The whole slum district was like a maze.
An unfamiliar person entering here might not be able to find a way out.
Moreover, Ron noticed something.
There were very few adult males here.
Most were one or two adult women with several children.
Both adults and children were working.
Busy, but without income.
Some children curiously eyed the trio.
Even though Ron and Wendy had deliberately worn tattered clothes, these people's attire was even worse.
Wendy frowned deeply, probably not expecting that such places existed in the world.
Dominica rented a courtyard.
The area wasn't small, about sixty to seventy square meters.
Surrounded by iron sheets forming walls.
In the middle stood a wooden house with two rooms.
Next to it was a semi-open toilet connected to a ditch; there was no sewage system here.
The wooden house occupied only about ten square meters.
The rest was the courtyard.
The previous tenant had built a simple shed; the kitchen, dining room, and living room were all here.
The only property to speak of was a mango tree in the courtyard.
But all the fruit on the mango tree had been picked.
Not even a single green mango was left.
Soon, the landlord left.
Only Ron and the other two remained in the courtyard.
"Ron, Wendy, can you adapt?"
Dominica looked at Ron and Wendy and asked.
In the Zoldyck family's childhood training, besides poison, there was training in harsh environments.
Ron had been in conditions much worse than this.
What's more, Ron had been to Meteor City.
The environment of the old Garbage districts was much worse than here.
But for Wendy, this should be her first time.
However, Wendy only hesitated for a moment before nodding immediately.
Dominica nodded and said, "For Nen users, this is also a very important part. Adapting now is better than suddenly encountering such situations later."
"Well then, from today on, we'll live here."
"First step, let's tidy up that toilet."
"I'll go buy some materials."
"You two stay here; tidy up whatever you can."
After speaking, Dominica left the courtyard.
Ron came to the wooden house.
There were two rooms in total, so the allocation was obvious: Wendy would have one to herself, and Ron would share with Dominica.
He pushed open the door.
Inside, there was nothing.
No tables, chairs, or stools.
"Wendy, which room do you want?"
Wendy proactively chose the smaller one.
Ron walked to the mango tree in the middle of the courtyard, took some branches from it, twisted them together to make simple brooms, handed one to Wendy, and kept one for himself.
The two began cleaning the wooden house.
Because the previous tenant had taken everything away so thoroughly, there were surprisingly few insects and rodents that are usually abundant in slums, which was an unexpected bonus.
After cleaning the wooden house, the two moved to the courtyard.
They cleared large pieces of trash to one side.
The entire courtyard looked much cleaner and tidier.
An hour later, Dominica returned.
He was followed by several people carrying large packages.
"Just put them here."
Dominica said to them.
They set down the packages.
Dominica took out some bills.
Three hundred Jenny per person.
These people probably made a living by selling their labour. The items were bought by Dominica in stores or stalls, and these people helped carry them back.
Sweat was evident on their faces.
Obviously, the items were heavy.
The journey wasn't close either.
But after receiving three hundred Jenny, their faces showed satisfied smiles.
Genuine smiles from the heart.
But three hundred Jenny wasn't worth much in this world.
It couldn't even buy two cans of soda from the vending machines in Heaven's Arena.
Being so happy over such a small amount showed how difficult life was for people here.
Individual labour was completely undervalued.
They often couldn't even find work.
Ron withdrew his gaze.
"Perhaps ordinary people's labour isn't worth much, but it's not worthless to this extent."
"The main issue is the harsh environment."
"If they moved to another place, life would be much better."
"Many times, simple hard work is useless."
"Smart choice is often much more important than just pure single-minded effort."
After the people left, Dominica closed the courtyard gate.
"I've bought the materials, but to avoid attracting too much attention, I didn't buy much."
Dominica sorted the purchased items.
Some were building materials.
Some were for sleeping and resting.
"I'll handle the toilet."
Dominica took the materials to the toilet area and began hammering away.
Ron and Wendy took the other items into the wooden house.
But there wasn't much.
After placing the items, Ron and Wendy came to the courtyard and cleaned up the kitchen area.
A small mound of earth, hollow in the middle, where a pot could be placed, and wood could be burned underneath.
On the other side hung a rope in mid-air, used for hanging towels.
No washstand, no tap water, no bathroom...
Gradually, night fell.
The trio finally stopped their busy work.
After some effort in tidying up, the courtyard finally looked like someone was living there.
The three entered the wooden house.
Dominica took out food and water.
"Let's call it a day."
"I'll buy the materials and tools for making pancakes tomorrow."
"Oh, and about water usage—this area does have tap water, but it doesn't reach every household; there's only a public water source where we need to fetch water."
"I'll buy a few buckets tomorrow. Fetching water will be my responsibility."
With Ron and Wendy's strength, they could easily carry two buckets of water.
But if others saw that, it would expose that they weren't ordinary people.
Children their age generally had limited strength.
"Ron, you'll help me sell pancakes. Wendy, you'll assist me in making them."
Wendy had no objections.
The night grew deeper.
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