Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

I followed Bai Hanchuan's gaze and saw a black car parked at the gate of the base. Several men in suits and leather shoes got out. They looked ill-intentioned, and their sharp eyes swept the base with a barely perceptible sneer on their lips. My heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition came to my mind.

"Don't worry, I'll go take a look." Bai Hanchuan shook my hand, motioning me to rest assured, then turned and faced the group of people.

I watched from a distance and saw the man in the lead handing Bai Hanchuan a business card. The two men talked in a low voice for a few words, and Bai Hanchuan's face became more and more uglier.

"What's wrong?" After the group of people left, I hurried over to ask.

Bai Hanchuan took a deep breath and handed me his business card. "This is someone from Fanghua Gardening. They have also begun to get involved in the high-end flower market."

I took the business card, which had only a few simple words and a contact number, and it gave off a cold and oppressive feeling. I wondered why a new company would use this method to announce their arrival.

In the following days, we clearly felt the fierce competition in the market. The flower varieties launched by Fanghua Horticulture were almost identical to ours, and at a lower price, which quickly seized a part of our market share.

"Where do their flowers come from?" I looked at the report with a frown.

"I've investigated. They have a batch of new varieties of flowers whose sources are unknown." Bai Hanchuan's face was also a little solemn. "I suspect that someone is maliciously imitating our varieties."

My heart sank suddenly. Could it be that someone was targeting us on purpose? However, we have always run the base honestly and have never offended anyone!

"I'll go ask Lin Xiao to see if she has found anything." I stood up and prepared to go find Lin Xiao to find out what happened.

"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knock on the office door. Lin Xiao hurried in, looking a little pale. "Lili, this is bad. I found out..."

Her voice stopped abruptly, and her eyes fell on Bai Hanchuan behind me, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath and lowered her voice and said, "Lili, I found out the source of those new varieties of flowers. They were provided by a place called 'Xinrong Flower Garden', and this flower garden..." She paused, her tone became serious, "It is related to the remnants of Li Hua's forces."

My head buzzed, as if a thunderbolt had struck. Li Hua, the vicious woman who had tried to ruin my life, actually still had some remaining forces? Were they going to come back and take revenge on us?

"What do they want to do?" I clenched my fists, trying hard to control the anger in my heart.

"I guess they want to damage the reputation of the planting base in this way and make us lose market competitiveness," Lin Xiao analyzed. "After all, there are flower varieties that are exactly the same as ours on the market now, and the price is lower. Consumers will definitely choose products with better cost performance."

Bai Hanchuan's face also darkened, and he said in a deep voice: "They have made a wrong calculation, we will not let them succeed."

Just then, the office door was knocked again, and an old but energetic figure walked in.

"Mr. Wang!" I stood up in surprise. This Mr. Wang is a retired gardening master and an elder whom Bai Hanchuan and I have always respected. He has been living in seclusion in the countryside, devoting himself to the study of flower cultivation technology. I didn't expect him to visit me suddenly today.

"I heard that the base has encountered some troubles recently, so I came to take a look." Mr. Wang smiled kindly and motioned for us to sit down. "Don't worry, good will prevail over evil, they can't cause any big waves."

After listening to our story, Mr. Wang paused for a moment and said, "The market competition is getting more and more fierce now. You must learn to protect yourself. First, you must strengthen brand protection and intellectual property protection to prevent others from stealing your varieties; second, you must continue to launch more innovative flower varieties to maintain your market leadership."

His words were like a revelation to me and Bai Hanchuan. Yes, we can't just passively defend, we must take the initiative and prove ourselves with our strength!

"Mr. Wang, thank you for your guidance. We understand." I said gratefully.

"You are all good kids. I believe you can overcome the difficulties." Mr. Wang encouraged, "Remember, no matter what difficulties you encounter, you must keep your original intention and never forget why you started."

After seeing off Mr. Wang, Bai Hanchuan and I immediately threw ourselves into new work. We decided to hold an unprecedented new flower product launch conference to show everyone our latest achievements and to declare to those malicious competitors: We will not be defeated!

We immediately started to work on it. The first thing we had to solve was the venue problem. Bo Hanchuan and I ran all over the city, but the suitable venues were either already booked or the rent was too high. Just when we were at a loss, Lin Xiao gave us a suggestion: "Lili, do you remember the abandoned theater on the outskirts of the city? There is enough space there, and the transportation is quite convenient."

My eyes lit up. Yes, how could I have forgotten that place? The theater had been abandoned for a long time due to years of disrepair, but the basic structure was still intact and could be used after a little renovation.

Bai Hanchuan and I immediately drove to the theater to discuss the rental with the person in charge. When the person in charge heard that we were going to hold a flower show, he was very supportive and agreed to rent it to us at a very favorable price.

The venue problem was solved, and the next step was to prepare for the press conference. We designed exquisite posters and invitations, invited well-known people from major media and the flower industry, and contacted a professional lighting and sound equipment company. Lin Xiao and the staff of the planting base also went all out, working overtime to arrange the venue and cultivate new flowers.

However, things did not go smoothly. Just a week before the press conference, we encountered a series of accidents one after another. First, the rented sound equipment suddenly broke down and needed urgent repair; then the supplier who had promised to provide us with flowers suddenly changed his mind and raised the price; the worst thing was that the day before the press conference, the worker responsible for setting up the stage was accidentally injured, resulting in the stage construction work being forced to be interrupted.

I looked at the messy scene, feeling anxious and uneasy. Bai Hanchuan patted my shoulder and comforted me: "Lili, don't worry, we can definitely solve it."

We contacted the new equipment supplier and stage construction team overnight, and finally completed all the preparations on the morning of the press conference. Looking at the beautifully decorated press conference site, I was filled with anticipation and anxiety.

At 8pm, the press conference officially began. Bai Hanchuan and I stood on the stage, facing the numerous guests and media below the stage. The lights were focused on us, and I felt my palms sweating slightly.

"Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening!" I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. The spotlight was a little dazzling, and I felt Bai Hanchuan's warm big hand wrapped around my hand. His palm was dry and warm, giving me strength as always.

"Welcome everyone to the new product launch of 'Jinxiu Huayu'. I'm Mu Jinli." I smiled confidently and scanned the hundreds of faces in the audience. Some were curious, expectant, and some were scrutinizing and suspicious. I knew that behind those unfriendly looks lay the malice of our industry competitors.

"I'm Bai Hanchuan." Bai Hanchuan's voice was steady and powerful, with a reassuring force. "I'm very happy to share our latest research results with you tonight."

I glanced at him sideways. The stage lights outlined his handsome profile, and his eyes were shining with determination. Yes, we are fighting side by side, so what is there to be afraid of?

The press conference was carried out in an orderly manner. I introduced in detail the characteristics and advantages of the new varieties of flowers we cultivated, from flower shape, color, fragrance to growth habits, disease resistance, etc. In order to let everyone understand these flowers more intuitively, we also specially prepared beautiful pictures and videos, which were played on the big screen.

However, just as I was about to invite guests to the stage to see the new flower varieties up close, the lights on the stage suddenly began to flicker, and a harsh noise came from the speakers. My heart suddenly sank, and an ominous premonition came to my mind...

Bai Hanchuan reacted quickly and whispered to me, "Keep the situation stable, I'll go see what's going on."

I nodded, trying to stay calm, and continued to say to the guests in the audience: "Sorry, there is a small technical problem. Please wait a moment..."

However, before I could finish my words, the lights on the stage went out completely, and the entire venue was plunged into darkness... There was an uproar in the audience.

I felt Bai Hanchuan holding my hand tightly. His voice rang out in the darkness, with a hint of imperceptible anxiety: "Don't be afraid, I'm here..."