Super Zoo

Chapter 227 Money and Reason

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The mountains were dark and chilly, not a place for talking. The second elder left a few strong young men in the watchtowers of the fields to guard against the boars causing more trouble, and the rest of the people hustled down the mountain to discuss the compensation details back in the town.

Article 14 of the "Huaxia Wildlife Protection Law" clearly stipulates that for losses caused by the protection of national and local key protected wild animals, the local government shall provide compensation. The methods for such compensation shall be determined by the governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government.

This law had been in place for many years, yet few people knew about it. On the one hand, who would bother studying a wildlife protection law for no reason? Suming only became somewhat familiar with it after working at the zoo and needing it for work. Many farmers in Sun Town hadn't had much schooling, let alone studying the law.

Moreover, in backward places like Sun Town, which were relationship-oriented societies, people trusted solving problems through "connections" rather than the law. Especially for the lower-class farmers, they were somewhat fearful of the law and didn't want to get involved in 'lawsuits'.

Ultimately, it was up to the government to pay, and less trouble is better than more. The county was so poor, it was practically in tatters; of course, they wouldn't take the initiative to advertise this regulation.

As far as Suming knew, the province did have a compensation plan. In other words, if their crops were destroyed by a second-class protected animal like wild boars, the farmers could rightfully demand government compensation, which the government was obliged to provide.

Of course, that was the theory. In practice, how much to compensate, and how long it would take to receive the compensation, depended on having capable people to manage the process.

By the time they got back to the town, it was nearly dawn. A large group of people, sleepless, all poured into Suming's house.

The originally empty hall of the Su Family's house suddenly teemed with people; there weren't enough stools for everyone to sit on, many just squatting on the ground and the threshold, looking at Suming expectantly, waiting for him to explain the details about the compensation.

Every family in Sun Town owned fields in the surrounding mountains; if compensation could be implemented, they wouldn't have to live in constant fear.

Mrs. Su saw so many people coming over, she quickly started boiling water for tea, offered the seeds and snacks usually reserved for guests during the New Year, and after asking the second elder about the situation, she pulled Suming aside and whispered, "It's about a few thousand yuan for the dozen or so acres of crops. If it really comes to it, you can pay it. Didn't you just give me a hundred thousand yuan the other day? I don't need that money..."

Suming started with a joke before getting down to business, "Perfect, since they are your classmates from the Provincial Agricultural Academy, you could help me inquire about compensation for crops damaged by wild animals in our province. I was just talking about this because during the New Year's visit home, some of the villagers' fields were damaged by wild boars!"

He was making the call from the main hall, and the other villagers were watching him eagerly. When Suming mentioned 'Provincial Agricultural Academy,' many villagers' eyes lit up, their expressions filled with respect. In the eyes of these farmers, the experts at the Agricultural Academy held a status even higher than county leaders, let alone those from the provincial level.

After a brief conversation, Suming hung up the phone and told everyone, "What a coincidence, my friend has classmates who are currently interning at the relevant provincial departments, dealing with this exact issue. He'll ask around and call me back later!"

"Let's have some tea and cigarettes while we wait," Mrs. Su said, arranging tea and tobacco for everyone.

Uncle Er lit a cigarette and patted Suming's shoulder heavily, jokingly saying to the others, "See that? The Su kid really made something of himself. We'd have to run to the township head over anything, but he just makes a phone call and gets through to provincial leaders!"

A slap from Uncle Er's iron palm made Suming's eyes roll, thinking to himself, if the old man kept slapping like that, he'd flatten him out!

Meanwhile, Mr. Gu was puffing on his pipe, lecturing his two sons, "Look at your Mr. Su. Now you understand why your father insists on sending you to school despite hardships! Without an education, without seeing the world, you'll never amount to anything!"

After Suming's call, the atmosphere had clearly become much more relaxed. Auntie Er resumed her role, chatting to Mrs. Su on the side in whispers, gossiping about the county leader's daughter, the township leader's cousin, and such—making it sound as if all the unmarried women in the county were lining up to be selected by Suming as consorts.

Soon, Liang Shi called back.

On the policy front, the province stipulates a compensation of 50%-80% based on last year's market price.

"Such a large range?" Suming didn't quite understand and asked.

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