Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

The afternoon sun shines on the flowerbed, giving the colorful petals a golden edge. The children chase a beautiful butterfly among the flowers, and their silver bell-like laughter echoes over the fields. I look at this warm scene in front of me, and my heart is filled with happiness and satisfaction.

"Mom, look, this flower is so beautiful!" The daughter ran over, holding a blooming rose in her hand, with crystal dewdrops on the pink petals.

I took the flower with a smile, put it to my nose and sniffed it, a fresh fragrance filled my nose, "Yes, this is a new variety cultivated in our base."

"New species?" A deep male voice sounded, and a black car slowly stopped at the gate of the base.

I turned around and saw a man in a suit getting out of the car. He was tall, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and exuded a shrewd and capable aura.

"Hello, Mr. Bai, I am the president of the Flower Association." The man extended his hand and introduced himself.

Bai Hanchuan shook hands with him and exchanged a few words. I felt a little uneasy in my heart. I was afraid that the sudden visit of the president of the Flower Association was not good news.

Sure enough, after the greetings, the president said in a serious tone: "Mr. Bai, Ms. Mu, the competition in the flower market has become increasingly fierce recently. In order to regulate the market order and improve industry standards, the association has decided to re-rate the quality of flowers..."

My heart sank suddenly. Before the president finished speaking, I had already guessed what he was going to say next.

"According to the new rating standards, some of the flower varieties in your base..." The president paused, pushed his glasses, and said in a subtle tone, "may not meet the standards and require technical upgrades and variety improvements."

"What?" Lin Xiao exclaimed, looking at the president in disbelief, "How is this possible? The flowers in our base have always been the most popular!"

The president sighed and explained, "The new rating standards place more emphasis on the flowers' resistance to pests and diseases, growth cycle, and ornamental value. Some of your base's traditional varieties do have some shortcomings in these aspects."

I took a deep breath and tried to keep myself calm. I knew that what the president said was true. With the continuous development of planting technology and increasingly fierce market competition, some traditional varieties in our base have indeed failed to keep up with the development of the times.

"I understand. We will upgrade the technology and improve the varieties as soon as possible." Bai Hanchuan said in a deep voice, with a hint of solemnity in his tone.

After seeing the president off, Bai Hanchuan and I returned to the office.

"It seems that we are facing new challenges." I broke the silence and looked at Bai Hanchuan with worry in my eyes.

Bai Hanchuan nodded, a gleam in his eyes, "It's time to make some changes..." Bai Hanchuan's words made me feel a little relieved. He has always been calm and composed, and always gives people a sense of peace of mind.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"First, we need to increase investment in research and development to cultivate more competitive flower varieties." Bai Hanchuan said, taking out a document from the drawer and handing it to me. "This is the market trend analysis report that I asked Lin Xiao to investigate earlier. Take a look."

I took the report and read it carefully. The report mentioned that as people's living standards improve, the demand for flowers is becoming more and more diversified. In addition to the traditional ornamental value, consumers are also paying more and more attention to the environmental protection and functionality of flowers.

"It seems that we need to cultivate some new varieties that are both beautiful and environmentally friendly." I closed the report and said thoughtfully.

"Yes, in this regard we can learn from some advanced breeding institutions abroad and introduce some high-quality varieties for improvement." Bai Hanchuan added, "At the same time, we must also strengthen our own research and development capabilities and strive to cultivate new varieties with independent intellectual property rights."

"Yes, I agree." I nodded, already having a preliminary plan in mind. "Tomorrow I will go to the Agricultural University in the city to see if we can hire some experts in botany to come to the base for guidance."

"Okay, you're responsible for this." Bai Hanchuan paused, then said, "In addition, Lin Xiao must continue to follow up on market research and keep abreast of changes in consumer demand so that we can adjust our research and development direction."

"I understand!" I said confidently.

In the next few days, we all devoted ourselves to the intense work. I went to all the major agricultural universities in the city and finally found an old and respected professor who had been engaged in flower breeding research abroad for many years and had rich experience in the cultivation of new varieties.

Lin Xiao's market research has also made new progress. She found that with the increase of environmental awareness, consumers' demand for environmentally friendly flowers is growing, especially flowers that can purify indoor air, which have a broad market prospect.

"Jinli, guess what I found?" One night, Lin Xiaoxing ran to my house excitedly with a piece of information in his hand.

"What?" I asked curiously.

Lin Xiao smiled mysteriously and handed me the information. "You'll know after you take a look."

I took the information and saw a few big words written on the cover: New environmentally friendly planting technology... I opened the information, my eyes fell on one of the lines of words, and I was stunned.

"This...how is this possible?" I exclaimed, unable to believe my eyes.

Lin Xiao came close to me and said in a low voice: "I heard that this technology was jointly developed by a retired old gardening master and a botanical expert. It has not been announced to the public yet..."

My hands trembled slightly as I held the information, and a strong sense of curiosity and anticipation surged in my heart. If this technology can really be applied to our base, then we...

"How...how is this possible?" I exclaimed, the information in my hand seemed to be hot. The new environmentally friendly planting technology that Lin Xiao mentioned was surprisingly similar to a cutting-edge technology that I accidentally learned before my rebirth! Could it be that there are really such coincidences in this world?

"I used some connections to get information about this old gentleman. He seems to be interested in cooperating with us." Lin Xiao lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I also asked someone to find out more about this botanical expert. He is a rare talent!"

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my excitement. "Xiaoxiao, you did a great job! We must seize this opportunity!" If this technology can really be applied to the planting base, it will be a huge leap forward and may even change the landscape of the entire industry!

The next morning, Bai Hanchuan and I drove to visit the retired gardening master with carefully prepared gifts. The old man was named Professor Wu. He was nearly 70 years old but energetic. He talked endlessly about flower planting, and it was obvious that he was full of love for this industry.

"I have heard about your purpose. This technology is indeed the result of our hard work over the years." Professor Wu pointed to the pots of green plants on the table, with a hint of regret in his tone, "However, there are still some technical difficulties that have not been overcome..."

It turns out that this technology requires a special cultivation soil, and the proportion of this soil is very complex, and it is not yet possible to achieve large-scale production.

"Professor Wu, don't worry, we will do our best to cooperate with your research!" Bai Hanchuan said in a deep voice, "Funds, equipment, manpower, just make your request!"

Professor Wu nodded with satisfaction, and when he looked at me, there was a hint of admiration in his eyes. "Xiao Mu, you are very good. You are motivated and have ideas! I believe that we will succeed!"

In the following days, our base almost became a scientific research base. The expert team conducted experiments day and night, adjusting the soil ratio again and again, but was never able to achieve the desired results.

"How could this happen?" I looked at the drooping seedlings in the experimental field, feeling anxious and uneasy. Could it be that this technology is really impossible to achieve?

"Don't lose heart, we will definitely find a solution!" Bai Hanchuan held my hand and gave me strength.

A week later, at the base meeting, the atmosphere was tense. "Market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, but our research and development of new varieties has stagnated..." Lin Xiao reported the latest market research results with a hint of anxiety in his tone.

"Environmentally friendly planting technology cannot be delayed any longer!" I looked at everyone in the conference room and said firmly, "Even if we face difficulties, we must rise to the challenge! I believe that as long as we persevere, we will be able to break through the technical bottleneck and develop new products that meet market demand!"

Suddenly, the door of the laboratory was pushed open, and a researcher ran in hurriedly, saying excitedly: "Mr. Mu, Mr. Bai, we..."