Chen Shu walked through Wrinkleleaf City. It didn't feel all that different from cities back home.
There were modern buildings everywhere, with towers and skyscrapers of much the same design. If anything, they looked a little newer than those in Jade Capital.
The cars were familiar brands, too. They drove on the right, the traffic signs were identical, and the language and writing were the same. Passersby mostly wore modern clothes. The occasional traditional outfit looked much like traditional clothing in Great Yi.
He even spotted Taoist priests and monks.
The only difference was that people here were a little shorter on average.
Development had come later, so nutrition hadn't kept up. Once people got enough protein, it would take only a few generations for the average height to rise.
Great Yi, for instance, had made meat, eggs, and milk affordable to everyone a century ago. Its average height was now quite high.
Chen Shu wandered along, looking around at his leisure.
The late-autumn morning happened to be pleasantly cool.
Now and then, he stopped for a street snack or ducked into an alley away from the towers and main roads.
Cultural differences really did hide in the cracks of everyday life, in those inconspicuous corners full of human bustle. Local fruits, the vegetables ordinary people bought, and snacks with wildly different flavors offered a taste of how this place differed from home.
Though sometimes he still ran into something best avoided.
"Handsome, come have some fun~"
"Boss, come on in. The prices are posted, and we're not expensive."
"Boss, we can give you an invoice!"
Chen Shu wasn't shy. He turned to look at the scantily dressed women—some younger, some older. Most wore heavy makeup and favored peacock-feather blue or green eyeshadow with a metallic sheen. Their makeup had