there were also plenty dressed as simply as they were. No one paid them much attention, and