My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 450 The Ancestor
For two consecutive days, Chen Ling and his family of four wandered around the city.

Riverside parks, botanical gardens, shopping malls, flower, bird, insect and fish markets, and even temples dedicated to sacred oxen, etc.

Oh, by the way, Chen Ling also took them to the cinema to watch a movie.

I experienced the differences between watching movies in a movie theater, watching movies in the village, and watching TV at home.

It's rare for Wang Susu to go out and relax like this. She visited so many places and did so many things. She had a happier week than her two little kids.

The only slight regret is that since I brought Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui with me this time, we couldn't go into the university library.

The young wife still longs for university life.

Fortunately, Chen Ling lent her some books, so she could browse through them every day.

The next day at noon, they planned to go to Professor Han's house for a free meal.

After all, tourism isn't really a major industry in the local area these days.

The remaining sites, such as the Divine Ox Temple, the relics of the rebel king and Liu Xiu, are not visited by many people and are not very interesting.

Now it's just a collection of markets.

Residents of Tiannan City don't even think about the newly built shopping malls in the provincial capital, which are more worthy of their attention.

Of course, there's not much to say about these historical sites, but the food is quite different.

Chen Ling talks about the local roast chicken and beef all the time; they're a must-eat every time he comes to the city.

Especially the roast chicken, second only to beef.

It is said to be a traditional delicacy that has been passed down for more than a thousand years. Many years later, with fewer and fewer people raising yellow cattle in the area, this roast chicken has even appeared as a representative local delicacy in some food documentaries.

It was around that time that it gradually became a source of pride for the local people.

……

“I’ve heard about what happened in the mountains over there. They recruited a group of tomb raiders. I asked a friend to inquire about it, but I haven’t gotten any concrete information yet. Those guys only went there because they heard rumors.”

When we arrived at Han Ninggui's house, this was the first thing the old man said.

Then he was taken to the study, tea was poured, and the books he had published last year were shown to Chen Ling.

I said I'd go to their place this month, when summer vacation starts, to visit those two old guys, Zhao Yubao and Zhao Yubao, and take a break too.

He also checked out the mountain donkeys nearby; he'd heard about them from the lynx.

"Uh, Uncle Han, aren't you going to that miasma valley anymore? Didn't you say you were going there in the summer to do some research?"

Chen Ling took a sip of tea and asked.

"There's no rush to go now. The two red eels I bought from you have been bred for the past two years. Not only have they multiplied, but their offspring have become increasingly stable. None of them have reverted to their ancestral form and become ordinary eels..."

From now on, we can really call it a red eel on its own.

Aside from its two whiskers, which don't quite match the characteristics of an eel, it's neither an eel nor a loach; it's a hybrid of both.

But it is precisely this incongruity that makes it so special.

"Hehe, Feng Yi and I not only made a fortune this time, but we also made a killing!"

Han Ninggui chuckled as he poured Chen Ling some tea. "By the way, speaking of fish, the lobster restaurant your locals run in the city is pretty good. Now there are more other fish available too. Old Feng came over a few days ago and we even had some red snapper and fine-scaled salmon. We could tell at a glance that they were the kind you raised."

Old Feng couldn't resist calling the boss over to ask. After learning that you knew him, the boss almost refused to take the money.

This will make eating fish much more convenient from now on.

Old Feng lived far away, and he complained when he left, saying he wanted to open a shop in Beijing sometime.

Chen Ling laughed when he heard this.

He also went to Sun Yanhong's shop in the city yesterday, and it was indeed much more popular than in the provincial capital.

It is said that many people drive 100 to 200 kilometers to eat here.

No wonder Sun Yanhong would send him money every week or every two weeks.

Every time I went there, I would buy a lot of wine.

Last night, he and Wang Susu calculated how much commission Sun Yanhong had given them over the past few times.

I was shocked when I did the math; if things stay this way for another two months, I might be able to buy a car.

Apart from Sun Yanhong's side.

He also stopped by Liu Jiancheng's place on the way. Yesterday was Saturday, and Liu Jiancheng was home. He called him and waited for him. Now it's a small supermarket.

Taking advantage of the crowds attracted by the salted eggs, other items gradually started to sell as well.

Although things are a bit busier now, they're thriving.

Gradually, salted eggs have become a popular gift.

I not only eat it often, but I also give it as a gift.

As soon as Chen Ling arrived, the old man and his entire family, including his father-in-law and mother-in-law, were incredibly enthusiastic.

It felt like seeing a long-lost relative.

To be honest, whether it was Liu Jiancheng or Sun Yanhong, Chen Ling's actions were entirely unintentional.

But as the old saying goes, a hero needs three helpers. Now that they've made progress, Chen Ling has the confidence and resources to continue pursuing the things that interest him.

"Hopefully, when the mutton is available at the end of the year, it will bring even greater surprises."

Chen Ling thought to himself.

"Rui Rui, come here quickly, let Grandpa Han see if your toy is a puppy or a kitten?"

Han Ninggui waved to Rui Rui, who ran over from the living room to peek at them.

Wang Susu and her sister, along with Han Ninggui's wife, were making dumplings in the living room.

"It's not a kitten, it's a baby elephant."

The little thing tilted its head and gave a mumbled reply, then took out a small white elephant toy it had been holding in its arms.

He specifically asked to buy it after riding an elephant at the zoo.

This toy white elephant is very beautiful. It has two big ears, a blue saddle on its back, and small wheels under its four hooves.

Below the tail is a rope with a button. If you pull it, it will run forward. Rui Rui loved it after playing with it once.

I've been absolutely enamored with it these past few days.

"Oh, it's a baby elephant. Can you teach Grandpa Han how to play with it?"

Han Ninggui said with a smile that all of his family members adored the chubby, clever and cute little baby from Chen Ling's family, and they would tease him whenever he came.

Rui Rui looked up at him, then slowly squatted down by the door, pulled the rope on the toy white elephant's bottom, and the white elephant immediately rolled towards Han Ninggui's feet.

He himself followed closely behind with his short legs.

"Oh my, Rui Rui is so smart."

Han Ninggui picked him up, turned to Chen Ling and said, "The little guy has gotten quite heavy. It's actually quite heavy in my hands now."

"Yes, after it started running on the ground, it ate more and grew faster. In the past two months, it has grown taller and stronger."

Chen Ling nodded and smiled.

Needless to say, we would never let the little guy suffer any mistreatment, especially since it's our own family's food.

He has plenty of meat, eggs, and milk every day; it would be strange if he didn't grow up strong and healthy. "That's great! You can stay here with Grandpa and Grandma Han. Whatever you want to eat, Grandpa and Grandma will buy it for you, okay?"

Han Ninggui held his little hand and asked.

The little guy has never been shy around strangers. He even smiled at everyone he met at the lynx's wedding. So naturally, he won't be hostile towards this kind and gentle old man.

He held the little white elephant in his arms, tilted his head back, and said, "Niu Niu."

"what?"

Han Ninggui was stunned for a moment.

Chen Ling explained helplessly from the side, "He's talking about beef. He doesn't know about other meats. He calls everything beef."

"Haha, you like beef? Okay, as long as you stay at Grandpa Han's house, you can have as much beef as you want."

Han Ninggui hugged him tighter, then got up to get a chessboard and started playing chess with Chen Ling while they talked.

It's just that little rascal Rui Rui can't stay still.

After a short while, he couldn't stay still. He broke free from Han Ninggui's embrace and ran around the study with the little white elephant in his hand.

Seeing this, Han Ninggui breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Chen Ling, saying, "I haven't done any fieldwork in the past six months, so my body isn't very flexible anymore. I feel tired even after carrying him for a while, and I'm sweating."

As people age, their legs weaken first, so they need to move around more.

"Things are relatively quiet for the second half of the year, so it looks like I'll have to call Lao Feng and the others and make another trip to your mountain area."

Chen Ling then asked, "Have you finished investigating Lutou Mountain, near my father-in-law's place?"

"Yes, I've handed that area over to someone else. It's not far from the crested ibis, and I have plenty of old friends who can handle it."

I've heard that clouded leopards are relatively common in the deep mountains, but I haven't seen any golden snub-nosed monkeys since.

Han Ninggui said with some regret.

Chen Ling didn't say much about it; he had encountered those golden monkeys on the mountain near Yaowang Temple last year.

"Oh, by the way, you came here because of the tigers? They've been causing quite a stir lately. After the Northeast, they're now causing trouble in the Southwest, sneaking into villages to attack people and kill livestock..."

"They're also in the southwest? Are they South China tigers?"

When Chen Ling asked this question, he was extremely puzzled. Weren't there no more wild South China tigers?
"It's not a South China tiger. There are very few South China tigers in the wild now. It's Indochinese tigers and Bengal tigers that have migrated here..."

Han Ninggui shook his head: "It's not quite right to say they're roaming. Humans have national borders, but tigers don't. As long as the apex predators of the jungle fight for territory, and there are fewer tigers in our country, they will naturally come in."

"But since you mentioned the South China tiger, I suppose you've heard about it from someone at the zoo."

"Yes, I've heard that South China tigers are very rare to see now."

Chen Ling nodded, not daring to say more, because many of these things would be common knowledge in later generations, but not many people knew them at this time.

As expected, Han Ninggui's next sentence was: "We have planned to start a survey of wild tiger populations after winter begins this year, if all goes well, and conduct a nationwide survey of tiger populations in major regions."

Han Ninggui was originally engaged in the investigation and tracking of endangered wild animals and plants.

But Chen Ling was puzzled when he heard him mention this: "What does Uncle Han mean? Have you never conducted any surveys or statistics before?"

"No, no one initiated it or organized it. Tigers are ferocious in the wild. It's only recently that some old friends have been talking about these things and reporting them that it has attracted attention."

Han Ninggui sighed.

Chen Ling then understood why he hadn't mentioned the extinction of the South China tiger; it turned out that he had only officially started investigating it this year.

It's not something you can immediately know just by looking at the year the last tiger died.

An investigation could not be carried out.

In an era when technology was underdeveloped, the manpower and resources required were beyond imagination.

It's not something you can do just by making a snap decision or talking.

Previously, everything took a backseat to economic development...

Only when the economy is developed and the country becomes wealthy can it support the undertaking of other things.

"The number of Siberian tigers is decreasing, and the situation for South China tigers is not optimistic."

You may not know this, but the South China tiger in our country is a truly legendary creature.

It is now widely recognized as the ancestor of tigers, the progenitor of all tigers.

"Ancestor? What does that mean?"

"That is to say, all tigers evolved from it. In the south-central part of our country, there is the South China tiger. If it moves north, it becomes the Siberian tiger. If it moves south, it becomes the Indochinese tiger and the Bengal tiger. If it moves west, it becomes the Sichuan tiger. If it moves northwest, it becomes the Xinjiang tiger. Even further south, the Javan tiger in Indonesia also branched off from our South China tiger..."

They separated after the original South China tiger population grew strong and evolved to adapt to different environments.

"No way, I can understand Javan tiger, but you said the Tyrannosaurus Rex was a spotted tiger, right? And that big black tiger, that's also an evolution of the South China tiger..."

Chen Ling had heard that it came from a saber-toothed tiger.

Han Ninggui laughed and said, "It is indeed the consensus at present, and it is quite reasonable and well-founded, but it may also be proven in the future that this is just a beautiful fantasy."

"Uh, how is this logically sound and well-founded?"

"You know Black Panther, right? It's a black panther."

"I know."

"That's a variant of the leopard from the tropical rainforest. A thousand years ago, the climate in Sichuan could very well have turned the South China tiger into a black tiger like a leopard. Doesn't that make a lot of sense..."

Chen Ling was stunned after hearing this. Now that he thought about it, it actually made a lot of sense.

Then he smiled and thought, "If that's really the case, doesn't that mean we only need to raise one pair of South China tigers to breed all kinds of tigers in the future?"

Then I thought again, there used to be elephants in the Central Plains, called Yellow River elephants, so nothing is impossible. There's nothing wrong with keeping a little naive fantasy. What if it's true?

So, after returning from Han Ninggui's house that afternoon...

Chen Ling then entered the cave, intending to test the evolution of the leopard according to Han Ninggui's theory.

Then he simply threw the male leopard with the broken tail into the 'tropical zone' he had temporarily designed and modified.

This so-called 'tropical region' was also a spur-of-the-moment idea by Chen Ling, designed according to the Sichuan Basin, with the climate changed to be hot and rainy, humid and sultry like a steamer.

As a result, after the leopard was left there, it almost died from the heat.

With its tongue lolling out, it ran away as soon as it saw Chen Ling, clinging tightly to the tree trunk and refusing to come down.

It thought Chen Ling was trying to torture it in various ways.

After seeing several times that the leopard couldn't stand the environment, Chen Ling realized that he had misunderstood.

Damn it, even if a male leopard adapts to the so-called tropical environment, it still needs female leopards to achieve population evolution.

So there's still a lack of female leopards.

But once his 'studying' spirit was ignited, he was like a little child seeing a new toy, his enthusiasm undiminished.

They continued to torment the birds, beasts, insects, and fish in the cave.

Finally, it was discovered that only those mountain raccoons, along with a few birds and fish, could adapt.

So they caught two pairs of civets, released one pair into the ice field, and the other pair into the temporarily modified 'tropical area'.

They isolated themselves from birds and fish, allowing them to reproduce and thrive.

The grotto is filled with spiritual energy and water, and changes happen very quickly. I wonder if we'll see any results after it breeds a few times this year and next.

(End of this chapter)