Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"Uncle Li?!" I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. It was really the old man in the photo!

He looked at us, a hint of doubt flashing in his cloudy eyes: "Who are you?"

I quickly stepped forward and said excitedly, "Uncle Li, do you remember me? I'm Jinli. You helped me before. Do you remember?"

Uncle Li looked at me carefully, and after a while, his cloudy eyes gradually brightened up: "You are... you are Jinli girl? Is it really you? How did you become like this?" As he spoke, his eyes fell on the tattered clothes of me and Bai Hanchuan, full of heartache.

My nose felt sore and I briefly told him what had happened over the years.

"What a sin, what a sin..." After listening to my story, Uncle Li slammed the table angrily and sighed, "My children, you have suffered so much."

"Uncle Li, you must save us..." I held his hand tightly, as if I had grabbed a life-saving straw.

Uncle Li patted my hands and motioned me to be at ease: "Don't worry, kid, everything will be fine."

In the next few days, Uncle Li first treated Bai Hanchuan. He was proficient in medicine and used ancestral secret recipes and acupuncture techniques. Bai Hanchuan's condition gradually improved and his complexion became much rosier.

"Uncle Li, thank you so much!" I excitedly shook Uncle Li's hand, my gratitude was beyond words.

Uncle Li waved his hand and said, "It's fate. If you hadn't saved my life, I would have died long ago."

Although Bai Hanchuan's condition has gradually improved, the situation at the planting base is still not optimistic.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you tomorrow." Uncle Li seemed to see my worry and comforted me.

The next morning, Uncle Li followed us to the planting base. He carefully checked the base, frowning more and more...

"How is it? Uncle Li, have you found the reason?" I asked anxiously.

Uncle Li walked back and forth on the ridge of the field with his hands behind his back. After a while, he stopped and pointed to a forest not far away...

"The problem lies in that forest!" Uncle Li pointed at the forest and said with certainty.

I followed his gaze and saw that the forest was lush and green, with nothing unusual to see. "Forest? But how can a forest affect the planting base?"

Uncle Li walked to the edge of the field, grabbed a handful of soil, put it under his nose and sniffed it, his face became solemn: "This land should have been more fertile, but now it is seriously hardened and has poor air permeability. The problem lies in this forest."

He pointed to the forest and explained: "Trees need to absorb a lot of nutrients and water to grow, but this forest is too close to the planting base. The roots have extended into the fields, robbing the crops of nutrients, causing the soil to become compacted, and it is naturally difficult for crops to grow."

It suddenly dawned on me that this was the problem! Why hadn’t I thought of this before?

"What should we do now? Should we cut down the forest?" I asked anxiously.

Uncle Li shook his head: "Cutting down the trees is only a temporary solution and will damage the ecological environment. I have already thought of a solution."

He handed me a cloth bag and said, "This contains my homemade medicinal powder. Follow my instructions and sprinkle the powder on the fields. Combined with fertilizing and watering, within half a month, the soil will regain its fertility and the crops will regain vitality."

I took the cloth bag, as if I had received hope, and excitedly shook Uncle Li's hand: "Uncle Li, you are so awesome! Thank you, thank you!"

Under the guidance of Uncle Li, I began to manage the crops. I followed his instructions and evenly spread the powder on the fields. I watched the originally drooping crops become full of vitality day by day under my efforts, and my heart was filled with hope.

That afternoon, I returned home happily, carrying a hoe and humming a little tune. As soon as I entered the door, I saw Bai Hanchuan and Uncle Li sitting at the table, discussing something, and both of them looked very serious.

"What are you talking about? So serious?" I put down the hoe and asked with a smile.

"Jinli, you're back." When Bai Hanchuan saw me, a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

"Uncle Li is helping us find a way to solve the funding and reputation issues of the planting base," he explained to me.

Then I remembered that the planting base had broken its capital chain due to previous poor management, and coupled with my frame-up, the reputation of the planting base plummeted and many old employees chose to leave.

"Yes, Jinli girl, the top priority of the planting base now is to stabilize the people's hearts, especially those old employees. They are all experienced masters in planting and cannot be dispersed like this." Uncle Li said earnestly.

"Uncle Li is right. We should talk to those old employees first, understand their thoughts, and try our best to win them back." Bai Hanchuan nodded in agreement.

"But will they be willing to come back?" I was a little worried. After all, what happened before hurt them a lot.

Bai Hanchuan held my hand and gave me a firm look: "Yes, I believe that as long as we treat them sincerely, they will definitely feel our sincerity."

The next morning, Bai Hanchuan and Uncle Li set out to look for the old employees. I stood at the door, watching them go away, praying silently in my heart... When Bai Hanchuan and Uncle Li came back, they both had tiredness on their faces, but at the same time, I also saw the light of hope in their eyes.

"How is it?" I walked up to him and asked anxiously.

Uncle Li took a sip of water and said with a smile: "Those old guys say they won't come back, but in fact they still can't let go of this land in their hearts."

Bai Hanchuan continued, "We explained the new management plan to them and confessed our past mistakes, especially when they saw the injuries on my body..."

He paused and said, "I understand. Those old employees have watched Bai Hanchuan grow up. Seeing how much he has given to the planting base, they are naturally willing to give him another chance."

"That's great!" I excitedly held Bai Hanchuan's hand. His hands were still cold, but the warmth of his palms gave me infinite strength.

More exciting news is yet to come. Uncle Li contacted a new logistics company through some unknown channel, and they were willing to cooperate with us, solving the transportation problem. The new customers who had been waiting and watching before also expressed their willingness to reconsider cooperation after seeing the turnaround of the planting base.

"Jinli, it seems that our planting base is really about to usher in a new spring!" Uncle Li looked at me with satisfaction, as if he saw the scene of a bumper harvest all over the mountains and fields.

I nodded heavily, my heart filled with gratitude: "Uncle Li, thanks to you, if it weren't for you, we really don't know what to do."

"Yes, Uncle Li, we will never forget your kindness to our planting base in this life." Bai Hanchuan also said sincerely.

However, just as we were immersed in joy, Uncle Li suddenly fell silent, his brows furrowed, as if he was worried about something.

"Uncle Li, what's wrong?" I noticed that something was wrong with him and asked with concern.

Uncle Li sighed and said in a heavy tone: "On my way back today, I heard some rumors..."

He lowered his voice, leaned close to our ears, and said word by word: "Those competitors, they... they seem to be trying to harm you..."

Bai Hanchuan and I turned pale instantly, and a bad feeling welled up in our hearts...