Yang Hu rode his fine horse onward.
The official road was level, and many temporary thatched huts could be seen along the way. Built beside the fields, these huts were crude, but they offered farmers a place to rest awhile after their work.
Now and then, children could be seen running back and forth through the fields, accompanied by the scolding voices of adults.
Green trees shaded both sides of the official road. The tall roadside woods stretched along it, seemingly without end.
Occasionally, merchant caravans arriving from afar came into view. At the sight of their party, they willingly cleared the road.
Their carts were piled high with all manner of goods. A few rough men in short tunics drove them, studying Yang Hu and his companions with curious, awed eyes.
Guanqiu Jian was a very unassuming man. To avoid disturbing the officials and commoners along the way, he had not even used his personal carriage, instead riding a fine horse at the head of twenty-odd cavalrymen.
Any county magistrate might travel with an entourage of much the same size.
Guanqiu Jian disliked riding in carriages. Even at his age, he still preferred horseback, so Yang Hu had no choice but to ride alongside him.
It had been a long time since Yang Hu had returned to the Central Plains.
The sights along the road felt both familiar and strange to him.
He could not say where exactly the change lay.
Was it merely that the roads had become smoother? Or that there were more dwellings beside the fields? More merchants on the roads?
None of those seemed quite right.
Looking at the contemplative Yang Hu, Guanqiu Jian said in a contented tone, "You can hear children laughing in the fields and see thatched huts sheltering them from wind