But those places are somewhat distant from ordinary people. The truly bustling, lively areas full of everyday life are around the Bell and Drum Towers in the northern part of the city.

Every proper city in the Ming Dynasty had a Bell and Drum Tower. To ensure that all the city's residents could clearly hear the morning bell and evening drum, the towers were naturally built at the city center, and Nanjing was no exception.

At this moment, Henry Carter was standing between those two towering buildings, side by side, his face full of daze and awe.

In his previous life, he had studied in Nanjing and passed by here countless times. Now, having traveled four hundred years through time and returned to this place, gazing at the familiar, tall, red city towers, how could he not feel a sense of disorientation, as if from another world?

Four hundred years later, only a solitary Drum Tower remained here, with the companion Bell Tower nowhere to be seen. Moreover, the Qing Dynasty Drum Tower rebuilt atop the Ming city gate was far inferior to the magnificent and grand structure before his eyes.

Back then, he had felt that the small pavilion atop the platform did not match the massive base beneath it. Only now, seeing the Drum Tower before him—over ten zhang high, seven bays wide, occupying the entire base, standing like a heavenly palace—and the twin-like Bell Tower beside it, did he suddenly understand.

“This is how it should be, this is how it’s meant to be...”

Henry Carter muttered this countless times before, reluctantly, withdrawing his gaze at Edward Carter’s urging.

……

When he turned around, a broad square paved with bluestone came into view. Though it was only February and the chill of spring lingered, many scholars, gentlemen, and visitors from all directions had already come to admire the majestic Bell and Drum Towers.

On the square, quite a few vendors carried their wares, hawking all sorts of food and trinkets. The father and son hadn’t had breakfast yet, so they each casually bought two crispy sesame cakes, eating as they walked forward.

At the end of the Drum Tower Square were several bustling streets, each six or seven zhang wide, leading to all corners of Nanjing.

Edward Carter, munching on a sesame-covered cake, kept yawning.

After parting from their family yesterday, the father and son had found an inn to stay at. Short on money, they couldn’t afford a private room and had to make do in a large shared dormitory for the night.

But these two, used to a life of comfort, had clearly overestimated their endurance. In the stuffy dormitory, twenty people slept together, the thunderous, unending snoring and the eye-watering stench of feet kept them awake all night.

Before dawn, the two fled the inn, determined to find a place to stay today, no matter what, and settle down first.

They had previously lived in the southern part of the city, where officials and nobles resided, but the cost of renting there was simply too high. So, the father and son made their way through streets and alleys, heading north for nearly two hours, until their legs were weak and their stomachs empty, finally arriving at the Bell and Drum Towers.

“This Nanjing city is just too big...” Edward Carter felt as if his legs were filled with lead; every step was a torment.

“How many years have you lived in Nanjing, Father?” Henry Carter looked at Edward Carter in surprise, thinking, shouldn’t I be the one saying this?

He was now a fifteen-year-old youth, supposedly at his physical peak. Unfortunately, young Henry Carter had always been pampered, never exercising, so he was just as exhausted.

“Since the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, over seven years now.” Edward Carter calculated on his fingers, then sighed again: “I remember leisurely leaving the capital, and now, seven years have passed like a dream...”

Henry Carter rolled his eyes inwardly and said, “Seven years, and you still don’t know how big Nanjing is?”

“In the past, I always traveled by boat or sedan chair—when did I ever measure it with my own feet?” Edward Carter smiled wryly. “The Imperial Academy is actually not far to the east. It always felt like just a few pages of reading, and I’d be there.”

“All right then...” Henry Carter was too tired to tease Second Master Carter, finished his cake, licked the crumbs from his fingertips, and said longingly, “Let’s just rent a place near the Imperial Academy.”

“Excellent.” Edward Carter nodded repeatedly. “If I have to walk like this every day, I’ll die.”

As they spoke, the two left the square and entered Baotai Street, which led to the Imperial Academy.

……

Baotai Street was bustling, packed with carriages, horses, and pedestrians shoulder to shoulder, and all kinds of eye-catching signs and advertisements everywhere. Besides countless teahouses and restaurants, there were gold and silver shops, southern goods stores, pharmacies, bathhouses, silk shops, livestock markets, grain and oil shops, and so on—too many to count.

Henry Carter was jostled left and right by the stream of people, his ears filled with the deafening sounds of hawking, shouting, and conversation, making him feel the same kind of pain as walking through a busy commercial street in modern times.

And Edward Carter told him that, in terms of prosperity, Baotai Street didn’t even rank in the top ten in Nanjing...

Henry Carter was dumbfounded and secretly made up his mind: if the opportunity arose, he would definitely tour the whole city to truly experience just how prosperous Nanjing had become.

But the urgent matter now was to quickly find a place to stay.

As they spoke, the father and son stopped in front of a shop with a sign reading “Jing Ji Real Estate Agency.”

As soon as they stopped, an enthusiastic clerk came out to greet them.

“Please come in, honored guests. Our shop has all kinds of properties—guaranteed to satisfy you.”

Edward Carter glanced at his son; since Henry Carter was still unfamiliar with the situation, naturally Edward Carter would take the lead.