Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

For several weeks, the lights in the laboratory were on all night long, but research and development progress was like being stuck in a quagmire, making every move difficult.

"How could this happen?" Lin Xiao took off his glasses tiredly and rubbed his sore eyes, his tone full of frustration, "I have clearly adjusted the extraction method according to the nurse's plan, why did it still fail?"

I looked at the turbid liquid in the petri dish, and my heart felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on it. During this period, we tried various methods and consulted countless literature, but the magical medicinal ingredient, like a naughty elf, always evaded our capture.

"Don't lose heart, let's try again." I forced myself to cheer myself up and poured a cup of hot tea for Lin Xiao and myself. "There must be something we haven't considered."

However, my encouragement did not seem to have much effect, and the atmosphere in the laboratory remained depressed. To make matters worse, funding issues also began to trouble us.

"What? The bank rejected our loan application?" I asked in disbelief, holding the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Mu." The helpless voice of the financial manager came from the other end of the phone, "The bank said that our project risk is too high and lacks sufficient collateral..."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. The problem of capital shortage was more serious than I thought. We have invested a lot of money in research and development projects during this period, and now there is very little liquidity left in the account.

"Also, Mr. Mu..." The financial manager's voice was a little hesitant, "The workers' wages this month..."

I held the phone tightly, my nails almost digging into my flesh. Of course I knew what this meant, and the delay in salary would make the already low morale even worse.

"I will find a way to raise funds as soon as possible. As for the salary issue, please help me stabilize everyone's situation first." I said weakly and hung up the phone.

In the office, the setting sun shone through the window, stretching my shadow to be particularly long. I leaned back in my chair helplessly, my mind in a mess.

"Dong dong dong..."

There was a knock on the door, and Bai Hanchuan walked in. Seeing my tired look, a trace of heartache flashed in his eyes. He walked over and gently hugged me in his arms.

"Don't worry, we will find a solution." His voice was low and firm, like a warm current that dispelled the coldness in my heart.

I raised my head and looked at the man in front of me. His eyes were still firm, as if he would stay by my side and fight side by side with me no matter what difficulties I encountered. I nodded, and a glimmer of hope rekindled in my heart.

"Knock knock..."

The office door was knocked again, and Lin Xiao walked in in a panic, holding a document in his hand, and said in a hurried tone: "Mr. Mu, this is not good..."

Lin Xiao took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice from trembling: "Gu Gong and two other technicians submitted their resignations. They said...the hope of success for this project was too slim and they couldn't see a future..."

The teacup in my hand fell to the ground with a "snap" and broke into pieces. The sound of the porcelain pieces breaking was particularly harsh in the silent office. Gu Gong was the core figure of the entire R&D team. His departure was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the project.

"How could this happen..." I muttered to myself, and fell back into the chair weakly. Bai Hanchuan looked solemn, and he held me in his arms, silently giving me strength.

"Also," Lin Xiao's voice was choked with sobs, "I went to discuss cooperation with Hongyuan Pharmaceutical today. They...they doubted our R&D capabilities and were unwilling to sign a cooperation agreement with us."

The bad news came one after another, like huge waves, hitting me dizzy. I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't suppress the panic in my heart. Hongyuan Pharmaceutical is our last hope. If even they don't believe in us, then this project will really not go on.

"What did Hongyuan say?" Bai Hanchuan asked in a deep voice. Although his voice was calm, I could feel the suppressed anger in his tone.

"They said," Lin Xiao bit his lip, "that we are just a small, unknown base and do not have enough experience and strength to complete this project. They also said..."

Lin Xiao's voice became smaller and smaller, and I could hardly hear what she was saying. But I could see that her eyes were filled with tears, tears of despair and helplessness.

"What else did they say?" Bai Hanchuan's voice suddenly turned cold, with a hint of suppressed anger in his tone.

"They said..." Lin Xiao raised his head, looked at me and Bai Hanchuan, and said word by word, "They said we were just dreaming and daydreaming!"

The office fell into a dead silence, the depressing atmosphere made it almost suffocating. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my surging emotions.

"No, we are not dreaming!" I stood up and looked at Lin Xiao and Bai Hanchuan's faces with a firm gaze, "We will definitely continue with this project, and I will make those who look down on us regret it!"

Although my voice was not loud, it was full of power, like a spark that ignited the fading hope in Lin Xiao's eyes. She nodded vigorously, and a trace of fighting spirit was rekindled in her eyes.

Bai Hanchuan looked at me, his eyes full of heartache and admiration. He reached out, held my hand tightly, and said, "No matter what decision you make, I will support you."

At this moment, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a familiar figure walked in...

The one who opened the door was the retired gardening master who had helped us improve the soil and increase the yield of flowers. Behind him was a thin middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. I recognized him as an expert from the Municipal Botanical Research Institute who had visited the base before.

"Girl, don't be discouraged, I'm here!" The old man said with full energy, handing me the thermos in his hand, "This is the ginseng tea I just made, it replenishes your energy and calms your mind. Drink it and have a good rest. Don't tire yourself out."

I took the thermos and a warm feeling came over me. The expert also pushed his glasses and said gently, "Ms. Mu, I came here today to tell you that I have carefully studied the information you provided. I think this project is very promising. I have applied for scientific research funds and technical support from the institute. I hope I can help you."

Their support was undoubtedly timely, and I nodded gratefully, my eyes slightly moist. However, the difficulties ahead were like mountains, weighing me down and making me breathless.

"But..." Lin Xiao hesitated, but finally couldn't help but say, "The departure of Engineer Gu and his team has a great impact on our R&D progress, and... we are also short of funds now. If there is no new investment, I'm afraid..."

Lin Xiao didn't finish her words, but we all understood what she meant. Funds are like the blood of a project. Once the capital chain is broken, the entire project will face the risk of failure.

The elderly and the experts were silent, with a trace of worry and helplessness on their faces. Although they were all authoritative experts in their respective fields, they also felt powerless in the face of such a complex dilemma.

As night fell, the lights in the meeting room of the planting base were bright. Bai Hanchuan and I sat at the two ends of the conference table. Lin Xiao and several other R&D backbones were also present.

"Everyone is aware of the current situation," Bai Hanchuan broke the silence, his voice low and powerful, "The project's R&D has encountered a bottleneck, and there is a shortage of funds. More importantly, the morale of the team has been hit hard."

The atmosphere in the conference room was very solemn, and everyone's face was full of anxiety and uneasiness. I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm, and then handed a document to Bai Hanchuan.

"This is the project adjustment plan I put together overnight," I looked into his eyes and said firmly, "We need to adjust the direction of research and development and focus our limited resources on the most critical technical aspects. At the same time, we need to find new investors as soon as possible to solve the funding problem."

Bai Hanchuan took the document and flipped through it carefully. The conference room was silent, with only the sound of flipping papers echoing in the air.

Suddenly, Bai Hanchuan slammed the file shut, raised his head, scanned everyone present with a sharp gaze, and said in a deep voice: "It is now a matter of life and death for the project..."