I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 625 - 523: Conversation with Professor Li

Chen Xin could obviously see Mo Qingyan's desire to have a pet. After all, even before the disaster, she had always wanted to own a cat.

However, on one hand, she had no time to take care of a cat because of her shopkeeping duties. On the other hand, she had a previous attempt that ended badly when a deceitful seller provided her with a kitten that died within two months, leaving a significant psychological shadow on her.

This resulted in Mo Qingyan both desperately wanting a cat and yet being afraid to actually get one for fear of a repeat of the past experience.

And after the disaster, raising a pet became even more impossible. People could barely feed themselves, let alone have extra food for a cat.

However, for Chen Xin right now, he thought that he could fulfill Mo Qingyan's wish.

Cultivating a cat in the lab to give her as a pet wouldn't be too much of an effort.

Moreover, Chen Xin was seriously considering whether to allow pet ownership in Dome City.

But since Chen Xin wasn't very knowledgeable about this area, he decided to consult with experts more familiar with the subject.

"Professor Li, how is your health? Are you feeling any better? You must take good care of yourself!" Chen Xin visited Professor Li in the rehabilitation area of the Research Center.

Actually, Professor Li's condition wasn't severe, but with age came decreased energy and deteriorating health, so even a minor illness could become more significant.

Even though Professor Li himself said it was just a minor illness and didn't require much fuss, Tang Tang dared not slack off and arranged for the best doctors and a top rehabilitation ward to ensure Professor Li could recuperate well.

Seeing Chen Xin, Professor Li was also delighted, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then asked about work matters.

"You don't need to worry about work matters, Director Tang will handle everything. Besides, didn't you train all your students yourself? Don't you trust them?" Chen Xin explained the recent work at the Research Center and comforted the elderly professor.

In response to Chen Xin's reassurance, Professor Li smiled and said, "I know my students well. They're excellent, but they still lack experience and need me to guide them. That's just some stubbornness on this old man's part. I can't help worrying about these young people; it's an old habit from my teaching days."

Although the young people Professor Li referred to were already in their forties or fifties, in his eyes, they were still those students in his classes back then.

Regarding Professor Li's attitude, Chen Xin couldn't say much. After further comforting the professor, he spoke about his main purpose for coming.

"Professor, the nation is currently preparing to build Dome City and needs to construct an ecological system in the city. The Research Center is organizing the breeding of flora and fauna. What animals do you think are primarily needed in this area?" Chen Xin humbly asked Professor Li for his advice.

Hearing Chen Xin's question, Professor Li's cheerful expression turned serious. After contemplating for a while, he replied, "It's not an easy question! Before the disaster, urban wildlife mainly consisted of residual wildlife from city development, mainly small animals like mice, insects, and birds, while large wildlife had disappeared from the city.

In addition to that, there were domesticated and introduced animals, making up the urban wildlife population, but they were only part of the entire ecosystem.

The fish, shrimp, frogs, plankton, and microorganisms in the rivers, as well as the humans living in the city, can all actually be included in the animal groups of the entire ecosystem."

Professor Li's words made Chen Xin raise his eyebrows. He quickly took out a notebook to jot down what Professor Li was saying.

Seeing that Chen Xin took out a notebook, Professor Li adjusted his thoughts and spoke more seriously, "In terms of a city, the two major groups in the urban ecological system, animals and plants, should be considered together. For example, if you're doing greening projects in the urban area, you need to consider whether there's a relationship between the animals introduced and the green plants you're using.

If the introduced animals can't consume these plants, or if consuming them causes poisoning reactions, these issues need to be considered.

So, they need to be viewed comprehensively to establish a stable food chain and supply-demand relationship, allowing each species in the ecosystem to participate in the ecological cycle so that each member is both a consumer and a producer.

Take birds, for example. If you introduce birds as consumers in the ecosystem, their primary food source is insects, so you need to introduce insects to meet the birds' dietary needs. Birds themselves are also producers, as their carcasses and feces can contribute back to the ecological environment.

Insects mainly feed on plants. Although we have always tried to control and eradicate various insects, it's not beneficial for the ecological cycle. Therefore, in this regard, I advise you, Comrade Chen, to pay attention to control rather than elimination, as every link in the food chain is indispensable."

Hearing this, Chen Xin felt that the matter required caution. He nodded and recorded Professor Li's words, marking them significantly.

After discussing this topic, Chen Xin asked Professor Li, "So, do you think it's appropriate to allow pet keeping in the future Dome City?"

"If you ask me from the perspective of the ecological environment, I can only say that pets can be considered part of the urban ecological environment. Although their impact on the urban ecosystem isn't significant, if a city has pets, their impact still needs to be carefully considered." At this point, Professor Li seemed a bit fatigued, appearing somewhat tired.

Seeing this, Chen Xin didn't pursue the conversation further and instead bid farewell after saying a few words like, "Take care and rest well."

Through his conversation with Professor Li, Chen Xin understood that building an ecological environment isn't just about adding some species together artificially.

To construct a balanced ecosystem, one needs to consider the relationships between each species and others in the system to achieve a state where all species can coexist, which is the ideal state.

Therefore, it's best to let more professional people research this matter. Until they come up with a viable plan and verify its feasibility, it would be better not to act rashly.