10 PM: Night life begins in a small Chinese county｜$10 night market trip with my son, 1m meat skewer

At 10 p.m., people in many places would be heading home. But in this small county in northern China, the night life is just kicking off. I brought $10 and took my son around the night market. That one-meter chicken skewer was only $2. He held it, not knowing where to take the first bite. We sampled several kinds of popcorn, and finally picked a butter-flavored bag for $1.50. A jacket vendor dropped his price from $40 down to $30, but I couldn’t afford it and just shook my head. Knives sold for roughly $1 each, and they felt surprisingly heavy in hand. I tried herbal wine infused with ginseng, deer antler, and *penis cervi*. All I tasted was a sharp burn down my throat, yet I still bought a big bottle for $6. The shampoo seller noticed my thinning hair and told me I was lucky to meet him, handing me a free sample box. After that, my son played ring toss. The crowd was still going strong when we headed home for bed. I budgeted $10, and only spent $9.50 in the end. Is the night market in your hometown still busy at 10 p.m.? What could you buy with $10 where you live? Let’s talk in the comments.