Twenty years of cold chain

Just after New Year's Day, Tongxing ushered in a joyous occasion.

Su Mu and Tang Min, who came to Tongxing together back then, were lovers during their university years. Unable to withstand the intense pressure from their parents, they decided to get married on New Year's Day.

Because of this, Su Mu specifically sought out Hu Shutong for a conversation, as many companies are reluctant to discuss such matters. Hu Shutong immediately offered his congratulations. Working at Tongxing is not like being a white-collar worker in a big city; it's more like the personnel operations of a factory workshop. The two of them work in different departments and both have outstanding business abilities. Hu Shutong is happy with this dual-employee arrangement.

Su Mu was Hu Shutong's capable assistant and one of the earliest Mingdaren to join Tongxing. His work style—doing more and saying less, and rarely revealing even great difficulties—was highly appreciated by Hu Shutong. The mature Su Mu was capable of handling things independently. At this time last year, Hu Shutong was at Mingyuan for a month or so, and Su Mu was in charge of Tongxing's operations. The tacit understanding that Hu Shutong and Su Mu had developed over the years was undoubtedly a valuable asset in Tongxing's history.

After the couple returned to Tongxing from their hometown for their wedding, Hu Shutong specially chose a day after get off work to hold a banquet in the park and gave them generous red envelopes.

The banquet was lively and bustling, with Mingda's colleagues creating a big surprise for Su Mu. Unbeknownst to many, Tongxing now has eighteen people from Mingda, and they all hold management positions of varying sizes. Mingda's influence can be seen everywhere in the core components of the three major departments and in the various sub-departments under each department.

On his way back from a business trip, Chu Lihe missed the wedding, but he managed to see the whole process through photos in the company's communication group.

"Xiao Wang, don't go back to the company tomorrow. Stay at Qingyan instead."

"President Chu, we should arrive in Qingyan by noon tomorrow."

"I have other things to take care of. Wait for me at the hotel. I'll go back to the company the day after tomorrow. You can figure out the schedule to match up."

"Okay, I understand."

Time really flies. This fall, Hu Yuntong will begin his senior year internship.

Hu Yuntong was very happy to hear over the phone that Chu Lihe was coming to see him. He often went to the park during the past few years, and although Chu Lihe joined Tongxing relatively late, he left a deep impression on Hu Yuntong.

Chu Lihe was the first Qingda alumnus to join Tongxing. For many companies in Qingning, especially cold chain logistics companies, Qingda students are an excellent calling card, attracting them means considerable competitiveness. Hu Yuntong also thought so. In comparison, Mingda seemed like a distant dream; he only knew it was a very strong university, but Qingda was the academic hall in the hearts of the people of Mozi, Qingyan, and Qingning.

In a small private room at the back of a quaint hot pot restaurant, Hu Yuntong met Chu Lihe. The sight of him surprised him. A brand-new laptop was placed on the table and then slowly pushed towards Hu Yuntong.

"President Chu, this is absolutely not allowed, this is absolutely not allowed."

"Yuntong, I heard that President Hu keeps giving you CDs. With this, you won't have to go to the computer lab so often. Besides, you only have one semester left to focus on your studies. Having your own computer will be very convenient. Getting good grades when you graduate will be what makes President Hu most happy."

Hu Yuntong was a freshman in college in 04. Laptops were extremely rare, and only two or three people in the entire class had one. It would be a lie to say that Hu Yuntong never considered having one, but he wouldn't ask for one. At that time, his parents had to borrow money and even buy his brother a car on credit, and it took them more than a year to recover.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Chu?"

"Stop calling me President Chu all the time, just call me Brother Lihe."

Hu Yuntong chuckled and scratched his head. "Brother Lihe, what can a college student like me, who hasn't even graduated yet, do to help you?"

"Yuntong, Tongxing's path is fraught with difficulties, but ultimately it all comes down to the scarcity of talent. People are the foundation of everything. In the past two years, the cold chain industry has been booming, and cold chain talent is in high demand. Sometimes, poaching someone is even harder than acquiring a client. So I was thinking that you should pay close attention to the campus recruitment and employment opportunities at agricultural universities, especially the College of Food Engineering. This way, I can use the information you provide to set up a dedicated recruitment team within the company to conduct immediate on-site investigations and ensure that no one we can recruit is missed."

Every time Hu Yuntong visited Tongxing and saw that Hu Shutong was so busy that he could barely exchange a few words with him, and that even his weariness was deeply concealed, Hu Yuntong had long wanted to share his burden. Now, hearing this, he immediately nodded repeatedly, "Brother Lihe, don't worry, I also have good friends in the engineering department. I'll let you know as soon as there's anything related to the college!"

"Great! You can use this computer to send me the files then. You won't refuse again, right?" Chu Lihe, who was all smiles, suddenly became serious. "Yun Tong, although we've weathered the toughest times, it also means the whole country is on a fast track. We started early, but if we're not careful, we'll be overtaken at any moment. More and more people are taking advantage of the situation. It's possible that our three years of hard work won't be as effective as their progress in half a year. President Hu really needs a lot of support."

Hu Yuntong felt that Chu Lihe had said a lot, but at the same time he could see the urgency in his words. Hearing these words, Hu Yuntong had a lot of ideas about manpower.

Tongxing is located in the northern suburbs, and it has changed every year since I started university. Reports about Tongxing can often be seen on the internet and in newspapers. Over time, Hu Yuntong has become somewhat well-known. Not to mention Tongxing's recruitment team, he also has some ways to gather people from his own circle.

"Brother Lihe, I'll try to mobilize them. My brother's business is doing well, and there are many people who want to stay and work locally. With Agricultural University, Polytechnic University, and Qingdao University, I believe more and more people will join the Tongxing family!"

Chu Lihe looked relieved. "But if you ask me, Mr. Hu's biggest help is still you, Yuntong. What are your plans after graduation?"

Hu Yuntong looked troubled. "My family said they would help my brother if they could, and my brother said he would continue his studies if he could, but to be honest, I don't have my brother's patience. Taking the postgraduate entrance exam is something like that..."

Seeing Hu Yuntong scratch his head again, Chu Lihe immediately smiled and waved his hand, indicating, "Let's not talk about it anymore, let's eat."

The fish slices flipped and the meatballs bounced around, while the bright red chili peppers whetted the appetite.

The steaming hot air made it almost impossible to see each other's faces; the most eye-catching thing was the few pieces of pork throat in the pot, which, when cooked, were as firm as bamboo shoots.

Some people say this thing takes one minute, while others say it takes three minutes.

After being smeared with the bubbling red soup, it will soon wilt and wither.

If we don't eat now, it will be too late.

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.