Chapter 16 Dorne City [Additional update for the leader Luo Li and Qibelin]

Everything is normal here.

Whether it was the hustle and bustle outside or Benjamin Tillion in front of him, Sean didn't see anything unusual.

He lives in an apartment with nice greenery next to the villa area.

Building 3, 12B.

Benjamin was a humble and polite man. He took out the key and opened the door. He said to Xiao En behind him, "We have already paid the rent, water, electricity, and gas."

"The waiter also cleaned it carefully."

"We have prepared all the necessary daily necessities. You can tell us if you need anything."

Two bedrooms and one living room, with a kitchen and bathroom.

The decoration style of this apartment is relatively retro, but it looks quite luxurious. There is even carpet in the living room. The master bedroom has a soft Simmons goose down quilt. There is a water heater in the bathroom, and all necessary furniture is available.

Everything here gave Xiao En the illusion that he had returned to modern times.

Benjamin Tillion took out his pocket watch and checked the time, then put the key down and said, "You should have a good rest first."

"We'll arrange a guide for you tomorrow."

Are you really here for vacation?
Xiao En hadn't recovered from this huge contrast yet. Hearing this, he quickly stood up and said, "Thank you."

"No." Benjamin stared at Xiao En in front of him, lowered his head slightly and said, "We should say thank you."

He seemed to have misunderstood something.

Sean didn't know how to explain. He looked at Benjamin's departing back, sat on the soft sofa, and let out a long breath.

It's so normal here.

It was so normal that even Xiao En felt that this place was completely abnormal.

Xiao En stood up and pushed open the window, looking at the bustling crowd below. There was a little girl selling flowers on the street, about eleven or twelve years old. At the corner of the alley, a few children were playing football. Not far away seemed to be an office building, with hurried employees getting on the tram, a very old tram. Further away should be a factory, with many busy workers, and tall chimneys emitting bursts of white smoke.

"Am I crazy?"

"Or is this place crazy?" Xiao En smiled inexplicably.

There was a wine cabinet in the room, with a variety of wines thoughtfully prepared. Xiao En opened a bottle at random, poured a glass, stood by the window, and stared at everything outside in a trance.

Everything before his eyes completely overturned his cognition.

Just as he was about to accept this crazy and bizarre country, the butcher sent him into a reality that was so normal it seemed unreal.

The slides in Xiao En's memory fusion were not as impactful as facing reality.

"Between reality and illusion, one of them must be crazy!" Xiao En raised his glass and drank it all.

Can't sleep.

Xiao En was ready to go out for a walk. He put on his coat, looked at the umbrellas at the door, and picked up a black one.

The sun was shining brightly, and it felt warm on his body. When Sean went out, he heard the tram bell. There are five tram lines in Dorne, all of which are trams. The style of the trams is a bit like the ones in old Hong Kong movies. They are concentrated in the city center and are mainly for the convenience of white-collar workers.

The surrounding buildings are basically of modern style, with Gothic Revival buildings being more common, but there are also some buildings in public areas that are very majestic, stable and gorgeous, in Roman style, with thick walls, rough arches, pointed roofs and exquisite carvings.

"Roman Orthodoxy is in another world?"

Sean took out a banknote that smelled faintly of ink. It was a dinar, the currency of the Roman Empire. The largest denomination was 100. The portrait printed on it was of Caesar, but no one knew if it was him.

The streets were crowded with traffic, most of them were horse-drawn carriages, but there were also cars, which were extremely expensive and only the nobles and wealthy could afford them.

"Sir, do you want flowers?" a timid child's voice sounded.

Sean was dressed quite appropriately, or in the words of that era, quite respectable. So when he was standing aimlessly on the street, a little girl about eleven or twelve years old came over. She was wearing a gray linen dress with patches on it, which seemed to have been starched and washed many times. She held up a bunch of flowers in her hand, her eyes full of expectation.

Xiao En came back to his senses, he leaned down and asked softly, "How much?"

The girl was obviously very happy and said carefully, "Only 5 Seth, sir. They were all picked this morning."

Sean searched his wallet, but there was no Seth. The smallest denomination was 10 dinars.

He picked up a carnation, took out 10 dinars and handed it to the girl in front of him.

"Sir, I can't find it." The little girl looked a little embarrassed. She turned around and looked around, then ran quickly to the dessert shop nearby and said, "Sir, wait a moment."

The little girl stood in front of the dessert shop, bowed and expressed her gratitude, and soon received a stack of banknotes in return.

She trotted over, panting, with a little sweat oozing from the tip of her freckled nose. She handed a wad of banknotes to Xiao En and bowed, "Sir, your change."

9 1-dinar coins and 1 -ses coins. The currency in circulation in Dorne is mainly dinar and ses. Occasionally, you can see deler, but you need to go to the bank to exchange it. The highest denomination is orre, but it is not in circulation. All are retro gold coins.

In the past, the largest denomination of banknotes was 10 dinars. Later, due to inflation, the largest denomination became 100 dinars.

Sean reached out and took the change.

The little girl happily held the flowers in one hand, put five 1-Sess coins into her pocket, bowed again and said, "Thank you, sir. Have a nice day."

Xiao En glanced at the large pendulum clock in the distance. The current time was 10:21 am.

"It's like a dream."

Xiao En held the carnations in his hand and walked towards the park.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s been with the butcher for too long, but he’s actually a little uncomfortable now.

"It looks like a senior has been here before." Xiao En murmured.

The Kingdom of Dorne has entered the 'Electrical Age' of the Second Industrial Revolution. In this era of change, everything is changing with each passing day. Cars, trains, subways, ships, and a large number of factories have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Most of the people around were in a hurry.

The people here are filled with a very unique vitality, and the kind of hopeful eyes that Sean had only seen in yellowed old photos.

"Did you hear that?"

"Ocean Trade is preparing to issue new stock bonds."

"The Wolf Steamship at the dock is hiring."

Two middle-aged men dressed as clerks passed by. This should be the commercial district. There was an office building dozens of meters high nearby. It was the most prosperous area in Dorne. There were pubs, bakeries, cafes, dessert shops, etc. on both sides of the street. If it weren't for the carriages passing by from time to time, Sean would have suspected that he had traveled to a metropolis in the early twentieth century.

The street lights along the street are relatively new.

Because a new tram line has been added, there is a construction area ahead and a section has been completely blocked.

After walking around, Sean saw workers wearing jeans and canvas overalls. They were digging up the street to lay tram tracks. The leading worker was wearing jeans with suspenders, a work jacket with four pockets, and a gray hat on his head.

"Sir, would you like a cigarette?" a boy's voice sounded.

Next to Sean was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen, wearing ill-fitting canvas clothes and pants, holding a box supported by a strap, which contained whole packs and loose cigarettes, both with filters and without filters.

Xiao En had seen this kind of dress in old movies.

He took a look and said, "How much?"

The little boy pointed to the box hanging on his body and said enthusiastically, "This one is 1 Seth, this one is 3 Seth, and this one is 5 Seth."

"These are 1 dinars."

"This is 5 dinars."

"For someone of your stature, this is more suitable for you."

If calculated based on purchasing power, the pack of cigarettes recommended by the little boy costs about 50 yuan, which is indeed not affordable for ordinary people.

Xiao En took out five 1 dinar notes and whispered, "Do you have a lighter?"

"Yes." The little boy quickly took out a lighter, which was similar to the one he used in his previous life, a flint-kerosene type, with fine workmanship and a steel stamp on the surface. He enthusiastically promoted it, "The latest model. Only 3 dinars."

Sean took out three more 1 dinar notes.

"Thank you, sir." The little boy looked a little excited.

There seemed to be a small opera house next to it. Sean took out a filtered cigarette and lit it. The smoke made him cough involuntarily.

In my previous life, I smoked, quit, smoked, and quit. Later, due to work pressure, I would smoke a few cigarettes from time to time.

But it is obvious that Sean does not smoke and does not have the financial means to do so.

Xiao En took a puff and put it out. When crossing the road, he saw the boy selling cigarettes. He seemed to be celebrating selling the most expensive pack of cigarettes. The boy next to him who was also selling cigarettes had an envious expression on his face.

“It’s such a vibrant era.”

To Sean, it seemed like a scene from a nostalgic movie, but to them, it was a booming era full of new things.

………………

　The editor asked for a follow-up reading.

　　The initial preparation stage is about sixteen chapters. After the official plot begins, the content and style of the entire book will change.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)