Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"Because we are together and will never give up." Before Bai Hanchuan could finish his words, he was interrupted by the rapid ringing of my cell phone.

"Hey, Aunt Wang, what's wrong? ... What? The vegetables in the west field are infested with insects again? ... Okay, I'll be right over!"

After I hung up the phone, I felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on my heart. This was the third time this month that insects had appeared. It seemed that the last prevention and control measures were not very effective.

"What's wrong?" Bai Hanchuan saw that I looked unwell and asked with concern.

"The field to the west is infested with insects again. I have to go over and take a look." As I said this, I picked up my straw hat and prepared to go out.

"I will go with you."

"No need. You're busy with your company's affairs too. I can handle it myself." I stopped him. "Have you forgotten that you have to fly to Shanghai the day after tomorrow? Go back and rest early."

Bai Hanchuan hesitated to speak, but finally nodded. After watching him drive away, I turned and walked towards the fields, feeling mixed emotions.

Since the planting base expanded, various problems have come one after another, and I am busy every day. After receiving investment, Bai Hanchuan's company has entered a period of rapid development. He needs to run business all over the country. Often, he is still on the plane, and the next trip has been arranged.

We both worked hard for each other's dreams, but gradually, I found that the distance between us seemed to be getting farther and farther.

"Jinli, what's wrong with you? Are you facing any difficulties?"

A familiar voice sounded in my ears. I came to my senses and saw Lin Xiao standing in front of me with a worried look on his face...

"Nothing, just some trivial matters in the base." I forced a smile, not wanting to make Lin Xiao worry about me.

"Don't work too hard, and take care of yourself." Lin Xiao patted my shoulder and said earnestly, "You and Hanchuan are both in a critical period of your career now, but don't forget that family is the most important."

Lin Xiao's words were like a revelation, which made me sober up instantly. Yes, I was so focused on the planting base that I ignored Bai Hanchuan and the feelings between us. We both worked hard for each other's dreams, but forgot the original intention of working together.

In the evening, Bai Hanchuan came back very late. I waited until he came out of the shower before I said, "Hanchuan, let's talk."

"What's wrong?" Bai Hanchuan obviously felt that my tone was wrong, put down the towel in his hand and sat next to me.

I took a deep breath and told him everything I had been feeling and thinking about during this period. After that, I looked at him anxiously, waiting for his response.

Bai Hanchuan was silent for a long time before he said, "Jinli, I'm sorry, I ignored your feelings."

His words were full of apology and self-blame, which relieved a lot of the depression in my heart.

"In fact, I have been thinking about this issue." Bai Hanchuan held my hand with a firm look in his eyes, "We can't sacrifice our lives for our careers, and we can't ignore each other because of being busy."

"So what you mean is..." I looked up, a glimmer of hope in my eyes.

"I think we can hire a professional management team to take care of the planting base and the company." Bai Hanchuan expressed his thoughts, "In this way, we can free up more time to spend with our family and focus more on each other."

My eyes lit up. This is exactly the life I have always wanted! We don’t need to do everything ourselves, but we should learn to delegate and focus our energy on the most important things.

"Okay, let's do it!" I hugged Bai Hanchuan excitedly, my heart full of anticipation.

The next day, we started looking for a suitable management team. After a thorough screening, we finally selected the candidates and signed a contract with them.

Looking at the busy figures of the new team, Bai Hanchuan and I smiled at each other, our hearts full of hope. We believe that with their help, the planting base and the company will definitely reach a higher level, and we will have more time to enjoy life and manage our love.

However, just as we were immersed in the beautiful vision of the future, a piece of news came from the company...

Bai Hanchuan had just walked in, still holding a briefcase in his hand, with a frown on his face and a tired look. I walked over to him, took his coat, and asked softly, "What's wrong? Is the company's work not going well?"

He rubbed his brows and sighed: "The adjustment period of the new team is more difficult than I thought. Many things are progressing very slowly, and the efficiency has also dropped a lot."

My heart sank as well. Things had been uneasy at the planting base these past few days. The new technicians were full of theories, but kept making mistakes when it came to actual operations. I had to spend more time guiding them.

"It seems that we are too happy too soon." I smiled bitterly. I thought that hiring a professional management team would make things easier, but I didn't expect that I am even busier now.

Bai Hanchuan walked to the table, picked up the water I poured and drank it all in one gulp, with a hint of helplessness in his tone: "We all underestimated the difficulty of forming a team and overestimated their abilities. It's too late to say anything now. We can only bite the bullet and move on and try our best to solve the problem."

In the following days, Bai Hanchuan and I were like spinning tops, constantly spinning. We had to deal with company and base affairs during the day, and work overtime in meetings at night to study solutions. We were like being trapped in a vicious circle. We wanted to spend more time with each other, but we were even busier than before.

That night, I dragged my tired body back home and saw Bai Hanchuan sitting on the sofa reading documents. Under the dim light, his face looked particularly tired, his eye sockets were sunken, and his beard was showing. He was completely different from the high-spirited man he usually was.

My heart felt like it was pierced by a needle, and I was overwhelmed with heartache and guilt. I walked over, gently hugged him from behind, and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Hanchuan, did we do something wrong?" My voice was a little choked up, "We originally wanted to have a better life, but we forced ourselves into what we are now."

He put down the documents in his hand, turned around and hugged me in his arms, resting his chin on the top of my head, and sighed softly: "Jinli, I know you are tired, and I am tired too, but we can't give up. We have come to this point, and we can only grit our teeth and persevere."

"But..." I raised my head and looked into his bloodshot eyes. "How many days and nights can we endure like this? Is our original dream to become a working machine?"

Bai Hanchuan was silent. He held my hand tightly, his eyes were complicated, and he was hesitant to speak...

His silence was like a huge rock, pressing me so hard that I couldn't breathe. After a long time, Bai Hanchuan slowly spoke, his tone full of fatigue and helplessness: "Jinli, I know you want to live an easier life, and I do too. But we have responsibilities on our shoulders. There are hundreds of workers waiting to start work at the base, and the company has so many employees to support. We can't give up easily."

His words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last glimmer of fantasy in my heart. Yes, we are no longer the young boys and girls who could do anything for their dreams. Now we are carrying the expectations and future of more people.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my surging emotions, and asked softly, "What should we do? Are we going to continue like this? Will we still have our own lives?"

"Of course we have our own lives." Bai Hanchuan said firmly, "It's just that now we need to make more efforts to overcome the difficulties in front of us. When everything is on the right track, we will be able to relax a little."

He paused, looked at me tenderly, and reached out to touch my cheek gently. "Jinli, believe me, we can get through this difficult time. We will work together to find a balance between work and life, okay?"

I looked at his tired but still determined eyes, feeling mixed emotions. I knew that what he said was sincere, and he also longed for an easy life, but reality forced us to move forward with a heavy burden.

"Okay, let's work together." I held his hand tightly and gave him a firm look.

Late at night, we lay side by side in bed, but neither of us could sleep.

"Hanchuan," I broke the silence, "Tell me, what is the problem? Why do we still feel powerless even though we have tried so hard?"

He turned over, held me in his arms, patted my back gently, and whispered, "Maybe, we should talk to someone..."