The Price of Kindness

There were no public charging stations in our neighborhood, and the nearest fast-charging station had a two-hour wait. So I paid out of pocket to install eight charging stations in my own parking area and set up a "Free Neighborhood Charging Station." I established two simple rules: 1. Free charging from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. First come, first served. 2. I only collected the actual cost of electricity. No service fees, no profit. My neighbors showered me with appreciation, even presenting me with a banner of gratitude. That was until Clark Reeves, a newcomer to the neighborhood, swiped his access card and drove into the parking area. He was a livestreamer known for nitpicking and exposing supposed problems with everything. On his very first day, he asked, "Does this charging station have an electricity supply license? Who's going to pay for the battery if there's an accident? Can you afford to cover the losses for thirty-seven cars?" I explained that I was simply splitting my household electricity costs with the neighbors. I wasn't charging a single cent in service fees. He pushed up his glasses. "Free? The moment something goes wrong, this becomes illegal electricity resale. Are you prepared to take responsibility?" A week later, thirty-seven car owners jointly filed a complaint with the power company, accusing me of "illegally operating an electricity supply business." The power company notified me: "Your charging stations will be sealed tomorrow morning."