Twenty years of cold chain

Chapter 31 Scholarship is a Vision

Hu Shutong walked all the way from the Minghe Group headquarters back to Mingda, a distance of more than ten kilometers.

He was extremely frustrated, never expecting such an experience. This was his first time dealing with a company, and all he got in return was disappointment.

On the way, Hu Shutong kept thinking about how to respond to Pang Shiyou. If he said that Qi Zhendong was stubborn and self-willed, pushing all the responsibility onto him, and that it takes two to tango, then he would seem irresponsible. If he said that the plan was not concise enough and that Pang Shiyou had also seen it, then he was worried about embarrassing his teacher.

As night fell, Hu Shutong went to Pang Shiyou's office. He decided to recount the entire meeting to his teacher without offering any interpretation. Pang Shiyou remained calm throughout, which only made Hu Shutong more uneasy.

"Shutong, if I go with you today, or if I explain this plan to you, do you think it will be approved?"

"With the teacher involved, it'll definitely work!"

Pang Shiyou nodded and smiled, "They'll give me plenty of face at the meeting, they won't even look at the other two plans, and then we'll leave satisfied."

"Everyone admires the teacher, but I am too inexperienced to speak up."

"But I want to tell you that after we leave the meeting room, there will be a small meeting, and ultimately the schedule they use will still come from one group."

"Why is that?" Hu Shutong asked in surprise.

"Sometimes, academia is about vision; what you see is the most ideal, hoping that every result can be adopted and quickly used in the field. But in reality, it's far from that. Companies have their own way of doing things, and the older the company, the more it believes in its own way. For us, you could say they say one thing to your face and another behind your back. I've experienced this too many times."

"There's one thing you need to understand: we can only offer advice, we have no decision-making power. Academia is academia, and business is business; many things are beyond our control. Every company has its complexities, and internal power dynamics can complicate matters further. If I told you that Minghe's technical team consists of Qi Zhendong's former subordinates, constantly gaining influence over matters in the southern suburbs, would that make sense to you?"

In an instant, Hu Shutong understood everything. It has to be said that Pang Shiyou's arrangement opened up a profound perspective for Hu Shutong. He used to think that the achievements of Mingda University would definitely be highly valued, but this incident made him realize that many interpersonal relationships and fine food and wine can wear down many things. Once things get down to the details, sometimes there is no academic matter at all.

"Back in 79, I was doing the planning for a controlled atmosphere storage facility in the city. I still vividly remember how dedicated I was, working day and night. Conditions were tough back then. I ate only one taro a day to make the plan. It took more than three months. Just when construction was about to begin, the boss's wife said that pig farms would be more profitable. The next day, I went to try to persuade them. I argued with them that pig farms were everywhere, and a controlled atmosphere storage facility only stored food and didn't transport it, so it must be very profitable. But they all pretended not to know who I was."

Pang Shiyou once again recounted his past to Hu Shutong, a story that was heartbreaking to hear. "So, if every plan and every opinion we have could be implemented, things would become simpler. But that's the process, because everyone's starting point is different."

"Teacher, I understand."

"But we must give our all to every collaborative project. This is being responsible to ourselves and to our knowledge. If we think that no matter how hard we try, it will not be adopted, so why bother putting in the effort? After three, five, or even dozens of such incidents, we will change."

Hu Shutong nodded emphatically, "Don't worry, teacher, I will do my job well."

He then couldn't suppress his doubts and asked, "Teacher, since Minghe has already decided on the plan, why did he still invite us?"

Pang Shiyou stared intently for a moment, "Perhaps it's a win-win situation. They're trying to express something; this Minghe Group is no ordinary company."

Pang Shiyou suddenly opened the drawer, took out a small mesh bag about the size of a palm, and inside were a few pieces of milk candy. "I went to the wedding of my old friend Da Sun a few days ago, and my teeth can't handle the sweetness anymore, so I'm giving you this bag of candy."

Hu Shutong held the candy, a warm feeling suddenly welling up inside him. Pang Shiyou couldn't help but laugh when he saw his expression. "That's right. Don't let unhappy things take up too much of our time, because as long as we keep going, good things will definitely happen. Look at this."

Hu Shutong took the approval letter, glanced at it, and was immediately overjoyed. "The refrigerated food laboratory is complete!"

Pang Shiyou smiled and said, "It's approved. You deserve credit for this, and I want to share it with you in person. However, I also made a commitment to a major project to ensure sufficient funding. The refrigerated food laboratory will be located in the laboratory building at the University of Mingda. There are still some procedures to go through, plus laboratory expansion, equipment procurement and debugging. I expect it to officially start at the end of March next year."

Hu Shutong frowned slightly. Pang Shiyou once said that if the refrigerated food laboratory was approved, only top talents in the cold chain industry would be able to enter, and this team would also be responsible for the technical group of the South Suburb Logistics Park.

The problem lies in the timing, because April 1st is precisely the date when the two teams moved into the southern suburbs.

Pang Shiyou saw Hu Shutong's doubts. "The South Suburb Industrial Park is a key provincial project. We must mobilize our most elite forces to fully support it. However, we cannot be controlled by the company and tied there for a long time. The technical team can arrange work according to the schedule, instead of being on standby like the company's internal staff."

"Teacher, this project wasn't a pledge; you must have volunteered for it, right?"

Pang Shiyou snorted, "Don't interrupt."

"This is a major issue that cannot be covered by the provincial level. It will make a significant contribution to food safety. With this project as a support, the South Suburb Industrial Park will have something to say. We can use this as our base and provide technical support at key points, so we won't have to spend so much time at that hotel."

"The teacher is brilliant!"

Hu Shutong vaguely sensed a hint of a power struggle. It was not hard to tell from Pang Shiyou's words that Minghe Group wanted to take complete control of Mingda's technical team with a fierce and aggressive attitude. The events before and after suddenly connected in his mind, and Hu Shutong also gained some understanding.

Just then, Xiao Wu walked in. For some reason, he kept staring at Hu Shutong's hand. Hu Shutong was holding the candy, unsure whether to hide it or show it, creating a very strange scene.

Suddenly, Pang Shiyou saw him reprimanding Hu Shutong with a serious expression, "That's enough, this is the fourth pack!"

Hu Shutong knew he couldn't stay there any longer, so he stuffed the candy into his pocket and hurried out.

As soon as I stepped outside, I heard Xiao Wu earnestly advising me, "Professor, so many people have told me not to eat candy, why are you..."

"I didn't eat any! I gave it all to Hu Shutong!"

"Does Hu Shutong also lack energy if she doesn't eat sugar?"

"What did you expect? Besides, didn't I say I could eat one a week? Now I don't have any left. Go weigh out two pounds for me tomorrow!"

"Two...two jin?"

"I'll eat two ounces, and give the rest to him."

Hu Shutong was so embarrassed by this situation that his mouth was practically stretched all the way to Mozi County.

……