novelhk Chapter 10 Every family does this
Chapter 10 Every family does this
"Forty minutes from now," Yu Dajun said, glancing at his watch.
Why is that?
"How am I supposed to answer that? Every family does it this way. You can treat it as a rule that drivers must strictly follow."
"Brother Dajun, we can't skimp on things now."
Hu Shutong couldn't understand; the scene before him was far more shocking than what he had just experienced in the reservoir area.
"If we don't save money now, when will we? With so many vehicles, the cumulative savings over time, including equipment wear and tear, fuel costs, and electricity bills, can amount to a significant sum of money."
"Does every household do this?"
"What else can we do? This industry requires a large investment and has a slow return. The most urgent thing is not how much we can earn, but to survive. It's especially difficult in Tianheng."
"The dumplings are coming up. If they thaw and then freeze, won't the skins fall apart when you boil them?"
"What's wrong with dumplings? Ice cream gets the same treatment too. Don't worry, it'll be fine if you don't get cold in a little while. Think about it, if things like this kept happening, the sky would have fallen long ago."
Hu Shutong was speechless. Sure enough, Yu Dajun didn't turn on the refrigeration unit until more than ten minutes before they left the supermarket. This kind of fully equipped refrigerated truck is powered by an engine and has an independent compressor, condenser, evaporator, etc. It's like a mobile mini cold storage. Turning it on really means starting to burn money.
Upon arriving at the supermarket, promotional banners were already up, and all the refrigerated display cases were empty. No one was checking temperatures; several workers were stationed there, and the goods were moved into the display cases overnight.
On the way back, they remained silent. Hu Shutong opened the car window, but couldn't see a ray of light. Theory alone is insufficient; compared to what had happened in his hometown, this was a profoundly different understanding. Hu Shutong's face was filled with worry. What kind of power could penetrate these cracks and turn the tide?
These days, Yu Dajun has been incredibly happy. In the morning, he goes to the cafeteria to get bread slices, which he then eats with sweet jam. At noon, he has pickled vegetables that are very appetizing. In the evening, he drinks a little wine with peanuts and pickled meat, and before going to bed, he can eat some dried fruit to sober up.
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about this intern in the factory, no matter what people say. Yu Dajun takes good care of Hu Shutong. Whenever he hears any criticism, he just needs to use his seniority to grumble a few times and people won't dare to say anything more.
He would bring back two portions of food for each of his three meals a day, neatly dividing them between himself and Hu Shutong. He didn't need Hu Shutong's permission to eat things like jam and cured meat; he would open the next jar as soon as he finished the previous one. Before, the house was a bit messy because of his living there, but since Hu Shutong moved in, he had made an effort to tidy it up. At least his socks wouldn't be soaking for days, and his shorts wouldn't be hanging there blocking the sun all the time.
More than ten days later, on a weekend, Tianheng Cold Chain was harassed by people coming to their door.
Hu Shutong's worst fears came true. The owner of Chunhui Supermarket came in person to demand an explanation because many customers had returned their goods. According to the customers, the dumplings they bought broke apart as soon as they were cooked, turning into a soupy mess. "We've been in this business for more than a year or two and have never encountered such a problem before. This time, it must be because they weren't refrigerated enough during transportation, and they thawed and then refrozen, which is why they couldn't be cooked properly."
Tianheng's cold storage is temperature-controlled at night, partly because the outside temperature drops and partly because no new goods are being stored. That day, there were few people to move the goods, and the dumplings were left to dry on the platform for more than half an hour. In addition, they weren't cooled for more than forty minutes during transport, so there was a high chance that the dumpling skins melted.
However, Tianheng Cold Chain Logistics countered by claiming the problem lay with the dumplings themselves; otherwise, why would they be promoted so prominently? If it was a transportation issue, why were the goods successfully delivered? Chunhui Supermarket had no way of investigating, as there were no records of the entire transportation process, nor any temperature checks on the received goods.
Chunhui Supermarket was furious and threatened to terminate its cooperation with Tianheng if the matter was not resolved.
What was thought to be a trump card turned out to be a convenient advantage. That very night, Chunhui Supermarket took all the goods, angrily cursing Tianheng Cold Chain, and the matter became extremely unseemly.
Hu Shutong thought to himself that the factory would definitely make corrections, and he couldn't help but feel a little worried for Yu Dajun.
As expected, on Monday morning, Tianheng held its first all-staff meeting since Hu Shutong began his internship.
Everyone rushed into the conference room. Apart from the twenty or so people who sat down, the rest stood in rows.
Just when everyone thought they should learn from the dumpling incident, Yan Baoming pulled out the company's third-quarter financial statements, his face etched with deep worry. He then explained the company's predicament to the workers with a sense of helplessness: the third quarter continued to result in losses, and if things continued like this, they wouldn't even be able to pay the loan interest on the refrigerated trucks and equipment by the end of the year.
While Yan Baoming expressed his understanding of how difficult it was for everyone to make a living, he unilaterally announced a pay cut, hoping that employees could weather the storm with the company. However, this statement immediately set the entire conference room abuzz with chatter that lingered for a long time.
As for the dumplings, no one mentioned them at all from beginning to end.
Hu Shutong walked alone around the factory area for a long time. The wind rustled the willow leaves, a sound that stirred his restless mind. Why had he come to Tianheng? Because it was the most advanced company in the entire Mingyuan City. The flyers he had received on campus were still fresh in his mind's eye: top-notch technology, advanced equipment, an industry leader—in that respect alone, Tianheng wasn't exaggerating. Little did he expect that the truth behind it all was so disgraceful.
Yu Dajun wasn't in a good mood either. In the past five years, he had received three raises in the first three years and four pay cuts in the last two years. He had become an old hand but was still earning the same amount of money he had when he first arrived. Countless others had come and gone, and he didn't know how much longer he could stay here.
But he also realized that Hu Shutong's fall from grace was probably heartbreaking. There are already so few college students, and the reputation of Ming University students is so outstanding, yet he ended up in this situation. What can he possibly learn from this chaotic scene? Unlike his classmates and roommates, who are the focus of the entire company, at least they feel great.
So Yu Dajun bought a pound of pig's head meat and a roast chicken from the convenience store, and also bought a bundle of beer for Hu Shutong, before returning to the dormitory.
Fortunately, Hu Shutong wasn't as gloomy as expected. Upon seeing such a savory meal, he immediately set up a small table, and the two of them ate, drank, and chatted.
"Brother Dajun, tell me, how did Tianheng end up like this? This is just too tragic!"
Yu Dajun can be said to have followed Tianheng to this day. His words are also very insightful: "Back then, Tianheng was like a college graduate from a prestigious university, full of ambition and ideals. He was knowledgeable, insightful, and determined to realize his ambitions."
Perhaps it's because he's read too many of Gu Long's books, but Yu Dajun's words sometimes have a touch of interesting philosophy: "High spirits and willful stubbornness are sometimes the same thing."
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