Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

I felt the blood rushing to my head and my ears were buzzing. The capital chain was broken... the employees were asking for their wages... Was I really going to watch the planting base we built with our own hands destroyed?

Bai Hanchuan stood up suddenly, walked quickly to the door, and opened the office door. Outside the door, there were crowds of people, and everyone's face was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.

"Mr. Bai, we want to know when our wages can be paid?" a young employee asked bravely. His voice trembled slightly, but it couldn't hide the urgency in his tone.

"Yes, Mr. Bai, we have elderly parents and young children to support, and we all depend on this salary to make a living!" Another older employee echoed, with a hint of pleading in his tone.

Facing the familiar faces, I felt mixed emotions. These employees have worked hard with us, they are diligent and hardworking, and have made great efforts for the development of the planting base. But now, I can't even pay their wages...

"Everyone, please be quiet!" Bai Hanchuan's voice rang out in the crowd, carrying an unquestionable force. The crowd gradually quieted down, and everyone's eyes were focused on him, waiting for his answer.

"I know everyone is very anxious. I assure you that the salary issue will be resolved as soon as possible." Bai Hanchuan said firmly, "But now, please trust me and the planting base. Give us some time and we will definitely get through this difficult time!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion among the crowd.

"Boss Bai, are you telling the truth?"

“Can we really still get paid?”

“Can the planting base really continue to operate?”

……

Facing the employees' questioning eyes, a trace of pain flashed across Bai Hanchuan's face, but he quickly regained his composure and repeated in a firm tone: "Please believe me!"

The crowd quieted down again, but the air was filled with uneasiness and suspicion. I knew that Bai Hanchuan's words did not completely dispel their concerns. They needed a clearer answer, a promise that would put them at ease.

At this moment, my cell phone suddenly rang, breaking the depressing atmosphere. I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm, took out my cell phone and looked at the caller ID - it was Lin Xiao.

"Hello, Xiaoxiao." I answered the phone, suppressing the uneasiness in my heart, and spoke in a calm tone as much as possible.

"Jinli, something bad has happened! Mr. Wang... " Lin Xiao's voice was anxious and flustered, as if something urgent had happened.

"What's wrong with Mr. Wang?" My heart sank suddenly and an ominous premonition came over me.

"He...he brought a group of people to the base to cause trouble, and..." Lin Xiao's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally almost turned into a muttering.

"What else did he ask?" I asked, with a hint of anxiety and uneasiness in my tone.

"He also..." Lin Xiao took a deep breath, as if he had mustered up his courage, and then continued, "He also brought a court subpoena, saying... saying that he wanted to seal up the planting base!"

My brain buzzed, as if something collapsed, and everything in front of my eyes went blank...

Lin Xiao's words were like a bolt from the blue, exploding in my ears. Seized... the base is going to be sealed? My eyes went dark, and the phone slipped from my weak hands and fell on the desk with a dull "thump".

"Jinli! Jinli, what's wrong with you?" Bai Hanchuan quickly supported me as I was staggering, and asked anxiously.

I shook my head weakly. The questioning, disappointed and angry looks of the employees in front of me and Lin Xiao's panicked voice intertwined together, giving me a splitting headache.

"Mr. Bai, please say something! What should we do?" An employee couldn't help but ask loudly, his tone filled with despair.

His words were like a fuse, instantly igniting the employees' long-suppressed emotions.

"Yes, Mr. Bai, please give me some advice!"

"We can't just sit there and wait for death!"

"I have parents and children to take care of, I can't live without this job!"

The employees were furious and expressed their dissatisfaction and concerns. Some began to pack up and prepare to leave this "dangerous nest" that was about to collapse.

"Don't panic, everyone. We..." Bai Hanchuan tried to control the situation, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

I closed my eyes helplessly, feeling heartbroken. Seeing the once joyful and happy planting base turned into such a mess, I felt full of self-blame and powerlessness.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes walked into the office with a few followers, with a meaningful smile on his face, and his eyes revealed an undisguised greed.

"Hey, isn't this Mr. Bai? How did you become like this?" He said with a forced smile, his tone full of sarcasm.

Bai Hanchuan glanced at him coldly and said in a cold tone: "What are you doing here?"

"Of course I'm here to help Mr. Bai." The man said, taking a document from his follower and handing it to Bai Hanchuan, "This is our company's acquisition plan for your base. As long as Mr. Bai signs this contract, all previous debts will be written off."

I suppressed my anger, took the document, and read it quickly. The acquisition conditions were extremely harsh, almost equivalent to handing over the planting base to someone else, and our years of hard work would go to waste.

"What do you think? Mr. Bai, what do you think?" Seeing that I was silent, the man thought that I was moved, and his tone became even more proud.

I took a deep breath, slammed the document on the table, and said coldly: "No need, we..."

“Knock, knock, knock—” Someone knocked on the office door, and a strange voice sounded outside the door: “Excuse me, is Ms. Mu Jinli here?”

"It's me." I took a deep breath and tried to keep myself calm. This voice was unfamiliar. Who could be looking for me at this time?

An old man in plain clothes walked in under the guidance of Lin Xiao, followed by a young girl wearing glasses. Although the old man was dressed simply, he could not hide his elegant temperament. When he saw me, a gleam flashed in his eyes, and he nodded slightly and said, "Ms. Mu, I have heard of your name for a long time."

Before I could ask, the old man introduced himself: "My last name is Li, and I'm a retired horticulturist. This is Xiao Liu, a botany expert from the Agricultural University. We heard about the situation at your base and came to visit, hoping to be of help."

I was stunned for a moment, looking at the two uninvited guests in front of me with some disbelief. They actually offered to help us at this time?

Mr. Li seemed to see my confusion and explained with a smile: "I have seen reports about you and your base in the newspaper. I admire your ideas and technology very much, so I have been paying attention to your development. I have also heard a little about this incident. I believe that as long as we find the root cause of the problem, there must be a solution."

He paused, turned his eyes to the acquisition agreement on the table, and said meaningfully: "Instead of giving away years of hard work, it's better to give it a try, isn't it?"

Mr. Li's words were like a beam of light that shone into my dark heart. Yes, we still have hope, how can we give up so easily!

I looked at Bai Hanchuan, and there was also a glimmer of hope in his eyes. We exchanged firm glances and said in unison: "We refuse the acquisition!"

In the following days, we worked day and night with Mr. Li and expert Liu to find the cause of the problem. We read a lot of information, visited everyone in the base, and carefully checked every link in the planting process.

However, the results were disappointing. We could not find the root cause of the problem, and the crops in the base were still withering and dying at an alarming rate.

Standing on the barren fields of the planting base, looking at the land that was once full of vitality but is now dead silent, Bai Hanchuan and I felt unprecedented powerlessness and despair.

"Is... there really no way?" I murmured to myself, with a tremor in my voice.

Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly and remained silent.

I sat down weakly on the ridge of the field, looking ahead with empty eyes. Suddenly, my eyes fell on a pile of debris piled up at the edge of the field. Those were some varieties that had been eliminated from the base before. Because they grew poorly, they were piled here and prepared for disposal.

"I'll go take a look." I said to Bai Hanchuan, then stood up and walked towards the pile of junk.

The pile of debris was mostly filled with dead branches and leaves, giving off a rotten smell. I searched for a while, and suddenly, my hand touched the soft leaves of a plant...