I Inherited 5,000 Years of Family Property

Chapter 151 Power, Water, and Gas Outages

The country of Chaomo, a nation closest to Qingqiu Country, was in fact once a part of the same country. However, due to wars that took place a long time ago, the nation split, and eventually, two different governments emerged.

Although independent from each other, their relationship was actually quite good. After all, the people from both nations shared the same ancestors' blood, and they carried the inseparable bonds of being divided by national borders.

Chaomo was the country with the most Qingqiu Currency in foreign exchange reserves in the world, holding up to 10.8 trillion Qingqiu Currency, far exceeding the foreign exchange reserves of any other country.

At the first cry for help from Qingqiu Country, they were the only country that did not put forward any additional conditions, merely requiring the payment of the equivalent in US Dollars at the current exchange rate. It was the epitome of brotherly unity.

Inside the Minister's office of the Chaomo's Finance Ministry, Cui Wu was having an enthusiastic conversation with Su Zhihe.

"Minister Cui, we owe you big time for this one. Without your willingness to extend a helping hand, our Qingqiu Country's economy would have taken a significant downturn."

"What are you saying? We are friendly nations, and of course we should help each other out in such minor matters. It's just about dealing with someone from Huaxia. If both our nations work together, can't we handle a young man in his early twenties?"

Despite the friendly rhetoric, Cui Wu had just conducted a thorough inspection of banks across the country not long ago. Perhaps because their nation was founded later, it seemed they had not been infiltrated by the Zhang Family's influence, and those mysterious accounts had not appeared in their banks.

Clearly, Zhang Menglong wasn't able to use the same methods against them as he had with Qingqiu Country. Given this, what was there to fear? They could freely do as they pleased. Could Zhang Menglong possibly interfere with them?

"Hahaha, exactly. We might be two countries, but our ancestors are the same, the blood within us is the same. We absolutely can't allow Huaxia people to ride roughshod over us!"

As they spoke, Su Zhihe began to spill his grievances, telling Cui Wu about Zhang Menglong and their issue with women.

"That's outrageous!" Upon hearing this, Cui Wu was as furious as Su Zhihe. "Rest assured, this matter has already been approved by the parliament. We will spare no effort to help you. In no more than two days, the 10 trillion Qingqiu Currency will arrive in your Ministry of Finance's account!"

"Fantastic!" Su Zhihe suddenly beamed with joy. "As long as this first tranche of aid arrives within two days, everything can be easily resolved."

...

"Minister Cui, should we really be doing this?" After hanging up the phone, Cui Wu's assistant suddenly asked such a question. "Although I don't know this Huaxia youth named Zhang Menglong, I have a feeling that he is a very forthright person. Our actions might offend him."

"So what if he's offended? We're not Qingqiu. Does he have any way to act against us?" Cui Wu sneered. "Huaxia people are too arrogant. It's time to show them that not everyone is afraid of them."

"But Minister, our country was established only a few decades ago. Both our infrastructure and society are still in development. If anything goes wrong, it could lead to disastrous consequences."

"You're being overly pessimistic. The people of Huaxia don't have that ability!" Cui Wu responded.

"Snap!" Just then, the entire office of the minister plunged into darkness. It wasn't just the lights; even the other devices all went into a state of paralysis.

"What's going on?" Fortunately, it was daytime, and Cui Wu wasn't handling any important documents.

"It seems like a power outage; I'll go check it out," said Cui Wu's assistant.

"Ridiculous, impossible! This is the Ministry of Finance building; how could there possibly be a power outage?" Cui Wu immediately dismissed the possibility. It was essential to understand that this was no ordinary place. A power failure could lead to the loss of critical data or documents, affecting the entire nation. Buildings belonging to the government could not possibly have such incidents.

At that moment, Cui Wu's phone suddenly rang. The number was from one of his subordinates.

"What's the matter?" Cui Wu demanded with an authoritative voice.

"What did you say? A nationwide power and water outage?"

"What? The energy supply is also cut off? How is that possible?"

Several shocking pieces of news completely bewildered Cui Wu. "What's going on? Aren't the departments responsible for the power, water, and energy systems supposed to handle this? Why is it being reported to me?"

"Minister, those in charge told me to ask you, what exactly have you done?"

"What do you mean?" Cui Wu was startled, utterly failing to comprehend the meaning behind his subordinate's words.

"Minister, our entire power, water, and energy systems are dependent on other countries. A few minutes ago, our natural gas supplier cut off our supply, as did the water and power systems."

"What about our own supply systems?" Cui Wu queried.

"Minister, although our nation's infrastructure has been continuously improved over the years, to date over 80% is still reliant on neighboring countries, particularly in terms of power and energy. Most power companies are not state-owned. Right now, our national resources, meager as they are, can only barely maintain the energy supply to some vital regions. As for domestic supply, we really are powerless."

"What on earth is happening? Why would this happen, why would those companies cut off the supply? Is our Finance Department's annual massive energy expenditure just a farce?"

"Minister, those companies say it was an order from their bosses, to implement a 'triple-disconnection' policy on our country."

"Triple-disconnection policy? Which three disconnections?"

"Water, power, natural gas!"

"Bastards!" Cui Wu pounded the table furiously. "Who are these bosses they're talking about? I'll go directly to them!"

"I... I asked... but Minister Jin from the Energy Department mentioned that this was all your doing..."

"Mine? What have I done?" Cui Wu was still utterly confused.

Just then, Cui Wu's phone signal was suddenly interrupted by another call, from an unfamiliar number, which didn't appear to be from their own country.

"This is Cui Wu, who am I speaking to?"

"Minister Cui, hello, I am Zhang Menglong!" A young voice came through from the other end.

At that moment, Zhang Menglong and Lee Ji-eun had made their way to the largest mall in Qingqiu Country. Lee Ji-eun was trying on clothes in a luxury boutique. It couldn't be denied that shopping was an innate desire for every girl; it was supposed to be Lee Ji-eun accompanying Zhang Menglong, yet it seemed like he was the one tagging along with her.

"Zhang Menglong? How do you have my contact information?" Cui Wu asked, "What do you want from me?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask if Minister Cui might be looking for those multinational energy company bosses."

"How do you know that?" Cui Wu's pupils dilated upon hearing this, as a terrifying possibility crossed his mind, "Don't tell me..."

"Be confident and drop the 'Don't tell me.' Global Energy, Enka Construction, Lima Energy... those companies' boss, that's modest little me!"

"You... you did this?" The horror in Cui Wu's voice could not be overstated; he had initially thought that as long as Zhang Menglong did not control their country's economy, they need not fear him.

But he hadn't realized that Zhang Menglong might not control the economy, but he did control the country's energy! This was tantamount to having their country by the throat!

"I made this call to warn you, keep out of things that don't concern you. I thought about giving you a small punishment, a three-day shut-off of electricity, water, and natural gas. Of course, if you behave well, I might consider shortening that period. "

Zhang Menglong laughed, "Of course, your key departments have their own power systems, but when it comes to the civilians' water, electricity, and energy supplies, most of it is up to me."