Chapter 262

After returning, Jiao Ba found an excuse to rest, took out in the room the thing Zheng Tan had dug out and looked at it. When he got it, he wasn't sure what it was, nor whether it was some precious item, but past experience told him that Zheng Tan doing this always had a reason, so, just in case, he carefully hid the thing away, only taking it out now when he had free time.

He carefully moved aside the vines, revealing the amber inside.

He peeled off the vines and set them aside, not throwing them away; this plant was found in the botanical records, indeed something from those mountains, and Jiao Ba could confirm that his cat son Zheng Tan had indeed been to the mountains, though he didn't know what adventure it had.

As for this amber, Jiao Ba doesn't know much about appraisal; he had only made synthetic amber himself, and he had a few natural ones given by others, including one said to be worth tens of thousands that contained an insect, but the insect's preservation was only eighty percent, whereas this contains a plant, and he had only seen synthetic amber, never touched natural amber.

Since he was at the base and didn't want others to find out, Jiao Ba could only use the simplest method to tell whether the amber was synthetic or natural: amber fluoresces under UV light, although nowadays forgery techniques are advanced and even synthetics can fluoresce, so he could only make a preliminary assessment.

The test showed that the amber fluoresced under UV, and the little flower inside glowed brightly, a blue turning purple. Jiao Ba even checked a recent rare flora compendium edited by some botanists over the past two years, but found nothing similar to that little flower inside.

If this amber is genuine, Associate Professor Jiao has a feeling that the little flower inside is likely a plant from tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of years ago, a plant never discovered by people. Once confirmed genuine, this would be enough to excite those botanists and paleobiologists; they have no interest in red mice etc., as their research directions differ, whereas ancient plants are different, and this is a complete little flower whose stamens reveal many things, reddened mice. Having one could mean there could be a second. And this amber containing a complete little flower, recording a natural miracle of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of years, is likely one-of-a-kind in the world. For biologists or geologists, the value of amber lies in its historical evolution; for collectors and investors, amber bearing rare inclusions of organisms or plants is a priceless treasure.

Jiao Ba could completely take out this amber. As for the red-haired mouse matter, when several professors simultaneously start researching, they could definitely publish directly in Nature magazine. Jiao Ba, as the "discoverer", would definitely be listed as an author, which would greatly benefit his future title evaluations and grant applications; adding this amber would be icing on the cake. Just as a professor from a certain paleontology institute once discovered ancient plants and published the results as first author in Nature, Jiao Ba could do the same. At Chu Hua University, where competition is fierce from teachers to students, teachers of Jiao Ba's age who can publish papers or achievements in either Nature or Science, the two top-tier global academic journals, are few; one can imagine the benefits Jiao Ba could gain.

The reddened mouse can be considered a flashpoint in nature; insect amber is likewise a miracle created inadvertently by nature, which constantly creates another miracle inadvertently, and those who discover these miracles are always called people of great fortune.

A person of great fortune…

Jiao Ba looked at the cat sprawled on the bed, catching up on sleep, and helplessly rubbed his forehead. Even a cat could cause so much trouble!

Zheng Tan has already been watched; if the amber matter were to come out as well, it would be even more troublesome. The red-haired mouse incident could be called accidental—cats catching mice is natural—but what about the amber? If people discovered it, Jiao Ba could only say it was his own collection. However, Jiao Ba had no intention of exposing the amber; he hopes those people's attention now focuses entirely on the red-haired mouse, ignoring other matters as much as possible.

"Hei Tan, I'll keep this amber for now." Jiao Ba took out a small box, inside which he placed the amber Zheng Tan had found.

Zheng Tan upon hearing this said, "No, this is meant to be given to Xiao Youzi!" He was about to reach out and snatch the box.

"I'll temporarily keep it for you and return it when you go back, but you must promise to hide it well and not throw it around." Jiao Ba added.

Zheng Tan thought it over and agreed; anyway he couldn't take it with him now, and leaving it with Jiao Ba would be safer. Zheng Tan is not stupid; he could sense from Jiao Ba's expression and tone that the amber was not a simple object, at least for some people. Rather than having him or Xiao Youzi carry it, it was better to let Jiao Ba keep it safe.

Over the next few days Zheng Tan behaved well; he also knew many people were watching him, and some who thought they hid themselves well were actually discovered by Zheng Tan, so he felt it best to continue obeying Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma, staying quietly in his room, especially since the students' internship was about to start and they would be returning to Chu Hua City in two days. Zheng Tan could still endure these days.

Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi these days have been outside with those students learning to make specimens—animals, plants, insects all included. Zheng Tan isn't interested in that; he'd rather hear about that red-haired mouse.

Word has it that the red-haired mouse caused a sensation; the appraisal results are probably out, which is the reddened species Jiao Ba mentioned. Yesterday when taking photos, Zheng Tan was even called over to join the fun, and this morning Jiao Yuan brought a local newspaper for Zheng Tan to see, which ran a large feature on the reddened nest mouse.

Yes, that red-haired mouse was identified by several professionals as a nest mouse, but unlike the small-bodied nest mouse, this red-haired nest mouse will definitely be much larger than an ordinary nest mouse when fully grown.

Zheng Tan didn't care whether it was a red-haired nest mouse or a red-haired field mouse; he just stared at the several color photos in the newspaper and the report about him.

The newspaper had much text about the red-haired nest mouse, but the part concerning Zheng Tan was only those two simple, vague lines, saying only that this red-haired nest mouse was a cat kept by Associate Professor Jiao Ming-sheng of the Life Sciences College at Chu Hua University that happened to catch it, and then—nothing after that. Zheng Tan flipped the newspaper back and forth for half a minute but saw no other mention of himself.

And the only photo in the newspaper showing Zheng Tan's image has him standing beside Jiao Ba at the edge of a line of people, very inconspicuous; moreover, no one would recognize from this photo that Zheng Tan is the somewhat famous "blackc" in cat circles, with a generic face; only when the name is printed do you know who he is, otherwise among the nation's many black domestic cats, who would know which scallion you are?

At first Zheng Tan really felt a bit sulky—wasn't he supposed to have achieved merit? What is this?

But after thinking it over carefully, he realized this must be Jiao Ba's intention.

Fame or freedom—after figuring it out, Zheng Tan obviously chose the latter, just as he once realized that a cat has no feline rights and is not protected by law, so if someone kills it he can only accept his fate.

Compared to Zheng Tan's low profile, the red-haired mouse received extensive coverage, with those several photos clearly taken by professionals after great effort, which attracted considerable attention.

The nest mouse's tail is very agile and also has wrapping ability; especially the photo where it wraps its tail around an upper branch and its body hangs down, holding a nut, looks quite clever and cute, and its all-red fur adds points. But behind the photo, who would think this is actually an extremely dangerous creature?

Zheng Tan truly realized the value of that red-haired mouse only after returning to Chu Hua City.

This summer, Chu Hua University is destined not to be peaceful.

According to past custom, undergraduates go home, some graduate students apply for leave to go home with their advisors, some shops near campus close, and with the summer heat, few people should be walking around campus during the day, but this year is different. People's attention to the red-haired mouse exceeds Zheng Tan's imagination; if one said there were no hype involved, Zheng Tan would refuse to believe it even to his death. Nevertheless, this doesn't stop him from enjoying the spectacle.

Zheng Tan squatted on a sycamore tree, watching vehicle after vehicle with license plates from various provinces heading toward the Life Sciences Institute; on campus there were also some Life Sciences Institute students staying over for summer work-study, who at this time also acted as guides, wearing hats printed with Chu Hua University Life Sciences Institute; although the weather was scorching, a sweaty person opening a bottle of mineral water could gulp it down in one go, yet they still laughed happily.

Why?

Because they've saved face!

Look at those running to the Life Sciences Institute these days—they are either leading professors from some 985 university or researchers from some institute, plus some foreign experts who came by reputation; previously our school's fame was big, but it never had such attention as now, and now is precisely the hottest time of year in Chu Hua City.

Moreover, now some domestic or foreign research institutions are buying the red-haired mouse's fur, blood, and other materials from Chu Hua University's Life Sciences Institute, which makes some students happy. Especially Yi Xin and his group—Zheng Tan had earlier heard Yi Xin complain that, for experimental needs, purchasing cells or strains from abroad, the shipments were quick, but domestic customs held them up for too long; even after preparing all the approval forms and permits and handing them to a customs broker, they spent too much time in customs, the cell condition deteriorated, and after keeping them they failed, requiring another order. Talking about these things made Yi Xin and company shed bitter tears, but now thinking that foreigners will also have to buy stuff about that red-haired mouse from them makes them feel delighted.

Zheng Tan heard that a single hair of that red-haired mouse is worth as much as a house in Chu Hua City.

In an article in the Chu Hua Evening News, when mentioning this, they jokingly called the red-haired mouse "a drop of blood worth ten thousand taels of gold."

Zheng Tan also heard that the red-haired mouse is being raised like a treasure, with blood extraction done extremely carefully to guarantee its health.

In the evening Jiao Ba returned from the courtyard.

"Today Dean Xie specially selected two female white mice bred in the institute, saying they would be placed with that reddened nest mouse to cultivate feelings, presumably hoping to breed excellent second-generation mice later." Dean Xie treasures those few white mice; he had once paid a high price to import and breed them, and normally some instructors in the institute who wanted to buy a few would be refused by Dean Xie, but this time he was genuinely generous.

"And then?" Jiao Ma asked curiously.

Zheng Tan also perked up his ears to listen.

"Well then," Jiao Ba said, slowly sipping his mung bean soup, "those two white mice went in and, in less than a minute, heroically sacrificed themselves."

Zheng Tan: "……" This really is a tragic story. (To be continued…)

ps: (5.20) Because I'm moving, I've been busy for a while, sorry for the late update.