Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

Lin Xiao's words were like thunder, exploding in the silent night. I didn't even have time to ask what happened, my heart seemed to fall into a bottomless abyss.

"What happened? Tell me slowly!" Bai Hanchuan held up the staggering Lin Xiao and asked in a deep voice.

"The price of vegetables in the market is still falling..." Lin Xiao panted and spoke intermittently, "We can't sell our vegetables at all, the warehouse is full... the capital chain... the capital chain is about to break!"

My eyes went dark and I almost collapsed to the ground. How could this happen? We were so happy about the good harvest just a few days ago, how come we were in such a desperate situation in the blink of an eye?

Bai Hanchuan helped me sit down and said to Lin Xiao with a serious look, "Go back and rest first, we will take care of this matter."

After Lin Xiao left, I leaned weakly on the sofa, feeling cold all over. There was no light in the room, only the dim street lights outside the window shone through the glass, casting a mottled light and shadow on the ground, making the room seem even more dead silent.

"Don't worry, we can definitely get through this." Bai Hanchuan sat next to me, gently put his arm around my shoulders, trying to warm me with his body temperature.

I raised my head and looked into his eyes. His eyes, which were always calm, were now filled with anxiety and fatigue. I suppressed the pain in my heart and tried to force a smile: "I believe you."

In the following days, we ran around and tried to seek help, but the result was disappointing. The bank rejected our loan application, and the partners who had once been close to us also avoided us.

Just when we were at our wit's end, our competitors showed up, bringing with them a so-called "acquisition agreement" and offering to buy our planting base at a very low price in a benefactor's manner.

"This is impossible!" I stood up suddenly and threw the agreement in front of them. "You are taking advantage of the situation!"

"Manager Mu, a man who knows the current situation is a hero." The other party looked proud, "In this situation, no one can save you except us."

"We don't need your charity!" I glared at them, "Even if we lose everything, we won't sell our planting base to you!"

"If you don't accept my toast, you'll have to drink a forfeit!" The other party snorted coldly, stood up and left, "I'll give you three days to think about it. After three days, I'll come back to hear your response."

After they left, I fell into a chair helplessly, tears finally bursting out of my eyes. Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly without saying a word, but I knew that at this moment, his heart must be more tormented than mine.

"Knock, knock, knock..." The office door was knocked again, and Lin Xiao's anxious voice came from outside the door: "Mr. Bai, Manager Mu, something happened..."

"What happened?" I stood up suddenly, and the uneasiness in my heart instantly magnified. Could something worse happen?

Lin Xiao's face was pale and he said hurriedly, "The workers... the workers all know..."

My heart skipped a beat. The news of the broken capital chain of the planting base had spread. Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other and saw the worry in each other's eyes.

Before we could say anything, the office door was flung open and a group of workers rushed in. They looked anxious and worried, and they were talking in unison:

"Manager Mu, we heard that the base is going to be acquired?"

"Boss Bai, we can't live without this base!"

"We are willing to reduce wages as long as the base can survive!"

Looking at the familiar faces, my eyes suddenly became red. These simple workers have been with us all the way, they regard this place as their home, and now that the base is facing difficulties, they are not thinking about their own interests, but working with us to overcome the difficulties.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Bai Hanchuan stepped forward and raised his voice, "I assure you that we will do our best to protect the base, and please believe us!"

The workers calmed down, but the worry in their eyes lingered. Although they were willing to face the difficulties with us, their power was ultimately limited.

After the workers were sent away, mysterious allies and new allies also arrived. They brought the latest market analysis and some feasible suggestions, and also used their own connections to try to help us open up sales channels.

However, facing powerful competitors, all these efforts seemed to be a drop in the bucket. Vegetable prices in the market were still low, and our products could not compete with theirs at all.

With a "bang", Bai Hanchuan slammed the table heavily. Although he was always calm, he could not hide his irritability and anxiety at this moment.

I walked over, gently held his hand, and whispered, "Don't worry, it will be okay..."

However, my words seemed so pale and powerless that even I couldn't believe them.

"I'll go look for other investors, maybe..." Bai Hanchuan stood up abruptly, grabbed his coat and walked out. His back looked particularly lonely under the dim light.

I looked at his departing back, feeling a strong sense of uneasiness in my heart, and an ominous premonition spread in my heart... "Wait, I'll go with you!"

"Wait, I'll go with you!" I grabbed my coat and ran out after Bai Hanchuan.

The city at night, with its flashing neon lights and busy traffic, could not illuminate our mood at all. We visited investors we had contacted one by one, but were rejected again and again.

"Boss Bai, it's not that we don't want to help you, it's just that the market conditions are not good right now, and we have to be responsible for our own investments!"

"Manager Mu, we have also heard about the situation of your planting base. It is too risky to invest now..."

Listening to these high-sounding excuses, my heart sank a little bit. I knew that what they said was true, but were we just going to watch the base being acquired and all our hard work go to waste?

For several days, Bai Hanchuan and I ran around but still got nothing. The huge pressure made me breathless, I started to suffer from insomnia, loss of appetite, and even dizziness while working.

"Jinli, how are you? Do you want to go to the hospital?" Lin Xiao looked at me worriedly. My face was pale and my lips were bloodless.

I shook my head and forced a smile: "I'm fine, I just need to rest for a while."

However, I knew that I was not only physically exhausted, but also mentally broken. I began to doubt myself, my choices, and my abilities.

If I had not chosen to start a business but found a stable job, would I not be so hard-pressed now? If I had not insisted on my own ideas but just followed the crowd, would the planting base not have fallen into trouble?

"Jinli, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?" Bai Hanchuan noticed that something was wrong with me, put down the documents in his hand, and asked worriedly.

I shook my head, not wanting to make him worry, but my tears kept flowing.

"Hanchuan, am I useless? I..." My voice was choked and I couldn't say a complete sentence.

Bai Hanchuan held me in his arms, patted my back gently, and said softly, "Don't talk nonsense, you have done very well, and none of this is your fault."

However, his comfort could not dispel the haze in my heart. I felt unprecedented powerlessness and despair, as if I had fallen into a bottomless abyss, without a ray of light.

Late at night, Bai Hanchuan and I sat in the office of the planting base, looking out the window at the night, our hearts filled with despair and confusion. We didn't know where the future of the planting base lay, and whether our dream could still be realized.

"Is... there really no other way?" I murmured to myself, my voice full of bitterness and despair.

Bai Hanchuan was silent. He held my hand tightly, his palm was cold, as if he was conveying some message...

Bai Hanchuan didn't say anything, but just held my hand tighter. I could feel the warmth of his palm, but it couldn't dispel the growing chill in my heart. Outside the window, the light of the street lamps was dim, and occasionally a car sped past, bringing a gust of cool wind, making it even more bleak.

"Are we really going to give up?" I murmured to myself. My voice was as thin as a mosquito, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting Bai Hanchuan's heart hard and shattering our last hope.

Bai Hanchuan stood up suddenly and walked to the window. His back looked particularly lonely in the dim light. He lit a cigarette. In the smoke, I couldn't see his expression, but I could feel his suppressed emotions.

After a long while, he turned around, his deep eyes showing a trace of determination: "No, I won't give up! I must find a way to keep our base!"

His tone was firm and powerful, but it could not hide the fatigue and helplessness in his eyes. I know that these days, he has been under as much pressure as I have, but he has always been silently carrying it and protecting me from the wind and rain.

I walked over to him, hugged him gently, rested my head on his chest, and listened to his steady heartbeat, as if I had found support and strength.

"Hanchuan, I believe in you!" I raised my head and looked at him firmly, "If we work together, we will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties!"

He looked down at me, a trace of heartache and emotion flashed in his eyes. He raised his hand, gently stroked my cheek, and a bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Okay, let's work hard together!"

As the night deepened, the office was so quiet that only the sound of each other's breathing and the occasional car horn outside the window could be heard. Bai Hanchuan and I hugged each other like this, neither of us spoke, but it seemed as if thousands of words were flowing in each other's hearts.

Suddenly, a rapid knock on the door broke the silence of the office, followed by Lin Xiao's anxious voice: "Manager Mu, President Bai, something bad has happened..."

My heart tightened, and a bad premonition came to my mind...