Twenty years of cold chain

"If you want to free up a separate warehouse for your exclusive use, the only way for Tongxing is to speed up the transit of goods, reduce the amount of goods stored in the warehouse, and get more goods on the road so that we can do the same thing as before with less warehouse space."

"Tell me something that concerns me."

"All of the above."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Tongxing's goods are moving rather slowly. Since the trading hall opened, many deals that were clearly agreed upon have fallen through. At present, we can only rely on three markets. Other channels are difficult for us to access. Master Long has eyes in all directions, so he must have seen all this."

Li Shenglong narrowed his eyes secretly. He knew everything about this matter, whether Hu Shutong knew it or not. Not restricting those three major markets was already a generous treatment for Tongxing. Immediately, Li Shenglong couldn't help but look at Hu Shutong with new respect. It wasn't surprising to make demands while Hu was ill, but to do things so cleverly and achieve two goals at once showed that he had underestimated Hu before.

Hu Shutong had long been prepared for this situation. Things cannot be accomplished overnight, and some things cannot be confronted head-on. If he could easily gain a free environment from these people, he would be underestimating the years of hard work he had cultivated. But the current situation made him feel that things might have taken a turn for the better.

"I've heard about it. After all, Tongxing is a new platform, so many things aren't surprising."

Hu Shutong nodded in agreement, "Tongxing is currently hampered, I'm sure Master Long has a way to untie it, right?"

Li Shenglong remained silent for a long time, his eyes filled with deep thought, his brows furrowing occasionally, looking quite troubled. "Boss Hu, let me think of a way to see if I can smooth things over. Besides Qingyan, I know a few people in various counties. Let's see if I can get more goods, as you said."

Hu Shutong smiled and said, "If even Master Long can't do this, then no one can. Tongxing's needs are quite simple: just let us go through the normal procedures for the cooperation negotiations from various places. And let's not be so seniority-based when it comes to harvesting vegetables!"

This time, Li Shenglong didn't think too much about it. The affairs of the circle and his own affairs were suddenly different. If he could keep these garlic, a little bit of talking was nothing. He suddenly realized that once the deal they were negotiating was reached, the two of them would actually have more interactions in the future. Moreover, this locomotive of Tongxing in front of him required him to make some new preparations.

"But Boss Hu, I need to speak with Ku about everything."

"No problem at all, but it also depends on Master Long's specific arrangements. If everything goes smoothly, Tongxing can even free up two warehouses."

"Two warehouses?" Li Shenglong was surprised.

"If the distribution channels are smooth, Tongxing's vegetables can go directly from the assembly warehouse to the market, no longer just a transit point for Tongxing, but can be used as a fixed storage facility. Tongxing's warehouse has a full capacity of 18,000 tons, and Tongxing is willing to make concessions on the rent if customers are willing to store more."

"What do you mean, Boss Hu? You still want me to buy garlic?"

These words caused a moment of silence.

"No, no! Master Long, you misunderstand. I just saw Hengqiu, Baiwan and Liulipu villages before, and Tongxing is planning to go there to collect some garlic."

This surprised Li Shenglong even more. "Really? Boss Hu, you're still thinking about buying garlic these days?"

Hu Shutong smiled and said, "Unfortunately, we don't have more cash, otherwise Tongxing might have stockpiled a lot this year."

"And what about the rent reduction?"

Their eyes met, and neither of them spoke.

As the moon rose in the eastern sky and the vehicle left Tongxing, its light bathed the earth. Li Shenglong sat in the car, his mind unsettled.

The issues of rent and garlic purchasing were the first things that came to mind. For someone like him, business revenue was calculated precisely. There was a deeper meaning to his statement: investing the lower rent into garlic purchasing wouldn't be unacceptable for him, but he couldn't quite figure out a specific value. Having seen those charts and graphs, he knew the underlying complexities were intricate.

Furthermore, the three townships Hu Shutong mentioned at the end suddenly reminded him of something. If he remembered correctly, those were the three poorest townships in Pingqiu County, remote and their only livelihood revolving around garlic. Immediately, Li Shenglong chuckled. A businessman shouldn't be focusing on business; he's worrying about the people? It has to be said that sometimes, the true character of these young people is hard to gauge.

But on second thought, Tongxing seemed "out of place" from the very beginning. The extra money he spent on the fields even seemed a bit foolish. Green trucks could transport vegetables, but he insisted on using refrigerated trucks, burning more fuel while simultaneously seeking fuel subsidies. I really don't know what he was thinking.

The more thoughts raced through his mind, the more unfathomable this person seemed to him; he appeared particularly focused on matters of the land. Yet, it was undeniable that since Tongxing's rise to prominence, the produce from this region had always been highly competitive, a fact corroborated by feedback from the farmers' market. The source of much of the behind-the-scenes competition and tensions lay precisely in this.

For a moment, Li Shenglong was somewhat confused. Only then did he realize that he should explore the area thoroughly and learn about this person's background and whether there were many things he had overlooked.

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.