Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

The afterglow of the setting sun cast a golden halo on us. Bai Hanchuan's words were still echoing in my ears, and I was immersed in happiness and longing for the future. However, Lin Xiao's phone call was like a thunderbolt, instantly pulling me back to reality.

"What happened, Lin Xiao? Don't be anxious, tell me slowly." I tried to stay calm, but my fingers holding the phone couldn't help but tighten.

"Sister Jinli, something happened at the base! This morning, when Master Li was fertilizing the newly arrived seedlings, he accidentally mistook herbicide for nutrient solution. As a result..." Lin Xiao's voice was filled with tears, "As a result, all the seedlings died, thousands of them!"

My heart sank. Thousands of seedlings, that's our monthly output! "How is Master Li? Is he injured?"

"Master Li is fine, it's just..." Lin Xiao paused, his tone became hesitant, "It's just that everyone is talking about it, saying that the base has been in a mess recently, and such low-level mistakes keep happening, which has affected everyone's enthusiasm..."

After hanging up the phone, I felt dizzy and the golden sunset in front of me seemed to have lost its luster. Bai Hanchuan noticed that I was abnormal, held me and asked with concern: "What's wrong? What happened?"

I took a deep breath and repeated Lin Xiao's words. After listening to him, Bai Hanchuan frowned tightly.

"It seems that our planting base has indeed encountered some problems." Bai Hanchuan pondered for a moment, "Jinli, do you feel that the base has expanded too fast recently? The number of staff has increased a lot, but the management can't keep up."

I nodded. This is also what I have been worried about. From the initial few people to the current team of hundreds of people, we have been using the original management model, which is indeed a bit overwhelmed.

"Jinli, we can't go on like this." Bai Hanchuan said firmly, "We must reform the base's management system as soon as possible, otherwise there will only be more and more problems, which will affect our development."

I raised my head and looked at him firmly. "You are right. It is time to make a change! Let us work together to overcome the difficulties in front of us!"

As night fell, Bai Hanchuan and I were not sleepy at all. The lights in the study room were on until late at night. We flipped through management books, analyzed the current problems of the base, and thought about solutions.

"Dong dong dong..."

There was a knock on the door, bringing us back to reality from our thoughts.

"Come in." Bai Hanchuan said.

The door opened and a figure appeared at the door. "Mr. Bai, Ms. Mu, I'm sorry to bother you so late. I have something to think about..." Standing at the door was a kind old man with neatly combed gray hair and a thick notebook in his hand. He was none other than the retired gardening master, Professor Zhang, who contacted us a few days ago. Professor Zhang worked at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences before his retirement and had rich experience in the management of planting bases.

"Professor Zhang, please come in!" I quickly stood up to greet him and invited Professor Zhang to the study.

Professor Zhang smiled and nodded. "I feel relieved to see you guys still working on the base so late. I came here today to talk to you about the base reform."

As he spoke, he opened his notebook, which was filled with notes on the base's situation and his suggestions. "I have observed the base these days and the main problems it has are outdated management models, lack of effective incentive mechanisms, and inadequate employee training..."

Professor Zhang's words hit the nail on the head. Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other and felt that it was right to invite him. In the next few days, we invited a professional management consultant to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the management system of the planting base and developed a detailed reform plan based on Professor Zhang's suggestions.

As soon as the reform plan was announced, it caused an uproar in the base. Most employees welcomed the new management model and incentive mechanism, but some old employees were not used to it and felt that the reform broke the work rhythm they were used to. Some even openly expressed opposition.

"Jinli, what should we do now? Master Li and the others said that if we insist on reform, they will resign collectively!" Lin Xiao hurried to the office, his face full of anxiety.

I put down the documents in my hand and rubbed my brows. It seems that the road to reform is not smooth, and we will face greater challenges... I took a deep breath, calmed down, and said to Lin Xiao: "Don't worry, you go and invite Master Li and the others to the conference room, Hanchuan and I will be back soon."

In the conference room, Master Li and several other old employees were already fidgeting. When they saw me and Bai Hanchuan coming in, they all had a hint of uneasiness and resistance on their faces. I walked up to them and said sincerely, "Master Li, I know you are all old employees of the base and have devoted a lot of effort to the base. This reform is not to negate your past work, but to make the base develop better so that everyone can benefit from it."

Bai Hanchuan continued my words and said: "The new management model and incentive mechanism are all well-thought-out, and we have also referred to many successful cases. I believe that as long as everyone is willing to try, they will be able to adapt to the new way of working and achieve better results."

I took out the materials I had prepared and explained in detail the specific content of the reform plan and the impact of the reform on their vital interests. I also showed them the successful reform cases of other bases to prove the feasibility and advantages of the reform.

In order to eliminate employees' concerns, we also organized special training to help them learn new management knowledge and skills. Bai Hanchuan and I often went to the production line to work with employees, listen to their voices, and solve their difficulties in a timely manner.

With our efforts, the employees gradually understood the significance of the reform and felt our sincerity. They began to actively learn new knowledge and skills and try to work in new ways. Master Li and several other old employees also gradually accepted the reform and became active supporters of the reform.

After a period of hard work, the management level of the planting base has been significantly improved, the work efficiency has been greatly improved, and the output and benefits have doubled. The income of the employees has also risen, and their faces are filled with happy smiles.

On a sunny afternoon, we held a general staff meeting. Bai Hanchuan and I stood on the stage and announced the new development strategy of the planting base to everyone - to enter the international market and build a national brand.

"I believe that as long as our team is united, there will be no difficulties that cannot be overcome!" Bai Hanchuan's voice was loud and firm.

There was thunderous applause from the audience, and everyone's face was full of hope and confidence. However, at this moment, my cell phone suddenly rang, and when I saw the caller ID, my face suddenly became solemn...

The thunderous applause from the audience still seems to echo in my ears. Bai Hanchuan's resolute profile looks particularly reliable in the sun, and my heart is also surging with everyone's enthusiasm.

"Jinli, what's wrong? Why do you look so bad?"

Lin Xiao's worried voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I forced a smile and whispered, "It's okay. Maybe I'm too tired these days."

I gestured to Bai Hanchuan to continue and walked to the corner to answer the phone.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Yes, I'm Mu Jinli, you are...what?!"

My hand holding the phone suddenly tightened and my face turned pale in an instant.

"Jinli, what's wrong? Who's calling?" Bai Hanchuan noticed something was wrong with me, walked quickly to my side, and asked worriedly.

I took a deep breath, tried to keep myself calm, and said a few brief words to him.

I saw Bai Hanchuan's smiling face suddenly turned gloomy. He snatched my phone and asked sharply, "What did you say? Say it again!"

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be frightened by Bai Hanchuan's tone and repeated it stutteringly.

"Damn it!" Bai Hanchuan growled, hung up the phone abruptly, grabbed my hand and ran out.

"Hanchuan, what's wrong? What happened?" I was dragged by him to run, and I felt even more panicked.

"There's no time to explain. We must go back immediately!" Bai Hanchuan spoke in a hurried tone and walked so quickly that I could even feel the cold sweat on his palms.

My heart was beating wildly, and I felt an ominous premonition.

"Boom——"

A loud thunder broke through the sky.

The raindrops as big as beans poured down without any warning...