Twenty years of cold chain

Today is a special day. Jiang Zhipeng, who received a two-year reduction in his sentence, was released after serving his full term.

Hu Shutong waited in the car for more than half an hour before a tall man with a buzz cut and carrying a woven bag came out. He walked slowly, and although he had seen Hu Shutong, he was still looking around.

Throughout the journey, Jiang Zhipeng rested his arm on the car window, his face turned to the side, looking out at the sunlit streets, the greening grass and trees, and the fluttering birds.

Hu Shutong had never experienced such silence before. The carriage was filled with a suffocating atmosphere, cutting off all the sounds from outside the window. It felt inappropriate to utter any words.

Jiang Zhipeng found a cigarette; the tobacco transformed into two straight chimneys that billowed from his nose, and his fingers holding the cigarette trembled slightly. His expression didn't change much; his eyes weren't clouded, nor was his spirit listless, but that deep calm gave off a great sense of distance.

In the past five years, Hu Shutong has visited Jiang Zhipeng a few times, but each time they only chat for two or three minutes, asking about his recent situation and nothing else.

The car first arrived at a cemetery in the suburbs. Jiang Zhipeng's father passed away three years ago. He knelt in front of the grave for fifteen minutes without saying a word.

"Old Hu, I heard everything is getting better."

"Yes, things are getting better, much better."

Then came another period of silence, with no idea where the car was headed.

"The people who came to see me told me about Tongxing, and they were very happy to hear it. Lao Hu, you are truly worthy of your reputation."

"And you? What are you planning to do next?"

"I've sold all my assets, I should change careers."

"You have an idea?"

Jiang Zhipeng typed a few words on the navigation screen, "Let's go take a look there."

As the car drove towards the eastern suburbs, Hu Shutong's mind raced. He had to admit that the destination was somewhat unexpected; it was none other than "Jiangning Industry and Trade"!

No wonder Jiangning Industry and Trade Group seemed to appear overnight, and the one leading the charge was Bai Yanqiu from Qingning Dairy, a company with no apparent connection to them. His appearance still seems somewhat absurd to this day. Moreover, at that time, the technology for automated frost equipment was not yet mature, yet the other party made extremely tempting offers for patent fees and profit sharing, and gave countless green lights for the funding of Yuncheng Phase II, showing a strange trust in Tongxing.

Before Hu Shutong could figure out the relationship between Jiangning Industry and Trade and Qingning Dairy, Qiu Shuanghu appeared.

From the registered scale and business scope to the professional personnel structure, Qiu Shuanghu knew Jiangning Industry and Trade inside and out. During the negotiations between Tongxing and Jiangning Industry and Trade, Hu Shutong completely trusted Qiu Shuanghu; after several rounds of negotiations, he hadn't even met a single person from Jiangning. In retrospect, it was a series of well-intentioned efforts by a group of people.

Upon arrival, neither of them got out of the car, but simply looked at it from a distance. This was Hu Shutong's first time visiting Jiangning Industry and Trade Center. The most eye-catching thing was a vertical plaque that read "Partner of Zhonglongou Cold Equipment," which inevitably made people wonder what Qiu Shuanghu's so-called "finding a job" was all about back then.

"Old Jiang, you can just say what's on your mind. There's no need to keep people in the dark."

Jiang Zhipeng shook his head slightly. "Our fellow students from Ming University probably avoid dairy products like the plague, let alone anything directly related to me. How can things move forward if we don't do it this way?"

"What exactly is going on here?"

"Back then, one of the conditions for Qingyuan Assets to be sold to Qingru was the establishment of Jiangning Industry and Trade. Someone with a tainted past like me could never return to my former industry. If I hadn't made plans early, I would have been left to wander. In recent years, Erqiu's team has been helping with the operation, and we've also obtained some resources from Zhonglong Eurocold. Of course, the most important thing is the cooperation with Tongxing R&D Center. The equipment sales are good, which is why we've been able to stay afloat."

Hearing this, Hu Shutong gradually calmed down. "Don't worry, Tongxing will definitely give its full support to Jiangning Industry and Trade in the future."

Jiang Zhipeng rarely showed a smile. "Old Hu, as far as I know, the market has changed a bit in recent years. There's financing everywhere, and cold chain companies are constantly forming alliances. It's not going to be easy for Jiangning to break into Qingning's equipment market, so I'm thinking of setting up a factory in the west."

"I didn't expect you to start looking westward too."

Jiang Zhipeng smiled wryly. "Some people say that they read more books while in prison than in their entire lives combined, such as the Golden Age of Western Development and the New Perspective of the Belt and Road Initiative. They sound very promising. Besides, we are people who can still do something. We don't need to act recklessly, but we should be able to play it safe."

Winter rain pattered against the car windows, gradually covering them in a light drizzle. The wipers began to sway, blurring visibility in an instant. Meanwhile, people began to hurry about, some searching for umbrellas, others packing up their stalls.

The smoke drifted up the car window again, like a wad of cotton hitting it, soft yet conveying a sense of impact.

Later that evening, the two went to a restaurant. After drinking strong liquor, they quickly became drunk. Jiang Zhipeng began to say self-deprecating things, such as "I played a good hand badly" and "It feels like I've lived half my life in these five years."

At thirty-five years old, Hu Shutong's words are secondary when it comes to observing people and things. The emotions and unyielding spirit behind his words make his observations more profound and unsettling.

He felt that Jiang Zhipeng was like a furnace, covered with a thick layer of red clay, obscuring the fiery core. Although five years had passed, he seemed to have never let go of anything; on the contrary, he had allowed the hidden things to surge even more fiercely.

What he hadn't forgotten was precisely what needed to be erased. He had been holding back immense strength, accumulating energy for five years, and when he stepped back into the spotlight, he wished he had a sharp brush to quickly sweep away everything from the past. The more he denied his past, the more he wanted to make his future even more powerful, to stride onto that road at 100 miles per hour, so that no one could even see his back.

Jiang Zhipeng is a man with resources, and it's easy to see from his words that he hasn't slacked off in the past five years. If he continues to push forward with all his might, he will surely stir up a storm.

Hu Shutong looked out the window. Truly, nothing in life is ever truly reassuring. If we were to turn back the clock, several key words related to Jiang Zhipeng would inevitably appear—

Stubborn, arrogant, and flamboyant.

What's even more unusual is that his return is infused with a surge of intense emotions.

No one can predict what kind of sparks will ignite when he goes to the Northwest to expand the territory.

I thought I had met a seasoned person who had seen the ups and downs of life, but I never expected that he would be a passionate person who believed in taking control of his own destiny.

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.