Most buildings near the Migrant Community were low, flat-roofed houses, mostly inhabited by families of miners. Not far from the residential area lay a market; since there were virtually no mobile vendors in the community, residents had to head to this market whenever they needed to buy food, clothing, or daily supplies.
Among ordinary people, a miner's earnings certainly counted as quite high, but there were plenty of people eyeing that little bit of coin in their pockets. As long as one bought things at the market here, the prices were far from cheap.
Of course, this mining area had no enclosing walls either, and those migrants could choose to leave this place and make a living in other areas of Mingdu. However, for one thing, they faced discrimination in Mingdu, and for another, they could not find such good jobs anywhere else.
After much deliberation, they remained right here. As long as they endured it, expensive goods would simply be expensive; by living frugally and economizing, they could still save up quite a bit of money.
Right in the center of the market stood the most prominent restaurant and tavern, occupying naturally the largest plot of land. There were no small number of diners inside, mostly local miners and their family members.
Sitting in twos and threes around the dining tables, every table had only a sparse few dishes, mostly consisting of vegetarian fare.
Only occasionally did a table with young children have a small plate of meat dishes ordered. The mother would, with a pang of heartache, pick out the meat and place it into her husband's bowl, while the husband wouldn't dare to eat much either, similarly passing the meat to the child while shoveling plain white rice into his mouth nonstop.
Sitting right beside them was