Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

Bai Hanchuan handed me the newspaper in a serious tone. I took it and saw the headline on the front page: "Competition in the market for new varieties of flowers is fierce, and a price war is imminent."

The picture accompanying the article was a competitor's flower market, which was crowded and bustling. Even more eye-catching was the banner they put up: "New varieties of flowers, prices as low as 70% off."

"How dare they..." Lin Xiao muttered to himself in disbelief. You know, the cost of our new variety of flowers is right there, and the price is 70% off. They are competing maliciously!

Bai Hanchuan calmly flipped through the newspaper, frowning: "It seems that they had planned it in advance."

I read the article carefully and found that the new varieties of flowers launched by our competitors were surprisingly similar to ours, both in terms of varieties and cultivation techniques.

“Where did they get this technology?” My heart sank and a bad feeling came over me.

"Jinli, do you still remember the anonymous letter?" Bai Hanchuan put down the newspaper and said in a deep voice, "I sent someone to investigate. Although the sender was not found, there are various signs that this matter is related to our competitors."

My heart sank suddenly. Could it be that...

"They stole our research results?!" Lin Xiao stood up suddenly and clenched his fists angrily. "No, I'm going to argue with them!"

"Calm down, Lin Xiao." I held her back. Now was not the time to act impulsively. "What we need now is to analyze calmly and find a solution."

"But..." Lin Xiao looked at me anxiously, hesitant to speak.

"A price war is not good for us," Bai Hanchuan calmly analyzed. "Their costs are lower than ours. If we start a price war, we have no chance of winning."

"Then what should we do?" Lin Xiao became even more anxious. "We can't just sit there and watch them seize the market, right?"

I was lost in thought, and my eyes accidentally fell on the desk, where the research report on new flower varieties by experts and Grandpa Lin Xiao was placed...

"Maybe, we can change our thinking..." I muttered to myself, and an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.

"You mean..." Bai Hanchuan seemed to have thought of something and looked at me with burning eyes.

I took a deep breath, looked at Lin Xiao, and said slowly: "Lin Xiao, go contact ..."

"Perhaps, we can change our thinking..." I murmured to myself, and a thought suddenly flashed through my mind. My eyes fell on the research report on new varieties of flowers by the experts and Grandpa Lin Xiao on the desk.

I took a deep breath, looked at Lin Xiao, and said slowly: "Lin Xiao, go contact the retired gardening master and the botanical expert immediately and tell them that I have something important to discuss with them."

Although Lin Xiao didn't understand why, he did as he was told immediately.

That afternoon, the two experts came to the planting base. I told them the current situation and our ideas and humbly asked for their advice.

"Your idea is right." The retired gardening master nodded in appreciation after listening to my story. "Blindly engaging in a price war will only hurt both sides. What you need to do now is to strengthen brand building and increase the added value of your products and brand loyalty."

"That's right." The botanical expert agreed. "Now people's living standards have improved, and their pursuit of spiritual life has become higher and higher. You can start with cultural connotations and artistic values ​​to create a unique brand image."

The suggestions of the two experts gave Bai Hanchuan and I an epiphany.

"I understand." Bai Hanchuan's eyes sparkled with confidence. "We can combine new varieties of flowers with traditional culture, give them deeper cultural connotations, and create a unique brand story."

I added: "We can also hold flower exhibitions, cultural salons and other activities to enhance brand awareness and influence and attract more loyal customers."

"Okay! Let's do it!" Bai Hanchuan slammed the table excitedly, his eyes full of hope.

We took immediate action, invested more money in brand promotion, strengthened product innovation, and launched more differentiated products. We believe that as long as we stick to the branding path, we will be able to overcome the difficulties ahead.

However, just as we were confidently preparing to implement the new brand strategy, a familiar envelope quietly appeared on my desk...

The letter lay there quietly, like a poisonous snake, spitting out its tongue, ready to strike me deadly at any moment. I took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in my heart, and slowly opened the envelope.

The content of the letter was similar to the last time, still attacking the product quality of our planting base, saying that our flowers used a lot of pesticides and hormones, which were harmful to the human body. This time, they even fabricated some cases of "victims", claiming that they had various physical discomforts due to using the flowers we planted.

"Bang!" Bai Hanchuan slammed his fist on the table, anger almost bursting from his eyes, "Another such despicable trick! What on earth do they want to do?!"

I know that this attack is more violent and insidious than the last one. They are seizing people's concerns about health and safety, deliberately creating panic, and trying to completely overwhelm us.

"We can't just sit there and wait for death." I took a deep breath, a determined light flashed in my eyes, "We must take the initiative and respond head-on!"

"What you mean is..." Bai Hanchuan looked at me.

"Hold a press conference!" I said firmly, "We invite all media and the public who care about this matter to publicly respond to the rumors, and invite a third-party testing agency to conduct on-site testing of our products to prove our innocence!"

Bai Hanchuan's eyes flashed with admiration, "Good! That's how it should be! I believe that good will prevail over evil, and the truth will surely come to light!"

We immediately started preparing for the press conference, contacting the media, inviting testing agencies, preparing speeches... We did everything ourselves, without any slackness.

Three days later, the press conference was held as scheduled.

The conference room was packed with journalists from all over the country and people from all walks of life. The flashlights kept flashing, lighting up the entire conference room like daylight.

Bai Hanchuan and I stood side by side on the podium, facing countless pairs of eyes below the stage. I couldn't help but feel a layer of fine beads of sweat oozing out of the palms of my hands.

"Hello, dear guests and friends!" I took a deep breath, picked up the microphone, and began my speech...

"Our press conference today has only one purpose, that is, to use facts to prove to everyone that the products from our planting base are absolutely safe and reliable!" Bai Hanchuan's voice was steady and powerful, and his voice was resounding. His eyes were firm and confident, sweeping across everyone in the audience, as if with a powerful force, instantly dispelling the haze in the air. I felt that the sweat in my palms had disappeared without a trace, and my heart became extremely firm.

"Now, I declare..." Bai Hanchuan paused, glanced at the expectant crowd below the stage, and said word by word, "Product testing has officially begun!"

As soon as Bai Hanchuan finished speaking, the staff who had been waiting for a long time brought pots of flowers to the stage. In order to ensure fairness and impartiality, we specially invited three authoritative third-party testing agencies to conduct this test, and each agency tested different types of flowers.

"First, we will test for pesticide residues." A staff member in a white coat, holding an instrument, began to test a pot of blooming roses. On the screen of the instrument, various data jumped rapidly, and my heart was in my throat. The reporters in the audience all pointed their cameras at the instrument, and the atmosphere was so tense that it was almost suffocating.

After a crisp beep, the test results came out. The staff member glanced at the screen, checked it again carefully, then raised his head, faced everyone, and announced loudly: "Pesticide residues, not detected!"

"Wow!" There was a buzz of discussion from the audience. I know this is just the first stage, and there are many more tests waiting for us. But I believe that our products can definitely withstand any test!

Next, it was the hormone test. This time, we chose a pot of blooming lilies. The staff carefully took samples and tested them, and each step was carried out rigorously and seriously. Time passed by minute by minute, and before I knew it, a layer of fine beads of sweat oozed out of my palms.

"The hormone content meets the standards!" The staff's voice rang out again, like the sound of nature, echoing in my ears.

"Great!" Lin Xiao excitedly grabbed my hand, her face filled with joy. I know that she has been under a lot of pressure during this period, and now she can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The third test was to evaluate the growth environment of the flowers. This time, we invited a respected retired gardening master, who carefully observed the growth status of the flowers, soil conditions, light conditions, etc. Finally, he stroked his gray beard and nodded with a smile.

“These flowers grow healthily and naturally. It’s obvious that the growers put a lot of effort into them!” The words of the gardening master are undoubtedly the greatest affirmation for us.

Finally, a botanical expert walked onto the stage, holding a test report in his hand. Facing the crowd, he slowly spoke: "After our team's testing and evaluation, we can confirm that the products of this planting base are of high quality, fully meet national standards, and do not pose any safety risks..."

Before he finished speaking, a sharp voice suddenly rang out from the audience: "Impossible! You must have colluded and lied on purpose!"

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged woman in fashionable clothes pointing at us and shouting. She was surrounded by several reporters who were holding microphones and taking photos of her.

"Ma'am, please calm down." Bai Hanchuan stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "We have invited so many media and experts today to openly and transparently accept everyone's supervision. If you have any questions, you can raise them and we will answer them one by one."

"What questions do I have? My biggest question is, why did you lie?!" The middle-aged woman was very emotional. "My child got a strange disease because he used your flowers! You black-hearted merchants, I will sue you and make you pay the price!"

As she said this, she was about to rush onto the stage, but was stopped by the security guards.

"Ma'am, please calm down. We are not aware of the situation you described. If you really have evidence, you can report it to the relevant department and we will actively cooperate with the investigation." I tried to stay calm and spoke in a calm tone.

“Cooperate with the investigation? You will cooperate with the investigation? You unscrupulous businessmen can’t believe a word you say!” The middle-aged woman became more and more agitated, and her voice became louder and louder, as if she was going to overturn the entire conference room.

"Madam..." I was about to open my mouth to explain, but Bai Hanchuan pulled me behind him. He stepped forward, his eyes swept across the audience, and said in a deep voice: "I know that there must be something else behind what happened today. But I can assure you that the products of our planting base are absolutely safe and reliable! If someone deliberately spreads rumors and causes trouble, we will never tolerate it!"

His voice was sonorous and powerful, with a strong deterrent force that instantly shocked everyone. The audience suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of camera shutters and the astonished eyes of the crowd.

I stood behind Bai Hanchuan, looking at his tall and straight back, and felt a sense of security in my heart. I knew that no matter what happened, he would stand by me and fight side by side with me.

At this moment, a reporter suddenly stood up, holding a microphone in his hand, staring at me intently, and asked word by word: "Mr. Mu, do you have anything else to say about this matter?"

I took a deep breath and was about to speak, but suddenly I felt a cold gaze coming from the crowd and falling directly on me. I was startled and subconsciously followed that gaze, but I saw...