Twenty years of cold chain

Chapter 48 Fish on a Wooden Stove

In the afternoon, in the largest conference room of the Huihong Hotel.

The banner read "Technical Equipment Communication Meeting of Minghe Group South Suburb Logistics Park". Seven key leaders sat in front of a row of tables on the stage, with Qi Zhendong, the group's vice president in charge of technology, sitting at the far end.

The audience was filled with Minghe staff, including representatives from engineering, technology, marketing, procurement, and distribution. The equipment team from Longshan University consisted of seven people, while the technical team only sent five: Pang Shiyou, Hu Shutong, Li Zhou, and two other experts.

The two teams sat down next to each other, with Hu Shutong and Luan Pingxin sitting close together.

Luan Pingxin frowned as she looked at the banner in the distance. "Shutong, I don't see any intention of communication at all. Instead, the leaders are all sitting on the stage, as if they are assigning tasks."

Hu Shutong shared the same feeling. The so-called technical and equipment teams were mixed in with Minghe's employees, and the scene was that they either listened to reports or received tasks.

"Let's take a look first."

"Anyway, I just hope it doesn't drag on. I'd be grateful if they could release me within a month at most."

Just then, staff members approached the two groups and placed a thick stack of materials, nearly ten centimeters thick, on each person. Hu Shutong's stack was labeled "Engineering Materials Procurement Warehouse," while Luan Pingxin's was labeled "Engineering Equipment Procurement Warehouse."

Following this, Qi Zhendong spoke first on stage, "First of all, I would like to thank Professor Pang and Professor Cheng's two professional teams for their hands-on advice and suggestions for the South Suburb Industrial Park. What you see now are the material and equipment suppliers that the group has collected. However, due to the uneven quality, the group's internal screening of these suppliers is not satisfactory. Therefore, I would like to ask the two teams to sort out a feasible procurement plan before the materials and equipment arrive on site. Thank you for your hard work."

The two teams immediately whispered among themselves, realizing that they didn't need face-to-face discussions; they could simply act as Minghe's "sieve." At first glance, things seemed simpler, but soon people discovered a problem.

There are simply too many components required for the construction of a cold storage facility. If all of them were purchased separately, Minghe would have at least thirty suppliers. While the cost of purchasing them separately is not a big deal, it is more appropriate for some materials to be supplied by a single professional supplier. Even many of the senior experts present here have never heard of such an operation.

However, what happened next left no room for doubt. The leaders on the stage began to assign tasks to various departments within Minghe, speaking in a sharp tone and almost constantly using the word "must," making the atmosphere in the entire conference room tense and severe.

After the meeting, neither group wasted any time and immediately went about their respective tasks.

That evening, Luan Pingxin was in turmoil, feeling that she had been deceived. When she was invited, it was described as a key project, a demonstration project, hoping to receive support from professional universities and provide forward-looking and constructive advice on equipment procurement.

Upon arrival, however, they found themselves sifting through a fixed sand pile, picking through stones. What they expected was a detailed equipment plan turned out to be a tightly controlled system with no room for the equipment team to maneuver.

The members of Longda's team were all far more experienced than Luan Pingxin, and they had only met once before. In addition, the place was called a hotel, but it was actually more like Minghe's office building, which made Luan Pingxin feel uncomfortable.

"Shutong, which floor does your group live on? Shall we go down for a walk?"

"Pingxin, actually we don't need to stay there. The teacher has already communicated with us beforehand, and we can't let go of things in the lab."

"What! Why didn't you say so sooner?" Luan Pingxin immediately became anxious. "I'm leaving too! I'm sure I can get away with this!"

"They went back, but I didn't leave. See you downstairs in ten minutes."

"You're really kind of you!"

"Wear something warmer."

Luan Pingxin didn't ask any more questions. She was quite straightforward. She put on a white down jacket with a hood, a scarf, and gloves, and went to a tree in front of the building. The car headlights reflected a large, white snowman.

To her utter surprise, Hu Shutong actually rode a motorcycle and handed Luan Pingxin a helmet before getting on.

"Where did you get it?"

"My roommate is overseeing a project here, so I'm borrowing his."

"So, you've been staying here ever since the meeting started?"

"Of course, Miss Luan is all alone in this place, so I'm at least half a local."

"What if I don't call you?"

"How could I forget my promise?"

"What do you mean?"

"Fish cooked over a wood-fired stove, let's set off!"

Luan Pingxin's mood immediately improved. She got into the car and put her arm around Hu Shutong from behind as the two headed towards the city.

There were many places without lights along the way, and it was the chill of early spring, with a cold wind blowing at night. Yet, this was the most at ease Luan Pingxin had felt since arriving in Mingyuan. The moon was rising, its light flickering like a shadow puppet through the gaps in the tree trunks.

The bus ride takes a little over an hour, but a motorcycle ride would take less than half an hour. When we arrived at the fish restaurant, it was decorated like a stove, with charcoal fire rising from the stove, instantly creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

They ordered a carp and three side dishes. The restaurant was playing the currently popular song "You'll Be With Me All My Life," and the gloom of the day was swept away. Luan Pingxin rested her chin on her hand and couldn't help but stare at Hu Shutong for a moment. She suddenly realized how peaceful this time was, like a lake island where she could rest for a while.

For two people with science and engineering backgrounds, the conversation naturally turned to practical matters, technology, and a level of mutual understanding that others couldn't match.

"We had already met to discuss today's work before meeting you. Everyone had a general overview of that equipment warehouse. Overall, there's not much use for Longda's technical team here. When we first heard the news, our first reaction was that it was all about imports. Not to mention a park of this size, there are many cases of imported cold storage facilities with capacities of 10,000 or even 5,000 tons. But the equipment warehouse we received is full of domestic products."

The word "imported" resonated with Hu Shutong. He had already considered this idea when he learned about the project in the southern suburbs; the difference lay in choosing which supplier to import from. For such a large-scale project, involving a 20-30 year upgrade cycle, using imported equipment to reduce energy consumption was a better cost-effective option.

Currently, domestic technologies such as compressor evaporators are not yet mature. As core components, their development has far-reaching consequences. We only started developing these technologies in the 1990s, and there are still many areas where we need to overcome challenges. The South Suburb Industrial Park is of great significance; its smooth operation is essential to benefiting people's livelihoods and ensuring convenient access to all areas.

"Judging from your appearance, the ingredients are about the same, aren't they?"

Hu Shutong nodded, "It's even more outrageous. Can you imagine that Koning, Boye, and Wanma are not even in Minghe's materials database?"

Luan Pingxin frowned deeply. "What... exactly is Minghe trying to do?"

The three companies that Hu Shutong mentioned are among the best in China’s insulation technology field, each with its own overall insulation technology solutions, but what he saw were small and medium-sized suppliers.

Considering Yu Dajun's words, it has to be said that the South Suburb Industrial Park has truly changed its nature.

……