Chapter 58: Chapter 57: An Otherworldly Revolution Sparked by Electricity
"Patriarch Wei, the lines in your mansion should be installed soon."
In the courtyard, Lin Ziming was chatting with Wei Fan.
More than half a day ago, Lin Ziming’s first attempt at Qi cultivation regrettably ended in failure. As he left the cultivation room with the team, he happened to encounter the engineering crew arriving at the Wei Mansion to install the lines.
Considering Lin Ziming was relatively familiar with Wei Fan, his presence might bring some convenience during this process.
So, after getting permission from headquarters, Lin Ziming stayed at the Wei Mansion to manage some procedural handovers.
The purpose of the engineering team’s visit to the Wei Mansion was to install power lines and provide a series of both large and small lamps.
By the way, this whole process is free—this includes the generator and the first batch of diesel.
However, once the Wei Mansion is electrified and has experienced the lighting effects of our native lamps, the next project for the rabbits will begin:
citywide lighting supply.
Of course.
By then, various materials won’t be free, and there will be a charge for electricity after everything is set up.
After all, this is a resource exchange, not a giveaway.
Just as Lin Ziming was about to exchange a few more words of courtesy with Wei Fan, a serviceman suddenly ran over:
"Colonel Lin, the lines have been laid!" (Note: Is wiring a sixty-thousand-square-meter compound in a few hours reasonable? It’s roughly a 200x300 meter residential area; I honestly don’t know, can someone knowledgeable answer this?)
"Alright, thank you for your hard work."
Lin Ziming thanked the serviceman politely, and then made a gesture of invitation: "Clan Leader Wei, shall we take a look?"
Wei Fan responded with a gesture of invitation as well, and laughed:
"Sure, let’s head over together.
To be honest, I’m also curious about the technology of our homeland, having only read about it in books."
Everyone then took a few steps forward and entered a reception room.
Wei Xixi pulled Wei Niandong along to watch from the doorway.
Inside the reception room.
All the candles inside were extinguished, leaving it pitch black.
Lin Ziming stood by the wall, with his right hand holding the phone’s flashlight and his left hand on the switch by the door:
"This white button is the light switch; you just have to press it up..."
Click—
A crisp sound echoed, and the entire room was instantly as bright as day.
Then Lin Ziming pressed it again.
The room turned pitch black once more.
After the demonstration, Lin Ziming casually turned the light back on and walked over to Wei Fan:
"How about it, Clan Leader Wei? Pretty simple, right?"
Wei Fan looked at the glowing bulb above with some amazement and praised:
"Indeed, very convenient, and the lighting effect is fantastic."
Lin Ziming laughed heartily:
"This is one of the advantages of technology. Now most rooms in the mansion have switches installed, and each courtyard has been equipped with a street lamp.
The three diesel generators providing energy have been placed in secluded areas, and the lighting system of the entire Wei Mansion is more or less complete."
As Lin Ziming mentioned, the lines in the Wei Mansion were fully set up.
But for the rabbits.
This was merely the first step in initiating technological innovation in the public domain of the Damo Realm!
Now that there is electricity, could other things be far behind?
Do you want tap water?
Consider a base station?
Want some discounts on mobile phones?
1.6 billion renminbi TV dramas... well, maybe not that.
Of course, these are long-term plans that require some time.
At this moment, Wei Fan was naturally unaware of the rabbits’ strategic layout, and he was more concerned with practical matters:
"Colonel Lin, I wonder what the cost of this ’electricity’ might be?"
Lin Ziming was just about to say, ’didn’t we agree that the generator and diesel are provided by us?’ when he suddenly realized:
Wei Fan was asking about the expenses once the entire city is electrified!
As one of the main leaders of the Fire Camp.
Lin Ziming naturally knew the electricity pricing prepared by the rabbits.
He thought for a moment and replied:
"Currently, the mansion uses diesel-generated power. Generally, the conversion efficiency of diesel generator sets is about 31%, and roughly 1 liter of diesel can generate about 3 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
One kilowatt-hour is enough to power a lamp for about twelve hours."
Wei Fan pondered, recalling the material costs previously provided by the rabbits:
"If I remember correctly, a liter of diesel offered by your side is 7.5 Huaxia coins?"
Lin Ziming smiled and said:
"The cost of diesel-generated electricity is relatively high, and at times one kilowatt-hour might exceed three coins.
But in the future, the entire city will transition to power plant electricity, reducing the cost to five to seven mao per kilowatt-hour.
Given the scale of Chixian City... it’s over ten thousand people, right?
The electricity is basically used for public lighting; there are no large-scale lighting facilities or home appliance expenditures.
If residents want household access, the expenses need not be shouldered by the Wei Mansion...
Hmm...
Even if the lighting is continuously used during the night, the total consumption in 168 hours would be about 30,000 kilowatt-hours, or perhaps even less."
"Thirty thousand kilowatt-hours?"
Wei Fan began estimating on his fingers:
"If calculated at five mao... or seven mao per kilowatt-hour, thirty thousand kilowatt-hours would cost about twenty thousand Huaxia coins, right?
One Spirit Stone is about six thousand Huaxia coins... so twenty thousand coins equal about three Spirit Stones?"
Three Spirit Stones?!
Upon hearing this number.
Wei Lianzhang, who had been silently standing beside them, suddenly opened his mouth wide in shock (he’s the one who invited Yu Lian into the mansion).
As the chief steward of the mansion, Wei Lianzhang was responsible for calculating expenses in all aspects of the mansion.
He knew exactly what this figure represented—before the rabbits arrived, the lighting expenses for the Wei Mansion during each Damo Day exceeded fifty Spirit Stones!
Three compared to fifty!
Upon calculating this.
Even Wei Fan’s breathing quickened slightly, but as the Patriarch, he managed to control his excitement with some self-restraint:
"If electricity could be stable, it would indeed be a tremendous help to us.
The miracles of technology truly are incredible.
I wish I could visit the land of our ancestors and see how different it is from the Damo Realm."
Lin Ziming really wanted to pat this gentleman’s shoulder and tell him that the parents of his ancestors are still alive.
However, realizing that such banter didn’t fit his persona, he eventually said:
"When the opportunity is right, the organization will definitely consider it.
But Clan Leader Wei, if you wish to visit Huaxia, the most crucial step is mastering the language."
Upon hearing this, Wei Fan eagerly replied:
"That’s for sure. Recently, I’ve been learning Chinese from Youqiu and Nian Dong, and our homeland has also provided plenty of language learning materials.
I dare to say, with my Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer level of cultivation, I learn languages quite quickly."
Speaking of language, Wei Fan suddenly thought of something.
He turned his head, scanning the surrounding crowd, quickly locking eyes with Wei Niandong who stood by the door.
He beckoned Wei Niandong over:
"Nian Dong, come here for a bit."
Once Wei Niandong approached, Wei Fan tapped his shoulder and spoke to Lin Ziming:
"Colonel Lin, I heard you haven’t toured our Wei Mansion yet?
Why not have Nian Dong show you around? Our mansion is quite spacious.
Now that we have street lights, you can clearly see the surroundings at night—once the tour is over, it’ll be meal time, and you can join us for dinner."
Then he turned to Wei Niandong: "Nian Dong, are you free?"
Wei Niandong immediately felt a dangerously intense gaze lock onto him, and his strong survival instincts made him nod quickly: "No problem, I’m free!"
Seeing Wei Fan’s eagerness, along with thinking it would be a good opportunity to strengthen ties with the Wei Mansion, Lin Ziming readily agreed:
"Then I’ll trouble Brother Nian Dong."
Lin Ziming exchanged a few more polite words with Wei Fan before following Wei Niandong out of the reception room.
Upon crossing the threshold, he saw a serene and gentle-looking girl wave at him:
"Hi there, Mr. Lin, Nian Dong is my cousin."
Lin Ziming blinked in confusion:
Where did this Guangxi girl come from?