Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

The words on the newspaper seemed to have turned into sharp knives, stabbing my eyes and hurting them.

“How could this happen? We clearly…” My voice trembled and I could hardly utter a complete sentence.

Hanchuan's face turned pale. He held my hand tightly, his palms were ice-cold.

"Don't panic, let's calm down and think about it carefully." His voice was low and powerful, as if he was encouraging me and himself.

Officer Li was still anxiously saying on the other end of the phone: "There are already quite a few reporters gathered at the entrance of the base. You'd better not come out yet..."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "Thank you, Officer Li. We understand."

After I hung up the phone, the room fell into silence. I slumped down in a chair, looking out the window at the fields that were once full of life, but were now covered in a shadow.

The order phone started ringing non-stop, but not to place orders, but to cancel orders.

“Ms. Mu, we’re so sorry. After this happened, we can only…” “We’re also very sorry. We can only find another supplier…” Every call to cancel an order was like a heavy hammer, hitting my heart.

I mechanically crossed out one order after another in the notebook. The order book, which was originally full, is now empty.

"Jinli..." Hanchuan's voice was filled with a hint of heartache.

I raised my head and forced a smile: "I'm fine, we can definitely figure it out."

At this time, the supplier Zhou called in. His tone was no longer as polite as before, but rather a little aggressive: "Ms. Mu, when can you settle the payment for the goods? Now that something like this has happened, we are also in a difficult situation..."

My fingers turned white as I held the phone, and I suppressed the anger in my heart: "Boss Zhou, didn't we agree before..."

"Before was before, now is now!" Supplier Zhou interrupted me rudely, "I want to see the money now! Otherwise..."

"What else?" Hanchuan snatched the phone with a cold tone.

Hanchuan's voice was as cold as ice, and it made my heart tremble.

"Boss Zhou, the payment for the goods at our base will be handled according to the contract. As for the 'otherwise' you mentioned, I'd like to hear what it means."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, and then Supplier Zhou's voice became a little weak: "Otherwise...otherwise I will take your base to court! And I will also take away your equipment to pay off the debt!"

Hanchuan sneered: "Go ahead and try." After that, he hung up the phone without hesitation.

I looked at him worriedly: "Hanchuan, what should we do now? If supplier Zhou really sues us..."

"Don't be afraid. I've already contacted my friends in the media. We'll get to the bottom of this matter." Han Chuan hugged me and patted my back gently. "Boss Zhang and reporter Wu, we won't let either of them go."

His friend was very efficient and quickly found the source of the report. It turned out that reporter Wu had accepted money from boss Zhang and was deliberately trying to discredit us.

Without any hesitation, Hanchuan handed the evidence directly to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and contacted several other media outlets to expose reporter Wu's misconduct.

Reporter Wu's reputation plummeted and he was fired from the newspaper. Boss Zhang's conspiracy was also exposed and his company suffered a serious blow.

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting rid of my anger.

But before I could recover, a bigger crisis struck.

Supplier Zhou came to the base with a group of people in a menacing manner and blocked the gate.

He pointed at me and yelled, "Mu Jinli, pay off all your debts right now! Otherwise I will take the base to court and take away your equipment to pay off the debts!"

I looked at the smug look on Supplier Zhou's face, and my heart was boiling with anger. "Boss Zhou, we have been working together for so many years, and this is how you treat me?"

Supplier Zhou sneered, "Don't try to get close to me! Now that something has happened at the base, who knows if you can still turn things around? I don't want to be buried with you!" He waved his hand, and several people behind him immediately started to rush into the base... I suddenly blocked them, "What do you want to do?"

"Boss Zhou, we've been working together for so many years, and this is how you treat me?" I suppressed my anger and tried to make my voice sound calm.

He sneered, his eyes full of contempt, "We've been working together for so many years? Mu Jinli, don't use these words to pressure me! In the business world, there is only profit, not friendship! Now that something has happened to your base, who knows if you can still turn things around? I don't want to be buried with you!"

"What happened to our base is only temporary! Aren't you afraid of retribution in the future for taking advantage of others' misfortunes?" My voice trembled uncontrollably. I didn't expect him to be so cold-hearted.

"Retribution? Humph, I, Zhou, have never been afraid of retribution for anything I do! I just believe that money is safest when it's in my own hands!" He patted his chest arrogantly, his smug look making me want to go up and slap him in the face.

“You…” I was so angry that my whole body was shaking, and my fingers pointing at him began to tremble, “You are simply unreasonable!”

"I'm unreasonable? I think you're too naive! Business is like a battlefield, being too soft-hearted will only make you lose more miserably!" He looked at me with contempt, then waved his hand, "Take all the equipment away!"

The people behind him immediately started attacking me. I tried my best to stop them, but I was no match for them.

As I watched them about to move the equipment away, my heart sank.

Suddenly, a big warm hand wrapped around my shoulders, and Han Chuan's voice rang in my ears, "Jinli, don't be afraid, I'll take care of it."

He gently pulled me behind him and looked at Supplier Zhou with cold eyes, "Boss Zhou, I advise you to stop now."

Supplier Zhou snorted disdainfully, "Bai Hanchuan, stop trying to scare me! It's only natural to pay back debts! Either you pay back the money today, or I'll take these devices away to pay off the debt!"

Hanchuan didn't say anything, but just held my hand tightly. His palm was warm and dry, giving me great strength.

He turned to look at me, his eyes full of tenderness and determination, "Jinli, believe me, we can definitely get through this difficult time." His words flowed into my heart like a warm current, gradually calming my originally panicked heart.

I leaned in his arms, feeling the warmth and strength coming from him, and nodded gently.

He took a deep breath, turned around, stared at the supplier Zhou with a sharp gaze, and slowly spoke... "It seems that we can only meet in court."

Hanchuan's words were powerful and Supplier Zhou was obviously stunned for a moment. He probably didn't expect Hanchuan to be so tough.

His eyes rolled and his tone softened: "Bai Hanchuan, why are you doing this? We are all businessmen, and harmony brings wealth. As long as you pay back the money, you can use the equipment."

I held Hanchuan's hand tightly, feeling the warmth of his palm, but my heart felt like a huge rock was pressing on it.

I know that we don't have that much money in our account right now. Even if we exchange everything in the space for money, we may not be able to get it together in time.

"Boss Zhou, it's not that we don't want to pay you back, we just need some time." Han Chuan's voice was still calm, without any panic. "This batch of equipment is very important to our base. If you take it away rashly, it will cause huge losses to our production. Can you afford this loss?"

Supplier Zhou was obviously hesitant. He rubbed his hands, his eyes flickering: "Bai Hanchuan, I'm not an unreasonable person, it's just that this..."

"Let's put it this way," Han Chuan interrupted him, "Three days. Within three days, I will give you an answer."

Supplier Zhou wanted to say something, but finally nodded: "Okay, I'll give you three days. If I still don't see the money after three days, don't blame me for being rude!" After that, he left with his people.

After they left, I leaned weakly on Hanchuan, and my strong will collapsed in an instant: "Hanchuan, what should we do? Where can we get so much money in three days?"

Hanchuan patted my back gently and consoled me, "Don't worry, I already have a plan. I will deal with reporter Wu. As for supplier Zhou..." He paused, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, "I will make him give up the money on his own initiative."

I raised my head and looked at him in confusion.

What's his plan?

Why do I feel like he is confident?

But I still felt a little uneasy, as if something was going to happen.

He smiled soothingly and ruffled my hair: "Don't worry, everything will be fine." Then he turned and walked to the desk, picked up the phone, and dialed a number... "Hello, help me check someone..."