Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

My heart tightened. Could it be a problem with the soil? I immediately took a sample and prepared to send it to the county testing center. Uncle Li came over to help and comforted me: "Don't worry, maybe the cold weather these days has affected the growth of the seedlings."

I forced a smile, "I hope so."

After sending the soil sample, I immediately checked the water source. The water was clear and had no odor. As usual, I did not find any problems.

"How could this happen?" I murmured to myself, feeling increasingly uneasy.

In the evening, Bai Hanchuan came back exhausted. Seeing my sad face, he pulled himself together and asked me, "How is it? Have you found the reason?"

I shook my head and told him the results of today's examination. After hearing this, Bai Hanchuan's face became serious.

"Has the funding issue been resolved?" I asked.

Bai Hanchuan smiled bitterly, "As soon as those lending institutions heard that 'Old Man Li' was with us, they all refused to lend money. It seems that we are really in trouble this time."

I held his hand and gave him silent comfort.

It was late at night and I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. All I could see were the crops, drooping and drooping.

Suddenly, there was a hurried knock on the door, and Bai Hanchuan and I were awakened.

"Who is it? It's so late!" Bai Hanchuan put on his clothes and went to open the door.

An anxious voice came from outside the door: "Boss Bai, it's bad! Something happened!..."

My heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling came over me. Without giving it any time to think, I grabbed my coat and rushed out the door with Bai Hanchuan.

"What happened?" Bai Hanchuan grabbed the man's arm and spoke in a hurried tone.

The visitor was an old worker from our base. He was sweating and panting as he said, "Boss Wang...Boss Wang and his men spread the news everywhere, saying that our base is going to...go bankrupt! Those new customers...are unwilling to sign contracts!"

My mind went blank for a moment. Boss Wang is the owner of another planting base in our town. He has always regarded us as a thorn in his side and has always been against us. It seems that he is determined to take advantage of the slow growth of crops this time to defeat us completely!

Bai Hanchuan and I immediately rushed to the base office, where we saw several employees in charge of sales gathered together, discussing something with sad faces.

"What should we do? We are about to have a good harvest. If the orders decrease again, our losses will be huge!"

"Yes, I have elderly people and children to support at home. How can I survive if I lose my income?"

"No, I have to ask someone to find me another job. I'm afraid this base won't last much longer..."

Seeing the panic among the employees, I felt as if my heart was stabbed by a needle. These employees have been with us all the way and have deep feelings for the base. Now that the base is in trouble, they are more anxious and worried than us.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Bai Hanchuan raised his voice. "I know everyone is worried now, but please believe us, we will definitely find a solution and overcome the difficulties!"

His voice was steady and powerful, temporarily calming the employees' emotions.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. The most important thing now was to keep the morale of the troops stable and not lose my composure. I walked up to the employees and said firmly, "Don't worry, we won't give up! The base is the hard work of all of us, and we will do our best to protect it!"

After comforting the employees, Bai Hanchuan and I returned to the office. We sat there in silence, and the atmosphere was suffocatingly depressing.

"It seems that we can only use the last of our funds..." I broke the silence with a heavy tone.

Bai Hanchuan shook his head, frowning, "No, those are reserved employee salaries, they must not be touched!"

Just when we were at a loss, Uncle Li suddenly pushed the door open and walked in, holding a passbook in his hand...

Uncle Li carefully placed the passbook on the table and said earnestly, "I have lived for most of my life, and this little bit of savings is nothing. Now that the base is in trouble, just consider it as a small token of my appreciation."

My nose felt sore, and I quickly pushed the passbook back. "Uncle Li, we appreciate your kindness, but we can't take this money! You are old, and you need to save this money for your retirement!"

Bai Hanchuan also echoed: "Yes, Uncle Li, don't worry, we will definitely find a way to solve it."

Uncle Li wanted to say something else, but I interrupted him, "Don't worry, we won't give up. Don't you always say 'there are more solutions than problems'? We will definitely find a solution."

After seeing Mr. Li off, I felt even more depressed. The situation at the base was worse than I had imagined. The growth of crops was still slow, and traditional planting experience did not seem to have any effect. Looking at the large area of ​​crops that were not growing well, I felt helpless.

"Don't lose heart, we will find a way." Bai Hanchuan gently hugged my shoulders and gave me silent comfort.

I took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anxiety in my heart. "Now I can only take it one step at a time."

However, fate does not seem to let us go.

That night, Bai Hanchuan suddenly came home with a serious expression on his face. As soon as he entered the door, he threw a document in front of me and said, "Take a look for yourself."

I picked up the document in confusion and took a closer look. My face turned pale instantly. This document was a resignation application from a technical staff at the base, and the people who applied for resignation were actually some of our most core technical backbones!

"How could this happen?" I muttered to myself in disbelief.

"I've investigated," Bai Hanchuan said in a cold tone, "It was Boss Wang and his gang who were behind this, poaching our technicians with high salaries."

My heart sank to the bottom. The loss of technical staff is undoubtedly a double whammy for us. Without their technical support, the next round of planting will not be possible...

"I'll go find them right now and bring them back!" I grabbed my coat and rushed out.

"Wait," Bai Hanchuan held me back, "I'll take care of this."

His eyes were firm, and his tone was resolute, "Don't worry, I will definitely bring them back."

Watching him leave, I was filled with worry and a bad feeling came over me...