When Zhang Baoer and the others followed Amidan into the outside of Kangju City, it was already noon three days later. It's winter, but the sun is shining. Outside the city gate, Zhang Baoer rode on a horse and silently looked at such an ancient and mysterious city.

In this gap, an endless stream of people passed by Zhang Baoer. There were old men on horseback, young men driving carts, beautiful girls like flowers, and children running happily, in groups of three or five, in groups of four or six, and they rushed to Kangju City from all directions.

Zhang Baoer stepped into the city in the scorching sun at noon.

Kangjucheng Street is quite spacious, and the streets are full of shops, basically continuing the old business habits, the shops are old and crowded, but every merchant here is happy. In the shop, there are all kinds of handmade shoes and galoshes rich in Sogdian national characteristics, dazzling silk, dazzling homespun cloth spun by traditional spinning wheels, clay pottery vessels of various colors and patterns, snow-white Persian silver fox skin, mink skin, wooden spoon and wooden bowl of Tuhun Luo, and beautiful Tianzhu shawl......

There are all kinds of goods, and you will be dazzled by the sight. The front store is processed and sold, and the back is lived, which is the most primitive and dynamic style of Kangju City. Every trade and craft has a fixed place for it, and once it is on a scale, the whole street is named after that craft or shop. They sit cross-legged on blankets on the floor, waiting for customers to arrive, and they don't have to shout that soliciting is the prerogative of the vendors who don't have fixed stalls on the streets.

In fact, hawkers are just farmers who set up stalls along the streets to sell small quantities of melons and fruits, eggs, poultry, sheep, handmade products, etc., and sell them loudly. Some of them came with a sheep and a donkey, and some lined up all kinds of food in simple pergolas. Many farmers grow walnuts, apricots, grapes, dates, badam, etc.

In front of Zhang Bao'er was a middle-aged Sogdian woman, who scribbled down the street with her wares: a basket of white Munag grapes, a basket of local peaches, a basket of red pomegranates, and a basket of eggs. She briskly traded with people, jumping between several large baskets.

In the eyes of these vendors, it is enough to have a place where they can put their goods, and they don't care if there is a storefront. They are conventional, and they naturally make up according to the industry category. Those who sell clay pottery will not make up for the clothing stalls, and those who sell flavored snacks will not be close to the ironware stalls. They use the goods obtained by their labor in the market to exchange for the goods they need, the equivalent exchange, but not necessarily the baht, the transaction shows a kind of arrogance and courage, sometimes to the small belly of the chicken intestines of distant merchants ashamed.

The blacksmith sat by the fire, his apron as black as iron and a pair of muscular hands, the best sign of an old blacksmith. The roasted naan shop, steamed bun shop, and roast mutton stove on the street are also smoking, and the whole street is bustling with activity.

In the open space near the stalls, there are often various competitive, wrestling, and entertaining amusement activities such as artist rapping, tightrope walking, air wheeling, wrestling, cockfighting, dog fighting, sheep fighting, and egg touching spontaneously organized at the agreed place. It looks quaint, lively and prosperous.

Men, women, children, and the elderly in Kangju City will wear the best clothes and jewelry whenever they go out on the streets. Some of them don't buy anything, they don't necessarily sell anything, they just enjoy the pleasure of haggling with the stall owners by admiring the various exquisite goods in front of the stalls.

Sogdian women may have bought things only as a small excuse, mainly to show off their beautiful clothes. They went from stall to stall, from one end of the street to the other, and back again, holding only a small item in their hands.

Zhang Baoer and others walked around, shuttling through the Western Regions at will. He looked at the Sogdian women with happy faces, and couldn't help but ask strangely: "Amy Dan, aren't these ladies worried about their husbands when they go shopping alone?" ”

Amidan said with a smile: "Zhang Gongzi doesn't know, although the Sogdians have many wives like the Tang Dynasty, most of the wives are married to the same clan. The status of the wife is very high, she can sit in bed with her husband to meet guests, and the law not only allows the husband to divorce his wife, but also allows the wife to abandon her husband and have the right to remarry. ”

"I see!" Zhang Baoer suddenly realized.

Amidan went on to explain: "Because the Sogdians often traveled far to do business, it was impossible to be bound by monogamy, and the Sogdian men had many concubines and concubines, and these second wives were all foreigners, and some were slaves. ”

Zhang Bao'er understood that these gorgeously dressed women were undoubtedly the main wives of the Sogdians.

Look at the Sogdian men, who all wore doppas and girdles on the streets. Most of them can meet acquaintances, say hello, and stop to chat for a long time. If you go further, you can meet acquaintances again, and after chatting for half a day, a day will pass. When they have a good chat, some people even go to a restaurant for a meal. There are no rich or poor here, only a pair of beautiful eyes looking for and discovering the objects they want.

Zhang Bao'er looked at it for a while and asked curiously: "Do the Sogdians worship white?" Why are they all dressed in white? ”

Yes, the Sogdians generally wore white clothes, and black was the color of mourning clothes, so it should not be taken. The Sogdians were mercantil, and there was no difference in the color of their clothes, and the colors of their clothes were also according to their preferences. However, it doesn't have to be all white! Amidan pointed ahead and said, "Look at them, the white clothes are mixed with some green flowers, all of them are narrow-sleeved and tight-fitted, and they pay attention to highlighting the body lines." In addition, the Sogdians were particularly particular about their belts, which were adorned with jewels, swords on top, and long leather boots on the bottom, in order to facilitate trekking through the sand. ”

People who came into the city from outside the city, their cattle were fed and rested in the chariot and horse shop, and they also stayed in the shop at night, and then went to the blacksmith shop to give the donkeys and horses a new hand, and when they left, they brought a water tank, clay pots, flower pots, and so on.

The prosperity of Kangju City is not innate, the Sogdians are bold in nature, often gather together to join in the fun, where there are many people, where there is lively, at first only one or two, three or five people set up stalls there, and some of the stalls are actually just laying an old felt sheet, even so, some people are flocking to it. As the days go by, the paving is increasing day by day, arranged in rows, with scale, from small to large, gathering less into more, from sparse to dense, it has formed today's prosperity.

"Zhang Gongzi, are you hungry? Let me take you to a taste of Sogdian cuisine! Amy Dan invited.

"You say that, I'm really hungry! Let's go fill our stomachs! Zhang Baoer readily agreed.