pertwk Chapter 5 The Hu Family Targeted
Chapter 5 The Hu Family Targeted
As the saying goes, "the eldest son is docile and the second son is naive," so you often hear the nickname "second son is naive," but "eldest son is naive" is rare. This is also reflected in the Hu brothers.
Hu Yuntong was a mischievous child. After starting elementary school, he would take his classmates to the arcade whenever he had a spare moment. Last year, a new place called "Internet Cafe" appeared near the school, which became an even bigger "haven" for these kids. Back when Hu Shutong attended parent-teacher conferences, Hu Wankui always came home with a red flower on his back, but when it came to Hu Yuntong's parent-teacher conferences, his father always came home with a green face.
However, it must be said that Hu Yuntong was an extremely intelligent child. Despite his playful and mischievous nature, he could always produce decent grades after cramming for half a month before exams. Because of this, Hu Shutong, while disciplining his younger brother, was not pessimistic about his future, though his father saw it differently.
Upon seeing his brother return, Hu Yuntong immediately perked up, glancing expectantly at his father while also glancing at Hu Shutong. The two brothers hadn't seen each other for half a year, so Hu Wankui's pent-up lecture was temporarily put aside.
As soon as Hu Yuntong saw his father turn around, he jumped up and came to Hu Shutong. The boy was wearing a blue shirt, just like before. Even in the middle of summer, he would tie his jacket around his waist and wear an iron eagle necklace that was worn black.
"Brother, what delicious food did you bring me this time?"
"There's a bag of duck heads that I left with Brother Qingfeng."
"I'll go get it! I'll go get it!"
Before anyone could even sit down, the bicycle started moving. As soon as it stabilized, Hu Yuntong let go of the handlebars and stretched out his arms. Hu Wankui saw this and became even angrier.
"Dad, don't be angry. Just focus on getting into a good high school this year. With Yuntong's brains, he won't go to a bad university."
"If he were even a fraction as reliable as you, I wouldn't bother with him!" As he spoke, Hu Wan-kui glanced at the materials in Hu Shu-tong's hand. "What do you want this time?"
"Uncle Luan wants to build a new cold storage facility and asked me for advice."
Hu Wankui nodded. "It's time to pay more attention."
Hu Shutong didn't say anything, but went to the kitchen to help his mother. Around the time Hu Yuntong was about to return, he busied himself bringing the food to the yard.
Hu Yuntong rushed back in a flurry, sat down at the table, and began dividing the duck heads. He gave his father three, his mother three, then put two in his own bowl, and finally pushed the bag to Hu Shutong, leaving one duck head in it.
Hu Yuntong ate with relish. "Brother, what's going on between you and Brother Qingfeng? Did he offend you?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Looking at his face, he seemed really guilty, and he even asked me if I was alright."
Hu Shutong shook his head slightly, "What could be wrong? Let's eat."
"Something's definitely up. If you ask me, we shouldn't put anything there anymore. We should buy a big freezer ourselves!"
Hu Wankui stuffed a duck head into Hu Yuntong's bowl, and Hu Yuntong immediately stopped talking after a quick glance at his eyes.
"Yuntong, you had an upset stomach that time, are you alright?"
Hu Yuntong scratched his head, then suddenly his shoulders twitched as he remembered, "You mean that? What could possibly be wrong? The Xiao family is just being dramatic!"
"It's good that you're alright."
In the following days, Hu Shutong devoted himself to modifying the cold storage.
The moment the pen touched the paper, Hu Shutong, who was full of enthusiasm and a bit of pride, couldn't help but become serious. He realized that this was not a university assignment, where a poorly written one could be sent back for a redo. Every piece of data and every material he provided was related to the decades-long use of this cold storage facility, the refrigeration effect of the fruit, and the cost.
In response to the unique characteristics of Luanjia Cold Storage, Hu Shutong expanded the area of the cold storage room, controlling the temperature between -2℃ and 16℃, divided into eight zones, allowing for flexible temperature control based on the suitable refrigeration temperature for fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, and eggs. Furthermore, due to the lower land costs in the suburbs, Hu Shutong separated the refrigeration compressor room and equipment room for easier maintenance and management.
Hu Shutong made strict plans for the external thermal insulation materials. He analyzed each aspect, from the thickness of the outer brick wall and the proportion of cement mortar plaster to the moisture-proof and air-barrier layer, the heat insulation layer, and the inner protective layer. In terms of materials, new types of polyurethane foam plastics and asphalt waterproof coatings were adopted.
Furthermore, regarding refrigeration compressor units, there are already domestically produced ammonia-cooled screw refrigeration compressors available, and according to experts' analysis, they show a tendency to replace reciprocating compressors. However, on this point, Luan Qizhen will definitely follow Luan Pingxin's advice; Hu Shutong is merely suggesting one option.
Under the lamplight, Hu Shutong put down his pen and stretched. Hu Yuntong sat in a chair near the door, clicking away on his game console. Hu Shutong had been busy for three whole days; there were only a few truckloads of the last batch of vegetables left at home. His younger brother had been helping their father with the work these past few days.
"Yuntong, you and Dad went to sell vegetables these past two days, how come you're back so soon? Didn't you have to wait in line?"
"What kind of queue are you standing in? They're all being thrown into the trench."
"What did you say?"
Hu Yuntong quickly covered his mouth, tossed the game console aside, and stood up hurriedly. "Brother, I meant there's no need to queue. There are fewer vendors selling garlic sprouts lately."
Hu Shutong got up and walked over. "What happened? Tell me the truth."
Hu Yuntong hesitated, "Dad told me not to tell you."
"Tell me, I won't tell Dad."
Before he could speak, Hu Yuntong pursed his lips, looking somewhat aggrieved. "Qujiaying won't accept our vegetables. Dad doesn't want you to know about this. Besides, we can't take them after one night anyway."
Hu Shutong slowly sat down and scratched his forehead. He was most afraid of his family being affected, but the situation was already beyond his control, leaving him feeling utterly helpless. This was in stark contrast to his mindset during his university years, when he believed that with genuine talent, hard work, and a determined spirit, nothing could defeat him.
But in reality, the Hu family locks their doors as soon as it gets dark and turns the TV down to a very low volume, afraid of missing any noise outside. Now, even selling vegetables is being targeted by the entire wholesale market.
Remembering what someone had said that day about who would be responsible for the vegetable farmers in the three counties who couldn't sell their produce, Hu Shutong dared not think any further. This made him realize that people cared more about their wallets than about diarrhea.
"Brother, Dad supports you. Otherwise, with his temper, whether you're a primary school student or a college student, if you make a mistake, he'll always scold you. If you want to sell the vegetables, Dad has plenty of ideas. The simplest way is to just throw them to Old Liu and sell them together. He wouldn't just throw them away."
Hu Yuntong continued to comfort his brother, saying, "On the way, he told me that he had survived cornbread and steamed buns, and that there was nothing he couldn't overcome, even with white noodles, oil, and wine. He wouldn't give in to those guys."
He couldn't sleep that night. Although he hadn't talked to his father about it, his father's actions showed his attitude. His father liked to say old sayings: "Even the softest cotton is a pillow, but a broken stone can hurt."
This gave Hu Shutong a warm and powerful feeling.
……