The invention of electricity has changed people's lives, and people's lives are now inseparable from electricity. A sudden power outage has plunged everyone into panic.

"What's going on? The power's out? How can we live without electricity in this sweltering heat?!"

"Yes! My child is not even three years old yet. It's definitely not good for him to stay at home in this heat. I have to go back and check on him right away! Please let me know if he calls!"

"Sigh! I told you factory owners not to start production, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened! There's no electricity!"

"Old Li, what do you mean by that? Your family has been coming to my factory to get water all the time! Besides, we need to make a living too! Everyone around here works in a factory nearby!"

Then a quarrel broke out in the crowd. Lu Yuan quickly pulled the old man back a little. People are more irritable in the hot weather, especially in this environment of the midnight sun. People's spirits and wills are almost destroyed. Even such a simple quarrel could easily lead to bloodshed.

As expected, the crowd split into two factions. One faction consisted of villagers who resolutely opposed the factory's excessive use of electricity, arguing that it was a hot day and a fire could break out, a scenario no one wanted to witness.

The other faction consisted of factory owners who claimed that the fire had nothing to do with them and that they should blame whoever's house caught fire, as they were also victims. Furthermore, they argued that their factories provided numerous jobs for nearby villagers, and without them, these villagers would starve.

Lu Yuan only learned this later. More than ten years ago, this area was farmland. Later, when Qingshui City expanded its urban construction, it was included in the area, and many people became rich as a result. Although it was called the new urban area, the people here still regarded their homes as villages, and many families were still engaged in farming.

This factory area, including the surrounding area, belongs to a light industrial base, mainly engaged in the production of toys and spinning. There are also many emerging high-tech factories nearby. In order to unify management, the factory area and residential area in this area have been planned together and called New City Block 3, or New City Block 3 for short. Block 1 is located at the southernmost end, and from south to north, they are numbered 1, 2, and so on up to 5.

The fire chief saw people arguing and even fighting, and the fire suddenly flared up.

"If you want to make a scene, then get out of here! Don't interfere with our rescue work!"

Seeing the furious fire chief, both sides finally stopped arguing and fighting, but they were still sulking and ignoring each other.

With the fire chief taking the lead, everyone joined the firefighting efforts, because the fire chief promised that everyone who participated in the firefighting work would receive 30 liters of water.

Actually, some people had tried to use the fire hydrant before, but when they turned it on, not a drop of water came out. It was later learned that in order to ensure the use of water resources, all underground water channels are under the unified control of the government. If a fire really breaks out somewhere, the first thing people do is call the fire department, and then wait for the fire truck to arrive to check the fire situation and then notify the water bureau to open the water pipes.

Lu Yuan secretly gave a thumbs up to the foresight of the higher-ups. He hadn't expected that they would even think of this aspect. It seemed that those who wanted to do something crooked would no longer have the chance.

The firefighting operation finally ended five hours later, and the firefighters emerged from the fire with their faces blackened by smoke.

The balding yarn factory owner rushed over and asked, "Captain, are my yarns alright?"

The fire chief immediately punched the man, then, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed his collar and said hatefully, "It's all your fault for starting work without permission that caused this fire! Because of you, one of my brothers was seriously burned! You just wait!"

After saying that, he pushed the balding man forward hard, and the balding man staggered and fell to the ground.

Seeing the firefighters staring at him hatefully, the balding man was a little scared, but he still sneaked into his own factory. When he saw the factory, which had been burned to a pile of ruins, he almost fainted.

"My yarn! My machine! Ah!"

However, no one showed him any sympathy because of him, everyone in Zone 3 was without power. The most urgent thing was to restore power as soon as possible, otherwise no one could endure the high temperatures for long.

The fire chief kept his word and opened the fire hydrant, releasing several tons of water before leaving. Everyone scrambled to fill various containers and happily departed.

After everyone left, only the bald man remained outside, wandering and weeping. His family's only source of income had been wiped out by a fire, and with no electricity at home, it didn't really matter where he went. So he squatted down in front of the abandoned factory, counting what else he could sell.

Lu Yuan had made plans in advance, with several hundred square meters of solar panels installed on the roof, which was more than enough to power household appliances.

Lu Yuan took the old man home. It was too hot outside, with the temperature approaching forty degrees Celsius. Even if you did nothing, you would be covered in sweat. After taking a shower at home, Lu Yuan took out a watermelon from the refrigerator and started eating it.

The icy watermelon slid down my throat and into my stomach, instantly making all the chill in my body disappear. It was so refreshing!

Soon, Lu Yuan heard police sirens outside, and three police cars drove directly into the burning factory.

Lu Yuan put down the watermelon again and followed. He didn't have much work right now, so he was very interested in watching the excitement.

Like Lu Yuan, many villagers, unable to stay still in the heat at home, also came out.

"It's so hot at home! When are the power company people coming to fix it?! It's impossible to live without electricity!"

"Yes! It's so hot I don't want to eat. I've even lost weight recently!" The speaker was a woman who was 1.6 meters tall and weighed 160 pounds. Lu Yuan looked at her for a long time but couldn't find any signs of weight loss.

Several people got out of the police car and started taking pictures. Then they called the bald man over for questioning.

After the questioning ended, a police officer secretly slipped a page from his notebook and handed it to the bald man, saying, "Gu Changshui, you are suspected of illegally using electricity. You have three days to pay a fine of two million! If you fail to pay by the deadline, we will take strong measures against you! I hope you will learn from this experience!"

After hearing this, the bald man felt dizzy and, with trembling hands, accepted the fine slip, saying, "Officer, my factory just burned down, where am I going to get so much money to pay the fine!"

The police officer took off his hat, wiped his sweat, and said, "That's not our concern! We hope you pay the fine as soon as possible, otherwise you will face three months of criminal detention and having to sell your property to pay the fine!"