Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"My name is Mu Jinli. What's your name?" I held the microphone and spoke as calmly as possible.

There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, and then a chuckle came, "The name is not important. What's important is, Ms. Mu, you and your husband will remember me soon."

There was an indescribable arrogance in his tone, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. I took a deep breath and tried to keep myself calm. "What kind of cooperation do you want to discuss?"

"It's very simple. I will buy your planting base and company. You can name the price." His tone was still understated, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.

I almost doubted my ears. Acquisition? He wanted to take away everything we had built with our own hard work with just one sentence?

"I'm sorry, we have no intention of selling the company and the base." I refused firmly.

There was another silence on the other end of the phone, and this time, I could feel a hint of coldness in the air.

"Ms. Mu, I hope you can seriously consider my proposal. After all, opportunities are not always available." There was a hint of threat in his tone.

"We appreciate your kindness, but we really have no intention of selling. Please don't call us again." After saying that, I hung up the phone without hesitation.

My palms were full of sweat and my heart was beating fast. Bai Hanchuan noticed that something was wrong with me, put Xiaobao down, walked over and asked with concern: "What's wrong? Who's calling?"

I told Bai Hanchuan what had happened, and his brows furrowed tightly.

"It seems that we have met an opponent this time." Bai Hanchuan's tone was solemn, "I'm afraid this person's goal is not to cooperate, but to swallow up our industry."

In the following days, we received many inquiries from our peers and partners. They all heard negative rumors about our company and base. Some said that we used unfair competition methods, some said that our success was entirely due to luck, and some said that we offended the wrong people and would soon be eliminated by the market...

All kinds of rumors, like an invisible net, surrounded us tightly. I realized that a storm was coming...

"Tomorrow is the industry summit..." I muttered to myself, my fingers holding the invitation card slightly white. The next day, I put on the lotus pink dress that Bai Hanchuan specially picked for me, and took a deep breath in front of the mirror. I looked at myself in the mirror with a firm look in my eyes and a confident smile on my lips. I knew that today would be a tough battle, but I would not back down.

The industry summit was held in a five-star hotel in the city center. When Bai Hanchuan and I arrived, many industry professionals had already gathered in the hall. When they saw us, they looked at us with curiosity, inquiry, and even a hint of hostility. Whispers echoed in my ears.

"That's Mu Jinli and Bai Hanchuan? I heard that they are very popular recently, but they have also offended many people."

"Things have really changed. When they first started out, who looked up to them? Now they've grown stronger, and even..."

The following words were deliberately lowered in voice, but I could guess what they wanted to say.

Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

I looked at him gratefully and tried to ignore the unfriendly looks around me.

After the summit officially started, Bai Hanchuan and I were arranged to sit in the first row. The speakers took turns to speak on stage, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. However, just when I thought everything would go smoothly, a deep and magnetic voice broke the silence of the venue.

"I heard that there is a newly emerging company that claims to be a dark horse in the industry. It has achieved remarkable results in just a few years. I would like to ask everyone here, do you really believe that this can be achieved just by strength?"

The person who was talking was sitting in a corner not far behind us. He was wearing a black baseball cap with the brim pulled down so low that his face could not be seen clearly.

I was shocked and immediately realized that this person was the mysterious investor who called me that day and wanted to acquire our company and base.

"Sir, what can I do for you?" I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm.

He chuckled, slowly stood up, took off his hat, revealing an angular face.

"I don't deserve your advice. I just think that some things are better explained clearly to avoid people seeking fame and reputation." He swept the entire room sharply, finally landing on Bai Hanchuan and me.

His words were like a bomb that exploded in the meeting room. Everyone started talking and looking at us with suspicion and scrutiny.

I felt my palms and they started to sweat.

At this moment, a familiar voice rang out from the crowd, "Sir, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. You said that he was just seeking fame and reputation, do you have any evidence?"

I turned around and saw that it was Lin Xiao. I didn't know when she came, but she was standing in the crowd, glaring at the mysterious investor angrily.

"Lin Xiao, why are you here?" I asked in surprise.

"Why can't I come? I want to see who dares to slander you and Hanchuan behind your back!" Lin Xiao said, and walked quickly to our side, took my arm, and said with a firm look, "Lili, don't be afraid, I support you!"

The mysterious investor looked at us coldly, with a mocking arc on his lips. "Evidence? You will see it soon."

After he finished speaking, he turned and left the venue.

I looked at his back, and suddenly a bad feeling came over me...

"Lin Xiao, why did you think of coming here? Is it..." Before I could finish my words, I was interrupted by Lin Xiao.

"Oh, it's what I thought. Of course I'm here to support you!" Lin Xiao patted the back of my hand with a casual look, "Don't worry, we can deal with it as it comes. We are not afraid of anything he can do!"

I know that Lin Xiao has a hot-tempered personality, but she is always carefree, so how could she suddenly appear at the summit? Before I could ask in detail, Lin Xiao pulled me aside and began to analyze the mysterious investor.

"I always feel that there is something fishy going on here," Lin Xiao frowned. "Think about it. He proposed to acquire the company and the base before, and after being rejected, he immediately started a fight at the summit. How could it be such a coincidence?"

I nodded, agreeing with Lin Xiao's speculation. "I also think it's strange, but..."

"Just what?"

"But what exactly does he want to do? If he just wants revenge, isn't that an exaggeration?" I was puzzled.

"That's easy," Lin Xiao slapped the table, "I'll go check his background. I don't believe I can't find out something!"

Lin Xiao started her investigation vigorously. As expected, she made a new discovery not long after.

"Lili, guess what?" Lin Xiao lowered his voice a bit, revealing a hint of excitement, "I found out that the mysterious investor is related to the company that maliciously competed with us and stole our orders before!"

"You mean..." I was shocked and a bold guess came to my mind.

"That's right!" Lin Xiao confirmed my thoughts, "I suspect that this is a premeditated smear campaign! They first wanted to annex us, and when that failed, they simply tried every possible way to ruin our reputation!"

The truth seemed to become clearer and clearer. Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other and saw anger and determination in each other's eyes.

"Since they want to play, we will play with them to the end!" Bai Hanchuan's tone was calm, but with an unquestionable majesty, "We are not afraid of our own shadows, we are upright and have nothing to fear!"

We decided to deal with it head-on and invite the mysterious investor to visit the planting base, so that he can see our strength and achievements with his own eyes and crush the groundless speculation and slander.

A few days later, the mysterious investor arrived as promised. He was still wearing the black cap, which covered most of his face, making it difficult to see his expression.

"I hope you won't let me down." He said this and walked into the gate of the base with steady steps.

I took a deep breath, turned to Bai Hanchuan and said, "Let's go."

In the base, neat rows of vegetable greenhouses shone brightly in the sun, and the air was filled with the fragrance of soil and grass. I took the mysterious investor through them and introduced our planting technology, management model, and achievements to him in detail.

The mysterious investor was silent all the way, only stopping occasionally to carefully observe everything around him. I noticed that there seemed to be a subtle flash of surprise and admiration in his eyes.

After the visit, I stood in front of him and said calmly but firmly: "You can see that all our achievements are earned through hard work and effort. Real strength is not afraid of being looked down upon."

He remained silent, his cap pulled down low, and I couldn't see the emotion in his eyes. I took him through rows of greenhouses, explaining how our original three-dimensional planting method can increase yields and how to use biological control to reduce the use of pesticides. He occasionally reached out his hand, rubbing his rough fingertips over the plump skin of tomatoes and the smooth surface of green peppers, and then withdrew his hand without comment.

Walking to the edge of a newly reclaimed experimental field, I pointed to the green rice seedlings and introduced to him the new rice variety we were researching. "This rice has a higher yield and stronger disease resistance, and it is expected to be promoted next year..." I said with pride, but he interrupted me coldly.

"It's just empty talk." He said in a low voice with undisguised contempt. "Agriculture is not a joke. You can't succeed with just a few empty words."

My heart trembled, and Bai Hanchuan held my hand and gave me a soothing look. I took a deep breath and continued, "All our achievements are made through hard work. If you don't believe me, you can come to supervise and inspect at any time."

“Supervision and inspection?” He chuckled, his tone full of disdain. “I don’t have the time for that.” He paused, his tone suddenly becoming sharp. “Besides, I have no interest in projects that are doomed to fail.”

He turned to leave, but I took a step forward, looked directly into his eyes hidden in the shadows, and said word by word: "True strength is not afraid of being looked down upon."

He paused, as if a little surprised by my determination. After a moment of silence, he lowered the brim of his hat to hide the emotions in his eyes, leaving only a few ambiguous words:

"I hope," he said with a sneer on his face, "you can always be so confident..."