Inheriting a dilapidated ranch in North America, he became a billionaire through animal taming and t

Back at the main house, Su Chen sat down in the study.

Turn on your computer and bring up a floor plan of the ranch.

There is an open space to the west of the processing room.

It's right next to the slaughter area, a good location.

Emma stood beside her, watching the screen.

"This plot of land is about 200 square meters, enough to build a small cold chain center."

Su Chen zoomed in on the blueprint and drew a rectangle on the empty ground with his finger.

"Four areas: refrigerated area, frozen area, buffer room, and equipment room."

"The cold storage area is used to store fresh meat that is about to be delivered, and the temperature is controlled between zero and four degrees Celsius."

"The freezer compartment is for long-term storage of meat products, at -18 degrees Celsius."

"The buffer zone serves as a transition area for incoming and outgoing goods, preventing the loss of cold air."

"The equipment room houses the refrigeration units and control systems."

Emma drew a sketch in her notebook, marking the approximate location of each area.

Su Chen opened his bank account and glanced at the balance.

More than seventeen million US dollars.

He set aside two million and made a separate entry for it.

"Is a budget of two million for cold chain infrastructure and equipment procurement enough?"

Emma did the math.

"That's enough. I asked the state's livestock equipment supplier, and a medium-sized variable frequency refrigeration unit costs about 400,000."

"Including the insulation material for the warehouse, air ducts, sensors, and backup power supplies, the total cost of the equipment is around 800,000 yuan."

"The construction cost, labor, and auxiliary materials can be covered within 500,000 yuan."

"The remainder is reserved for operations and contingency funds."

Su Chen nodded.

"Contact Mike and have him come over."

Emma made a phone call, and Mike said he would be there in half an hour.

During this time, Su Chen asked Emma to draw the cold chain layout in more detail.

Sufficient passageways should be left in the refrigerated area to facilitate the entry and exit of carts.

The freezer compartment doesn't need to be too large; it's mainly for storing spare meat products and emergency stockpiles.

The buffer zone is equipped with two doors, which are linked together to prevent the loss of cold air.

The equipment room is located in a corner of the cold chain, away from the main passage, for easy maintenance.

Mike arrived, carrying a tape measure and a notebook.

Su Chen led him to the open space on the west side of the processing room and explained his needs.

Mike stood in the open space and looked around at the surroundings.

"Mr. Su, the key to cold chain logistics is insulation and moisture protection."

"An insulation layer needs to be installed on the ground, otherwise the cold air will escape downwards, the ground will freeze and crack, and the warehouse will deform."

"Polyurethane sandwich panels are used for the walls, which have good thermal insulation and are quick to install."

"The roof needs to be waterproofed and insulated to prevent excessive cooling load caused by direct sunlight in summer."

Su Chen asked, "Can the foundation bear the weight?"

Mike crouched down and tapped the ground with his hand.

"The soil here is okay, but we need to add an insulation layer."

"Ten-centimeter-thick extruded polystyrene board, with steel mesh laid on top, and then concrete poured."

"This way, the ground is both warm and sturdy, and the cart won't break even if you walk back and forth."

Su Chen nodded.

"One more thing, if we plan to expand later, can this land be reserved for future expansion?"

Mike looked around the open space.

"There's still a vacant lot to the west, but we don't need it right now."

"But if we want to expand in the future, we can extend the cold chain westward directly."

"As long as the main pipes, cables, and drainage systems are buried in advance."

"Reserve interfaces so that the wall won't need to be demolished for future expansion."

Su Chen asked Emma to write it down.

Juan came over from the livestock shed and asked what was wrong.

Su Chen pointed to the open space.

"We're going to build a cold chain facility on this land. You take some people to clear away the debris and level the ground. The construction team will start work tomorrow."

Juan went to call Luis, and the two began moving the debris from the edge of the open space.

A few old wooden stakes, a pile of broken bricks, and discarded barbed wire were all loaded onto a pickup truck and taken away.

Black Fang led his wolf pack on patrol around the ranch, while Ling Feng circled in the sky.

Mike took out the blueprints and began to draw a construction sketch of the cold chain.

The foundation area, insulation layer thickness, wall location, and equipment room orientation are all clearly marked.

Su Chen stood to the side watching.

"The cold chain needs to be connected to the ranch's intelligent management system, so that mobile phones can check the temperature, humidity, and equipment operating status."

"Automatic alarm will be triggered if any abnormality is detected."

Mike looked up at him.

"We need to find an equipment manufacturer and have them equip the controller with a communication module, the kind that can connect to the internet."

Emma was taking notes.

"I asked that when I contacted the equipment supplier."

"They have a matching intelligent monitoring system that allows for remote monitoring; all you need to do is install an app on your phone."

Su Chen nodded.

Mike estimated the construction period.

"Three days for foundation work, five days for main structure installation, and two days for equipment debugging."

"Add one more day for finishing touches, and it will be ready for use in eleven days."

"But the equipment can only be debugged after the unit arrives, and the total construction period is about thirteen days."

Su Chen said, "Thirteen days, try to get it ahead of schedule."

Mike put away the blueprints and went back to prepare construction materials and equipment.

Emma returned to the main house and sorted out the ranch's existing delivery needs.

John's store has ten customers per month, and each of the five high-end restaurants has two customers per month.

That makes twenty.

Kalispel's two potential clients haven't signed contracts yet, but each wants at least one head per month.

Including Pierre's side, one head a week, four heads a month.

In total, at least twenty-six top-quality cattle are needed each month.

Emma wrote the numbers in her notebook and showed them to Su Chen.

Su Chen glanced at it but didn't say anything.

The size of the cattle herd needs to be expanded.

Cold chain logistics is just the first step; what needs to be added next is production capacity.

The veterinarian, having heard about the plan to build a cold chain, came to the main house to find Su Chen.

"Mr. Su, the preservation requirements for premium beef are very high."

"Within one hour of slaughter, the animals must be placed in a pre-cooling room to lower the core temperature to between zero and four degrees Celsius."

"The temperature must be maintained throughout the entire process of dividing, packaging, and boxing."

"Transport vehicles must also be equipped with temperature control systems to ensure that the temperature inside the vehicle remains consistent with the cold chain."

Su Chen said:

"These are all in the plan. The pre-cooling room will be converted from the existing processing room and equipped with refrigeration equipment."

"We'll rent pickup trucks with constant temperature systems for the initial transport, and then buy refrigerated trucks when the volume increases."

He nodded.

"Another detail is that beef continues to release its acidity when refrigerated."

"Storing at 0 to 4 degrees Celsius for 48 hours will bring out the best flavor and tenderness."

"You want your customers to eat meat in its best condition."

"You could suggest they don't eat it right away after receiving it, but let it sit for a couple more days."

Emma wrote it down, intending to include it in the delivery instructions later.

Luis and Juan finished clearing the open space.

The ground was level, and all the gravel and weeds were cleared away.

Su Chen went over and took a look, confirming that there was no problem.

Old Jack walked over from the guardhouse.

"Mr. Su, should we install surveillance cameras at the cold chain entrance?"

"It's connected to the ranch's security system, so that if someone approaches in the middle of the night, it can be detected in time."

Su Chen thought it made sense.

"Install two more LED lights around the cold chain area, which will automatically turn on at night."

Old Jack wrote it down and said he would tell Mike when the construction team arrived.

Dazhuang stood up from the entrance of the breeding area and slowly walked to the cold chain site selection area.

She lowered her head and sniffed the ground, then looked up at Su Chen.

Su Chen walked over and patted its head.

"A cold chain facility is going to be built here. Don't go near it during construction; it's noisy and dusty."

Dazhuang snorted and turned to walk back to the entrance of the breeding area.

Lie down and keep your eyes fixed on the front.

Ling Feng descended from the sky, landed on Su Chen's shoulder, and preened his wings with his beak.

Black Fang ran over from the north side of the ranch, carrying a dead rat in his mouth, and threw it at Su Chen's feet.

Su Chen looked down.

"Discovered during patrol?"

Black Fang wagged its tail.

Su Chen didn't ask any more questions and let Hei Feng continue patrolling.

Emma came out of the main house with a printed cold chain floor plan in her hand.

"Su Chen, the drawings are finished. Take a look and see if there are any changes needed."

Su Chen took it and looked at it carefully.

The refrigerated area is 80 square meters, the frozen area is 40 square meters, and the buffer room is 30 square meters.

The equipment room is 20 square meters, and the rest is a passageway and loading/unloading area.

The workflow is reasonable, with workers coming out of the processing room, entering the buffer room, and then being distributed to the refrigerated or frozen areas.

When loading, the truck is pushed directly from the refrigerated area to the transport vehicle, without backtracking.

He nodded.

"That's settled."

Emma marked the date on the drawing and put it in the filing cabinet.

Su Chen stood on the open ground, looking at the site where construction was about to begin.

Once the cold chain is established, beef from Sunset Ranch can be delivered to Kalispel and Bozeman.

Even further away.

He turned and walked toward the main house.

Push open the door to the main house.

On the desk in the study, there was a list of delivery requests compiled by Emma.

He sat down and looked at the list.

Twenty-six heads—that's just the beginning.

It was dark outside the window.

Juan and Luis set up a cordon on the open ground west of the processing area.

They used wooden stakes and ropes to fence off the construction area.

Su Chen leaned back in his chair.

Once the cold chain is established and delivery capabilities are in place, high-end channels can truly be opened up.

The collaboration with Pierre can now be finalized.

The construction team will arrive tomorrow.

......

The next day, Mike led the construction crew into the ranch.

Eight people, three utility vehicles, fully loaded with steel bars, cement, insulation boards and construction equipment.

Su Chen waited at the entrance of the processing room, and when he saw Mike get out of the car, he walked over.

"Can we start excavating the foundation today?"

Mike put on his helmet.

We walked to the middle of the cold chain site selection.

He stomped his foot on the ground.

"Yes, you had Juan clean the site yesterday, which saved half a day's work."

"We can start laying out the lines and excavating now, and we can finish digging the foundation pit before dark."

Workers unload tools from the vehicle.

The surveyor held a measuring tape and lime powder.

Draw the outline of the foundation on the ground according to the blueprint.

Mike pointed to the drawn lines and explained to Su Chen.

"Dig the foundation pit to a depth of 80 centimeters, lay a 20-centimeter layer of crushed stone at the bottom, and compact it."

"Pour a 10-centimeter-thick concrete base layer on top."

"After it dries, lay a 15-centimeter-long layer of extruded polystyrene insulation board."

"Lay a steel mesh on top of the insulation layer, and then pour a 25-centimeter-thick concrete surface layer."

"This way, the floor is both heat-insulating and load-bearing, and it won't crack when the cart is pushed back and forth."

Su Chen asked, "Is 15 centimeters of insulation enough?"

Mike nodded.

"That's enough. For cold chain floor insulation, 10 centimeters is the standard, and 15 centimeters is for reinforcement."

"Your storage unit isn't very big; 15 centimeters is more than enough, and the air conditioning won't escape downwards."

The excavator started digging the hole.

The rumbling sound echoed through the pasture.