Farmers must not be forced to move into apartments against their will. What problems will this cause?

On the 6th, Hong Tianyun, Deputy Director of the National Rural Revitalization Administration, stated at a press conference that this year marks the first year of the comprehensive launch of the rural revitalization construction campaign. Rural planning serves as the blueprint for rural construction, and the principle of planning first, followed by construction, must be upheld. The layout and classification of villages should be clearly defined, and the compilation of practical village plans integrating multiple planning systems should be actively and orderly promoted. For villages with the necessary conditions and needs, full coverage of village planning should be achieved. We must pay attention to basing our work on the existing foundation and realities, preserving the unique characteristics and features of villages, and avoiding large-scale demolition and construction. In particular, the consolidation and demolition of villages must be strictly regulated, and farmers must not be forced to move into high-rise buildings against their will. Village construction is for the service of farmers.

Farmers must not be forced to move into apartments against their will. The phrase "must not" indicates that similar incidents of farmers being forced to move into apartments have already occurred. Judging from online comments, most support maintaining the original rural architecture and detached houses, which also reflects the dissatisfaction of current apartment dwellers with their living conditions. Let's first understand the problems that farmers moving into apartments might cause through a case study:

Case: The noise from the elderly people upstairs who moved from the countryside playing mahjong every day is unbearable!

Recently, tenants moved into the apartment upstairs from a neighboring village that was relocated due to demolition. There are three permanent residents in total: an elderly couple aged 74 and an elderly couple aged 95.

To put it bluntly, there are three elderly people living here. You'd think there wouldn't be much noise, right?

His house is different; he has a mahjong machine on his balcony. Every afternoon, his relatives and brothers would come over to play mahjong. They used to be from the same village, but their houses were demolished, and they all moved to our neighborhood. We could hear the sound of the mahjong machine shuffling and pushing the tiles into it clearly.

It's not just the sound of the mahjong machine; because they play mahjong, there are many people in their house, and the talking, moving tables and chairs, plus the fact that they're from the countryside and have never lived in an apartment complex before, means they're not aware of these things. So, as the downstairs neighbor, I really find it noisy. Especially during the two-week Chinese New Year holiday, their house gets even noisier because they're elderly, and many younger relatives come to visit, play mahjong, and even play at night. Because of the holiday break, it's like our family is being disturbed every day.

Let me just tell you how I handled it:

On my first visit, I brought two small gift cans. I went in and chatted with the elderly couple for a while. The old man was very welcoming and immediately offered me a can of cigarettes. A few elderly women were playing mahjong at their house, so I didn't say anything, not even mentioning the noise. I thought it would be inappropriate to bring up the noise issue on my first visit while they were playing.

On my second visit, I took two extra calendars from the company, but didn't even go inside. I gave them to the elderly couple without mentioning the issue of the voice.

On my third visit, I brought table leg pads and chair leg covers that I bought myself on Taobao, along with some gifts. I immediately mentioned that the mahjong machine was noisy and often made my child cry while sleeping. I then smoothly placed the table leg pads under the four legs of the mahjong machine, and I also put rubber covers on all the chairs in the old man's house, so they were quiet when dragged. Before leaving, I gave the 95-year-old woman a 200 yuan red envelope, wishing her a Happy New Year. The elderly couple apologized, but overall, things were harmonious, and there was no argument or anything like that.

I thought that was the end of it, but it wasn't. I discovered the mahjong machine mat was completely useless; the sound was still the same. Now I was in a bind. What to do? The elderly couple were over 70 years old, didn't need to work, and just played mahjong at home. If I went up and stopped them from playing, I couldn't really say anything.

Just then, unexpectedly, the older woman knocked on my door, bringing a carton of milk, a bucket of vegetables (she has a small vegetable garden), and a 300 yuan red envelope, saying it was for my one-year-old son. Wow, not only did I get my money back for the small gifts I gave her earlier, and the table and chair covers I bought, but I actually made a profit! I took the opportunity to subtly mention to the elderly couple upstairs that the mahjong machine was still quite noisy, and they said they would try to find a solution.

Later, the noise did indeed subside a lot. I went to visit him and found that there were two layers of plush cushions on his balcony, with a mahjong machine on the cushions. The old man said that his daughter had bought them for him.

Let me explain the current situation. There is some noise, but it doesn't significantly affect our family. Plus, the elderly couple promised me they wouldn't play mahjong at night, and they're older and go to bed early. So when we get home at night, it's very quiet upstairs. During the day, they play mahjong for several hours every afternoon. My mom stays home with the kids, and they're unaffected by the noise; they eat and sleep as usual. My mom says the noise is nothing special and perfectly normal. So, that's all.

So, what problems will arise when farmers move into apartments?

1. Farmers' original lifestyle habits lead to noise pollution in the neighborhood.

Rural people are used to going to bed early and getting up early. Their detached houses have led them to develop the habit of walking and talking loudly, without any awareness of the noise pollution affecting their downstairs neighbors.

2. Farmers are forced to change their lifestyles, increasing their psychological burden.

Habits formed over most of their lives have become muscle memory, and even if farmers are aware of noise, they can't easily change their habits. Forcing them to adapt to upstairs living will only increase their psychological burden.

Therefore, farmers should not be forced to move into apartments against their will. This benefits not only farmers but also urban residents.