"At present, the city's population has increased from just over thirty thousand to more than one hundred forty thousand. Many problems have come to the surface. Household garbage disposal, disputes among the people, and all sorts of minor housing issues are becoming more and more common. Our management is scattered and unsystematic. This issue has reached the point where it must be addressed."
Chen Pingyuan looked at everyone attending the meeting and said, "Take garbage disposal, for example. When did the county ever have this problem before? Comrades, back then people wished they could carry everything home, whether it was useful or not, and save it up first. But now? Plastic, waste paper, dirty water—it's a complete mess, filthy and foul.
Factory Director Wang had the foresight to crack down on sanitation long ago. There are quite a few trash bins and garbage heaps in the city... but we can't just keep looking at garbage forever. And as for disposal, we pile our trash out west. It's quite far away—more than ten kilometers—and there are dedicated workers burning it. But when the wind blows, the stench carries for ten miles. A west wind blew a couple days ago, and it really drifted right into the city..."
Chen Pingyuan brought up many practical problems from everyday life. Some people living in apartment buildings insisted on occupying the space outside their doors; neighbors upstairs, downstairs, left, and right did not get along; someone's water pipe burst, but they could not find anyone to fix it right away; there were not enough workers to collect and exchange liquefied gas cylinders; some households ran out of gas and could not cook. All these little problems piled up into major ones.
"Everyone, speak freely. Let's think of a solution."
"Ahem..."
A round of throat-clearing sounded,