Twenty years of cold chain

After New Year's Day, Hu's parents came to Luan's house to propose marriage. According to custom, Hu's family offered a dowry of 80,000 yuan to avoid the rumors that Luan's daughter had been raised for so long without a dowry. Luan's family also provided a car as a gift, making it seem like the Luan family boss was very wealthy.

Of course, this is only what I say to outsiders.

After discussing it privately, they decided that since they already had a car and the dowry was still pending, they would use the money to make a down payment on a house for the two of them. They chose a house in the north of Qingyan City, which would be close to both of them.

As for the wedding date, the Hu family set it for the eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Luan family set the date for the 20th of the first lunar month.

Luan Qizhen was beaming; his admiration for Hu Shutong had been going on for more than just a year or two.

Now I can finally say that I took a liking to that kid ten years ago. The two walked at a leisurely pace.

It left both families feeling utterly bored. There are some things parents never say, but the wild imaginations they have about their children are enough to write several melodramatic soap operas; you never know how far they'll go with their wild guesses.

Now that everything has finally settled, both families are busy preparing for the invitations. Before writing the invitations, they make a list of the people they want to invite. They are constantly on edge, even when cooking, drinking tea, sweeping the floor, or reading the newspaper, their minds are full of plans, afraid of forgetting someone and causing them to complain later.

The Luan family is a large clan, and the industries in Luanqi Town are the pride of the family. Over the years, they have dealt with orchards and have dozens of prominent businessmen. He has rehearsed the matter of hiring a girl countless times in his mind, and he is determined to make a big show of it.

At first glance, the Hu family seems to be more relaxed.

Those he could invite were mostly his neighbors and relatives; from other counties, it was just a few people. In reality, it was far more than that. Over the years, Hu Shutong had made enough acquaintances to fill several thick stacks of invitations.

"Pingxin, ancestral worship is not practiced after the New Year, so you and Shutong should go back to your hometown before the New Year."

Luan Pingxin nodded. "Dad, Shutong means the wedding should be kept simple. You know he's incredibly busy."

Luan Qizhen simply nodded without saying a word, then handed a flowchart-like document to Luan Pingxin.

Luan Pingxin took a look and immediately frowned. "Let's not hire any emcee or band. We'll just be like wooden puppets being bossed around. Besides, calling someone 'Dad' and 'Mom' is such a normal thing. It's so awkward to have to change how we address them on the spot."

"I knew you'd complain, but this time you all have to listen to me. This is the biggest thing that's ever happened to you."

It must be spectacular and lively!

"Anyway, it'll be lively as long as there are lots of people."

What "shutong" means is that we can just appear together then.

"When the time comes, you, the big boss, can go on stage and say a few words, eat and drink well, express your gratitude, and that's all!"

Luan Pingxin chuckled and leaned forward a bit, "Dad, actually, Shutong's original intention was to skip the 18th and 20th of the first lunar month and have our two families hold the wedding together..."

"Nonsense!" Before Luan Pingxin could finish speaking, Luan Qizhen flew into a rage. "A joint event? Shutong's idea? Shutong's idea? Would Shutong dare to have such an idea? Isn't it just because you, a little brat, find it troublesome! When the Luan family is hiring a daughter, look at how your uncles and elders organize things. Marriage is the most important thing in terms of appearance. You better behave yourself and don't do anything reckless!"

"Dad! It's not unusual for two families to run a joint venture. My classmate did it. Besides, Shutong and I are both really busy. His second phase is about to open, and I still have to follow up on Longyao."

"What you say is useless, a few more days won't make a difference! The Hu family will handle their own affairs, the Luan family will handle theirs, I wasn't planning on discussing this with you anyway!"

Suddenly, Luan Pingxin pursed her lips, and tears began to fall.

This startled Luan Qizhen. He tried to stay calm, but couldn't hold back any longer. "What do you want, you little brat?!"

"Dad, think about Shutong's situation. He doesn't have any relatives. How is he supposed to come and pick up the bride? He can't possibly bring a whole carload of neighbors to pick me up. If the Hu family holds a separate event, there are only three people with the surname Hu in total. There are so many wedding customs in the county. On such a joyous occasion, why should we make the Hu family look all alone?"

Luan Qizhen, whose mind was preoccupied with how he had organized his own wedding, suddenly froze, realizing he had indeed overlooked this point. Luan Pingxin was right; there were many intricacies to the wedding customs in Mozi County.

For example, when picking up the bride, the number of people going must be odd, and the number returning with the bride must be even. Often, it's seven or eight people going and ten people returning, in short, everything is geared towards auspiciousness, good fortune, and perfection. And for some reason, a sister-in-law must also sit in the car, and when the couple goes around toasting at the banquet, the brother-in-law must be the one carrying the plates.

"You all love to compare extravagance, even how many cars are parked outside the hall is worth talking about. I'm only interested in Shutong, and I'm willing to compete with him in terms of ability and skills. We are already a family, and what matters most is a long, harmonious, and happy life together. What does a wedding, whether elaborate or simple, matter? Shutong and I are waiting for this moment, not for any particular form of it."

After a long pause, Luan Qizhen slowly spoke, "Pingxin, even if it's a joint venture, Old Hu will definitely think we're deliberately trying to save face for him. That arrogant guy thinks he's the only one who's truly upright in the world. Not only will he not appreciate it, he might even criticize us!"

"Dad, what are you thinking? The wedding procession is for relatives, and the support is for friends. Believe it or not, half of the Longshan Summit will be coming from Shutong's side, and most of the people in the industry will definitely gather because of our wedding. At that point, what's the point of talking about saving face? Besides, Dad, you can also get to know a lot of important people through this opportunity!"

"I'm talking to you about the wedding, and you're talking to me about business?"

"I never mentioned business."

"Luan Pingxin!"

Luan Pingxin wiped her eyes, giggled, and quickly grabbed her father's arm. "Dad, you just said you wanted to see how the uncles and elders were organizing things. I think what's more important than how many firecrackers are set off or how many luxury cars are there is the people attending the wedding. That's what really matters, don't you think?"

Luan Qizhen pulled her away, unsure of what to say for a moment, realizing that his daughter had said everything.

"You have so many business partners. What will happen if word gets out about this?"

"Hmph! You two are so magnanimous, you've long looked down on my little county."

"Then you've misunderstood Shutong. His biggest ambition lies here. We'll see what he's really got next year. If I'm not mistaken..."

Luan Qizhen waved his hands repeatedly, got up, and hurriedly left.

"You guys in the cold chain industry, you can't say a single warm word!"

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.