Twenty years of cold chain

Hu Shutong's report plan is divided into two parts. The first is to build an "agricultural product trading center", which will concentrate vegetables harvested from the fields in the park, creating an open platform for agricultural product production areas in various regions, and with strong storage functions, transforming it into an agricultural product trading base.

The second is "cold chain distribution of agricultural products," which supplies agricultural products to vegetable supermarkets and farmers' markets in Qingyan City and surrounding counties. The two complement each other, greatly reducing the intermediate links in the initial circulation of agricultural products. Relying on the park, agricultural products can go directly from the fields to the market.

To realize this chain, Hu Shutong pioneered the "field assembly warehouse scheme". He divided the areas where vegetable production was most concentrated in the five counties and set up radial assembly warehouses with the principle of "no more than ten kilometers away".

In this way, Hu Shutong largely solved the round-trip costs of refrigerated trucks. Relying on assembly warehouses with a capacity of thousands of tons or even larger, a front-end station for vegetables in the fields was formed, and then goods were centrally and uniformly allocated according to immediate demand. This truly put into practice a "first mile" model, allowing vegetables to leave the fields in a timely manner and connecting warehouses to warehouses, minimizing waste caused by agricultural products being left in the fields.

After outlining the model, Hu Shutong moved on to the park planning, a field he was most familiar with. This land, covering 190 acres—equivalent to 17 football fields—could only be considered a medium-sized logistics park in the long run. Currently, large-scale industrial parks of thousands of acres are already in the planning stages in first-tier cities across China, far exceeding the scale of economic zones like Panhu Fishing Port.

In addition to several fixed functional areas, such as the pre-cooling warehouse, the refrigerated storage area with a temperature range of -7°C to 0°C, and the frozen storage area with a temperature range of -30°C to -18°C, Hu Shutong emphasized the systematic operation of the entire park, which is a chain both externally and internally. Information technology was integrated into the distribution of agricultural products, barcode management, and systematic inventory management from the very beginning.

The entire process of monitoring the freshness of agricultural products enables precise management, reduces storage costs, and makes transportation temperatures visible. These features laid the foundation for Hu Shutong's final strategic explanation.

We need a modern cold chain. Besides the need for advancements in the cold chain itself, it is also an indispensable aid to modern agriculture. Modern agriculture requires modern distribution, which is irreplaceable in bridging the gap between urban and rural areas, enhancing urban-rural interaction, improving the commercialization and marketization of agricultural products, and realizing the transformation and added value of agricultural and sideline products.

The 90-page proposal was completed in mid-May. According to Lei Xiaoxi, there was no on-site report process this time. Hu Shutong only needed to submit the proposal, which would then be reviewed by the planning bureau and submitted again. A final decision would be made after considering the opinions of all parties.

When Hu Shutong arrived at the Qingyan City Planning Bureau, Lei Xiaoxi spent more than ten minutes reading through the plan before nodding in approval. Lei Xiaoxi didn't offer any opinion on the plan itself, but instead inquired about Hu Shutong's situation at Mingyuan. In truth, it was obvious that Hu Shutong had spent nearly half a year in his hometown dealing with this matter, and naturally, he had a lot of things to do at the university, the most pressing being his master's thesis.

Seeing this, Hu Shutong didn't discuss the plan further. While the two chatted casually, Lei Xiaoxi's heart began to pound. When such a plan was presented to him, he couldn't help but feel another kind of worry. It wasn't Hu Shutong's fault; on the contrary, this kind of plan was exactly what he, a person skilled in academics, was looking for.

Lei Xiaoxi had oversimplified things. When he learned of this excellent location, Hu Shutong immediately came to mind, believing it to be the perfect stage for him. A phone call later, they hit it off immediately, and Hu Shutong swiftly took action.

This plan is not about a few warehouses or a few vehicles, nor is it about points and lines; it involves a vast area.

However, interest-free loans have limits. Lei Xiaoxi thought about it for a moment and realized that with Hu Shutong's grand vision, the amount of money borrowed wouldn't even be enough to fill the coffers.

"Shutong, have you calculated how much this park will cost?"

"Director Lei, as long as it gets approved, I can get things moving."

For the first time in so many years, Lei Xiaoxi began to doubt Hu Shutong's words, even if it was just the so-called "first phase" in Hu Shutong's plan, the total number would be astonishing.

Hu Shutong's family background was also listed in his resume, further highlighting the impracticality of this grand ideal. If there were investments from family or businesses, it would undoubtedly increase the planning bureau's confidence.

Seeing Lei Xiaoxi remain silent, Hu Shutong continued, "Director Lei, please do your best to help us. This path has a bright future. If things go well, we will need your continued support in various channels, such as farmers' markets."

Lei Xiaoxi was quite agitated, yet these words also stirred his imagination. Of course, he hoped to fulfill Hu Shutong's vision. But then he thought that he himself had started this whole thing, and it was somewhat unfair to dig out the "key issue" only now. The more he thought about it, the more difficult it became to speak.

"Don't worry, I will do everything in my power, including regarding the loan!"

Hu Shutong stood up to express his gratitude, saying, "We'll wait for your news!"

After leaving the planning bureau, Hu Shutong arrived at Qingyan No. 6 Middle School.

In less than a month, Hu Yuntong will be taking the college entrance examination.

In the years since graduating from university, Hu Shutong has had very little communication with her younger brother. She is usually busy with various things and has even forgotten her brother's birthday twice. She only goes home once every two years. For so many years, her brother has been taking care of their parents. Every time she is away from home, she hears that everything is going well at home. But every family has its emergencies, they just don't know it.

"elder brother!"

With a joyful shout, Hu Yuntong looked up and ran quickly to his brother.

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.