508 Ah Ow Dug Something Out

Li Du walked into the hotel, looked around and said, "Nice atmosphere. The style is unique with all the yellowish-brown bricks. What's the name of this style?"

Hans grinned. "Water shortage style."

"What?" Li Du asked, confused.

"It was a Spanish mudbrick house," Hans explained. "A very ancient style of Spanish houses.

"The yellowish-brown bricks that you see is a local feature of Tucson. The weather here is dry all year round, without any rainfall for long periods of time. That's why they used bricks dried under the sun instead of fired in a kiln."

"What if it rains?" Li Du asked. "Does that mean the house will collapse?"

Hans shrugged. "The thing is that it doesn't rain often. Even when it does, it's only a few drops and causes no harm to the already dried and hardened bricks."