Shishamo and the Widow

Overview

Widow Sugita moves into a second-hand house and starts living alone. However, when she sees a bill brought by the electricity company's bill collector, she becomes suspicious that the electricity bill is too much higher than that of her previous house. The widow persistently complains to the bill collector and the power company, and is annoyed. The widow hears a bad rumor about the couple next door from the fishmonger's wife, and notices that the electricity meter is still running even though all the cords for the appliances are unplugged. She complains to the power company that the electricity is being stolen from the neighbor's house, and an investigation is finally launched with heavy machinery. The workers find a branched cord in the ceiling. After breaking a wall along the cord and tearing up the floor, they find the cord buried in the earth under the floor. A refrigerator is dug out from under the floor.