Twenty years of cold chain

Hu Shutong realized that for this matter to succeed, people needed to see the cold storage first. In the current situation where it was invisible and intangible, any further persuasion would be a waste of breath.

Ordinary villagers wouldn't dare make this decision themselves, so the only option was to target the Lianghuzhuang trio. Weng Huzi had no children and was a major cart owner, with nothing to worry about except money, and he didn't own an orchard, so this approach was definitely not feasible. Liang Dafeng had a huge influence in the village, and he and Weng Huzi shared the cart allocation. If he made the decision, it would create two new factions in the village, leading to even more trouble later on.

Therefore, Hu Shutong had no choice but to marry Shengxi.

Before the Spring Festival, the biggest event in Lianghuzhuang Village was hiring an opera troupe. Normally, one might think that opera troupes traveling from village to village would simply be performing, with each household contributing some money. But in reality, if you had connections, things would be different.

At the large round table in Shengxi's courtyard, it was said, "Old Liu, last year at the market, I invited people from six villages for you, and you didn't even have to move; you got everything you were entitled to. This year, Liangzhuang's harvest isn't very good, so we'll reduce the amount for each household and let you perform for three to five more days. Not only will we make it up to you next year, but we'll also invite you to the first market day. Once Liangzhuang opens, all the villages will respond, so you can get your spring drought relief money early!"

"Shengxi, with your mouth, when has Liangzhuang ever had a good harvest? The fruit piled up against the wall could climb a ladder! You're just stingy!"

"Old Liu, Master Liu, that's not surplus, it's unsold fruit. If you don't believe me, go to other villages and see, the courtyards are all tidy up, that's because the fruit has been turned into money."

"Alright, you'd better get the opening episode sorted out properly!"

"Even though I've kept my heart tightly closed, I've already made all the arrangements for the welcome party!"

As soon as the troupe leader left, he saw a young man waiting at the door for a while.

Hu Shutong walked in carrying two bottles of liquor he had bought from the convenience store. It has to be said that Shengxi’s house was quite impressive in the whole village. A brand-new motorcycle was parked in the yard, the roof was covered with gray and white tiles, and the eaves were neat and sharp.

Shengxi's appearance is quite unforgettable. His face is particularly disproportionate, with a wide forehead and sunken cheeks, which makes his eyes look very big and bulging. When his big eyes are wide open, you can hardly see his eye sockets.

This was exactly the expression on his face when he saw Hu Shutong.

What are you doing here?

"Brother Shengxi, I want to discuss something with you."

"Why don't you listen to what I have to say first?" Shengxi looked at Hu Shutong with complete incomprehension. "The New Year is almost here, don't waste your time here. If you ask me, you've just come at the wrong time."

"What do you mean by that?"

Shengxi first pushed the wine towards Hu Shutong, making it clear what he needed to distance himself from, before speaking, "If you had waited a few years, this might have worked. But right now, everyone's just starting to get by. After all those years of hardship, they've finally saved some money. If you try to take money from them now, everyone will suspect you of having ulterior motives. Besides, every family has its own expenses: food, clothing, machinery, children's schooling, wedding gifts—all of these are costs!"

"Brother Shengxi, let me do the math for you. Some people say that cold storage is a wasteful money-burning scheme, but our equipment only uses ten kilowatt-hours a day, which is just over five yuan a month, less than two hundred yuan. It sounds expensive, but after a detailed investigation, we found that oranges in December cost 32 cents a pound, and oranges in January cost 41 cents a pound. That's an extra 90 cents a pound. Many farms in our village produce two thousand pounds each, so just from this one fruit, we can earn an extra 1,800 yuan!"

"Why are you so fixated on this?" Despite his words, Hu Shutong could tell that Shengxi hadn't ignored him, especially when the words "one thousand eight" came out, Shengxi's large eyes widened even more.

"Brother Shengxi, I'm a second-year graduate student. If I do this well, I might not even have to write my master's thesis. I'm not one to get things done without a profit."

If this was profitable, it would perfectly align with Shengxi's thinking, because unsolicited favors are often the most suspicious. "Then let me ask you, who are you going to sell that for 1,800? Where will you find big trucks by then?"

"The price of large trucks also follows the market. As long as they can make money, they will buy any kind of fruit. If all else fails, you can take the oranges from January directly to the county's wholesale market and sell them. They will be snapped up as soon as they are available. There are plenty of merchants selling to distant places. You can make a big profit by reselling them after avoiding the peak season. Moreover, cherries will be on the market at the end of April. With cold storage, the price will be much higher than 1,800 yuan."

"Cherries are more expensive, and they can be stored in cold storage for 28 days, which completely avoids the cherry season in southern Mingjiang. To put it another way, with cold storage, you can pick and choose prices from truck drivers. If you're not satisfied with the price, you can store them for a few more days. The longer you wait, the higher the price will be. It's not like everyone is begging for truck drivers, and the big ones take the small ones and throw them away."

Shengxi stopped talking and rolled a cigarette with his head slightly lowered.

"Brother Shengxi, it's a very simple principle. Just like having a freezer at home means you can eat ice cream and popsicles whenever you want. If you don't have one, no matter how much you eat, it's not as good as the amount that melts. In a market economy, prices are always unstable. Just like pig farmers these days, there's always a high point followed by a low point. For us fruit farmers, selling off our stock when prices are high is the key to getting rich."

"Moreover, this way, we won't be led by the nose by big trucks. Big trucks have big prices, and small trucks have small prices. We won't have to make small trucks look good to make big trucks look good, and it won't be considered a matter of course to throw them away."

Hu Shutong's rapid-fire remarks left Shengxi Ge somewhat overwhelmed.

"Let's leave it at that for now. I don't have time to think about these things right now."

Hu Shutong didn't urge him. He had said everything he needed to say. He stood up and said, "Brother Shengxi, you can think about it when you have time. I've always heard about the Iron Triangle in the village, but everything needs a leader. Besides, nothing is better than leading the way to get rich."

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.