Foreigner Of Time [Book II]

39

Lisa took a look at the sky outside the window, then she suggested, "The weather is nice today, should we go out for a walk?"

"Alright."

Fort Tryon was not like the newly opened trading port of Driftmark.

The kingdom had been trading with foreigners on land routes for a long time.

Even for a conservative estimate, there was still hundreds of years of history...  

There were influences left by foreigners everywhere to be seen in Driftmark City, including the buildings on the streets, the clothes of the commoners, and the level of restrictions towards women...

Most of the men in the Driftmark province had to sail out to fish in the sea, hence the women had no choice but to head out and shoulder some societal responsibilities.

However, there were more women on the streets of Driftmark city. Although most of them were wrapped in scarfs, to Lisa, it seemed more like a way to keep out the sand.

The wind in Fort Tryon was very sandy, and during sandstorm days, the sand covered the sky and sun entirely. 

It was hard to even keep one's eyes open during such weather, so everyone regardless of gender or age would wear a scarf to keep out the sand.  

Although the sun was nice today, there was still sand in the wind.

Lisa and Jennie left the inn, then they bought two scarfs to wear on a stall nearby. 

Once they wore it properly, they walked towards a random direction.

Lisa pointed at the roof of a building on the street, "Wife, do you know why the roofs in Fort Tryon are round without any edges at all?"

"Why?" Jennie asked.

"It's a sort of wisdom, and it's also a result of conforming to nature. Take a moment to feel the wind of Fort Tryon. Even though it's a clear day, the wind here is still very hard, isn't it? You can feel it scraping on your face, and even some pain?"

"Mm, it does hurt a little."

"When we feel pain or discomfort, we can wear a scarf, or just hide at home, but what about these buildings? The wind blows on these roofs year round. Bit by bit, buildings with distinct edges will get severely damaged by the wind. It'll show cracks and signs of falling off. As time goes on... the roof will no longer have edges. In order to avoid this situation, they simply decided to build a round roof instead. That could reduce any damage from the wind at the greatest level."

Jennie thought for a moment, then she said, "Is that the same reason why pebbles in a stream have about the same shape?"

A trace of pleasant surprise brushed Lisa's eyes, then she praised sincerely, "Wife, you're really smart!"

Jennie bloomed with a smile too, and her cheeks were a little red. Though, it couldn't be seen by others because of her scarf.

Lisa continued to say energetically, "Actually, many of the phenomena or changes we encounter in life are all a subject of study. Where I'm from, it's either called 'physics' or 'chemistry', though there are of course subjects for the study of human behaviour and psychology. What you call 'adjusting to the seasons' is actually respecting the laws of some sort of science and nature. Being here, I feel that every place I go to is so interesting. Some subjects clearly haven't been established yet, but I can always see that the common folks have already used it in their lives. It goes to show that the foundation of most subjects and theories are formed through observation and summary, or perhaps the knowledge and experience learned from older generations."