Asking for monthly votes—
They arrived outside the gates of the capital city by noon. Mrs. Wang gave Uncle Gao 200 cents for the carriage fare, and the family got off. Uncle Gao fed his donkey at a teahouse here and rested for a while before he set off back, as he wanted to return to Xiangluo Village before nightfall.
After saying goodbye to Uncle Gao, they rented a mule cart and entered the capital city.
The capital city was much more imposing than the county town. The main road in the city was paved with blue stone slabs and was very wide, with shops lining both sides in close succession. Most of the shops were several stories high, with green walls, dark tiles, red doors, and decorative windows, all very magnificent. Some of the larger shops were even more lavishly decorated, with many colorful lanterns hanging outside. In the middle of the road ran many horse-drawn carriages with canopies, while the people on both sides bustled about.