Twenty years of cold chain

Relying solely on large trucks to transport fruit from the fields inherently carries significant uncertainty. The excessive subjectivity of truck drivers, the lack of price transparency, and the unclear supply-demand dynamics directly impact fruit farmers' income.

The inclusion of agricultural machinery subsidies in the micro-repository model seems to have opened up new avenues of thought for Hu Shutong. There are actually many models that can be explored regarding this first mile.

Hu Shutong's first thought was "farm-to-market integration." In short, if the county's wholesale market could directly source produce and supply it regularly and in fixed quantities from the place of origin, the process of individual households entering the market would be reduced, which would greatly reduce the circulation costs of fruits.

In Lianghuzhuang's case, the existence of cold storage ensures the centralized distribution of fruit, eliminating the need for harvesting and selling only 100-200-200-300-5 ...

When I visited Shengxi's house again, I saw the plan proposed by Hu Shutong and listened to his explanation. Shengxi's eyes were bright, and he sat there deep in thought, smoking a cigarette.

Shengxi felt that Hu Shutong had given him a heavy responsibility before leaving. However, instead of resisting, he felt a great sense of trust because the task was entrusted to him, which solidified many of the jokes and half-joking remarks he had made in the past.

Brother Shengxi was confident that he could do this well. Although he didn't understand profound knowledge, many things in the village and county were actually the same as setting up a stage for a play or going to a market. The villagers had their own local methods for doing it.

Looking at the departing man, Shengxi was deeply moved. He saw in Hu Shutong a man's bold and decisive spirit. From the initial resistance and the village's view of the cold storage as a threat, to building the first cold storage facility, to weathering the storm together to protect the plums, and finally, this last act of planning—throughout the process, Hu Shutong was like a walking instruction manual, meticulously and wholeheartedly handling every detail to ensure everything was done perfectly.

Meeting someone like this is a blessing for Lianghu Village.

"Shutong, you're kidding me about not needing to write a master's thesis, aren't you?"

"What paper? Where did you hear that from?"

"Look, look, you don't even remember what you said."

Hu Shutong then remembered something and immediately chuckled dryly, "It works, it works."

"You'd better remember to come back and visit often, kid."

"When you come back, you'll be seeing the village chief and the township head."

"Haha! There's no crevice you can't squeeze into!"

"Brother Shengxi, keep in touch."

Shengxi nodded emphatically. "Take your things with you."

As they were talking, a cloth bag was brought to Hu Shutong. It weighed more than 20 kilograms. Hu Shutong thanked him and carried it behind him without hesitation.

As dawn broke, the car drove out of the compound. With the window open, Hu Shutong looked at the place he had stayed for more than half a year, his heart filled with mixed emotions. As they passed an old man sweeping his own yard, the old man stopped sweeping, gave Hu Shutong a thumbs-up, and smiled at him with his wrinkled face.

For some reason, this scene warmed Hu Shutong's heart. No need for any grand gestures, just seeing this action and this expression was enough and worthwhile.

When the car reached the big banyan tree at the village entrance, a motorcycle caught up with it. On the motorcycle was a thin young man. Hu Shutong got off the motorcycle when he saw this.

"Brother Shutong, why didn't you say goodbye before leaving?"

"It's too early, I don't want to disturb the villagers."

Liang Lu sat awkwardly on the ground, looking like he had a lot to say but didn't know how to say it.

"When school starts in the fall, you can come to the University of Minnesota to find me if you have time. Besides the reading list, I have a lot of other materials that you can take anytime you want to see."

"Brother Shutong, I will definitely get into Mingda University!"

Hu Shutong nodded. "I believe you. Also, I've seen how beautiful your handwriting is. Practice writing more and don't fall behind."

"Yes, I will! Brother Shutong..."

"Enough said, Liang Lu, see you at Mingyuan."

The car drove away, and Liang Lu stood there motionless for a long time, his expression never so complex. Just as he was about to go back, he suddenly looked at the stone at the entrance of the village. He had never noticed it before, but now, looking at it, the character "Liang" was just a groove, the red paint gone.

How can this be allowed? The most important thing today is to paint it a blazing red.

When they got on the highway, Hu Shutong's phone rang for more than a minute, like popping beans, and countless text messages popped up.

Qi Zhendong smiled and said, "I don't know how many people are looking for you all over the world. As far as I know, even the eldest son of Zhonglesi couldn't sit still."

"Qian Guowei? What does he want with me?" Hu Shutong asked, seemingly puzzled.

"You don't know yet, do you? Chambers couldn't stand the infighting between the two factions in the family anymore, so he simply gave two portions of capital to his two sons, letting them start their own businesses. Anyway, the demand for container trucks is strong, so there's not much to worry about in terms of business. Qian Guowei started Weihui Vehicle Refrigeration Co., Ltd., and he's been asking me about you for a while now."

Hu Shutong couldn't help but recall the plan he had shown Chambers in the park. He had to admit that if Weihui could apply his approach to the workshop, it would be very competitive.

"With your exceptional skills, Qian Guowei definitely doesn't want his younger brother to fall behind. But let's make it clear beforehand that there's an order to things."

"rest assured."

"They've prepared everything you need. Why don't you just come with me to Minghe? You know how tight the schedule is."

Hu Shutong closed his eyes immediately, and he didn't want to respond to anything Qi Zhendong said.

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.