Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

Bai Hanchuan was filled with chill. I knew he must be extremely anxious at this moment, but he still grabbed my shoulders when I tried to stand up and pushed me back into the chair: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

He was gone for a whole day and night.

I suppressed my anxiety and looked through the base's accounts and technical data again and again, trying to find a glimmer of hope to solve the problem. However, the cold numbers and complex charts seemed to be mocking my overestimation of my ability. The departure of the technicians made the already stretched base operation even worse.

The next evening, Bai Hanchuan came back dragging his tired body. His eye sockets were sunken and there was blue stubble on his chin. He looked like he was ten years older.

"How is it?" My voice trembled a little because of nervousness.

He shook his head weakly and handed me a document. "This is their response. Take a look for yourself."

My heart sank to the bottom of the valley instantly. In the documents, those technicians who had worked with Bai Hanchuan day and night rejected Bai Hanchuan's request with cold words, and the reasons were all "personal development" and "better treatment".

I threw the documents weakly on the table, covered my face with my hands, and tears fell through my fingers.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way." Bai Hanchuan held me in his arms and patted my back gently, but his voice revealed a hint of weakness.

In the following days, the planting base was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. The departure of the technical backbone made it impossible to carry out the new planting plan, and the growth of the crops did not improve at all. I spent every day in anxiety and uneasiness.

"We can't go on like this, Jinli girl." Grandpa Li looked at the crops that were withering in the base, frowning, "If we continue like this, this year's harvest..."

He didn't say anything more, but I knew what he meant. If we couldn't find a solution, this year's harvest would be a failure and the base would be at risk of closing down.

"I know, Uncle Li, but now..." I closed my eyes weakly, my mind went blank.

"How about we try a new planting method?" Uncle Li suddenly suggested.

I looked up suddenly, and a glimmer of hope flashed in my eyes.

"But..." I looked at the old employees in the base who stuck to the old ways, and I felt a little worried. "Will they agree?"

Uncle Li didn't say anything, but just looked at me meaningfully, then turned and walked towards the open space of the base. That was originally his experimental area for breeding new varieties...

Uncle Li did what he said. He rolled up his trousers, took a hoe and started planning on the open space. He chose a sunny spot, leveled the land and dug ditches, and his movements were as skillful as a young man. I looked at his back and a warm feeling surged in my heart. Uncle Li was the only one in the base who was willing to believe in us and support us.

"Old man Li, what are you doing? You are old, why don't you just stay at home and enjoy your retirement? Why are you making such a fuss?" A sharp voice came from behind.

I looked back and saw it was Lao Zhao, an old employee at the base, who had always had complaints about Uncle Li's planting methods.

"Yes, Uncle Li, hasn't this land always been used to grow vegetables? If you do this, our output this year will..." Another old employee also echoed, his words full of worry and dissatisfaction.

"What do you know? Lao Li is researching new varieties. If successful, the benefits of our base can be doubled!" I couldn't help but retort.

"A new species? Him? Don't be ridiculous!" Old Zhao sneered, "If he really had that ability, would our base have ended up like this?"

Although the others didn't say anything, the expressions on their faces showed a bit of suspicion and disdain.

Uncle Li ignored their sarcasm and continued to work hard. He took out a packet of seeds from his pocket, carefully scattered them in the newly dug ditch, and then gently covered them with a thin layer of soil, his movements as gentle as if he was protecting his own children.

Looking at Uncle Li's determined back, a glimmer of hope ignited in my heart. Perhaps, this is really the only chance for our base to turn around.

However, reality dealt me ​​a heavy blow.

In the evening, Bai Hanchuan came back from outside with a gloomy face and slammed a stack of newspapers on the table.

"Look, they are trying to kill us!"

I picked up the newspaper and saw the headline on the front page read "Black-hearted base, pesticide residues in vegetables exceed the standard", with a photo of the vegetables in the base below. The title was shocking and the content was malicious and slanderous.

My heart sank instantly, and I knew that it was my competitor who was behind this again.

"What should we do now? Our products cannot be sold at all, and the warehouse is almost full..." I asked anxiously.

Bai Hanchuan didn't say anything, he just walked to the window and lit a cigarette. The thick smoke obscured the expression on his face, but I could feel the weakness and fatigue emanating from him.

"I'll go to the market..." He put out his cigarette, grabbed his coat and walked out.

"I'll go with you!" I chased after him...

I followed behind Bai Hanchuan, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing down on my heart, making me feel suffocated. People were coming and going in the market, and the hawking was heard one after another, but no one was willing to stop in front of our simple stall. I watched Bai Hanchuan lower himself again and again to introduce our vegetables to the customers, but in return he only got suspicious eyes and disdainful gestures.

"Comrade, our vegetables are green and pollution-free, and the price is cheaper than other places. Don't you really want to consider it?" Bai Hanchuan's voice was hoarse, and I could even hear a subtle tremor in it.

“Who knows whether what you said is true or not? It’s all in the newspapers now…” The customer shook his head and turned to walk to the stall next door.

I felt so sad, but I could do nothing. We brought more and more vegetables, almost filling up the entire stall, but until the market was about to close, we only sold a few pounds. On the way back, none of us spoke, only the heavy footsteps echoed in the silent night.

When I got home, the first thing I did was to look through the account book of the base. Under the dim light, the bright red figures hurt my eyes. The funds of the base were already stretched to the limit, and it could only support one more month at most. If we could not open up sales within one month, we would be bankrupt.

Despair overwhelmed me like a tide. I slumped weakly in the chair, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

"Don't cry, it will be fine." Bai Hanchuan gently hugged my shoulders, his voice tired but firm.

I raised my head, through tearful eyes, and saw a barely perceptible excitement on his originally tired face, and a glimmer of hope in his deep eyes.

"I was at the market today..." He paused, as if he had made up his mind, and his tone became unusually firm, "I found something, something that might be able to turn the situation around..."