Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

When the children came back from school, the joy on their faces was gone, and instead there was an indescribable heaviness.

"What's wrong? Did something unhappy happen at school?" I squatted down and gently stroked my daughter's cheek, trying to get her to open up.

The daughter lowered her head, her eyes were red, and she didn't say anything for a long time. The son was still young, and when he saw his sister like this, his eyes also turned red.

"Did someone bully you?" Bai Hanchuan picked up his son, with a barely perceptible tremor in his tone.

"They said...that mom and dad were liars, and that our planting base was a black-hearted workshop..." The daughter finally couldn't hold back her tears.

Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other, our hearts filled with bitterness. Williams's revenge had already affected the children, which made us more determined to fight back.

"Don't listen to their nonsense. We have done nothing wrong." I hugged my daughter in my arms and comforted her softly, "The innocent will be innocent. One day, we will prove our innocence."

The children nodded sensibly, but the gloom on their faces still lingered. Seeing their young hearts bearing such heavy pressure, my heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.

To make matters worse, bad news also came from the planting base.

"Mr. Mu, something bad has happened! All our orders have been cancelled!" Lin Xiao ran over in a panic, his tone full of anxiety.

"What?" I suddenly felt a black screen in front of my eyes and almost fainted.

"How could this happen? Wasn't it fine before?" Bai Hanchuan held me, brows furrowed.

"Williams used the media and public opinion to spread the news that our planting base uses inferior seeds. Now many customers have lost trust in us and are asking to cancel their orders..." Lin Xiao's eyes turned red as he spoke.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Things were worse than we thought, and now we were surrounded by enemies.

"Lin Xiao, don't worry. I will contact the public relations department right away and ask them to find a way to clarify the facts as soon as possible." I said calmly.

"I have already contacted them, but public opinion is very unfavorable to us right now, and the public relations department is helpless." Lin Xiao's tone was full of despair.

I slumped in the chair, feeling all my hopes shattered bit by bit. Are we really going to give up like this?

"Don't lose heart, we still have a chance." Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly, his eyes full of determination, "I have contacted the mysterious ally, he may be able to help us find a breakthrough."

"Really?" I raised my head suddenly, and a glimmer of hope rekindled in my eyes.

"Yes." Bai Hanchuan nodded. "He has agreed to help us contact the most authoritative flower testing agency in Europe. As long as they can prove that there is no problem with the varieties we planted, we can completely clear our name."

"That's great!" I hugged Bai Hanchuan excitedly, and the haze in my heart was swept away.

However, we didn’t know that a bigger crisis was quietly approaching…

"What did you say? Someone is following you?" I stood up suddenly, my tone full of fear.

"Yes," Lin Xiao said, looking pale and still in shock. "I went to investigate Williams' background today, but was followed. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and hid myself, so they didn't find me..."

Lin Xiao’s words made Bai Hanchuan and I feel our hearts rise to our throats.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I nervously grabbed Lin Xiao's arm and looked her up and down, fearing that she was injured.

"I'm fine. Fortunately, I was alert and hid in time." Lin Xiao patted his chest and said with lingering fear, "But those people look fierce, not like ordinary people."

"It seems that Williams will do whatever it takes to deal with us." Bai Hanchuan's face was terribly gloomy, and there was a fierce murderous look in his eyes.

Lin Xiao's experience makes us realize that our opponents are far more powerful and cunning than we imagined. They are like poisonous snakes lurking in the dark, ready to give us a fatal blow at any time.

"It seems we have to be more careful." I said in a deep voice, "Lin Xiao, try not to act alone during this period. Be sure to tell us if there is anything."

"I understand. You should be careful too." Lin Xiao nodded, his eyes full of worry.

Just then, an unexpected guest came to the planting base.

"Why are you here?" I looked at the dusty old man in front of me in surprise. He was the mysterious ally who had been silently helping us.

"I'm here to say goodbye to you." The old man sighed, his tone full of helplessness and guilt, "My identity has been discovered by Williams' people. I can't stay here any longer, otherwise it will only bring you more trouble."

"What?" I suddenly felt dizzy, as if I had lost my last support.

"How could this happen? Who leaked the news?" Bai Hanchuan stood up suddenly and asked in disbelief.

The old man shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Williams has a huge influence in Europe, so it's not difficult for him to find out my identity. I came here this time just to tell you not to give up hope. I will continue to help you in secret."

After saying that, the old man looked at us deeply, turned around and left the planting base.

As I watched the old man walk away, my heart was filled with bitterness and despair.

"Bang!" The office door was suddenly pushed open roughly, and a middle-aged man in a suit walked in, holding a document in his hand and with a sneer of victory on his face.

"Boss Mu, Boss Bai, I regret to inform you..." He raised the document in his hand, his tone cold and ruthless, "Your planting base will be ruined soon."

That document was like a sharp knife, stabbing into my heart. Every word on the document seemed to be mocking my overestimation and my failure. The capital chain of the planting base was completely broken, and the bank loans and partners' withdrawal of investment, all the pressures were like mountains pressing on my shoulders, making me breathless.

"How could this happen..." I muttered to myself, and the documents in my hand fell weakly to the ground.

"Don't worry, I'm here." Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly, his eyes still firm, as if giving me strength.

In order to keep the planting base, we mortgaged our property, sold all our valuables, and even took out our children’s education fund. I will never forget how my children hugged me and said to me after hearing the news: “Mom, it’s okay. We can earn money again. The most important thing is that we are a family together.”

However, fate seemed determined to go against us. Bai Hanchuan's health had problems again due to long-term stress and fatigue. I accompanied him to the hospital, and watching the doctor perform various tests on him, my heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and the pain was unbearable.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault..." I choked and tears blurred my eyes.

"Silly boy, what nonsense are you talking about?" Bai Hanchuan smiled weakly and reached out to gently wipe away the tears on my face. "You have done very well. Don't blame yourself."

The doctor said that Bai Hanchuan needed to be hospitalized for treatment, and this time the treatment would take a long time. I suppressed my grief and rented a small house near the hospital, staying by his side every day and taking care of his diet and daily life.

In the dead of night, I sat alone beside the hospital bed, watching Bai Hanchuan sleeping soundly, and my tears could not stop flowing. The plight of the planting base and Bai Hanchuan's condition, all the pressure was on me, making me feel unprecedentedly lonely and helpless.

"Knock knock knock..."

There was a sudden knock on the door. I quickly wiped away my tears, got up and opened the door.

"You are...?" I looked at the strange middle-aged woman in front of me with confusion.

"I'm here to tell you a piece of news..."

"I'm here to tell you a piece of news..." The middle-aged woman said in a heavy tone, hesitating to speak. I became even more confused, so I let her in and poured her a glass of water.

"Please tell me, what is it?"

"I was introduced by Lao Liu. He said you need help here." The Lao Liu she mentioned is a retired gardening master who was invited to the base to provide guidance for a period of time a few years ago.

"Lao Liu? Is he okay? Where is he now? You know it's not convenient for him to show up now, so why is he still..." My questions popped out like a machine gun, but the woman just waved her hand, signaling me to be quiet.

"Old Liu is fine, you don't have to worry. He asked me to bring you a message. He asked you to think about what you promised him. He said..." She suddenly lowered her voice and leaned close to my ear, "He asked you to be careful about Europe. They have bad intentions."

My heart sank suddenly, and a chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. Lao Liu's reminder made me more suspicious of European flower merchants. Could it be that they were really behind all this?

After seeing off Lao Liu's friends, I could no longer stay in the hut. I hurried back to the base, but the scene before me made me feel like I was falling into an icy cave. The once vibrant planting base was now a ruin. The flowers, plants and trees were uprooted, the greenhouse was smashed beyond recognition, and the laughter and joy of the past were replaced by a dead silence.

“How could this happen… How could this happen…” I fell to my knees weakly, my eyes blurred with tears.

"Jinli, are you okay?" Lin Xiao's voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw her and several base employees standing not far away, their faces full of sadness and anger.

"Lin Xiao, what happened? Who did it?" I grabbed Lin Xiao's hand and asked in a trembling voice.

"It was a European flower merchant. They hired a group of thugs to smash the base." Lin Xiao's eyes were red, obviously she had been crying. "They also said that they would... they would never let you grow flowers again..."

Hearing this, my heart felt like it was cut by a knife. The planting base is not only my hard work, but also the hope of all of us, but now it has been destroyed.

As the sun sets, I stand alone in the ruins of the planting base, looking up at the sky. The fiery red clouds on the horizon are like burning flames, reflecting my face. I clench my fists, my heart filled with resentment and anger. I will not give in, absolutely not!

"Ding ding ding..." The phone in my pocket suddenly rang. I took it out and saw that it was an unfamiliar number...