Twenty years of cold chain

It's one thing to dream about something, but quite another to actually have it. Walking in his own cold storage room, when all of this was truly there, Shengxi couldn't help but feel that the money was well spent.

As a former truck driver, he understood many of the intricacies of the business. The reason why large trucks were so powerful was because everyone was vying to be the first to sell. But when everyone else had sold out and only his small plot of land was left, it became a situation where people would choose the large trucks and become the dominant force. If you didn't give it to them, someone else would. If you chose the large or small ones, you'd better get out of there. Naturally, someone else would "swallow it whole."

So, Shengxi invited Hu Shutong to a grand banquet at his home. This time, Hu Shutong also met Shengxi's wife, whom everyone in the village called Alu.

It's said that Shengxi quit his job as a rickshaw driver to focus on his own home, and even made the roof and walls beautiful, all because he married Alu. Alu was from a distant village. It's said that Shengxi met Alu when he was driving rickshaws around, and his heart fluttered ever since, a flutter that lasted for more than ten years.

No one knows how much effort he put in over the years, but finally, Shengxi married the woman of his dreams. People always joke that he's too afraid to drive his car now that he's married, for fear of him going around making friends with everyone—what a henpecked husband! Shengxi just smiles when he hears this.

As soon as Hu Shutong entered the house, he smelled a strong odor of vinegar, which even he, a person who loves vinegar, found hard to bear. There was no other way; every household in Lianghu Village was brewing vinegar, supposedly to fight pneumonia. Meanwhile, all the pharmacies in the surrounding villages had sold out of Banlangen (Isatis root), and many adults in the village were reluctant to take it themselves, instead sending large bags of it to their children at school.

The table was laden with food. The firm shredded meat clearly came from their own chickens, and there were eight jars of various sizes, some containing tofu, some pork tenderloin, and some meatballs. Having been there for so long, Hu Shutong naturally knew that this was the grand scale of Lianghu Village's hospitality.

The wine was also of good quality, and the cups were "blessing bowls," which perfectly matched the local saying that seeking blessings and receiving blessings are both blessings. Hu Shutong was a little surprised by Shengxi's hospitality.

"Brother Hu, I really didn't expect Ku to be like this. I thought I'd be taking a break and playing along with you guys. But wow, you guys just came here to display your toys! That's amazing!"

Hu Shutong smiled and said, "We've been prepared for a long time; all we're waiting for is your nod."

Brother Shengxi quickly raised his bowl, "Brother Hu, let's not talk about what happened before. There are still many things we need to rely on you for in the future."

Hu Shutong readily agreed, but what Shengxi couldn't decide on was the fruit storage. A 120-ton warehouse sounded huge, but in reality, it was 4.8 meters long, 7.6 meters wide, and 3.3 meters high—basically about the size of a slightly larger hotel room. And with shelves needing to be placed inside, how to utilize it efficiently was indeed a challenge.

The fruits of Lianghuzhuang begin to ripen in April, with the harvest concentrated in the latter half of the year, hence the saying, "Cherry in April, plum in June, grapes in September, and oranges at the end of the year." Once the cold storage is powered on, the fruits will be harvested in several batches in succession, making Shengxi's purpose for this meal quite clear.

Having the first storage unit wasn't the end of Hu Shutong's task; there were many intricacies to utilizing this compact space. Furthermore, he would use Shengxi's storage unit as a typical example to demonstrate the proper use of disinfectants, plastic wrap, and preservatives.

Shengxi couldn't help but think that Hu Shutong was a man of action. His previous fancy ideas were just wishful thinking. Over drinks, Shengxi joked that if things went well, he might even be able to run for village chief next year. Hu Shutong half-jokingly encouraged Shengxi, saying he was respected in the village and had done a lot for everyone. If he became a village cadre, many things would go much more smoothly.

Seeing Hu Shutong's agreement, Shengxi nodded and smiled, saying that they should make this a resounding success first.

In early April, banners reading "Unite as one to fight SARS" were put up in the village, and many shops selling TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines had their walls painted over and replaced with anti-epidemic propaganda.

Two weeks later, Liang Lu returned to the village, just over a month after the start of the new school year. Only then did people learn that many primary and secondary schools had already suspended classes. The roads around the village were covered in white lime, and the villagers were filled with anxiety.

Hu Shutong has been in constant contact with the outside world. The situation is already very serious. The May Day Golden Week holiday has been canceled, and the whole country is focusing its efforts on preventing the spread of the epidemic.

The cherries are in season, but fewer and fewer large trucks are coming. The methods of the truck leaders are no longer effective. At this time, no one will make a trip just because they have a good relationship with someone.

Thus, Hu Shutong witnessed a tragic scene he had never imagined.

Some villagers used handcarts, others carried cherries on their shoulders. The villagers, ranging from those in their sixties and seventies to those as young as four or five, mobilized every household to transport the cherries towards the county road. When they encountered passing trucks, the villagers didn't care whether they were fruit or pig buyers; if they saw a truck that wasn't fully loaded, they would shout for it to stop by the roadside.

When they finally met a fruit buyer, the villagers held out handfuls of cherries, telling him how juicy they were. There was no haggling; the villagers would sell as long as they were paid. Even so, many more cherries still went bad.

Within a few days, the road from the village entrance to the county road was trodden red with cherry pits. As Hu Shutong walked on it, cherry pits pricked his feet like pebbles. This feeling was unforgettable; he had stepped on the harvest, the harvest he had painstakingly nurtured.

The phrase "the first kilometer" evoked a completely different feeling in him than when he first saw the document in the teacher's office. Before, he thought that if the first kilometer wasn't done well, it would be more of a waste, but at this moment, it brought a surge of human sorrow.

Along the way, numerous meetings have been held, but few concrete actions have been taken. Papers are written with great flair, and systems are discussed with eloquence. But can these paper-based cold chains and verbal pronouncements truly alleviate the immediate crisis?

It's easy to see the upstream and downstream, easy to consider in the plan, and easy to dream in the experiment. He used to think that was all cold chain.

Only then did he realize that without experiencing the visceral hardship of that one kilometer, the cold chain would forever remain elusive.

It's like a root, embedded deep within the cold chain!

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.