Strange Life of a Cat-Chapter 245 - 238 Specimens in the Natural History

Chapter 245: Chapter 238 Specimens in the Natural History Museum

Chapter 245 -238 Specimens in the Natural History Museum

In the car, on the back seat, Zheng Tan sat with the two kids, listening to Jiao Yuan incessantly talking about the time he went with Mr. Jiao to the fieldwork base. Having scored well on his final exams, Jiao Yuan spoke with newfound confidence, and the oppressive atmosphere that had surrounded him before the exams had finally completely dissipated.

Actually, Jiao Yuan was still young back then. Even if he had seen many things at the time, recalling them now, he might not remember much clearly, after all, his capacity to comprehend was limited at the time, and he didn’t know much. He was only fixated on running around and playing everywhere. What linked his memories were essentially a set of photos taken back then and several specimens he made under Mr. Jiao’s guidance.

Among the specimens were plants and insects, but since those were inconvenient to carry, he left them all at home and brought only a photo album. That single album was enough to keep Jiao Yuan talking non-stop.

It took roughly seven hours to drive from Chuhua City to the fieldwork base, so Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma took turns driving to avoid fatigue. The group stopped midway for a short rest to let the students use the restroom. As for those who got carsick, they suffered, looking deathly pale. Fortunately, the experienced teachers leading the trip had not only brought plastic bags but also prepared some medicine.

When Zheng Tan woke up from a nap, he glanced out the car window and saw many mountains around. Beside him, Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi were studying a map, holding a small flashlight in their hands. Sometimes when driving through tunnels, he would turn on the flashlight, simply indulging in the thrill. They were already very close to the fieldwork base Mr. Jiao had mentioned.

The so-called field training was primarily intended to let students who had just finished their first year of college get a glimpse of the outdoors and be close to nature. Their first-year courses included botany and zoology, and some majors even touched on ecology. The field trip allowed them to personally experience identifying various plants and animals. Naturally, it wasn’t purely for fun; the students who participated in the fieldwork had to write a report afterward.

For Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi, this was essentially like spending summer vacation. It was for Zheng Tan as well.

Walking around the campus of Chuhua University, although the landscaping was excellent and the campus was large compared to other universities nationwide, in the grand scheme of things, it was still just a small place. Zheng Tan had also had his share of wanderings, but the places he visited then weren’t as mountainous. The feeling between mountainous and plain regions is always different, as is the sensation between roaming and vacationing.

Around three in the afternoon, the group reached their destination.

The field training base of Chuhua University was built on a mountain. As they ascended, Zheng Tan noticed that many areas on the mountain were well developed, with roads and well-planned buildings radiating a modern mountain-city vibe, unlike the wild mountain life many people imagine. Of course, this was just the scene in a minority of places on the mountain. Looking further away, one could see continuous mountain ranges.

In July and August at this time of the year, the temperature in Chuhua City could soar above forty degrees Celsius, hot enough to cook an egg on the road; however, at the training base, opening the car windows you could clearly feel that the temperature was several degrees lower than in Chuhua City.

Before coming, they heard that the base didn’t have ceiling fans installed, and some students were worried that they would be steamed alive, especially after experiencing the summer in Chuhua City. Hearing there were no fans or air conditioning initially caused a lot of worries, but when these students got off the bus and entered the dormitory arranged by the training base, they were immediately reassured.

Room arrangements had been made in advance based on early surveys, so rooms had been assigned before their arrival. The Jiao family, four people, got a small single room, prepared for some of the team leaders. Each room had four beds, and the Jiao family directly took one room. This made things a bit more convenient for Zheng Tan, so he didn’t have to stay in the bag all the time.

The rooms had been cleaned and were quite tidy, as they were meant for teachers. As for the students’ quarters, conditions were not as good as those for the teachers; the students had bunk beds, four beds making eight spots, similarly equipped with private bathrooms. Even though they weren’t as nice as the teachers’ accommodations, the conditions were still passable.

After installing the mosquito nets, Jiao Ma spread the bed sheets they had brought, and the four of them took a shower in turn, then took a good nap in the afternoon. After having dinner in the base’s cafeteria, Mr. Jiao took the kids to the hall for a lecture.

The evening meeting was primarily a mobilization meeting, discussing various matters to be aware of during the internship, emphasizing organizational discipline, and providing a brief training for the students. They had already learned about these things before arriving, and although there was still much they didn’t understand, following the lead teachers made everything simple.

The lead teachers generally brought a medical kit, just in case of emergency. The children nowadays were so precious that any real trouble was more than they could handle.

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Zheng Tan was also brought into the hall, as Mr. Jiao wanted everyone to listen so that there wouldn’t be any mishaps later. After all, the area was surrounded by mountains, and it also included a nature reserve. What they might encounter in the summer could be unpredictable, and creatures like snakes, insects, rats, and ants were definitely in abundance.

Zheng Tan nestled in the bag; the Jiao family all sat at an edge where no one would notice Zheng Tan in the bag. He didn’t blatantly observe his surroundings and after listening to the speaker for a while, he became drowsy.

Along with the teachers and students from Chuhua University, there were also people from other schools. They didn’t have a training base, so every year they joined in with the people from Chuhua University.

That night, sleeping in this unfamiliar place, Zheng Tan had no trouble adjusting; the room was filled with familiar scents. He lay on Little Youzi’s bedhead; having slept a lot during the day, he was quite awake that night. The place was very quiet, and if you listened carefully, you could hear many animal sounds usually unheard of. Just like the speaker had mentioned earlier in the day, this was a city surrounded by nature.

Perhaps many people in the city think that being close to nature is a very nice experience—the air is fresh, and it’s quiet—but in reality, if those people were to come here, they might not be able to bear it.

Earlier that day, a few boys walked around without going beyond the base and returned with a black big insect in the empty beverage bottles they were carrying. Zheng Tan had never seen it before; when they asked a few classmates, no one recognized it; they just guessed it might be some kind of beetle from the Coleoptera and took it to a teacher who specialized in insects. When some of the girls saw it, they almost screamed, probably deciding then and there that they would definitely not be pursuing a future in studying insects.

Thus, it can be seen that life in the mountains is not for everyone.

The next day, the teachers in charge did not rush to take the students out, but brought them to the Chuishan City Nature Museum, not far from the practice base.

Zheng Tan stayed inside the backpack, carried in by Mr. Jiao. Normally, it’s prohibited to bring animals in, but now, with a group of university students and teachers, the door guards and the museum staff didn’t pay much attention. They even chatted with a few of the lead teachers, seeming familiar with each other. The focus of the museum director was simply to make sure the students didn’t cause any damage.

Zheng Tan stayed in the backpack, peering out through the gap in the zipper. The backpack had been modified by Jiao Ma with a mesh section added. Unless someone looked closely, it was difficult to notice anything inside the backpack. However, Zheng Tan could see outside through the mesh without worrying about suffocation inside the backpack.

Zheng Tan was not particularly interested in the plant specimens, and apparently, the students felt the same, that is, until they reached the animal exhibit area.

Most of the animals seen in the zoo could be found here, and many that weren’t seen in the zoo, but here, they were all just specimens, devoid of any life, their eyes devoid of any sparkle.

Looking at these lifelike yet lifeless specimens, Zheng Tan suddenly felt a chill down his spine, wondering what these animals were thinking when they were turned into specimens, perhaps they were already dead before that.

There, a few teachers and museum staff were explaining to the students.

“The main types of animal specimens include preservation in liquid, taxidermy, skeletal specimens, dried specimens, and slide specimens, etc. Preservation in liquid involves keeping the animal body right after it’s killed, without dissection, preserving the whole body in a preservation solution. Taxidermy is commonly used for vertebrates, like birds and mammals, which involves skinning these vertebrates, removing the muscle from the skin, applying preservatives to the inner surface of the skin, then stuffing it, fitting false eyes, and sewing it up to form the specimen…”

Zheng Tan looked out through the mesh, and after the teacher in front finished explaining, another person continued, who was in charge of making the specimens.

The person leading the explanation was a zoology professor from the Chuhua University School of Life Sciences, and there were a few botany professors too. Their research projects involved some samples from certain areas of Chuishan City, and they naturally knew people there.

The specimen maker led the students to a corner where some tools were kept.

“I only bring these out because you guys came; I wouldn’t show them to others!”

The specimen maker showed off various tools to the students, talking about the specimen-making industry as if showcasing treasures.

“…To put it briefly, now that people’s living standards have improved, they start keeping pets and establish deep bonds, but when the pet dies, the owner feels tremendous grief. However, if the dead pet is made into an anatomically accurate and structurally complete specimen, it not only harbors the owner’s mourning but can also be preserved longer…”

Nonsense!

If he could speak, Zheng Tan might directly curse to refute. Looking around at the Jiao family, Jiao Yuan showed a face of disgust towards what the man had just said, and Little Youzi was also frowning, obviously disagreeing with the man’s words. Due to the angle, Zheng Tan couldn’t see the expressions of Jiao Ma and Mr. Jiao.

The specimen maker continued talking, introducing the use of various tools such as dissecting knives, tweezers, scissors, pliers, files, hammers, saws, nails, lead wire, needles, and thread, among others. There were many unsafe chemicals he didn’t bring out, but he mentioned some while explaining them to the students, such as arsenic oxide (arsenic), potassium aluminum sulfate (alum), phenol, and Lysol.

“The making of specimens generally uses a combination of partial prosthetics and filling. The general process includes skinning, preservation, prosthetic creation, filling, false eye creation, suturing, and overall finishing. During skinning, the abdomen is cut open, and the entire body is divided and removed…”

Listening to that person’s words, Zheng Tan felt chilled to the bone while staying in the backpack.

In the words of the specimen maker, he viewed his profession as a beautiful one that brought death back to life, and he loved his job.

But in Zheng Tan’s eyes, the specimen maker was one of his “natural enemies” as of that moment.

Although he knew his breed wasn’t worth much, not any rare or protected animal, and he was safeguarded by Mr. Jiao, still, after leaving the museum, that night, Zheng Tan couldn’t help but have nightmares, waking himself up several times in fright. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), cast your monthly votes, and leave your recommendations. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)