Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"Of course I will participate!" I said firmly, "This is an important step for our planting base to go international!"

The children cheered, and Bai Hanchuan smiled and nodded, his eyes full of admiration. My heart was also full of expectations, as if I saw infinite possibilities in the future.

At this moment, my cell phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. I answered the call and heard a fluent English voice: "Hello, is this Mr. Mu? We are a flower import company from Country Y. We are very interested in the products of your base and hope to have the opportunity to cooperate..."

My heart skipped a beat, and a premonition came to my mind. I motioned for the children to be quiet, held the phone tightly, and responded politely: "Hello, I'm Mu Jinli, I'm glad that you are interested in the products of our base..."

In the following days, we received cooperation intentions from many countries, some wanting to import our flowers, and some wanting to introduce our planting technology. Bai Hanchuan and I were very excited, but also felt great pressure. We carefully screened our partners, formulated detailed cooperation plans, and strived to take every step steadily.

The children also contributed their own efforts to the planting base. They organized a public welfare activity on environmental protection and flower planting in the school, introduced the environmental protection concept and planting technology of our base to the students, and called on everyone to protect the environment and get close to nature. The activity received unanimous praise from teachers and students, and also attracted wide attention and support from all walks of life, winning a good reputation for our base.

Everything was going well, and our planting base was about to usher in new development opportunities. However, just as we were preparing to make great plans, Lin Xiao suddenly found me and said solemnly, "Jinli, I found some problems..." "What's wrong, Xiaoxiao, why do you look so bad?" I put down the report in my hand, looked at Lin Xiao's frown, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Jinli, I just finished a video conference with the British flower company..." Lin Xiao took a deep breath, "They are very interested in our flower varieties, but they have different opinions on the packaging and promotion methods."

My heart tightened, and I asked, "What's your opinion?"

"They thought our packaging was too plain and not eye-catching enough, and the slogan was too implicit and could not directly express the advantages of the product," Lin Xiao explained. "It was then that I realized that the cultural differences and market demands of different countries are really very different."

I nodded and motioned for Lin Xiao to continue.

"I adjusted my strategy immediately," Lin Xiao said confidently. "I introduced our packaging design concept to them in detail, emphasized our commitment to environmental protection and nature, and expressed my willingness to make some adjustments to the packaging to meet local market needs. At the same time, I also modified the promotional slogan to highlight the product's features and advantages in a more concise and clear language."

I looked at Lin Xiao with appreciation: "Xiaoxiao, you did a great job! Discovering problems in a timely manner and responding flexibly is exactly what we need now."

Lin Xiao smiled and felt a little relieved: "Fortunately, there was no danger. The letter of intent for cooperation has been sent, and we are just waiting for their final confirmation."

Just as we were getting ready to celebrate, there was a knock on the office door and a familiar figure walked in.

"Mr. Li!" I stood up in surprise. This retired gardening master is the "secret weapon" of our base. He has been engaged in flower planting and research overseas for many years and has rich experience and unique insights into the international market.

"Jinli, I heard that you are going to expand overseas markets, so I came here to see if there is anything I can help you with." Mr. Li smiled kindly and handed me the information in his hand. "Here are some materials I compiled about the overseas market environment, laws and regulations, and local consumer preferences. I hope it can be of help to you."

I took the information with gratitude, as if I had found a treasure: "Mr. Li, you are so timely! We need this information!"

In the next few days, Mr. Li became our most distinguished "consultant". He patiently explained to us the operating models of overseas markets, cultural differences, and laws and regulations that needed to be paid attention to, helping us avoid many detours.

“Remember, cultural differences are the biggest challenge in expanding overseas markets. We must learn to respect, understand and tolerate them,” Mr. Li said earnestly. “Only by truly understanding the local market and consumer needs can we develop appropriate marketing strategies and win market recognition.”

I nodded seriously and kept Mr. Li's words in mind.

"Children, come here!" I waved to the children who were playing nearby, "Let me tell you something..." The children gathered around excitedly, looking at me and Bai Hanchuan curiously. I took a deep breath and announced, "Children, I have good news for you. The flowers from our planting base are going abroad, to a wider world!"

The children were stunned for a moment, then burst into warm cheers. Looking at their innocent smiles, my heart was filled with hope and strength.

In order to meet this challenge, our base mobilized all its staff and set off a learning craze. Everyone used their spare time to learn English and other foreign languages, understand the cultural customs and market characteristics of different countries, and make full preparations for expanding overseas markets.

Lin Xiao has become the "diplomatic ambassador" of our team. Her fluent English and excellent communication skills have won the favor of many overseas customers. I joked, "Xiaoxiao, you are on your way to becoming an international business elite!"

Lin Xiao smiled and waved his hands: "No, no, we are all working towards the common goal of our base!"

A few months later, we took our carefully cultivated flowers to participate in the International Flower Exhibition. At the booth, we used flowers to build landscapes full of Chinese elements, attracting the attention of countless visitors.

"These flowers are so beautiful! The colors are amazing!"

"I've never seen such unique varieties of flowers, it's amazing!"

"Excuse me, where is your planting base? Can I visit it?"

Listening to the praises and inquiries from visitors from all over the world, my heart was filled with pride and joy. Bai Hanchuan stood beside me, gently holding my hand, his eyes full of tenderness and support.

During the exhibition, flower importers from all over the world extended olive branches to us, hoping to be the agent of our products. Looking at their expectant faces, I realized that our efforts have been recognized and the internationalization of the planting base is about to begin.

As night fell and the lights came on, Bai Hanchuan and I stood at the exhibition site, looking at the bustling crowd. He knew that the internationalization of the planting base had just begun...

As night fell and the lights came on, the colorful neon lights outside the exhibition hall were reflected in Bai Hanchuan's deep eyes. He turned his head and looked at me with a gratified smile on his face: "Wife, you are awesome!"

I smiled and looked back at him, with a warm feeling in my heart. Looking back on the hardships and efforts we had made along the way, we finally gained recognition with our passion and love for flower planting.

"This is the result of everyone's hard work," I looked at Lin Xiao who was chatting happily with a foreign friend not far away. She was confident and generous, and her conversation was elegant. She had long lost her youthfulness. "Without everyone's support, we would not be able to get to where we are today."

Bai Hanchuan nodded, his eyes far-reaching: "This exhibition is just the beginning, there is still a long way to go in the future."

"I know," I took a deep breath and looked into the distance, "the international market has both opportunities and challenges. We need to work harder to make our flowers go global."

"I believe we can do it." Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly with a firm look in his eyes.

At this time, the children came over excitedly, chattering to us about the strange things they saw. Looking at their innocent smiling faces, my heart was filled with hope and strength.

"Mom, Dad, when can we go to those countries to see those beautiful gardens?" asked the eldest son with blinking eyes.

I smiled and patted his head: "Once we have arranged the base, we will take you with us, okay?"

The children cheered and excitedly discussed which countries they would visit and which flowers they would see.

The crowd gradually dispersed, and the exhibition hall returned to its peaceful state. Bai Hanchuan and I walked side by side on the way back to the hotel, with a lot of thoughts in our mind.

"What do you think? Should we strike while the iron is hot and further expand the scale of the planting base?" I turned my head and asked Bai Hanchuan for his opinion.

"Well, I have this plan too," Bai Hanchuan pondered for a moment, "I know a retired gardening master who has rich experience and unique insights in flower planting. Perhaps we can..."

Before he finished speaking, my cell phone rang.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Hello, are you Ms. Mu Jinli? I am..."

The voice on the other end of the phone was low and unfamiliar, but it shocked my heart and an inexplicable premonition came to my mind.

"I am, may I ask who you are..."

"I'm……"