Hearing that the hamsters might not be dead, Little Celery stopped crying immediately.
"Brother Store Manager, is it true? The hamsters are still alive? "Tears were welling up in her eyes and could fall down her cheeks at any time.
"I think it's very possible. Unless they were poisoned, it's unlikely that they would die at the same time. They should be in a state of pseudo-hibernation," Zhang Zian explained.
"That's great!" Little Celery was finally relieved. She trusted Zhang Zian's knowledge about pets.
However, Zhang Zian's expression was still serious. He knew that although the hamsters were not dead, they were still in a dangerous situation. Pseudo hibernation was the hamster's last life-saving measure when its life was threatened by a harsh environment. It was a gamble based on their survival instinct. Whether they could wake up after pseudo hibernation, or whether they would really die, everything was uncertain.
He glanced around. People who had gotten up early in the morning were still looking for cats and dogs that escaped from the breeding farm. He guessed that there would not be much business today, so he said, "Little Celery, I don't have anything to do today. How about I go with you to see the hamsters?"
"Sure!" Little Celery nodded. "We also want you to give us some advice, because we don't know if it's the right way to raise them..."
"But can I enter your school?" he asked. "It should be very strict, right?"
Little Celery thought about it. "I'll ask Yaning."
She took out a smartphone with a small screen from her bag and sent a few messages to Wang Yaning.
Soon, she put away the phone and said, "Yaning said that she will talk to the homeroom teacher and ask her to help you report to the security... something..."
"I got it. Let's go."
Without further ado, Zhang Zian went back to the store and told Lu Yi Yun to look after the store. Then he quickly followed Little Celery to her elementary school.
His strides were long, and one step was equivalent to two steps for Little Celery. Occasionally, Little Celery had to run two steps to keep up with him.
On the way, Little Celery was still worried. She looked up at Zhang Zian from time to time to ask about the hamsters. Zhang Zian thought that the hamsters were currently in a state of pseudo-hibernation, but he was not sure if they could wake up again. He didn't want to lie to her, so he could only tell her not to worry.
After coming here on Christmas Eve, this was Zhang Zian's second time coming to Zhonghua Road Primary School, which was also his alma mater when he was young.
During Christmas, because it was the school's anniversary, the elementary school was bustling with people. Many parents came to watch the children's performance. Electric bicycles and cars almost filled the street in front of the school. Today was the start of winter vacation, so the school gate was deserted. There was not a single person. The electric fence gate was also closed, leaving only a side door in front of the security room for people to enter and exit.
Little Celery and Wang Yaning's homeroom teacher had already informed the security guards about Zhang Zian's temporary identity. The reason why the homeroom teacher trusted a stranger so much was because she used to be Zhang Zian's homeroom teacher. Many of the older generation of primary school teachers were like this. They stayed in the same school for their entire lives, watching as their students went on to become pillars of the motherland.
Little Celery led him to the back of the teaching building. He originally thought that they were raising hamsters in the classroom, but it seemed that was not the case.
There was a row of bungalows behind the teaching building. The bungalows were arranged like a small garden. Swings swayed in the wind, grape trellises made of thin bamboo poles, and a row of low bamboo fences separated the bungalows from the teaching area. When the flowers bloomed in spring, it would be a pleasant idyllic scene.
The bungalows used a lot of tempered glass, so the interior was well lit. Zhang Zian could see a few figures busy inside.
Little Celery knocked on the door. Soon, Wang Yaning, who looked like a little adult, ran over to open the door.
She looked at Zhang Zian suspiciously and said, "Come in. What do you mean by the hamster is not dead? "
"Well, I meant it literally." Zhang Zian looked at the students present. Including Little Celery and Wang Yaning, there were five of them. He had never seen the other three before. They were probably Little Celery's classmates. Facing a stranger like him, the other children were very reserved.
"Where is the hamster?" he asked.
"Over there." Little Celery pointed to a row of shelves by the window.
There were containers of different sizes on the shelves. There was a PVC hamster cage, which was obviously bought from the market or online. There was also a small glass fish tank with a barbed wire as a lid. There was also a bird cage made of barbed wire, which was used as a hamster cage. These should have been brought by the students from their homes.
The containers were half covered with wood shavings and half with urine sand. On the side of the wood shavings was a hamster. It was either a Level 3 or a Silver Fox, which Zhang Zian had given to Little Celery for them to try raising.
"Do you have a thermometer here?"
He asked as he looked around at the furnishings. As soon as he came in, he felt that although the temperature inside was higher than outside, it was still quite cold.
"No, why do we need a thermometer?" Wang Yaning shook her head and asked.
"It's useful. Hamsters are more sensitive to temperature changes," Zhang Zian explained.
Wang Yaning asked the others, "Do you have one?"
A little boy took out a pencil case from his schoolbag. After opening it, there was a small mercury thermometer inside the pencil case.
"Will this work?" the little boy asked.
Zhang Zian took it and looked at it. This simple thermometer could not be expected to be accurate, but it could still be used.
The red mercury fell on the position of about 17 degrees.
"The temperature is too low." He already understood the reason, and pointed to the scale for them to see.
"Is 17 degrees still low? It's not even 17 degrees at home! "Wang Yaning said, and the other children all agreed.
Zhang Zian walked to the container with the hamster, leaned over to look, and asked, "Why is it half covered with wood shavings and half with urine sand?"
"Because it's not easy to clean with only wood shavings, and the smell is too strong!" Wang Yaning replied. "So we thought of a way, half with wood shavings and half with urine sand. When the hamster pees, it goes to the urine sand side, and when it sleeps, it goes to the wood shavings side."
Zhang Zian shook his head. "First of all, the temperature is too low. 17 degrees is quite suitable for humans, but hamsters are not used to such low temperatures. It's best to keep it above 20 degrees. Second, if for some reason, it can't be kept at 20 degrees, we have to prepare pure wood shavings for the hamster to keep warm. Half wood shavings and half urine sand is for spring and autumn. If it's summer, we have to use pure urine sand."
"Brother Store Manager, are you saying that the hamster is too cold, so it... it's fake hibernation?" Little Celery asked.
"That's right." Zhang Zian rolled up his sleeves. "Now you guys go and help me prepare some things. We have to save the hamsters!"
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