Summer was bright and beautiful, which was no lie, but to say that the afternoon was humid and hot, that was also true. All of Jingdou was enveloped in the heat of summer, which made everyone uncomfortable. Often, the clear water drunk would not even take half an hour before it seeped out through the skin with the residue in the body. It became an oily moisture that covered an entire person and made them uncomfortable all over and breathing difficult.

Lower-class commoners, who did hard labor carrying large bags up the steps downstream of the Liujing River, were particularly affected. Their sweat soaked their entire body and dripped onto the green stone steps creating countless lines of water, which appeared somewhat shocking. The large trees beside the dock extended their leaves but were unable to fully block out the sun in the sky. The clean wind from the river was also unable to wipe away the heat. On the contrary, it brought humidity.

By the stone steps, a black dog was lying und