Twenty years of cold chain

The following day at noon, Hu Shutong and Liang Lu met in a high-end coffee shop in Mingyuan City.

The two sat in a corner by the window and each ordered a cup of coffee.

Hu Shutong hadn't seen Liang Lu for several years. People's impressions of each other often remain based on the last time they met, but conversely, given enough time...

It's not surprising that a person can change in any way.

Hu Shutong sat calmly, showing no sign of resentment or urgency.

Liang Lu appeared even calmer than Hu Shutong. His gaze was unusually steady, and even when it changed, it was with a squinting smile, revealing an unfathomable quality that showed him half looking at the other person and half thinking about something else.

"Mr. Hu hasn't been to Mingjiang in a long time, has he? Tonight, I'll be the host."

Contact a few people you get along with in your circle.

Let's get together.

"I'm worried that drinking will lead to trouble."

Let's finalize tomorrow's arrangements first. Liang Lu, you've handled this matter very well; I really want to praise you.

Liang Lu took a sip of coffee with a forced smile, and only chuckled to himself when he put it down. "President Hu, I didn't really want this either, but looking at everyone around me, you're the only one who can help me. This so-called Q&A session isn't really important; what's important is that you showed up."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Mr. Hu, please consider this: if I were to acquire the land, it would take some time for the subsidies from the county and city to be finalized, and my own investment would also require a preparation period. After that, the park's planning would go through several rounds of discussions, and a lot of time would be wasted before the bulldozers and excavators even arrived. Add to that the preparations before the park opens, and I estimate it will take at least two to three years. Two or three years isn't a significant period for ordinary companies, but it's a different story for Tongxing under Mr. Hu's leadership."

If even Tongxing's own strategy shifts by then,

"But the screws from the Q&A session are missing their nuts!"

Liang Lu is indeed becoming more and more eloquent. His words reduced the pressure on Tongxing and also praised Hu Shutong's abilities. They were tactful and pleasing to the listeners.

Seeing that Hu Shutong remained silent, Liang Lu continued, "Besides, who will care about what was said at the Q&A session back then, and how the Fengliang Industrial Park will operate in three or four years? If that's the case, it won't be a bidding committee anymore, but rather a corporate think tank."

After Liang Lu's "enlightenment," Hu Shutong nodded. Liang Lu's face immediately lit up. "President Hu, how Fengliang and Tongxing will discuss the specifics after this matter is a completely new and big issue. You just need to focus on handling tomorrow's Q&A session."

The conversation had been entirely in Liang Lu's style, and he seemed quite pleased with himself.

Everything is under control. Although this person before me is very capable...

But he couldn't back down from this predicament; he had no choice but to go, and once he did, he had to say all the right things.

"Liang Lu, even if I'm qualified to help you take over this park, are you qualified to cooperate with me?"

Liang Lu chuckled, but quickly suppressed it. "President Hu, with Fengliang's current scale, aren't we qualified to cooperate with you?"

In a flash, Liang Lu suddenly sensed something was amiss, because Hu Shutong had shifted the focus of the matter with just one sentence! But he never expected that this was just the beginning!

"I've seen your cold storage design before, and I'm curious why you chose carbonized cork, which is more expensive and prone to insect infestation and mold, instead of polyurethane and polystyrene for the insulation layer of your storage area? At first, I thought you selected it after a comprehensive comparison, considering its strong compressive strength and thermal conductivity, and I was convinced that you were going to invest heavily in building a high-end industrial park."

"But looking at the ratio of units to space, you've abandoned conventional compatibility and increased the server room space and the number of units. The only explanation is that you're using second-hand equipment to prepare for insufficient cooling. Furthermore, you've set up a backup server room for all the units, which shows how low the price of this batch of equipment is."

Liang Lu gripped his dark blue watch, his expression remaining relatively calm. "The reason our line of work is so difficult is probably due to the initial investment. Since when have first-hand and second-hand equipment become a matter of qualifications? Can't I guarantee the quality of the fruit in the warehouse?"

Hu Shutong looked puzzled. "If you only want to build a low-end park, why use such expensive cork? Or is even the cork secondhand?"

At this point, Liang Lu could hardly contain himself. Although both were secondhand, they were different in nature. Cooling equipment could be transferred secondhand, but peripheral materials had never been done this way before.

Because cold storage is not like building a house, where you can reuse bricks and cement from an old house. The high cost of cold storage is essentially due to the density of its materials, and this involves the question of whether it complies with current cold storage standards.

Liang Lu swallowed hard. If he had known that this would happen, he would have chewed up the plan and swallowed it back then, rather than let Hu Shutong see it!

What confused Liang Lu even more was that he realized what was happening before his eyes didn't match his own situation. He hadn't prepared for this at all; his mind was full of flattery, mind-reading, and the idea that even if he didn't want to listen to me, he had to listen to me. He talked about business, win-win situations, and the idea that everyone had no choice but to agree.

However, this was only the first wave of Hu Shutong's offensive!

"Liang Lu, you must have heard about the famous fish harvest from Panhu Lake two years ago. Let me tell you the story I experienced firsthand. Actually, the Panhu Planning Committee initially planned to sell the fish through four major aquatic product cities. Why? Because of their strong reputation. In less than two years, they successively received local special aquatic product subsidies, food industry revitalization support, and special funds for agricultural market integration."

As he spoke, Hu Shutong's gaze became distant. "I remember that year, I made a special trip to these four seafood markets. You might not believe it, but they simply bought up the space that used to be occupied by vendors' stalls, and then connected the spaces that could be connected to form what are known as seafood markets."

"You might ask, such a seafood market will eventually be exposed, but you're overlooking the trade-offs. At that time, the 'Double Hundred Market' policy was introduced, and rumors of a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package to expand domestic demand were circulating. So, as long as the infrastructure was there, do you know how much more money they could make? The only pity is that I ruined their plans."

Liang Lu dared not look Hu Shutong in the eye. Every word he spoke was terrifying. He suddenly realized that it would be a good thing if the person in front of him only knew technology.

"I've gone off on a tangent, let's get back to the issue of qualifications. You've set the wrong premise; you think Tongxing and Fengliang are already on the same side. But if Fengliang itself has problems, the Q&A session could easily turn into a clarification session. I have a hundred ways to tell the evaluation committee how Tongxing was kept in the dark."

Liang Lu knew all too well that once things moved here, everything had drifted away from his carefully laid plans. It all seemed so familiar, just like the scene in the courtyard outside Lianghu Village back then, and just like the disdain he had shown back then, thinking that things had changed and he was now in charge. Little did he know that when you are no longer a high school student, the other party is no longer a college student either.

But in terms of feeling, it was even worse than before. Originally, he wanted to put Tongxing in a difficult position, but now Feng Liang was left trembling with fear. Liang Lu felt that he had been completely controlled!

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.