"What else did you see, Xiaonan?" Shane Thorne’s eyes were alight with eagerness. He had a theory and was desperate for confirmation.

Tang Xiaonan thought for a moment before saying, "A giant bird with a hollow belly that carried lots of people. And a big green worm that breathed white steam. Its belly was hollow too, and it was filled with so, so many people. And lots of pretty dresses... Mama... I want to wear a floral dress."

"You can’t wear one now. When it gets warmer, Mama will get some floral fabric and make one for you," Phoebe Huxley quickly promised. As long as her daughter was all right, she would do anything—never mind a floral dress, she would find a way to pluck the very stars from the sky for her.

Shane Thorne didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but this only made him believe Tang Xiaonan’s words more. ’Of course, a little girl’s first thought would be of pretty dresses.’

"What’s this giant bird? And a big green worm? What in the world did she see? And they can carry people? She didn’t have a nightmare, did she?" Jim Thorne scratched his head in confusion, completely unable to imagine what a green, man-carrying worm would even look like.

Byron Thorne and the others were equally unable to imagine it. After all, the farthest any of them had ever traveled was from Millstone Peak to Wraven, and the fastest vehicle they had ever ridden was just the brigade’s tractor.

They had never seen airplanes or trains, let alone ridden in one, so of course they couldn’t possibly imagine such things.

"And there were houses so tall they poked into the clouds, even taller than Millstone Peak!" Tang Xiaonan raised her hand high above her head, even standing on her tiptoes to emphasize the height.

In the 21st century, skyscrapers were everywhere, and hundred-story buildings were commonplace. But at this time, they were a rare sight. In a small city like Vessaria, the tallest buildings were only five or six stories high.

Byron Thorne and the others listened in disbelief. They figured Tang Xiaonan was just spouting childish nonsense. ’How could there possibly be a building that tall?’

"She must be talking about the Heavenly Palace, where the Jade Emperor lives," one of the clan uncles joked. The others all nodded in agreement.

Millstone Peak wasn’t particularly tall, but it was still over three hundred meters high. How could a building possibly be constructed taller than a mountain? It wasn’t Sun Wukong’s Jingu Bang, which could grow or shrink on command.

"What the hell do you all know? A bunch of frogs in a well, completely shortsighted!" Shane Thorne’s expression was indignant, with a hint of resentment. "Back in the thirties, America built the Apex Tower, over three hundred meters tall and a hundred and two stories high! Its roof pokes right into the clouds. It’s not that it’s impossible, it’s that *we* can’t build it. The American imperialists did it ages ago."

Although he had never studied abroad himself, he had befriended many brilliant scholars who had. He’d listened to their stories about foreign lands and had, of course, heard of the Apex Tower, not to mention Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. This new world of wonders captivated Shane Thorne’s heart. If it hadn’t been for the turmoil of war, he might have found a way to go abroad himself.

"Those American imperialists are really something else. I heard the streets there are paved with gold. They drink milk and eat bread every day, and drive cars everywhere they go. Sigh... when will we ever get to live a life like that!"

"I don’t even care about milk and bread. I’d be perfectly happy just to have a full bowl of rice every day. We toil from the start of the year to the end and still can’t fill our bellies. We can’t even get any meat. It was better when I was a long-term hand. When I worked for the Xavier family, we could eat all the meat we wanted during the busy season. Big, glistening slabs of fatty pork... the smell was to die for. What kind of life is this now... Sigh..."

An older man, about the same age as Shane Thorne, grew more and more agitated as he spoke, finally starting to curse and complain. He was a paternal cousin to Byron Thorne, named Shaun Thorne, and he shared a grandfather with Shane Thorne.

Shane Thorne’s grandfather and Byron Thorne’s grandfather were biological brothers, which made their blood ties a bit more distant. However, Shane Thorne was actually closer to Byron Thorne than he was to his other cousins, like Shaun Thorne.