Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1956 Electric City
Time passed quietly, and soon it was the day of their Great Zhou's centennial celebration.

Various National Day activities had already begun during the day, but through newspaper reports, the public already knew that the main event of the day would take place after nightfall.

As the sun sets and darkness falls, most citizens should be heading home by this time.

But today is different. Every lamppost in the streets and alleys of Blackmoon City is surrounded by people.

Some people even sit under the lampposts in the morning just to get a good spot.

People who arrive late can't even squeeze in; they can only crane their necks and stand on tiptoe to look inside from the outermost edge.

Time passed quietly, and the sky grew darker and darker. As night fell, everyone was completely unprepared. After a few flashes, the streetlights on both sides of the street suddenly lit up, causing everyone in the area to gasp in surprise.

Feeling the sudden surge of sound around them, the newspaper reporters, who had already set up their cameras, had no time to think and quickly captured this historic moment.

At this moment, the streetlights on the streets of Black Moon City, once lit, provided a much brighter illumination than the previous oil lamps.

At that moment, someone started it all, and the crowd of onlookers on the street began to cheer loudly.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Emperor!!!"

That night, shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" echoed continuously over Blackmoon City!
The next morning, the latest issue of the newspaper sold out as expected, and this was just the beginning.

The installation of streetlights is like a special switch, turning on the nightlife of the entire city.

Normally, after nightfall, the number of pedestrians on the streets would decrease significantly by 8 or 9 p.m. at the latest.

Those who had nothing to do went straight home to their wives, children, and warm beds.

Recently, in areas where streetlights have been put into use, the streets are still bustling with people even at nine or ten o'clock.

As a result, the shops on both sides of the street also took the opportunity to postpone their closing time to 11 or 12 at night and started doing business at night.

One night, Zhou Xu, accompanied by two bodyguards, went on an incognito visit. Under the streetlights, the night was more lively than he had ever experienced since he came to this world, making Zhou Xu feel a little dazed for a moment.

At that moment, he truly felt the progress of the times; the bustling city streets before him even had a touch of modern urban atmosphere.

The opening of the night market economy is undoubtedly a good thing, as it further boosts urban consumption.

Once streetlights are fully implemented nationwide, the resulting economic impact is entirely foreseeable.

Leaving aside the new district, as the first city in the Great Zhou Dynasty to begin popularizing electricity, Black Moon City has undoubtedly become the focus of attention for all its people during this period.

After the streetlights in all the streets of the city have been installed and connected to the power supply, the next step is to bring the electricity to each household.

Unlike modern houses that come with built-in electrical outlets, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, a country where electricity is only just beginning to be widely available, houses in the past did not have internal electrical wiring. This makes installing electrical circuits in the house a very troublesome matter at this stage.

There are too many residents in the city, and I don't know where to start. Besides, you also have to consider whether people are willing to do this.

Don't doubt it, everyone has different ideas. Some people are happy with it, and naturally some people are not.

In response to this situation, Zhou Xu did not intend to force everyone to use electricity and electric lights.

The main reason is that there are many willing people. The people at the power bureau are so busy every day that they simply don't have the time to deal with those who are unwilling in the short term.

To facilitate the work, Zhou Xu set up dedicated service windows for the power bureau in various urban areas. People who wanted their electricity installed could go to these windows to pay the fees and apply. Afterward, the power bureau staff would compile the applications and then provide installation services to each applicant in the order they were submitted.

Zhou Xu has made sufficient preparations for this.

However, as soon as the service windows in various districts reopened, they were immediately overwhelmed with customers...

Ultimately, we underestimated the enthusiasm of the people.

Driven by the enthusiastic support of the people, the power system is rapidly covering the entire Blackmoon City.

Before the new winter arrived, the nights in Blackmoon City seemed to be free from darkness, with bright lights shining from house to house.

Humans are herd animals; if others have something, they will want to have it too.

This same nature is also reflected in the installation of circuits and lights. People who originally had no intention of installing circuits began to waver as they felt the surrounding lights increasing.

This is also the main reason why, even though several months have passed, there are still long queues outside the service windows of the power bureaus in various urban areas.

However, given the current efficiency of circuit installation, the latest they can expect to get their turn is probably next spring.

The successful rollout of electricity in Black Moon City undoubtedly gave Zhou Xu a good start to his next plan.

Meanwhile, power plants in other cities were already under construction, and some had even been completed. The popularization of electricity had reached an unstoppable point.

With electricity, many things can be made possible.

Before winter even arrived, the research institute, while working on other projects, inadvertently produced a byproduct: an electric kettle.

Its main feature is that it can be used simply by plugging it in.

It sold out immediately upon release!

For people living in apartment buildings, this is exactly what they need, and it is indeed very convenient!
During this period, various other electrical appliances also gradually entered the market.

The lives of the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty officially entered a state of rapid change.

However, the whole process was not entirely smooth sailing.

Putting everything else aside, the pollution generated daily by the thermal power generators in the power plant is a major problem.

Since the power plant was built, a large amount of waste gas has been emitted from its chimneys every day, making the sky above the plant dark.

Even when breathing within the area, you can clearly feel the increased particulate matter in the air.

It is no exaggeration to say that the total amount of exhaust gas emitted by these thermal power plants every day now exceeds that of steam trains.

Zhou Xu couldn't say he was completely unprepared for this, but the actual situation was indeed more serious than he had anticipated.

The Environmental Protection Bureau delivered the improvement plan to Zhou Xu almost immediately. After confirming it, Zhou Xu immediately instructed the finance department to allocate funds and begin implementation.

We absolutely cannot let our guard down when it comes to environmental governance!

(End of this chapter)