Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"What did you say? They... are willing to come for a visit?" I looked at Hanchuan in surprise, and the teacup in my hand almost slipped.

"Yes, they agreed." Hanchuan nodded affirmatively, "I have sent someone to pick them up, they should be here soon."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my excitement and anxiety. Since the "Jinxiu Tianyuan" project was falsely accused and stopped, we have been working hard to eliminate the negative impact and hope to gain the understanding and support of local residents and environmental protection organizations.

"Dong dong dong..."

There was a knock on the door and Hanchuan got up and opened it.

"Ms. Mu, Mr. Bai, hello, I am the residents' representative this time..." A middle-aged woman walked in, followed by several villagers and a young man in a green uniform.

"Welcome, welcome everyone!" I quickly stood up to greet them and invited them to the conference room.

Hanchuan turned on the projector and gave everyone a detailed introduction to the planning of the "Splendid Garden" project, including specific measures in terms of planting area division, water resource utilization, soil improvement, and pest and disease control.

"We adopt an ecological planting model and do not use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides to ensure the safety and environmental protection of agricultural products." I added, "In addition, we will plant shelterbelts around the base to prevent soil erosion and protect the ecological environment."

The residents' representatives listened very carefully and nodded their approval from time to time.

"Ms. Mu, your project concept is very good, and we believe that you sincerely want to develop green agriculture and benefit the local people." The middle-aged woman said, "But we also have some concerns..."

My heart tightened slightly, and I asked, "Please go on."

“First, we are worried that the project will occupy a large amount of arable land and affect the villagers’ food planting,” said the middle-aged woman. “Second, we are also worried that the project will have an impact on the local water resources and environment.”

The young man in the green uniform added: "Our environmental protection organization has been paying attention to this project. We hope you can strictly abide by environmental protection laws and regulations and do a good job in environmental impact assessment and monitoring."

I nodded to show that I understood their concerns.

"Regarding the issue of arable land, I can assure you," I said, "the land we rent is all wasteland and will not occupy the villagers' arable land. Moreover, we will give priority to hiring local villagers and provide them with employment opportunities."

"As for water resources and environmental issues, we will also attach great importance to them and operate in strict accordance with environmental protection standards." Hanchuan continued, "We have hired a professional environmental protection agency to evaluate and monitor the project to ensure its sustainable development."

After listening to our explanation, the residents' representatives and heads of environmental protection organizations looked less worried, but they still maintained a cautious attitude.

"We hope to visit your planting base and see your environmental protection measures with our own eyes," said the middle-aged woman.

"Of course, no problem." I agreed without hesitation. "We welcome your supervision at any time."

Afterwards, we led the residents' representatives and the heads of environmental protection organizations to the planting base. Looking at the vast fields in front of us, my heart was filled with hope and expectation...

"This area, we plan to..." I said, pointing to an open space not far away. Before I could finish my words, I was interrupted by a loud noise.

"What are you doing? Who let you in?"

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall, well-dressed middle-aged man with a few burly men approaching aggressively, with a face full of anger. Han Chuan immediately stepped forward, protected me behind him, and asked in a deep voice: "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

The man glanced at us with disdain and said arrogantly: "I am the owner of this land. What do you want to do by trespassing without permission?"

I was shocked. Wasn't this land already rented to us? Could there be some hidden secret?

"Sir, please calm down," I walked out from behind Hanchuan, trying to maintain a calm tone, "We have signed a land lease contract with the village committee and have the legal right to use this land."

"Contract?" The man sneered, "You want to take my land with just a piece of paper? Don't you even know who I am?"

A big man behind him immediately handed him a business card. Hanchuan took it and looked at it, his expression changed slightly.

"It turns out to be Boss Li," Han Chuan's tone remained calm, "We didn't know this land was yours. Please forgive us if we have offended you in any way."

"Just a simple "forgiveness" is all?" Boss Li said arrogantly, "You destroyed my land without permission and delayed my project. How do I calculate this loss?"

I understood that Boss Li was clearly trying to take advantage of the situation to extort money. I took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in my heart, and was about to speak when I was interrupted by an old but loud voice.

"Boss Li, long time no see!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an energetic old man walking slowly with the support of a man and a woman. The old man had white hair and a youthful face, and he had an extraordinary demeanor. It was obvious at first glance that he was not an ordinary person.

"You are..." Boss Li was obviously quite afraid of the old man, and his tone softened a little.

"I'm here to inspect the project," the old man smiled, "and to visit an old friend."

He turned to look at me, his eyes full of admiration, "Jinli girl, you did a great job, don't be afraid, with me here, no one can touch you!"

Boss Li's face suddenly turned very ugly. He never thought that this seemingly ordinary planting base had such a background. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was stopped by the old man's sharp eyes.

Finally, under the mediation of the old man, Boss Li left in disgrace. The storm was thus settled.

"Jinli girl," the old man looked at me kindly, "you've done very well. I'm very optimistic about you."

With the help of the elder, we successfully reached a cooperation agreement with the residents' representatives and the heads of environmental protection organizations. We promised to jointly formulate environmental protection standards, carry out ecological restoration projects, and give priority to providing employment opportunities and training for local residents.

Everything seems to be moving in a good direction. I look at the thriving planting base and my heart is filled with hope.

However, during the implementation of the project, due to the improvement of environmental protection requirements, the project cost increased significantly...

However, during the implementation of the project, due to the improvement of environmental protection requirements, the project cost increased significantly. The originally estimated budget was already stretched, and I looked at the report in my hand with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Hanchuan saw that I was frowning, so he walked over to me and gently put his arm around my shoulders.

"It's a good thing that environmental protection requirements have been raised, but the corresponding costs have also increased a lot," I handed him the report, "and if things continue like this, the funding gap will get bigger and bigger."

Hanchuan carefully read the report, his expression gradually becoming serious. "It seems we have to readjust the budget and find a new source of funds."

In the next few days, Hanchuan and I ran around to seek bank loans and government subsidies. However, because the project was just starting and the risks were high, both the bank and the government were cautious, and our applications were repeatedly rejected.

"Should I just give up like this?" I looked at the sunset outside the window, feeling full of powerlessness.

"Of course not," Hanchuan said firmly, "We have come this far, we must not give up easily."

We gathered our team members again to brainstorm and find a solution to the problem. After several days of discussion and research, we decided to try to apply for research funding.

"Research funding?" I was a little confused. "We are just a planting base. Can we apply for it?"

"We can cooperate with universities or research institutions to jointly apply for research projects related to ecological agriculture," Hanchuan explained. "In this way, we can obtain financial support and improve the scientific and technological content of the project."

My eyes lit up, this is indeed a feasible solution. We immediately contacted several universities and research institutions and introduced our project plan to them in detail.

However, things did not go as smoothly as we imagined. Some institutions were not interested in our project, while others put forward various harsh conditions.

Just when we were almost in despair, that day, I was checking the growth of crops at the base, and suddenly I received a call from an unfamiliar number.

"Hello, is this Ms. Mu Jinli?" A strange male voice came from the other end of the phone.

"I am, may I ask who you are..."

"I am a professor at XX University. My last name is Zhang. You can just call me Professor Zhang. I have heard about your project and I am very interested in your ideas and plans..."

I held the phone, my heartbeat quickening. Could it be...

After hanging up the phone, I immediately rushed back to the office and excitedly said to Hanchuan and the old man who had been silently helping us: "The professor said that he is interested in cooperating with us and jointly applying for research funding!"

The old man smiled slightly, his eyes sparkling with wisdom, and at this moment, there was a knock on the office door, and a strange young figure walked in... "Hello, I'm Dr. Liu from the XX Botanical Research Institute," the young man pushed up his glasses and introduced himself shyly, "Professor Zhang recommended me to participate in this project."

"Great! Welcome, Dr. Liu!" I shook his hand enthusiastically, and a warm feeling welled up in my heart. Professor Zhang's great help and Dr. Liu's joining us gave us hope.

In the following days, we worked closely with Professor Zhang, Dr. Liu, local residents and environmental protection organization leaders. We repeatedly discussed the project plan, conducted field visits, and continuously optimized the details, striving to build the project into a comprehensive agricultural park integrating ecological agriculture, leisure tourism, and science education.

The joining of Professor Zhang and Dr. Liu not only brought rich theoretical knowledge and practical experience to the project, but more importantly, they helped us successfully apply for a considerable amount of scientific research funding.

"Jinli, good news! Our project application has been approved!" Hanchuan ran into my office excitedly with the approval document.

I took the document with great excitement, and looking at the bright red seal on it, I felt relieved. This research funding was undoubtedly a timely help, greatly alleviating the financial pressure of the project.

"Great! This is really great!" I held Hanchuan's hand, my joy was beyond words.

"This is all thanks to the help of Professor Zhang and Dr. Liu," Hanchuan said with emotion, "We must thank them very much."

I nodded, agreeing deeply. We decided that after the project was officially launched, we would invite Professor Zhang and Dr. Liu to visit the base for guidance and hold a celebration banquet for them to express our sincere gratitude.

However, just as we were immersed in joy, the project engineer suddenly found us with a serious expression...