Twenty years of cold chain

Chapter 24 Thesis Defense

Back at the University of Minnesota, as soon as Hu Shutong entered his dormitory, he was surrounded by Jiang Zhipeng and a few others.

"Old Hu, have you heard?"

"What did you hear?"

"Do you know why our Cold Chain Logistics thesis defense was postponed to the 20th?"

"Old Jiang, can you just tell me the juicy news?"

"Because we are the first batch of students in the National Mingda Cold Chain Transportation program, we set up a joint defense committee for Mingyuan universities. This means that the top universities in Mingyuan Province, such as Mingda University of Technology, Mingda Agricultural University, and Mingda University of Science and Trade, will participate in our thesis defense as an observation group."

"What do you mean by 'observation'? Maybe they really are just observing."

"No, no, no, you're being too naive. These experts and professors have the right to ask questions, and they even have the authority to score!"

Hu Shutong frowned, then his eyes lit up. "Wouldn't it be better if they graded it? Can they be as strict as Mingda Ka?"

Jiang Zhipeng slumped his shoulders. "Of course you're not afraid, but it's a different story for us. Look, a normal thesis defense committee consists of course instructors and college professors. At least we're familiar with them, and we're incredibly active in college activities. But suddenly a bunch of strangers from other schools show up, wielding life and death power—we could easily get into trouble! Old Hu, I don't want to keep changing things. What if I get a delayed graduation? My dad's boasting won't come true, and it might cost me my life!"

Hu Shutong thought to himself that Mingda's Cold Engineering program was the first of its kind in the entire Mingyuan Province. The fact that universities within the province joined the defense committee was most likely to prepare for the future development of related majors. If Cold Engineering could flourish throughout Mingyuan, that would be a great thing. Even if some particularly difficult questions were asked, with professors from Mingda present, it shouldn't ultimately affect his score.

As for the roommates' anxiety, Hu Shutong thought it was more psychological. It was like selling vegetables in Qujiaying during the holidays. They were always dealing with regular customers, and then suddenly a stranger from out of town came along. They were always worried that there might be something wrong with the scale.

However, what ideas could Hu Shutong possibly have about this? Besides, everyone was experiencing graduation defense for the first time, and Hu Shutong had no experience to share. But he couldn't resist Jiang Zhipeng and the others' persistent pestering. Hu Shutong remembered that when he published papers in academic journals during his sophomore and junior years, he would conduct a paper interview, which would be compiled and included at the end of the paper.

At the time, the people who came to ask questions were all people with some knowledge in the relevant fields. So, Hu Shutong asked his roommates questions about his understanding of cold chain logistics and his views on the future of the industry. This was not just a perfunctory response, as he believed these were questions that would most likely be asked during the defense.

The long-awaited thesis defense finally arrived, but Hu Shutong was scheduled for the afternoon of the last day, meaning it wouldn't be her turn until the third day. A chorus of groans filled the dormitory; her roommates, who had already defended their theses, bluntly stated that they couldn't escape the fate of having to revise their drafts.

Jiang Zhipeng sat on Hu Shutong's bunk with a bitter face, his shoulders hunched in, his hands folded over his lower abdomen, and his legs pressed tightly together as if they were tied up, as if waiting to be summoned. His tall and heroic demeanor had vanished in an instant.

Seeing this, Hu Shutong came over with a smile to comfort him, "We don't have any seniors or anything to consult, so it's normal that we didn't consider some things. The revised notice hasn't come down yet, so why are you so discouraged?"

Jiang Zhipeng scratched his head, chuckling. "Old Hu, you asked me about ice cream packaging materials and low-temperature storage grading, which I answered reluctantly. But then some expert popped up and asked me about Qingyuan Foods' breakthrough! This is something even my dad couldn't figure out!" Seeing that Jiang Zhipeng was about to swear, he held back and added, "Besides, my thesis is about how to improve the cold chain transportation and refrigeration of ice cream and popsicles. I haven't even thought about any breakthrough!"

"So how did you make it up?"

"What the hell am I supposed to make up?! I was completely stumped by the question, left speechless for a full minute. I've never been so embarrassed in my life! Old Hu, I have to warn you, the academy has brought in a bunch of weirdos who keep asking the most difficult questions, so you'd better be careful!"

Hu Shutong frowned slightly. He had to admit that all of his roommates who had participated in the defense were in terrible spirits. Old Chen, who participated on the first day, wrote about his exploration of low-temperature primary processing of fruits and vegetables. As a result, he was asked for constructive suggestions from the National Fruit and Vegetable Network. It is said that when Old Chen walked out of the defense room, his face was ashen, and he stayed in the internet cafe for two days straight.

Following this, all sorts of strange rumors began to circulate. Some said that the joint defense committee of universities was just a bunch of ragtag experts from companies, only interested in the market and completely ignorant of academia. Others even said that things had changed drastically, that the university had gone from striving for professional excellence to succumbing to the market, and that the first graduating class had become their prey.

Hu Shutong merely listened to these words; he absolutely did not believe them. On the contrary, professional expertise and market demands were not in conflict. However, the atmosphere of universal resentment made Hu Shutong somewhat nervous, and he knew the defense would not go as smoothly as he had imagined.

On the afternoon of the third day, when Hu Shutong entered the defense room, the scene was indeed far beyond his expectations.

A table on the podium was the seat for the dissertation candidate, and in front of the candidate sat three rows of people, six or seven in each row. Putting everything else aside, the sheer presence of this dissertation committee was enough to make one dizzy.

Hu Shutong didn't recognize any of the people in the back two rows, but he was familiar with everyone in the first row. He had only seen the person sitting in the very middle from afar before, and now he finally had the opportunity to meet this old professor he had long admired so closely.

Hu Shutong, stunned by the scene, did not notice the deep gaze that Pang Shiyou was casting at him.

Pang Shiyou slowly adjusted his glasses, turned the page in front of him, and opened a brand new sheet of paper.

Outside the defense room, Xiao Wu peered through the small window at Professor Pang, rubbing his hands together in fear. He knew all too well that the old professor had turned down many important appointments just to make it to this defense, and he also knew that the professor had been thinking about the student inside for a long time.

He absolutely mustn't let people down!

……