Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 378 - 376: I'm Afraid This Meal Can't Be Eaten

Chen Ying was also curious and came over to watch, and took the opportunity to install a baseboard heater in his teacher's room.

They had added solar panels here, saving on other things, but using the heater at night was still feasible.

Moreover, everyone else was young, they could just pile on blankets and wouldn't be afraid of the cold. The main concern was Teacher's wife's health. Without the heater at night, no matter how many blankets she had, it was as cold as an ice cellar.

After finishing the installation, Chen Ying placed a small tea table next to the lounge chair for the teacher's wife and casually patted Little Jin's head.

Little Jin was squatting on the teacher's wife's lap, squinting and dozing.

"Do you even know your own weight anymore? That's enough, huh? You'll crush my teacher's wife. I'll hang you up and whip you if you don't believe me."

Teacher's wife brushed Chen Ying's hand away, protecting Little Jin.

"He's just a little thing. With him on my lap, I feel a bit warmer."

"Teacher's wife, you're just spoiling him. Such a big cat, it's already a meter long. We weighed him yesterday, nearly thirty-three pounds…"

"It's not all of its weight on my legs. Look, it knows too. Half of its body is on the chair, just squatting on its front legs. It can't be that heavy. You go on, don't delay my rest."

Alright, alright, you're the boss here, whatever you say is fine.

Having no choice, Chen Ying could only throw a look at Little Jin and took Little Sen upstairs to organize some materials.

"The professor will recuperate here for a month, you and Mengmeng help me take good care of the elders. Also, if you have any issues with your thesis, you can go consult Professor Bai."

Little Sen readily took on the task.

"Brother Ying, how long will you be gone this time?"

"I'm not sure. It will depend on whether we can successfully find that giant panda."

The giant panda's activity area was not fixed, they had to go and find it, then follow and observe it, collecting its feces and other biological samples for testing to see if there were any pathological changes in its body.

It would be even better if they could coax it into agreeing to a detailed examination.

He wasn't primarily studying the giant panda's habits, but he wanted to know if the dietary changes in this particular giant panda were due to individual differences or pathological changes.

If it was the former, he could leave it to Xiong Youming and other giant panda researchers.

If it was the latter, it seemed his research project might have another addition.

The approval was processed quickly and he needed to collect his credentials from the Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau.

Besides Chen Ying, the bureau also assigned a researcher to go with him.

About this matter, Chen Ying sneakily asked his teacher what it meant.

In the past, they hadn't sent any researchers; why was a monitor being sent with him now?

Professor Bai burst out laughing when he heard this, smacking Chen Ying on the top of his head, "This researcher isn't to monitor your panda research, but to prepare for a joint project between two protection areas. What have you been thinking? Have you frozen your brain staying in the highland for too long?"

Hearing this, Chen Ying knew that his teacher was still upset about him running off to River Source for his project.

Although Three Rivers Protection Center wasn't far from River Source, he had never visited the Young Junior Sister there once. It was one thing that their work didn't overlap, but more importantly, it was to avoid any suspicion.

Young Junior Sister held the same thought; since they couldn't progress into lovers, they should not give the elders any chances to match-make them.

Actually, the teacher was fine with it, probably revisiting the past because of the teacher's wife.

The illness of the teacher's wife also seemed to be caused by the Young Junior Sister.

Such is the heart of all parents in the world.

Chen Ying sheepishly went out for patrol, not daring to stay and bother his teacher.

Just when he stepped out, the researcher messaged Chen Ying, asking when they would depart so they could book the tickets together.

"How about next Tuesday? I'll rush to the bureau on Monday to get the permit, and I still need to prepare some things. We can leave Tuesday afternoon and arrive Wednesday morning, and enter the mountains the same day."

The researcher was straightforward and confirmed the time, booking the tickets within ten minutes.

"Brother Ying, I've also contacted the others, and it happens that their team is entering the mountain for a forest resources survey. They suggest we go into the mountain together as a backup plan. We'll enter from Maliu Bay, heading south along the ridge, and cross a river midway."

"After crossing the river, their survey team will turn west towards the forest park, while we continue southwest to the ranch to rendezvous with Teacher Xiong."

Having an assistant was truly great; all the itinerary and precautions were directly handled by him, leaving Chen Ying just to follow them.

The other party even thoughtfully sent him a map, allowing him to compare it with a satellite image to understand the terrain.

(The activity will mainly happen in this area, the map I randomly screenshot)

Chen Ying studied the map thoroughly and found that, apart from the mountains being a bit larger, it was no more dangerous than their area.

With a cunning twist in his eyes, he started to plan for Great Bai and others.

And Little Jin could also absolutely go there to have some fun.

During his research, he noticed that there was a team studying the activity area of the Golden Cat in that area, indicating there were likely many Golden Cats there.

Including the Golden Cat Lady, Chen Ying also suspected that she had evacuated from the core zone of the neighboring nature reserve.

Perhaps letting Little Jin and Jinya go to find Great Bai and then trekking over the mountains to meet up with him next door?

Theoretically, it was feasible, but the migration speed of giant pandas wasn't very impressive. They spent two-thirds of their time eating and sleeping, and the remaining few hours on the move seemed insufficient to reach the place he intended to visit on time.

Another thing was, he wasn't sure if the climate and environment over there were suitable for a long-haired cat like Jinya.

Chen Ying patted his head, forcing himself to stop thinking about it.

He couldn't always think about taking the kids everywhere. They had their own lives.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Chen Ying seriously walked around and eventually headed towards the mother tiger in Huaqiu Valley.

He was going to be away for a long time, and Little Sen might come to check in midway. He must inform the mother tiger beforehand; otherwise, it would be troublesome if something unexpected happened.

The mother tiger listened to him rambling impatiently for a few moments, then roared loudly, driving him away.

These two-legged beasts were constantly prying into her and her two cubs' lives, utterly annoying the tiger.

Had she not known they meant no harm, the mother tiger would have long lost her temper and let them personally experience what a tigress's wrath was like.

Chen Ying then went to inform Dr. Lin Fang, telling them to seek Little Sen's help directly if needed.

As for the little princess in the bamboo forest and her mother, Panda Man had experience with them; he didn't need to remind him at all.

Besides that, there seemed to be nothing else he needed to arrange.

Almost reaching the first aid station, he suddenly remembered the wolf den. Hastily, he made a phone call to the Protection Station, asking them to be vigilant during their patrols.

With that done, he was truly ready, and could leave at any moment.

On Monday morning at six o'clock, Chen Ying set off with his backpack.

Professor Bai, having a walk in the forest land, didn't say anything but waved his hand, signaling him to hurry and not delay.

Racing along, he arrived at the provincial city by six in the evening, checked into a hotel near the Forestry and Grassland Bureau, and after calling Mother Chen and learning she was on a night shift, he didn't bother going out and simply ordered a takeaway.

The next day, he met with the researcher, who took him to sign for a special permit, then to collect essential field research equipment. After grabbing a quick bite, they headed straight to the airport.

After landing, it was still a four-hour car ride to the agreed meeting point.

It was already past eight, and it would probably be too late to proceed further.

They were debating whether to hire a car directly to the destination to rest there or stay near the airport for the night and head to the meeting point early in the morning.

Before deciding, Chen Ying's phone rang.

It was Ji Xin calling.

"Brother Ying, have you arrived at the airport? I happen to have a research trainee friend volunteering in the reserve you're going to. I've arranged with him to pick you up at the airport tonight, and he's sorted out the accommodation as well. Just contact him once you arrive," Ji Xin explained.

Ji Xin also thoughtfully sent him the contact details, suggesting they add each other as friends beforehand.

Chen Ying didn't refuse Ji Xin's kindness. While still waiting at the airport, he directly called the other party.

Only then did he learn that this research trainee was staying at what used to be the protection station Xiong Youming and the others were at, now renamed as an observation station. The volunteers there were mostly research trainees, required to stay there for at least a year before leaving.

When Chen Ying called, the other party was already on his way to the airport.

Four hours later, he and his two companions successfully met up with the two who came to pick them up.

"We're heading out first; we'll probably arrive at the county around one in the morning, and I'll find a old place for you to try some of our local cuisine later," one of them said.

The two, perhaps from being cooped up in the mountains too long, were particularly chatty, and Chen Ying felt he barely had space to interject.

But the fellow researcher was different. He quickly warmed up to the two who came to pick them up, and it wasn't ten minutes before they almost stopped to swear brotherhood.

After boarding the vehicle, Chen Ying leaned against the car door and fell asleep instantly. When woken up, the vehicle was parked by the roadside in front of a simple large shed with about a dozen tables inside, bustling with noise though it was nearly ten o'clock.

"This is an old place known for its lamb. People from the nearby county towns like to drive here for meals. I've already called ahead to order, come on, let's eat and then continue on our journey."

They found a slightly more spacious spot and sat down. Within minutes, a pot of braised yellow lamb and a large plate of hand-grabbed lamb were served.

The lamb soup stir-fried with noodles was also a local specialty.

Chen Ying had just taken a few bites and was about to comment on the authenticity of the flavors when he saw a tail poking into the plastic shed.

He didn't speak and instead set down his chopsticks to take a closer look at the tail, gesturing to his three companions to check it out as well.

"Is this a cat?" the researcher glanced and didn't find anything unusual, but felt that Chen Ying wouldn't have asked him to look at an ordinary cat.

The two research trainees, however, looked intently for a while, and Ji Xin's friend exclaimed in a low voice.

"Is this, is this a Golden Cat's tail?"

This area indeed had records of Golden Cat sightings, but one would usually need to enter the buffer zone to be fortunate enough to see one.

Considering they were currently on the outskirts of the experiment area and still a good distance from the buffer zone, how could they suddenly encounter such a large protected animal?

Chen Ying gently lifted a corner of the canvas, and the sight of a young Golden Cat busily gnawing on a lamb leg bone caught his eye.

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