"Even the scavengers don't come here? Aren't they..."
Panam laughed and picked up where he left off.
"Scavengers don't pick up just any old trash. You might not know this, but there are several mountains of garbage outside the city. I mean actual mountains-so much garbage that it's piled up like mountains."
"Most of that garbage comes from Charter Hill and North Oak. A lot of it is still usable. The scavengers all go there, so they wouldn't come here."
Su Xiao nodded.
He had hired Panam and the others to keep the Random Blade Society and the scavengers from causing trouble. With nobody showing up, it might look like a waste of money, but Su Xiao simply considered it money spent to keep trouble away.
It was like buying health insurance. Some people might regret it, thinking they were healthy and never got sick, so buying health insurance was a waste.
But once they canceled their insurance, something would inevitably happen right then.
Sometimes life was just that perverse.
Su Xiao didn't begrudge the small sum he had spent. If nobody came, all the better.
"Thanks for all your hard work. I'll treat you to a proper feast in the city later."
Panam's eyes lit up.
"Really? Where? Don't pick one of those fancy restaurants. They're a huge pain, they don't even fill you up, and they cost a fortune. I don't like them. I like those little hole-in-the-wall places that look dirty but serve great food..."
Who would have thought Panam was a foodie in disguise? It certainly didn't show in everyday life.
Su Xiao waited until she finished, then said with a smile,
"You can pick the place later. By the way, where's the construction foreman? Tell him to come see me."
A few minutes later,