Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

The pungent smell of burning still permeated the air. I stood in front of the burnt-out ruins of the planting base, feeling as if my heart had been hollowed out. Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly, and his palm was also cold.

"It'll be fine, don't worry." His voice was low, but it carried a soothing force.

I know he is trying to comfort me, but facing this ruin, I can't be optimistic. Rebuilding the planting base requires a lot of money, and our current savings are not enough, not to mention paying for the children's medical treatment.

"We need money, a lot of money..." I muttered to myself, my tone full of despair.

Bai Hanchuan took a deep breath, his eyes became firm: "I will go find someone to borrow money from, we will definitely be able to get through this difficult time."

In the following days, we ran around and begged our relatives and friends to borrow money. However, we were met with cold words and rejections again and again.

"Your business failed, why should we bear the loss?"

"It's not easy for our family either. How can we have so much spare money to lend to you?"

Every rejection was like a sharp knife, stabbing my heart. I have never felt so deeply the fickleness of human nature and the cruelty of the world.

What’s worse is that after the kidnapping, the children all developed psychological problems to varying degrees. Dabao became silent and often cried alone in his room. Xiaobao became extremely clingy and had to hold me in his arms when he went to bed at night.

Seeing the children suffering, my heart ached like a knife. In order to give them the best treatment, we could only grit our teeth and seek medical treatment everywhere.

"Mom, will I never get better?" Xiaobao asked me timidly, his big eyes filled with fear and anxiety.

I suppressed my heartache, smiled and touched his head: "No, baby. You will be fine, mom promises."

However, the reality was more cruel than I imagined. Just when we were at our wits' end, the mysterious man who had been secretly helping us suddenly disappeared...

The disappearance of the mysterious ally was like a bombshell dropped on our already shaky lives. Every time we were desperate, we always felt that someone would help us, but now, even the last hope has been shattered.

"How could this happen? He...he clearly promised to help us..." I slumped in the chair weakly, my eyes blurred by tears.

Bai Hanchuan's face also looked very ugly. He pursed his lips tightly and paced back and forth in the room without saying a word. He looked anxious, as if he was trying hard to restrain something.

"Could it be... that he encountered some trouble?" I choked up, a glimmer of hope in my heart, but it was quickly extinguished by reality. "But even if he encountered trouble, he should have told us, at least... at least let us know what happened..."

I covered my face and cried. To make matters worse, when Lin Xiao was building a shed for the newly cultivated seedlings, he accidentally fell off the ladder and injured his leg. He needed to stay in bed for a while.

"Sister Mu, I'm so sorry for causing you trouble at this time..." Lin Xiao said self-reproachfully on the hospital bed, his tone full of guilt.

I suppressed the bitterness in my heart and forced a smile: "Don't say that, just focus on recovering from your injuries and don't worry about the base."

Lin Xiao was injured, and the planting base was even more short-handed, so I had to go to the fields to work every day. Under the scorching sun, I bent over to weed, fertilize, and water, and my sweat soaked my clothes and blurred my eyes.

"Jinli, take a rest. You don't look well." Bai Hanchuan held my hand distressedly. His hands were rough and warm, but could not hide the fatigue in his eyes.

"I'm fine, this is nothing." I shook my head and continued working. I couldn't fall down, the children still needed me, and this family needed me too.

However, fate always seems to like to play jokes on people. That night, I was cooking in the kitchen when Bai Hanchuan suddenly covered his chest and fell down with a pale face...

"Hanchuan! What's wrong with you?" I exclaimed, dropped the spatula in my hand and rushed to his side... "Hanchuan! What's wrong with you?" I exclaimed, dropped the spatula in my hand and rushed to his side.

He collapsed to the ground, his lips were pale, his breathing was rapid, and his clothes were soaked with cold sweat. I checked his body in a panic, but I couldn't do anything. Fear was like a vine wrapped around my heart, making it impossible for me to breathe.

"Children! Go call a doctor!" I shouted out the door, my voice trembling with fear. The children heard my shouts and ran out in panic.

I held Bai Hanchuan's hand tightly. His hand was cold and wet. I felt his vitality slipping away bit by bit. "Hold on, Hanchuan, the doctor will be here soon. You will be fine..." I repeated this sentence over and over again, as if to comfort him, but more like to comfort myself.

The doctor arrived quickly, and after some emergency treatment, Bai Hanchuan's condition finally stabilized. He was sent to the hospital, and the doctor told me that his long-term overwork and excessive mental stress had caused heart problems and he needed to be hospitalized.

I stayed by the bed, looking at Bai Hanchuan's pale face, feeling full of self-blame and worry. It was all my fault. If I could have shared some of his pressure, if I had discovered something was wrong with him earlier, he wouldn't have...

However, misfortunes never come singly. On the second day after Bai Hanchuan was hospitalized, I received a call from the planting base. Lin Xiao’s anxious voice came from the other end of the phone: "Sister Mu, it’s bad! Someone sprayed pesticides on our vegetables. Now a large area of ​​vegetables is withering. Many customers are returning the goods. What should I do!"

My head was buzzing, as if it was about to explode. I was angry at the despicable tactics of my competitors, and the predicament I faced made me feel desperate. I suppressed my grief and anger and said to Lin Xiao calmly, "Steady the customer first, I'll rush over now."

I hung up the phone, feeling confused. On one side was my husband who needed my care, and on the other was my plantation base which was in danger. I felt like a small boat trapped in the center of a storm, which could be swallowed by the huge waves at any time.

I rushed to the hospital and told Bai Hanchuan what happened at the base. After hearing this, he struggled to get up, but I held him down. "Rest well, I'll take care of the base."

I held back my tears, forced a smile, and turned to leave the ward. I knew I couldn't fall down, I had to be strong for my family and for our dreams...

However, when I arrived at the planting base, I was shocked by the scene in front of me. The once vibrant vegetable greenhouse was now in a mess, with withered vegetables emitting a pungent smell of pesticides, and customers gathered at the gate of the base, shouting angrily and demanding compensation.

My heart completely collapsed at this moment. I sat on the ground helplessly, tears blurred my eyes, and everything in front of me became blurry.

“Why…why is this happening…” I muttered to myself, my voice hoarse.

"Because you're blocking other people's way." A cold voice came from behind me. I turned around suddenly and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar face...

"It's you! Liu Qiang!" I gritted my teeth and said the name, with a raging rage in my heart. This despicable villain actually used such a despicable method to deal with us!

Liu Qiang sneered, his eyes full of pride and mockery. "Mu Jinli, you didn't expect that you would end up like this!"

"Why did you do this?" I asked, suppressing my anger.

"Why? It's simple, because you're blocking my path to wealth!" Liu Qiang said viciously, "Who do you think you are? You're just a little girl from the countryside, and you dare to fight me!"

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "Liu Qiang, aren't you afraid of retribution for doing this?"

"Retribution? Hahaha..." Liu Qiang laughed arrogantly, "In this world, money is king! As long as I have money, I am the sky!"

I looked at this crazy man in front of me, and a deep feeling of powerlessness surged in my heart. I used to think that as long as I worked hard and as long as I persisted, I would be able to change my fate. But now it seems that I was wrong. In this world, there are some darkness that can never be defeated.

Liu Qiang left with a cruel remark, and left me alone in despair amidst the mess. I looked at everything in front of me, and my heart was broken. Is this my dream, is this everything I have been fighting for?

As night fell, I sat alone in the ruins of the planting base, tears streaming down my face. I felt unprecedented exhaustion and despair, as if the whole world had abandoned me. I even began to doubt whether everything I had done was worth it.

"Mother……"

The children's tender voices rang in my ears. I looked up and saw the children standing in front of me, their eyes full of worry and concern.

I suppressed the grief in my heart and forced a smile, wanting to comfort the children, but when the words came to my lips, I choked up with sobs.

"Mom, don't cry, we are not afraid!" My eldest son hugged me sensibly and gave me strength with his tender shoulders.

"Yes, Mom, we are not afraid!" the little daughter also said.

I looked at the innocent faces of the children, and suddenly an inexplicable power surged in my heart. Yes, I can't give up. For my children and my family, I must persevere!

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Suddenly, my hand touched something cold. I picked it up and saw that it was a hoe.