Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

Bai Hanchuan gave me a soothing look and turned to walk towards the judges. I nervously grabbed the corner of his clothes, and he gently pulled them apart. The temperature of his palm was still so hot, like a ray of sunshine in winter, dispelling some of the haze in my heart. But my heart was still hanging in the air, up and down.

In the judging panel, the experts were talking to each other, their brows were furrowed, and their faces were full of displeasure. Some of them lowered their heads to read the materials, while others glanced at us with disgust, as if we were an inappropriate acrobatics on the stage.

"Comrade, please pay attention, this is a trade fair, not a vegetable market!" A man in a Mao suit and glasses slammed the table and said sternly, "You are seriously disrupting our order by coming on stage so casually!"

His tone was stern and his eyes were sharp. The air around us seemed to freeze instantly. My heart tightened, knowing that he was one of the persons in charge of the trade fair. "Director Wang, I'm sorry, I..."

"I'm sorry? Is that all you need to say sorry?" Director Wang stood up suddenly, pointed at me and said, "Our exhibition has been strictly screened and approved. You went on stage to sell without permission. This is disrespectful to our work and unfair to other exhibitors!"

I bit my lip and tried to control my emotions. "Director Wang, I know I was wrong, and I won't do it again. But I really have my reasons..."

My voice was choked with sobs, and tears welled up in my eyes. Director Wang was very determined, "I don't care what your reasons are, get off the stage now, immediately, right now! Otherwise, we will cancel your qualification to participate in the exhibition!"

I felt a wave of despair. Was the Baiyun No. 1 really going to be buried forever? Was Bai Hanchuan and I really going to watch our hard work go to waste?

I looked at Bai Hanchuan in despair, and he shook his head at me, signaling me not to argue anymore. He walked up to Director Wang and said sincerely, "Director Wang, please calm down, my wife was also anxious for a while..."

He paused, his eyes firm, "We promise that something like this won't happen again, but we really hope..."

"That's enough!" Director Wang waved his hand impatiently. "I'll say it again, now, immediately, let her go!"

I took a deep breath, knowing that there was no point in arguing any further. I looked deeply at the judges, turned around and walked off the stage.

"Hanchuan, we..."

I was about to speak, but was stopped by Bai Hanchuan. He said nothing, but held my hand tightly. His palms were full of sweat, and I could feel his anxiety and uneasiness. He glanced at the audience, and the crowd looked away and whispered. I felt as if I was in a world of ice and snow, and the cold was biting.

He turned around abruptly and pulled me towards the crowd. I saw the determination and resoluteness in his eyes, and something I couldn't understand burning in his eyes. Bai Hanchuan's hand was like a pair of pliers, tightly holding me. His pace was so fast that he almost pulled me off the booth. I was pulled by him, stumbling through the crowd, and the discussions and accusations around me were like countless needles piercing my body.

"Is this the 'Baiyun No. 1' that was criticized by experts? It doesn't look anything special."

"That's right. I thought it was something rare. What a waste of my time."

"Young people nowadays are always aiming too high and never consider their own abilities..."

I closed my eyes helplessly, allowing the ridicule and taunts to overwhelm me like a tide.

Bai Hanchuan ignored the rumors and walked me to the booth and sat me on a chair. He turned around and looked at the curious, skeptical, or indifferent people in front of him with a firm gaze. He said in a loud and powerful voice: "Everyone, I know that everyone has doubts about our 'Baiyun No. 1', but please believe that this new variety we have cultivated will definitely stand the test!"

He paused, with a hint of pleading in his tone: "I know that it is difficult to convince everyone with just our one-sided words, so I hope everyone can give us a chance, a chance to prove ourselves!"

After that, he picked up a "Baiyun No. 1" seedling and showed it to everyone: "Please look, this is the new variety we cultivated. It has a well-developed root system, thick leaves, strong disease resistance, and a much higher yield than ordinary varieties..."

He explained the advantages of "Baiyun No. 1" in a vivid and emotional manner, but no one in the crowd responded to him. They just watched coldly, as if he was a clown directing and acting in his own drama.

Uncle Li stood in front of the booth, looking at the still deserted scene in front of him, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing. He walked over to me and whispered, "Jinli, I think...or should we just forget it?"

I looked up at him, my eyes full of bitterness. I knew he was telling the truth, but I couldn't accept it. I really couldn't accept it!

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd, and I saw a familiar figure walking towards me with a meaningful smile on his face. My heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition came over me...

I almost subconsciously grasped Bai Hanchuan's hand, my nails digging deep into my palm, the pain preventing me from completely sinking in the wave of despair. The person who came was Zhao Liqiang, and his appearance seemed to stab my already broken heart with another knife.

"Hey, isn't this Boss Mu? Why is it so quiet?" Zhao Liqiang said with a fake smile, his eyes full of gloating, "I thought it was something good, but it turns out to be just a showpiece!"

Behind him were a few people with equally sarcastic looks on their faces. They were all heads of other nearby planting bases and were usually close to Zhao Liqiang. It was obvious that they came here to laugh at me today.

"That's right, Boss Mu. I'm not saying anything bad about you, but young people should keep their feet on the ground and stop daydreaming about reaching the sky in one fell swoop." A man with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks said sarcastically, "Look at you. You've messed up, haven't you? I don't know how you'll be able to stay in this business in the future!"

I took a deep breath and tried to control the emotions surging in my heart. My nails almost dug into my flesh. I knew that now was not the time to argue with them. The more I refuted, the more proud they would be. I could only bite my lips tightly and said nothing.

"Why aren't you talking? Are you feeling guilty?" Seeing my silence, Zhao Liqiang became even more complacent. "I advise you to pack up and get out of here as soon as possible. Don't embarrass yourself here!"

As he spoke, he deliberately raised his voice to attract the attention of the people around him. Those who were already skeptical of the "Baiyun No. 1" started to talk and point fingers at him.

"See? I told you this thing is unreliable, and now even my peers can't stand it anymore."

"Alas, young people nowadays will not turn back until they hit the wall. They will not regret until they suffer a loss..."

I felt my body trembling slightly, not out of fear, but out of anger. All my efforts and sweat were trampled under their feet, and I was powerless to do anything.

"Zhao Liqiang, that's enough!" Uncle Li couldn't stand it anymore and stood up to speak for me, "It's not easy for Jinli and others to breed new varieties, you..."

"Old Li, stop meddling in other people's business!" Zhao Liqiang interrupted him unceremoniously. "I'm teaching her how to behave! Young people should listen more to the teachings of their elders!"

I couldn't bear it any longer, so I stood up suddenly and glared at Zhao Liqiang: "Zhao Liqiang, don't be so proud too soon!"

"What am I so proud of?" He pretended to be surprised. "I'm just kindly reminding you not to go down the same path!"

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I knew that now was not the time to have a falling out with him. I looked at him coldly and said word by word, "I will not let you see the result you want."

I said, no longer paying attention to him, turned around and looked at the still empty booth, my heart was cold. At this moment, a warm and dry big hand held my hand, and the familiar temperature made my nose sore.

"How's it going? Are you okay?"

I looked up and saw Bai Hanchuan's worried eyes. His voice was low, but it was reassuring. I held back the tears in my eyes, shook my head, and forced out a smile that was uglier than crying: "I'm fine, how are you doing?"

His face looked a little ugly, and he hesitated to speak. In the end, he only said: "We..."

"We..." Bai Hanchuan hesitated, his deep eyes filled with fatigue and powerlessness, "Those experts and buyers, they... they seem to believe in 'data' more."

His voice was very soft, but it hit my heart like a heavy hammer. I understood what he meant. Those people did not believe in the potential of Baiyun-1 at all. They only believed in those cold data, and those data were exactly what we lacked the most.

I looked at him, a man who was once full of vigor and confidence, but now he was under such heavy pressure because of me. His face was full of fatigue, and there seemed to be more fine lines around his eyes. My heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I could hardly breathe.

"It's okay, we still have time, don't we?" I held his hand in my backhand and tried to speak in a relaxed tone, but my voice was trembling slightly, betraying my disguise of calmness.

Bai Hanchuan forced a smile, said nothing, and just patted the back of my hand gently. But I knew that his heart, like mine, was filled with bitterness and helplessness.

I don't care about the ridicule and taunting of Zhao Liqiang and others, but I can't watch Bai Hanchuan fall into despair because of me. For me, he gave up his comfortable life and the enviable job in the city, and resolutely came to this remote mountain village with me, pinning all his hopes on the "Baiyun No. 1".

I must not let him down!

I took a deep breath, forced the tears in my eyes back into my heart, and secretly swore that even if there was only a glimmer of hope, I would grab it and never give up!

At this moment, a strange voice suddenly sounded in my ears...