Twenty years of cold chain

Chapter 40: Traveling Together

The dinner prepared by the Hu family for Luan Pingxin was much more lavish than the one on the day Hu Shutong returned. There were four hot dishes, two cold dishes, and they even bought drinks and made soup.

At first, Luan Pingxin seemed quite reserved, but the atmosphere of the Hu family made her feel comfortable, and with Hu's mother's authentic cooking skills, she gradually relaxed. How could Luan Pingxin not see that the Hu family had gone to great lengths to welcome her, and such hospitality should not be treated with pretense?

The father, who was usually so eloquent, was speechless, and the mother was even more at a loss for words, only able to keep putting food on Luan Pingxin's plate.

After dinner, Hu Shutong rode his bicycle home with Luan Pingxin on the back.

It was a bit cold, so I put on the gloves and scarf that Luan Pingxin had given me and walked towards the center of the county.

Every now and then, you could hear people setting off firecrackers. It wasn't the New Year yet, so everyone was setting them off less, but there were still many people, and the back-and-forth created a lively atmosphere. Wealthy families would set off flashbangs, which would explode in the sky, leaving a sliver of light.

"Shutong, I often wonder, what will you do after you graduate with your master's degree?"

"Why are you asking this question too? What do you think I should do?"

"Let's open a design studio. The refrigeration unit is the heart of the machine, so I'll manage that part, and you can handle the rest of the framework."

Hu Shutong laughed, "That's a great idea, we're sure to make a profit."

"Absolutely. Back then, my dad hired some shady design agencies that cost 10,000 yuan each. When we did design work for others, tailoring to individual needs was a given, and each design would start at 20,000 yuan. Not to mention, we only got two projects a month. No company could offer that kind of salary."

Luan Pingxin thought of this topic because of her experience today. In high school, discussions were often written down just to complete assignments. But now, it makes one realize that what they did could truly be put into practice and transformed into something useful.

Of course, she was just saying that; even if Hu Shutong had this idea, it would be difficult for her to leave scientific research.

"But let's forget about it. One design can't satisfy your ambitions."

"Pingxin, please don't use the word 'scope' (格局), I'm terrified of that word."

Luan Pingxin smiled. "Why?"

"The moment you hear this word, you think of someone who is over forty, and who doesn't see mountains as mountains or water as water. There's also a sense of distance from above, which makes them feel uneasy and uneasy. They might even be deceiving themselves by putting themselves on a pedestal."

"Shutong, if we keep walking like this, when will we see the light?"

Hu Shutong turned around for a moment and met Luan Pingxin's bright eyelashes. "What do you mean by 'just us'? I know a big shot who builds cold storage facilities, a big boss who makes seafood, and a big manager of refrigerated trucks. They're all just like us, scrambling to get ahead."

"Big shot, big boss, big manager, honestly, just how big are you bragging about?"

Hu Shutong laughed heartily, pedaled hard, and said, "Where there's a road, there are companions; many hands make light work. There are plenty of people like us!"

Luan Pingxin laughed from behind, "You've always had a great attitude."

Suddenly, a few snowflakes fell, seeping through the gaps in the roadside branches and landing in Luan Pingxin's palm. Before long, the earth was covered in white, and the wheels of a vehicle left shallow ruts.

There were hardly any people along the way, and you could hear the rustling sound of snowflakes blowing among the branches.

Luan Pingxin looked back at the road she had come from, at the snowflakes, and at the occasional bursts of fireworks.

She quickly turned her head again to look at Hu Shutong's not-so-broad back.

"Let's go, we're all in this together, how difficult can it be?"

……

After that, Hu Shutong and Luan Pingxin devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the project. Their tacit understanding was evident, and during the drafting process, they did not mention Qiang Rui's proposal at all, but instead tried their best to make it a product of the two of them.

This process is very complex. They must build a framework based on their core principles, including injecting a completely new perspective into the initial market analysis based on the content, and presenting it persuasively.

The two were acting strangely. Whenever they couldn't make sense of something, Hu Shutong would walk around the room, making people dizzy, while Luan Pingxin would turn her back and mutter to herself. Sometimes, after asking for a long time, Hu Shutong felt like he was talking to the wall.

Some things only become apparent during detailed discussions. Luan Pingxin emphasized cost reduction, stating that under the premise of compliance, the lower the company's costs, the more competitive the solution will be, and only when the solution is approved can it be widely adopted. Hu Shutong, however, was repeatedly exploring a "reasonable value." He believed that companies have room for fluctuation, and if this solution could reach the upper limit of the reasonable value, companies would be able to accept it, and the level of the assembly warehouse would also improve.

In this clash, Luan Pingxin was eventually persuaded by Hu Shutong. This made things more difficult, but in the long run, this balance was very valuable. Gradually, Luan Pingxin also understood Hu Shutong's intention: they were merely advisors, and no one had the right to make decisions. Therefore, simply suppressing them might not be wise.

In fact, Hu Shutong already had an understanding of the matters between companies; there were some mysteries involved that could not be comprehended without firsthand experience.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the plan had reached its final stage, and the two of them had timed it perfectly.

Lei Xiaoxi received a reassuring reply from the two men, and the bidding time was also set for the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.

On New Year's Eve, Hu Shutong called Pang Shiyou's private number.

"Happy Chinese New Year, teacher."

"When will you be back?"

"I've already celebrated the Lantern Festival."

"No! The latest is the eighth day!"

"Teacher, I need to submit a bid for an assembly warehouse project for the county, which involves subsequent investment cooperation, so could you please postpone it for a few days?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, then a questioning voice suddenly rang out, "I remember..."

"Teacher, do you have any suggestions?"

"I remember there's a famous milk candy maker in Qingyan, what's his name again?"

Hu Shutong couldn't help but smile. "Okay, I'll bring it to you."

……