Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"Dear guests, welcome to today's industry exchange meeting..." The middle-aged man in a suit and tie on the stage gave his opening remarks enthusiastically, and the audience applauded loudly.

Bai Hanchuan and I sat side by side in the crowd. We listened calmly on the surface, but were actually observing our surroundings secretly.

"Hanchuan, look, is that person..." I noticed a sneaky figure in the corner and whispered to Bai Hanchuan.

Bai Hanchuan followed my gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly: "It's him, our competitor."

My heart tightened. Could it be that this exchange meeting was really the Hongmen Banquet?

We continued to observe calmly, and saw that the competitor was talking in low voices with a few colleagues, and he seemed to be somewhat proud of himself.

"What are they saying?" I was a little anxious, but I couldn't hear clearly what they were saying.

"Don't worry, I have a way." Bai Hanchuan said, taking out a miniature eavesdropping device from his pocket and quietly placing it in the corner.

Soon, a clear sound came from the eavesdropping device. We held our breath and listened carefully.

"We must teach them a lesson this time, and let them know that this market is not something they can just meddle with!"

"Yes, we have already contacted several large distributors and are preparing to sell our products at low prices to grab all of their market share!"

"Haha, then they'll have nothing to do but cry!"

……

Hearing these words, my heart sank. Their plan was so thorough and their methods were so vicious. It seemed that we were facing a real crisis this time.

After the exchange meeting, Bai Hanchuan and I immediately returned to the base and called Lin Xiao and several other core members to the office.

"This is the situation. We must come up with a solution as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous." I told everyone what I had heard, and everyone had a solemn look on their face.

"What's the quality of their products? What about the prices?" Lin Xiao asked calmly.

"I have asked the marketing department to prepare a detailed investigation report." Bai Hanchuan said, handing a document to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao quickly glanced through the report, and his expression became even uglier: "Their products are superior to ours in both quality and price. This battle is not going to be easy..."

The conference room fell into silence, and everyone felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on their hearts, heavy.

"Are... we just going to sit there and wait for death?" I murmured to myself, my tone filled with reluctance and powerlessness.

At this moment, there was a knock on the office door, and a familiar voice came from outside the door: "Don't worry, I may have a way..." "Come in!" I almost shouted this sentence, with a hint of hope in my tone.

The door of the office was pushed open, and in walked the retired gardening master of our base, who was also my friend regardless of age difference, Lao Zhang. Behind him was a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses and a refined temperament, who looked gentle and elegant.

"Lao Zhang, why are you here? This is..." I was a little surprised, but more of it was the joy of seeing hope.

Old Zhang introduced with a smile: "Jinli, this is my old friend, Professor Li, a botanical expert, whom I mentioned to you. He is an authority on flower breeding. I heard that you have encountered difficulties recently, so he asked me to bring him over to see you. Maybe he can help you."

Professor Li pushed up his glasses and smiled gently: "Ms. Mu, I have heard a lot about you. Lao Zhang told me about the situation of your base. I think you can try to take the path of differentiated competition."

When we heard the words “differentiated competition”, Bai Hanchuan’s and my eyes lit up.

"Professor Li, what do you mean..." I couldn't wait to ask.

"Although the flower varieties in your base are good, they don't have a clear advantage in the market." Professor Li paused and continued, "I suggest that you try to develop some flower varieties with unique medicinal value, such as lavender that can treat insomnia, roses that can relieve stress, and so on. In this way, your products will have higher added value and will have more advantages in market competition."

Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other and saw the surprise and approval in each other's eyes. Professor Li's suggestion undoubtedly opened a new door for us and gave us hope.

"Professor Li, your suggestion is really great!" I said excitedly, "We have a test field at our base that can be used to cultivate new varieties. When do you have time, can you come to our base to give us some guidance?"

Professor Li readily agreed: "No problem, I'm happy to help you."

After seeing off Lao Zhang and Professor Li, Bai Hanchuan and I immediately gathered the backbones of the base and started to work on the research and development of new varieties. At the same time, we also decided to personally visit some potential customers to show them the advantages and characteristics of our base and strive for more cooperation opportunities.

The first stop we visited was a famous scented tea factory in the city.

"Ms. Mu, the quality of the flowers at your base is indeed good, but our demand is huge. Can you guarantee a stable supply?" The person in charge of the flower tea factory was a shrewd middle-aged woman. She looked at me with a hint of doubt in her tone.

"Mr. Wang, don't worry. We have our own planting base, which is very large and can fully meet your needs." I answered confidently, "Moreover, we can also customize flower varieties specifically for you according to your needs."

When Mr. Wang heard what I said, he showed a hint of interest: "Oh? Then tell me, what unique varieties can you provide?"

I took a deep breath and said slowly, "We are developing a new type of lavender that can improve sleep, and it is expected to be available on the market next year..."

Before I finished speaking, the office door was suddenly pushed open and a familiar voice came: "Mr. Wang, what a coincidence, you are here too..."

I turned around abruptly and saw someone I had never expected to see… I turned around abruptly and saw someone I had never expected to see—Zhao Qiang, our planting base’s competitor and the owner of a large flower company, standing at the door with a sinister smile on his face. How could he be here? Could it be that… My heart sank suddenly, and a bad premonition came over me.

Zhao Qiang was obviously stunned when he saw me and Bai Hanchuan, then he resumed his usual fake smile: "Hey, isn't this Mr. Mu and Mr. Bai? What a coincidence, we meet again. Why, are you also here to discuss cooperation with Mr. Wang?"

I suppressed my anger and said with a forced smile, "Yes, our base has developed several new flower varieties and I would like to recommend them to Mr. Wang."

Zhao Qiang walked into the office, his eyes swept over me and Bai Hanchuan, and finally fell on the folder in my hand. The corners of his mouth curled up with a meaningful smile: "Oh? A new variety? I wonder what good things it is, let me open my eyes too?"

I took a step back cautiously and protected the folder behind me: "I'm sorry, this is the business secret of our base and it is not convenient to disclose it."

Zhao Qiang laughed out loud, his tone full of sarcasm: "Boss Mu, you are bored now, right? We are all in the same industry, we should learn from each other. Besides, your new product has not been launched on the market yet, how can it become a trade secret? Are you afraid of us?"

I took a deep breath and tried to control my emotions. I knew that Zhao Qiang had come here with bad intentions today. He was here to cause trouble on purpose. I couldn't let him succeed, and I couldn't let him affect the development of our base.

In the next few days, we found that Zhao Qiang's company began to maliciously lower prices, snatch our customers, and even tried to poach technical personnel from our base. Bai Hanchuan and I knew that this was a tough battle, and we had to be fully prepared to deal with it.

"Don't worry, we will definitely get through this difficult time." Bai Hanchuan held my hand with a firm look in his eyes.

I nodded, my heart full of fighting spirit. This is not only for ourselves, but also for the dedication and hard work of all the employees of the base. We will never give up easily!

It was late at night. Bai Hanchuan and I stood in the office of the planting base, looking out the window at the night, our hearts full of fighting spirit. We knew that this was a tough battle, but we were confident that we could defeat our opponents and protect the future of the planting base with our own strength and wisdom. Suddenly, the phone on the table rang urgently. Bai Hanchuan answered the phone and his face instantly became solemn...

Bai Hanchuan held the microphone, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, his face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm. My heart tightened, and a bad premonition came to my mind.

"What did you say? Are you sure?" Bai Hanchuan's voice was terribly low, as if it was squeezed out from between his teeth.

With every word he spoke, his fingers gripping the microphone tightened, and the joints turned bluish-white. My heart rose to my throat as he moved, and an inexplicable panic spread in my heart.

"I understand." After saying this, Bai Hanchuan hung up the phone abruptly and threw the receiver heavily back onto the base.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I asked anxiously, with a slight tremor in my voice.

Bai Hanchuan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then he turned around and looked at me with a serious look in his eyes: "Boss Wang, the cooperation with our base has been cancelled."

"What?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widened in disbelief. "How could this happen? Weren't we talking just fine before? Why did it suddenly..."

Countless questions flashed through my mind, but I couldn't figure out why things suddenly turned out like this. Everything was going smoothly before, and Mr. Wang also showed great interest in the new varieties in our base. Why did he suddenly change his mind?

"It was Zhao Qiang." Bai Hanchuan gritted his teeth and said, "He used despicable means to intercept our cooperation with President Wang."

"This despicable villain!" I was so angry that I was shaking all over. I wanted to rush to Zhao Qiang and slap him in the face.

The new variety that we worked so hard to develop was about to be launched on the market, but it was maliciously destroyed by Zhao Qiang. You can imagine the anger and resentment in our hearts.

"Don't be angry, Jinli." Bai Hanchuan hugged me in his arms, patted my back gently, and comforted me, "We still have a chance, we will definitely get through this difficult time."

His embrace was warm and powerful, which gradually calmed my originally flustered heart. Yes, we can't be defeated like this. The more Zhao Qiang wants to see us fail, the more we must stand up firmly and let him see that we are not so easily defeated!

"Yes!" I raised my head and nodded firmly, "If we work together, we will definitely be able to overcome all difficulties!"

It was late at night. Bai Hanchuan and I stood in the office of the planting base, looking out the window at the night, our hearts full of fighting spirit. We knew that this was a tough battle, but we were confident that we could defeat our opponents and protect the future of the planting base with our own strength and wisdom. Suddenly, the door of the office was pushed open, and Lin Xiao ran in in a panic, holding a document in his hand, his face pale, and his voice trembling as he said, "Oh no, Sister Mu, Brother Bai, something big has happened..."