Twenty years of cold chain

On the way away from Qingyuan, Jiang Zhipeng's words kept echoing in Hu Shutong's mind. He said he had an anxiety of being chased. In fact, this anxiety does not belong to any one individual, but is a reflection of a group in this era.

Ultimately, it is the leap in our country's economic development since the new century. From 2000 to 2007, the transition between the "10th Five-Year Plan" and the "11th Five-Year Plan," seven years have witnessed earth-shattering changes. The internet boom, the entrepreneurial boom, the e-commerce boom, and the expansion boom of food companies have all converged at the moment, surging rapidly in these short seven years, or even in the last three to five years.

Of the world's top 50 food industry companies, 70% have joint ventures or wholly-owned factories in China, presenting both boundless business opportunities and increasingly fierce competition. A beer production line capable of producing 50,000 bottles per hour, 180,000 packs of instant noodles per shift, and 4,000 bags of sterile milk per hour—the gap has narrowed, but there is still a gap; there is room for growth, but there is still room for development.

In the refrigeration industry, domestic material and equipment manufacturers are facing unprecedented pressure from foreign companies. Whether it is refrigeration compressors or air conditioners, foreign joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises are rapidly increasing their product volume and expanding their presence, fiercely seizing market share.

The planned cold chain logistics park seems to have only just caught a whiff of spring after the spring equinox, with people eager to finalize the blueprints in a single day and then build it up like a skyscraper, changing every day.

Whether you're pushing forward or chasing, you have very little time to think. Some are afraid of falling behind, while others are afraid that their advantage isn't obvious enough yet.

This anxiety is also vividly reflected in Tongxing. Tongxing's core team, those who believe they have some foresight regarding the industry's prospects, are working tirelessly around the word "expansion." Tongxing has a solid foundation here. While others are still honing their own skills, Tongxing already has a solid foundation to rely on. With its bold external expansion and early network integration, in a future where everything is scattered like dots, Tongxing will become the guiding force and the key to success.

This is not only a significant achievement for the company, but also holds extraordinary meaning for those with distinguished backgrounds within Tongxing. If Hu Shutong was one of the earliest formally trained professionals in the industry, then they were among the first to build a large and powerful cold chain enterprise. From a purely corporate perspective, this is unprecedented seniority in the cold chain industry. If this was the case in 2007, just look again in 2017—aren't they all at the forefront of the industry?

The Yuncheng Transfer Center is progressing well, mirroring the urgent needs of the southern suburbs. Site selection, warehouse planning, and future hardware and software integration are all being carried out almost simultaneously. Meanwhile, Panhu Fishing Port is also accelerating its construction, rapidly integrating partner companies in the cold chain logistics zone. At Tongxing, nearly half of the marketing department's staff are involved in external expansion work.

Sanhe was keeping a close eye on Tongxing's development. When they saw that Tongxing had chosen Yuncheng, it was as if they had a ready-made solution to follow: place the goods near the hub, and the goods would go wherever the hub led. So they couldn't wait to study the feasibility of the Yuncheng branch factory.

Instead of pushing things forward, Hu Shutong felt like he was being pushed forward. Apart from listening to the weekly work reports, he rarely paid special attention to anything.

During this period, he focused his attention on the Refrigeration Technology Research Institute. He first met with Zeng Zhaoda alone, and then held several meetings with the Refrigeration Society, basically finalizing the personnel arrangements. At the same time, he discussed several topics with Luan Pingxin, and after communicating with Lei Xiaoxi, he submitted applications for research funding for "Ultra-low Temperature Storage Box Project" and "Supermarket Display Case Refrigeration".

Luan Pingxin has already submitted her resignation to Bai Leng, but leaving is not something that can be done overnight. Technical personnel will have complicated technical confidentiality agreements when they leave, and it also involves patent issues, etc.

……

Another year has passed, with spring, autumn, winter, and summer. Hu Shutong gazes out the window, seeing the same lights and willows as last year, and the "snow tonight" that is about to arrive but never comes. When he opens his phone the next morning, he is reminded that "snow showers today."

Every year as the new year approaches, Hu Shutong has a habit of summarizing the past year's journey, looking forward and reflecting, as if trying to find a balance so that he can feel more at ease in the coming year. Deep down, he wants to see something definite, something that brings a sense of accomplishment, and he wants to collect these things as symbolic objects so that people can clearly see the footprints of the past.

But this year is different. He found that the past year left him with a deep sense of emptiness, and he was unwilling to look back because there were no answers in many places.

Throughout the year, no matter what he thought of, his mind was filled with questions, as if everything was only half done. Not only was there no sense of certainty, but there were also many unforeseen variables. As these questions accumulated, they created an indescribable unease.

The year 2008 will undoubtedly have a profound impact; aside from everything else, the Olympics alone will make it an extraordinary year.

Hu Shutong could never have imagined that 2008 would live on in her memory like a comb. No matter how much time has passed, each and every tooth will be imprinted in the long river of time, allowing people to tell how extraordinary that year was.

That's not just the Olympics, it's far more than just the Olympics.

But no matter what, it has come, and no one can stop it!

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.