Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

As the sun sets, the figures of Hanchuan and I are stretched out, as if we have merged into this land full of hope.

In the next few days, the base was busy. Workers rushed to level the land and build greenhouses to prepare for a new round of sowing. Bai Hanchuan and I also rushed around to contact seed suppliers and inspect new varieties.

Everything is moving in the right direction, and I seem to be seeing a bumper harvest in the future.

"Sister Jinli, look!" An anxious voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw that it was Xiao Wang, who was in charge of vegetable planting. He pointed to a vegetable field not far away with an ugly look on his face.

My heart tightened and I walked over quickly. When I got closer, I couldn't help but gasp. I saw that the leaves of the originally green cucumber vine were covered with dense black spots, and some leaves had begun to wither and turn yellow, drooping sickly.

"When was this discovered?" I asked hurriedly.

"It wasn't this serious this morning when I was on patrol!" Xiao Wang stamped his feet anxiously, "I thought I didn't water it enough, so I quickly watered it again, but who knew..."

I squatted down and carefully observed the spots on the leaves. An ominous premonition came to my mind. This was not a simple problem of water shortage, but more like...

"Hanchuan, come and take a look!" I immediately took out my handkerchief, carefully picked off a diseased leaf, and quickly walked to Bai Hanchuan who was directing the workers to build a greenhouse.

When Bai Hanchuan saw the diseased leaf in my hand, his expression suddenly became serious. "Where did you pick this from?"

"The cucumber field over there doesn't look good," I said worriedly, "I suspect it's got some disease or insect pest."

"Let's go and take a look." Bai Hanchuan put down the drawings in his hand and immediately walked towards the cucumber field with me.

After carefully inspecting the affected area, Bai Hanchuan made a prompt decision and contacted experts from the city's Agricultural Bureau for diagnosis. After careful observation and analysis, the experts finally determined that this was a rare pest that spread very quickly. If it was not controlled in time, it would cause a devastating blow to the entire base.

When we heard the news, Bai Hanchuan and I felt heart sinking.

"Dad, the situation is urgent now. We must come up with a plan as soon as possible!" I said anxiously to my father on the other end of the phone, "The experts recommended several drugs, but I'm worried..."

"I know, I know everything." The father's voice was also a little tired. "How about we try traditional pesticides first? I still have some in the warehouse..."

My hand holding the phone was shaking slightly. My father's words put me in a dilemma...

My father's words put me in a dilemma. On the one hand, I knew that traditional pesticides were effective and could quickly control the spread of pests and diseases; but on the other hand, I was worried that these pesticides would remain in the soil and crops, affecting the quality of the products and even harming the environment.

"Dad, traditional pesticides are too toxic, I'm worried..." Before I could finish my words, I was interrupted by Bai Hanchuan.

"Uncle, I know what you're worried about." He took the phone and said calmly, "We will conduct a small-scale test first. If the effect is not ideal or it has an impact on the environment, we will stop using it immediately."

After hanging up the phone, I paced back and forth anxiously, feeling confused. Bai Hanchuan walked over to me, gently held my hand, and said softly, "Don't worry, we will find a solution."

At this time, my cell phone rang. It was Lin Xiao calling.

"Jinli, the flowers in my store are in the same situation as those in your base!" Lin Xiao's voice was filled with anxiety. "I have tried many kinds of medicine and none of them worked. What should I do?"

"Don't worry, I'm also trying to find a solution." I forced myself to calm down, "Wait for me in the store, I'll be there soon."

After hanging up the phone, Bai Hanchuan and I immediately drove to Lin Xiao's flower shop. Along the way, the withered cucumber vines in the base kept appearing in my mind, and my heart was filled with worry and uneasiness.

When I arrived at the flower shop, I saw that the flowers that were once full of vitality had now become sickly, with black spots all over the leaves and some petals even starting to rot. Lin Xiao sat in the shop with a worried look on his face.

"Jinli, what should I do? I have carefully cultivated these flowers. If they all die, I will..." Lin Xiao choked with sobs and was speechless.

I patted her shoulder gently and comforted her: "Don't worry, we will find a solution together."

Bai Hanchuan and I carefully observed the damage to the flowers and found that it was exactly the same as the situation at the base. It seems that this is a pest that spreads widely.

"Jinli, I remember you told me before that your grandmother has an ancestral biological control method that is very effective against various diseases and insect pests." Lin Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up, "Can you remember what method it is?"

I tried hard to recall the method my grandmother had taught me, and some vague images gradually emerged in my mind.

"I remember now!" I excitedly grabbed Lin Xiao's hand, "We can try spraying a mixture of tobacco water, pepper water, and wood ash. These are all natural pesticides and should not cause pollution to the environment."

Lin Xiao also became excited, "Okay, let's try it!"

We immediately started to act, preparing the potion according to the method I remembered and spraying the flowers. After doing all this, Lin Xiao and I stared at the flowers nervously, expecting a miracle to happen.

At this time, my phone rang again. It was an unfamiliar number...

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

"Yes, who are you?" I asked puzzledly.

"I'm from our city's Agricultural Bureau. My last name is Zhang." The other party introduced himself. "I heard about your planting base and wanted to know the details."

My heart tightened. It seemed that the government had been alerted. I took a deep breath and reported the situation of the base to Director Zhang truthfully.

After listening to my story, Director Zhang expressed his concern and condolences, and said that the government would do its best to provide technical support to help us overcome the difficulties.

"Comrade Mu, don't worry. We have organized a team of experts to study this new type of pest and disease and strive to find an effective prevention and control method as soon as possible." Director Zhang said sincerely, "Before that, you must also take protective measures to minimize losses."

I expressed my gratitude to Director Zhang and said that I would actively cooperate with the government's work.

After hanging up the phone, I felt mixed emotions. The government's support has undoubtedly given us peace of mind, but expert research takes time, and we cannot just sit there and wait for death.

"Jinli, what should we do now?" Lin Xiao asked worriedly. The situation of flowers in her shop was not optimistic.

I pondered for a moment and said to Lin Xiao, "We can't put all our hopes on the government's help. We need to take the initiative to find ways to save ourselves."

"Do you have a solution?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Lin Xiao's eyes.

"We can first try some traditional prevention and control methods, such as fumigation and light trapping, to control the spread of pests and diseases." I told Lin Xiao my idea, "At the same time, we must strengthen field management, clean up diseased plants and leaves in time, and reduce the transmission channels of pests and diseases."

After listening to what I said, Lin Xiao nodded in agreement.

Lin Xiao and I took separate actions and carried out emergency prevention work at the base and the flower shop. We were like two firefighters trying to put out a fire, hoping to use our own strength to stop the spread of this disaster.

Late at night, I dragged my exhausted body back to the base. Looking at the crops attacked by pests and diseases under the moonlight, my heart was filled with worries.

Suddenly, I saw a dark shadow swaying in the depths of the field. My heart tightened. Could it be...

I rubbed my tired eyes, hoping to see more clearly. The shadow was still moving, appearing and disappearing, looking particularly strange under the moonlight. An ominous premonition came to my mind, and I walked quickly in the direction of the shadow.

“Who’s there?” I raised my voice, trying to scare off whoever was lurking in the darkness.

The only response I got was silence, with only the chirping of insects in the field becoming louder. Alarm bells rang in my heart, and I tightened my grip on the flashlight and walked forward more carefully.

Closer and closer. I held my breath and finally saw the true face of the shadow - it was actually a person!

He had his back to me, was tall, and wore dark clothes, so I couldn't see his face clearly. In the dim moonlight, I saw that he was bending over, fiddling with something.

Could it be that he was sabotaging me? This thought flashed through my mind like lightning. I was immediately furious, and I quickly stepped forward, grabbed his shoulders, and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

The man was startled by my sudden action and turned around abruptly. In the moonlight, I could see his face clearly.

"Hanchuan?!" I exclaimed, looking at the person in front of me in disbelief.

Why is Bai Hanchuan here? Shouldn't he be busy working in the city? And why is he in my base, sneaking around?

"Jinli?" Bai Hanchuan was obviously startled by my appearance. A flash of panic flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "Why are you here?"

"I should be asking you!" I pointed at the crops in the field, suppressing my anger. "What are you doing here? Why are you sneaking around?"

Bai Hanchuan did not answer my question, he just looked at me silently, his eyes were complicated, hesitant to speak. His silence made me even more uneasy, and an inexplicable fear began to spread in my heart.

"Speak up!" I couldn't help but raise my voice, "What the hell are you..."

Before I could finish my words, Bai Hanchuan suddenly pulled me over. He hugged me tightly and said in a low and hoarse voice: "Don't talk, let me hug you."

The warmth of his embrace made me feel a little relieved, but the doubts in my heart became even stronger.

"What's wrong with you?" I gently pushed him away, trying to find the answer from his face.

Bai Hanchuan took a deep breath and seemed to have made a decision. He looked into my eyes and said word by word: "Jinli, I..."