Twenty years of cold chain

More than two thousand years ago, people on the Eurasian continent explored several trade and cultural routes connecting the major civilizations of Asia, Europe and Africa. Whether it was camel bells and carriages or treasure ships sailing, merchants came in an endless stream, mutually benefiting and winning together. These routes were collectively known as the "Silk Roads" by later generations.

However, with the changing global landscape and the evolving paths and forms of economic and trade exchanges, at present,

The material aspects of the Silk Road are no longer prominent. However, the spirit of the Silk Road has been passed down from generation to generation. It is the most brilliant symbol of cooperation and exchange between East and West over thousands of years, and a time-tested bond for prosperity and development.

The Belt and Road Initiative is China's way of leading the world, opening up new horizons and new prospects for cooperation, and relying on its strong market strength to generate new vitality in the global economy.

Even a layman,

The "New Silk Road," even in its name, hints at its potential to boost logistics. Insiders like Hu Shutong, however, can appreciate its deeper meaning. This top-level national initiative has already begun, propelling the logistics industry's "inbound and outbound" activities to a powerful global scale.

Ganzhou has been a key section of the Silk Road since ancient times, and many cultural symbols related to the Silk Road originated from it.

It must be said that this Wuguan Industrial Park project has left Hu Shutong exhausted. Its frustrating aspect is the lack of progress; none of his previous proposals have ever felt like they've vanished without a trace. But that night, Hu Shutong pondered a thousand things—the present and the distant, the seemingly unrelated and the suddenly sparking—which rekindled his spirits, keeping him awake until the fourth watch of the night.

After daybreak, he went all out.

Once he truly got into the rhythm of developing the industry, Hu Shutong discovered that he didn't need to rely too much on domestic examples. Panhu Fishing Port can be seen as a super-large-scale industrial park.

In addition to storage, transportation and processing, there is a fish culture center, a fish culture landmark building, and a fish product research and testing center.

These are not only things he personally participated in, but also things he personally handled; in the eyes of experts, similar concepts always have commonalities. The philosophy of Panhu Fishing Port, when applied to the Wuguan Industrial Park, can be summarized in eight words: cultural revitalization of agriculture and technological revitalization of agriculture.

Culture serves as the brand, and technology as the demonstration; Hu Shutong firmly grasps this opportunity to forge ahead.

His dedication was so profound that even a workaholic like Liu Zhiying was deeply impressed. He closed the glass door to the balcony, and his computer and materials were placed on two tables. When the wind blew, papers flew up and fell, but he didn't even glance at the unimportant ones. This relatively spacious little place reminded him of the small courtyard in his old home.

Hu Shutong is someone who abhors superficial talk; he would never mention any concepts or slogans without substance. At this point, technology became his weapon, and the focus shifted to how to utilize technology within this industrial park.

This is Tongxing's advantage, and it is also something that will surely catch Wuguan City's eye.

Hu Shutong analyzed the application of dual-temperature preservation systems for fruits and vegetables, non-destructive testing of agricultural products, origin traceability and variety identification labeling technologies, and so on, for the industrial park. In many places, he even reverted to the most old-fashioned approach, drawing technical diagrams with a pencil, scanning them, and then adding them to the plan, keeping it as simple as possible to avoid asking too many questions.

What surprised Liu Zhiying even more was that after the industry was added, Hu Shutong completely overturned the entire plan. In this new plan, the industry section occupied nearly 80% of the space, while the advantages of agricultural and market channels and various products, which were previously emphasized, were now drastically compressed and placed only in a small part at the end.

Hu Shutong once said that showing the other party a panoramic view of the agricultural industry chain would make it seem like one side is too light and the other too heavy. However, not long after, Liu Zhiying realized another logic: what we consider a comprehensive panoramic view may not be the full picture that the other party desires.

Hu Shutong, a seasoned veteran in the proposal industry, knows that professionalism and technology have no emotion. By getting close to the other party's psychology, one is most likely to stand out.

To put it simply, from Wuguan City's perspective, it's more important for their own products to be more valuable and their brands more eye-catching. During holidays and festivals, when friends and relatives visit, it's even more important for Wuguan apples to have a prestigious image. As for distribution, who among those sitting right in front of us isn't a big player?

And so, after five days of hard work, a new round of discussions began.

The discussion at the meeting remained lively, with frequent questions, which Hu Shutong answered one by one. It seemed that Wuguan City was very interested in this round of proposals. However, Hu Shutong was indifferent, because it seemed to be no different from the previous round.

As expected, I ultimately received a "wait for a reply" response.

What followed was the most agonizing wait. Hu Shutong had made a decision: he would not make any further improvements to the plan, meaning Tongxing would not propose a fourth round. He would have to wait another week, and regardless of the outcome, he had to return to Tongxing.

Seeing that Hu Shutong was suffering and isolated, Liu Zhiying decided to take him somewhere during this rare break.

Liu Zhiying drove for over a hundred kilometers in a slightly southeast direction. Hu Shutong asked her questions several times along the way, but Liu Zhiying only smiled and didn't answer. The car exited the highway, then the national road, and eventually came to a dirt road on the grassland. Strangely enough, while driving, the car suddenly turned, the wheels rolled on the grass, and soon it drove up a small hill.

After getting off the bus, Hu Shutong smiled. The scenery here was breathtaking. Nearby, one could see flocks of snow-white sheep, and in the distance, green mountains, giving one a rare sense of exhilaration.

But not long after, Hu Shutong suddenly heard the whistle of a train, and slowly, a train with more than forty carriages stretching for nearly a kilometer came along.

Hu Shutong immediately understood why Liu Zhiying had brought him here; for people like them, this was probably the best way to relax when they had nothing else to do.

This is no ordinary train; it's the China-Europe Railway Express, bound for Europe. This isn't a passenger train, but a vital logistics artery across Eurasia, leveraging the more than 10,000 kilometers of the New Eurasian Land Bridge to create a fast track for international land transport.

The two stood silently on the small hillside, watching the car come and go, without uttering a single word.

The China-Europe freight train service was launched two years ago, and everyone in the logistics industry knows about it, but only superficially. Its scale has not yet truly taken off, but seeing it in person at this moment evokes endless imagination.

The window to the nation, the window to businesses, the window to people—as the tide surges forward, it gives rise to unprecedented thoughts. Sometimes, it's not how far-reaching one's thoughts are, but rather a guiding force that pulls people closer. Looking at the China-Europe Railway Express again within the context of the "Belt and Road Initiative," you'll discover the inherent power of the times.

The two remained silent, needing neither to communicate nor to describe their situation. They used this to measure their own worth, understanding that the ability to think or not to think precedes the ability to succeed or fail.

The ringtone broke the silence, and Liu Zhiying on the other end of the line nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After hanging up, Liu Zhiying gripped her phone tightly. "Senior, the city wants us to come in for a talk tomorrow. We don't need to bring a new proposal."

Hu Shutong clenched his fist; this was the first time they had received a call from Wuguan City.

After such a difficult journey, it's finally time to reveal the answer.

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.