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    The mountains were dark and chilly, not a ce 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 thepensation details back in the town.


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


    Thisw had been in ce for many years, yet few people knew about it. On the one hand, who would bother studying a wildlife protectionw 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 thew.


    Moreover, in backward ces like Sun Town, which were rtionship-oriented societies, people trusted solving problems through "connections" rather than thew. Especially for the lower-ss farmers, they were somewhat fearful of thew and didn''t want to get involved in wsuits''.


    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 regtion.


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


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


    By the time they got back to the town, it was nearly dawn. Arge 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 exin the details about thepensation.


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


    Mrs. Su saw so many peopleing 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 reallyes 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..."


    The second elder heard everything loud and clear as he was nearby and, before Suming could speak, he got upset and said loudly in front of everyone, "Auntie, that''s not the way to put it. One thing at a time, Suming has made something of himself, but his money didn''te from a gust of wind! We''ve suffered a disaster, to take the government''s subsidy, that is what the state stiptes, and we are entitled to it! To ask Su to pay, what kind of approach is that? Would that not be charity? We can''t start this precedent. We can''t expect little Su to foot the bill for every disaster in the town!"


    The second elder wasn''t well-educated, but his point was made with convincing force. Many people in the town might have been uneducated, but they understood the basic principles of how to behave; nodding their heads in agreement upon hearing him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The second aunt, wiping away tears, said, "The second elder is right, Suming, I can''t let you pay for this! You''re educated and worldly, we just ask you to help our three families, to find out about the government subsidy, and that''ll be enough."


    "Oh, I was just worried that Gu and the others were getting anxious!" Mrs. Suughed too and said to Suming, "Since everyone believes in you, you must take this seriously. Make sure thepensation is settled before you go back to the city."


    "Don''t worry. Every province has a differentpensation n. Let me call a friend first to see how exactly it''s done in our province," he said.


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    Unable to ess the inte in the vige, Suming simply gave Liang Shi a call. Liang Shi was a research student at the Agricultural Academy, and the experts from the Academy were often involved in formting agricultural regtions andws for the province, so Liang Shi should have a good understanding of these matters.


    Noisy sounds came through from the other end of the line; it seemed like Liang Shi was at a KTV. Suming hadn''t expected the usually reserved Liang Shi to have a wild side. He chuckled and said, "Happy New Year! Are you out having fun?"


    Liang Shi moved to a quieter spot, chuckled shyly, and said, "They''re my ssmates. They heard I made some money raising fish with you, and now they''re robbing me blind at the bar." Then with a hint of nervousness, he asked, "Mr. Su, I was about to call you. Drinks here are so expensive; a bottle of beer costs over fifty yuan, am I getting ripped off?"


    Suming couldn''t help butugh; his own reaction the first time he went to a bar with Wang Hao was much like Liang Shi''s.


    "Everything''s overpriced in ces like that. Don''t worry, just get a receipt, and we''ll reimburse you through thepany hospitality expenses when you''re back. But remember, no uwful behavior, and if you want to pick up girls, that''s out of your own pocket."


    Suming started with a joke before getting down to business, "Perfect, since they are your ssmates from the Provincial Agricultural Academy, you could help me inquire aboutpensation 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 vigers'' fields were damaged by wild boars!"


    He was making the call from the main hall, and the other vigers were watching him eagerly. When Suming mentioned ''Provincial Agricultural Academy,'' many vigers'' 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 ssmates who are currently interning at the relevant provincial departments, dealing with this exact issue. He''ll ask around and call me backter!"


    "Let''s have some tea and cigarettes while we wait," Mrs. Su said, arranging tea and tobo 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 p from Uncle Er''s iron palm made Suming''s eyes roll, thinking to himself, if the old man kept pping like that, he''d tten 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 be much more rxed. 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 stiptes apensation of 50%-80% based onst year''s market price.


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


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