The inside and outside of the birdhouse were like two different worlds.
When they first entered the birdhouse, Zhang Zian and Guo Dongyue were startled by the noisy birdsong. Unconsciously, they had gotten used to this kind of noise. When they followed Wei Kang through two doors and went back to the outside, they even felt that it was so quiet that they wanted to make some noise.
Apart from the sound, the other difference was the temperature. A gust of cold wind blew. Zhang Zian shrunk his neck and hurriedly put on the coat that he had taken off after entering the birdhouse. It was very warm in the birdhouse, about 20 degrees Celsius. After walking around, they were even sweating a little. Although it was almost noon outside, the autumn wind was still blowing. It was very cold, and it was very easy to catch a cold.
Compared to himself, Guo Dongyue was more concerned about whether the red-faced peonies would catch a cold. He covered the cage with his coat to protect them from the wind.
They took off the disposable plastic shoe covers from their feet and threw them into the trash can by the door. There were a lot of bird droppings and millet grains on the bottom of the shoe covers, which disgusted Zhang Zian.
Since they were in the suburbs, there were not many taxis, and most of them had customers. Guo Dongyue picked up his phone and looked for a ride again.
"Hey, you two, why didn't you say hello before leaving?"
Lü Mingyi chased them from behind and invited them warmly, "It's almost noon. Let me treat you two to lunch before you leave."
"No need, we have something else to do," Guo Dongyue directly refused. He was worried that the pair of parrots would get sick if they stayed outside for too long.
Zhang Zian actually wanted to have a free lunch, but he knew that Fina was also hungry when he saw it licking its lips. It would be better to go back and eat, in case Fina got angry again.
"What a pity … Another day, another day when I go to the city, let's find a place to have a good gathering." Lü Mingyi wasn't angry because of Guo Dongyue's refusal. He had already asked about Guo Dongyue's temper, and he knew that Guo Dongyue was always like this. However, Guo Dongyue was capable and had a high evaluation in the company. Maybe Guo Dongyue would open his own design firm soon.
Guo Dongyue was not interested in socializing, so he said, "Maybe next time. I don't have time these days. By the way, these two parrots … "He lifted the cage and lifted the corner of his coat to show Lv Mingyi.
A few gusts of cold wind rushed into the birdcage from under the coat. The male bird with the red neck moved to a different position to block the cold wind for the female bird with the yellow neck.
Lü Mingyi recognized the two red-headed lovebirds at first glance. Although they were rare, they weren't particularly precious, so he generously said, "These two lovebirds are nothing, Mr. Guo."
"I'm just borrowing it. Wait … I'll return it later." Guo Dong Yue put down the corner of his shirt and said seriously.
Lü Mingyi thought he was just being polite and insisted on giving it to him.
On the other hand, Wei Kang was still trying his best to persuade Zhang Zian to be brave enough to contribute to science.
Lü Mingyi also walked over to help Wei Kang persuade him. It was just taking some genes for testing, there was no need to be so stingy, right?
Although Zhang Zian had been looking forward to science since he was a child, this matter was still very difficult for him.
"Look at this."
"This is an article from the Ecology & Evolution sub-issue of Nature on June 19, 2017. The author is Eva-Maria Geigl's research group from the University of Paris VII in France. Look at this picture. "Wei Kang pulled down the page and zoomed in on an accompanying picture in the middle of the article.
The lines of this picture were simple and clear. Under a chair that a woman was sitting on, there was a golden cat with dark stripes eating fish. Zhang Zian knew that he should focus on the cat in the picture, but his eyes still couldn't help but glance at the naked legs of the woman in the picture …
"This is an ancient Egyptian mural from 3,500 years ago." Wei Kang pointed at the cat in the picture, "Look at it carefully."
"3,500 years ago?"
Zhang Zian was shocked. He thought he had heard it wrong.
"Yes, 3,500 years ago, 1500 BC." Wei Kang answered with certainty, "At that time, China was still in the early stage of the Shang Dynasty. This picture is part of an ancient Egyptian mural, and it is also one of the most powerful evidence of the origin of domestic cats from ancient Egypt, but not the decisive evidence. Look, isn't the cat in the picture very similar to your cat, and very different from modern Egyptian cats? "
Zhang Zian could see at a glance that the cat in the picture was completely different from modern Egyptian cats. Modern Egyptian cats mainly had spots on their bodies, and the cat in the picture was mainly striped like Fina.
Wei Kang knew that Zhang Zian was knowledgeable, so he didn't need to explain the difference between ancient Egyptian cats and modern Egyptian cats. He simply explained the cause and effect. "According to the content of the June 19 paper, from the time wild cats were tamed to domestic cats, until the 14th century AD, ancient domestic cats always had mackerel-like stripes, just like the cat in the mural and your cat. From the 13th century AD, the fur color of domestic cats slowly transitioned from stripes to spots. This is why the original Egyptian cat has a striped coat and the modern Egyptian cat has a spotted coat. "
Zhang Zian felt enlightened. Knowledgeable people were different when they talked. They had explained a problem that he had never thought about in simple terms. Although this knowledge was useless in life, maybe one day he could show off in front of others?
"In addition, your cat has both stripes and spots on its body. The stripes are the main, and the spots are secondary. The cat in the mural is pure stripes, and the modern Egyptian cats are pure spots … In other words, your cat is like the Archaeopteryx, a key transitional link in the evolutionary chain, a real living fossil!" The more Wei Kang said, the more excited he became.
Wei Kang was not young anymore, and Zhang Zian was really worried that something bad would happen to him.
Zhang Zian carefully looked at the picture of the mural and found another detail. Modern Egyptian cats were divided into five colors: silver, bronze, smoke gray, black, and blue/white wax. The cat in the mural looked golden, the same as Fina … No, it should be said that Fina was the same as the cat in the mural. After all, this cat was 1500 years older than Fina, so it could be considered Fina's ancestor.
Not only Zhang Zian, but even Fina also curiously came closer, carefully observing its ancestor on the phone screen.
Zhang Zian already understood the importance of Fina. In the big picture, Fina's appearance would end the long-standing debate about the origin of domestic cats. In the small picture … Wei Kang could write several high-impact papers based on this, and he could even become famous overnight.
Even so, he could not easily agree, because this was not something he could decide. He had to respect Fina's opinion … No, it was his cat's opinion.
"Professor Wei, let me go back and think about it first." He planned to delay it for a while, and discuss with Fina when no one was around. He could not rush things.
Wei Kang sighed helplessly, "At least leave me your contact information."
"No problem."
Zhang Zian and Wei Kang exchanged contact information, and Guo Dongyue's ride stopped at the door. He took Fina and Snowy Lionet, got in the car with Guo Dongyue, and returned to downtown Binhai City.
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