Chapter 579: Who Has a High‑Power Appliance?

If Lu Cheng hadn't dodged in time, the door would have slammed onto him.

Seeing the door that had followed him for years lying on the floor like that, Lu Cheng almost lost his temper.

But when he saw his mother's hungry stare and remembered she had just taken an oath, he immediately felt guilty.

"Hey, you guys... that's too violent! I was just about to open the door! Look how you ripped it apart; how am I supposed to sleep tonight…"

No one cared how he slept; the two of them rushed to the bedside, lifted the quilt, and pulled out the Electric Heating Blanket.

"Great, they actually used the Electric Heating Blanket; the nest is already warm."

When the incriminating evidence was produced on the spot, without waiting for Lu Cheng to explain, Yue Min Xifu started complaining first.

"Lu San'er, how could you use the Electric Heating Blanket when there's a coal stove in the house? How cold could you possibly be?"

"It's not that I…"

"Stop making excuses; because you used that Electric Heating Blanket, none of us could watch TV!"

"Exactly, that thing wastes electricity; why did you use it!"

…

Everyone kept firing off complaints about missing the TV, and Lu Cheng's eyes nearly popped out from all the shouting.

He glanced at the outspoken Wang Big Aunt, who stepped back a little.

"Don't think I'm the only one; I'm just stating the facts."

Lu Cheng felt helpless; to call her outspoken, he could only blame himself for telling Wang Big Aunt that he bought the Electric Heating Blanket.

Fortunately he hadn't mentioned the Induction Cooker, so he could still make a little excuse.

"Everyone, everyone, calm down. I know you're upset we didn't get to watch the movie tonight, but it's really not my fault…"

"You say it's not your fault, but what's up with that Electric Heating Blanket? It's a high‑power appliance!"

Lu Cheng thought quickly: "I don't think the Electric Heating Blanket is the cause; it's only a hundred watts. Even adding our courtyard lights brings it up to a few hundred watts at most, which couldn't possibly blow the fuse."

They pulled the Electric Heating Blanket apart and saw a label nearby that indeed read 100 W.

Even using the blanket wouldn't be enough to burn out the fuse.

But the fuse was definitely blown!

Rarely does Lu Cheng get besieged by so many; after taking a hit, Yue Min Xifu finally saw a chance for revenge.

Cross‑arming herself, she shouted: "Stop making excuses. It never broke before; you used the Electric Heating Blanket today and it broke. Who would believe you say it has nothing to do with it?"

"Since you delayed us from watching TV today, we should confiscate his Electric Heating Blanket to prevent further use!"

When Yue Min Xifu's giggle rang out, Lu Cheng couldn't help but frown; he had barely managed to smooth things over, but her words reignited everyone's anger.

If he hadn't felt guilty today, he would've had to pin Yue Min Xifu on the bed and spank her.

I must admit, Yue Min Xifu's butt was quite perky, wrapped in slightly tight, genuine‑quality fabric, making her little rear both round and lifted.

"Hey, look, he's being a pervert, staring at my butt…"

Everyone saw that Lu Cheng was indeed staring fixedly at Yue Min Xifu's butt, his eyes bulging.

A neighbor who couldn't watch any longer said: "Lu San'er, no messing around... just apologize for today, but the Electric Heating Blanket must be confiscated!"

"No, no, stop talking…"

Because the power was out and the room was dark, Lu Cheng leaned closer to Yue Min Xifu's butt again.

"Hey, what are you doing! Acting like a pervert in public, huh?"

Yue Min Xifu got angry, seeing Lu Cheng's rudeness, her face turned pale with fury.

Lu Cheng finally stood up, clapped his hands: "Found the cause."

Everyone was confused: "What cause did you find?"

"I found why the fuse blew," Lu Cheng said, pointing at Yue Min Xifu's pants.

"It's because of that pair of pants."

Hearing that, everyone thought Lu Cheng was spouting nonsense.

"Lu San'er, what are you babbling about? My pants aren't an appliance; how could they blow a fuse? You can't just bite people randomly either."

Yue Min Xifu kept covering her butt, trying to avoid Lu Cheng's gaze.

"Of course it's related. Didn't your family buy an electric iron? Don't say you didn't—just look at how perfectly pressed your pants are."

She realized they were looking at the pants, not the butt, and finally removed her hand from covering it.

She had intended not to admit it, but at that moment Grandpa Zhao Daye also frowned.

"I'm wondering why the electricity bill has spiked this month. Yue Min, why buy that thing? It's such a waste of power."

Yue Min opened his mouth; it was his wife who insisted on buying it, saying the freshly ironed clothes looked crisp.

Yue Min Xifu couldn't hide it any longer, puffed her chest and said: "We bought it, so what! I can't iron my pants otherwise!"

Lu Cheng clapped: "There you go. That electric iron is a high‑power appliance, at least five hundred watts."

Yue Min Xifu froze, noticing the accusatory gazes that had been on Lu Cheng now all turned toward her.

She hurriedly explained: "Yes, it's a high‑power appliance, but I didn't use it today."

He said enough and Lu Cheng chose to stay silent.

Yue Min Xifu grew even more frantic: "Speak up! Why are you silent?"

Lu Cheng squinted and smiled, staying silent because the big guy would speak for him.

"So it was your household's high‑power appliance that almost got us to wrongly blame Lu San'er."

"Our courtyard transformer is already weak; why did you use that thing?"

"Exactly, those pants are so straight you could eat off them."

Yue Min Xifu blinked, wondering why they were now attacking her!

"No, I didn't use it today! What do you say I did!"

"You say it's useless, then it's useless! So in this courtyard, only your family has high‑power appliances; if it wasn't you using them, who was?"

"Exactly, it must have been you using it secretly."

"I… I really didn't use it today…" Yue Min Xifu said, anxiously hopping her feet.

Wu Guiwen, the de facto leader of the courtyard, stepped forward: "Alright, alright, stop making excuses! Whether you used it or not, you can't buy high‑power appliances; the saved electricity has to support Third Line Construction!"

Those words were practically perched on a moral high ground, on enlightenment, and everyone immediately echoed them.

"Right, the nation's electricity is hard‑won; that… electric iron should be confiscated first."

"Zhao Daye, you have no objection, right?"

Zhao Daye of course had no objection; this spendthrift daughter‑in‑law, electricity bills aren't about money, so he immediately agreed that everyone should confiscate the electric iron.

With Zhao Daye's stance, the group rushed into Yue Min's house and demanded the electric iron be taken out.

Yue Min Xifu, so anxious she was about to cry, pleaded: "Don't confiscate it! I won't use it anymore, I promise…"

Only the people who have been wronged on your behalf understand how much you have been wronged, so Lu Cheng stepped forward and offered a comforting word.

"It's fine, if it's confiscated then it's confiscated. Everyone is doing it for national construction, so for the country, this little sacrifice is nothing."

Seeing Lu Cheng's smiling, squinty face, Yue Min Xifu plopped onto the ground, wiping tears as she began to sob.

Lu Cheng simply wiped the sweat from his forehead, finally managing to smooth things over.

Just as he was about to lift the door panel, Mom grabbed the electric heating blanket and took it away.

"Hey, Mom, Mom, don't take it away. Everything's been investigated, it has nothing to do with my electric heating blanket."

Chen Xianglan glared: "Even if it's unrelated, it still must be confiscated; this thing consumes a lot of electricity. For national construction, you have to sacrifice a bit too."

Lu Cheng sighed helplessly, watching Yue Min Xifu sitting there crying; he also wanted to cry along.

But the next day, Lu Cheng still took advantage of Mom being at work, slipped into the room and stole it.

Of course it couldn't stay at home; otherwise Mom would have to take it away when she returned, so he simply took the electric heating blanket straight to the Research Institute.