Chapter 936
Rules are not about inviting someone to dinner.
The next day, Wang Donglai appeared in the office at Galaxy Technology's headquarters on time.
Wa's voice rang out: "Boss, the data for 'Jingwei' across the entire internet is out. As of 6 a.m. this morning, the cover video has a total of 130 million views, related topics have a total of 700 million reads, and the number of reservations for 'All or Nothing' at the Galaxy Theater is 4.2 million. The Firefly Foundation received 2,100 calls for help in the past 12 hours, and the website's traffic is 47 times higher than usual."
Wang Donglai nodded, his expression calm.
"There's one more thing."
Wa said, "This morning, Tangdu News spent thirty seconds reporting on the cover song craze sparked by 'Jingwei.' The headline was 'An AI song that expresses the feelings of millions.'"
Wang Donglai's lips curled up slightly.
This report means that this matter is no longer just entertainment news, but social news.
Social news, on the other hand, can drive change.
He picked up his phone and sent a message to Zhang Yizu: "Thank you for your hard work. Next, combine the film clips with the chorus of 'Jingwei' and do emotional timing editing. Remember, each clip can only have one core emotional point. If you're angry, make sure you're full of anger; if you're sympathetic, make sure you're full of sympathy. Don't try to do too much."
Then he sent Guo Xing a message: "Tell Lin Xiaoyu to prepare. In a couple of days, we might contact her for an interview. Tell her not to be nervous and just tell the truth."
After sending those two messages, he put down his phone and walked to the window.
Outside the window, Tangdu City slowly awakens in the morning light.
At the construction site of the Tang Imperial City in the distance, tower cranes have already begun to rotate.
On the nearby street, sanitation workers are sweeping the road.
This city, this country, is changing little by little.
He only did a small thing—shining a ray of light into those forgotten corners.
……
In August, Tangdu was so hot that even the cicadas' chirping sounded irritating.
The glass curtain wall of the Galaxy Technology headquarters building cuts the sunlight into neat patches that fall onto the floor tiles, making people's eyes sting.
When Liao Qingfeng came out of the elevator, he was carrying a black briefcase, the strap leaving a shallow mark on his palm.
The bag contained three documents, each of which kept him up at night for the past two weeks.
One document is a production capacity and supply allocation table for Xuanwu Battery, another is an audit summary of the employee benefits of partners, and yet another is a draft of rectification suggestions. He revised the last document until 3 a.m. last night, and only when it reached its seventh version was he barely satisfied.
He is the head of Galaxy Energy, and he manages the production lines, supply, and partners of Xuanwu Battery.
Wang Donglai entrusted this task to him, giving him considerable authority—he had full control over how to allocate production capacity, adjust supply schedules, and manage partners.
However, Wang Dong made one point very clear: the employees of our partners must meet the standards; if they do not, the supply will be stopped, and there will be no room for negotiation.
Wang Donglai has said this more than once, in internal senior management meetings, at supplier conferences, and in interviews.
Everyone knows this is no joke, but some people still think it's worth a try!
Try to find loopholes in the contract terms, try to fool them with a nice report, try to hide the shady stuff right under the auditors' noses.
When Liao Qingfeng arrived at Wang Donglai's office, the door was ajar, and the sound of keyboard typing could be heard from inside.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Wang Donglai's voice came from inside; it wasn't loud, but it had a strong penetrating power.
Liao Qingfeng pushed open the door and went in.
Wang Donglai was sitting behind his desk when he looked up at Liao Qingfeng, his gaze lingering for a moment on the bulging briefcase before he pointed to the chair opposite him.
"sit."
Liao Qingfeng sat down, placed his briefcase on his lap, and did not open it immediately.
He mentally reviewed the content he was to report today, like flipping through his notes one last time before an exam.
Wang Donglai doesn't like listening to nonsense; he demands accurate data, clear logic, and explicit conclusions.
Don't bring vague or ambiguous statements into this office.
Wang Donglai pushed the keyboard forward, crossed his hands on the table, and looked at Liao Qingfeng.
He didn't urge him, but the waiting itself was a kind of pressure—not deliberately imposed, but the aura created by this person's long-term efficient decision-making.
"Boss, the results of the third quarter's partner audit are in."
Liao Qingfeng spoke first, his voice more steady than he had expected: "I'll report on the supply of Xuanwu batteries first, and then we'll go through each partner one by one."
Wang Donglai nodded, signaling him to continue.
Liao Qingfeng unzipped his briefcase and took out the first document.
The cover is dark blue and has the words "Galaxy Energy Supplier Quarterly Assessment Report" printed on it.
He opened the first page, and he had looked at the data table on it countless times; he could recite it with his eyes closed.
"Xuanwu Battery currently has a production capacity of 80,000 units per month for the flagship model and 150,000 units per month for the standard model. The flagship model is supplied to six partners—BYD, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Apple, Huawei, and Samsung. The standard model is supplied to three partners—Huawei, Tesla, and Xiaomi."
He turned to the second page, which featured a pie chart showing production capacity allocation, with different colors representing different partners. "In terms of production capacity allocation, BYD took the largest share for flagship models, 35%. After they used the Xuanwu battery in their 'Looking Up' series, orders for high-end models increased rapidly. Their three factories in Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Tangdu are all expanding their production lines, putting a lot of pressure on their capacity. Tesla took 25%, Mercedes-Benz took 15%, and the remaining 25% is split among three companies—Apple takes 10%, Huawei takes 8%, and Samsung takes 7%."
"For the standard models, Huawei accounts for 40%, Tesla for 35%, and Xiaomi for 25%. Xiaomi's share is relatively low because their Xuanwu batteries are currently used primarily in consumer electronics, while their automotive batteries are still in the R&D stage and haven't reached mass production yet. Lei Jun has called several times, saying that he hopes we can readjust the share after Xiaomi's cars officially go into production. I told him that share follows production capacity, and production capacity follows the market. Once their cars reach mass production, the share will naturally be adjusted."
Wang Donglai's lips twitched slightly, but it was impossible to tell whether it was a smile or something else.
He knew Lei Jun's personality—that guy never pestered you when he wanted something, but every word he said hit the nail on the head, making you have to come up with a good reason to refuse.
Liao Qingfeng's ability to withstand Lei Jun's phone barrage is indeed a testament to his growth, proving that I deserve to have placed him in this position to nurture his development.
Liao Qingfeng turned to the third page, his tone shifting from reporting figures to a more cautious and straightforward manner.
"As per the boss's requirements, all supply agreements for Xuanwu Battery include clauses on employee benefits. This clause is written into the contract and has legal force. We conduct an audit every quarter, and we just finished the third quarter audit last week. The audit team consisted of more than forty people, divided into seven groups, who visited all the major factories of each partner. They checked raw data, clock-in records, verified payroll, and conducted employee interviews—the whole process was followed."
He paused for a moment, then tapped his finger on the edge of the document.
"The result... is rather complicated."
Wang Donglai picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and without taking his eyes off Liao Qingfeng's face, calmly asked, "How complicated is it?"
Liao Qingfeng did not answer directly, but instead took out a second document from his briefcase.
This one is much thicker than the first one. The first page is a master table listing the names of all partners, with several columns following each name—social security and housing fund contributions, working hours, base salary, employee stock ownership, and audit conclusions.
Some squares have green checkmarks, some have yellow exclamation marks, and a few have red crosses.
"From a holistic perspective, they can be divided into three categories."
Liao Qingfeng ran his finger across the form and said, "Category 1: those that meet or basically meet the standards. Category 2: those with problems but willing to rectify them. Category 3: those with serious problems and a bad attitude."
He turned the document over so that Wang Donglai could see the annotations directly, and then started reporting from the first category.
"BYD".
Liao Qingfeng's voice carried a hint of ease that he himself was unaware of.
BYD was the most worry-free partner among this group, not because BYD did a perfect job, but because of Brother Boatman's attitude—acknowledging responsibility, making changes, and not making excuses.
"All five social insurances and one housing fund contributions have been paid in full. We checked the social security contribution records of the three factories in Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Tangdu, and the base and ratio match. In terms of working hours, front-line workers are currently averaging around 60 hours per week. Although this number has not yet reached our target, it is almost 20 hours less than what they did a few years ago. Brother Chuanfu was very frank with me on the phone. BYD's production capacity pressure is there, and if it is reduced all at once, the production line will collapse. But he gave a timetable—to reduce it to 50 hours by the end of next year, and to 45 hours the year after. There are specific supporting measures for each milestone, not just empty promises."
"Regarding base wages, frontline workers have seen two increases in the past two years, and currently, on average, their wages are about 30% higher than the industry average. I had the audit team conduct extensive questionnaires and interviews at the Shenzhen factory to ensure there were no problems."
"Regarding employee stock ownership, BYD is a listed company, so full employee stock ownership involves shareholder approval, which is slower. However, the plan has been submitted to the board of directors and is expected to be implemented before the end of the year. The boatman is very determined to push this matter forward, and other people's objections are not that strong."
Upon hearing this, a faint smile finally appeared on Wang Donglai's lips.
"The boatman may seem mild-mannered, but he has a tough streak. As for his slamming of the table, it may not be because he really wanted to do it. Whether he did it for my sake or not is not that important. As long as he did what we asked and the ordinary employees got a raise, that's enough."
Liao Qingfeng nodded, turned to the next page, and said, "Tesla."
When the name was mentioned, his tone carried a subtle implication—not negative, but rather a sense of surprise that "this is unexpected."
"Tesla is more cooperative than we expected when it comes to employee benefits. All five social insurances and one housing fund are paid in full. We checked the social security payment records of the Shanghai factory and there were no problems. The working hours are controlled even better than BYD's, with front-line workers averaging around 50 hours per week. As for base salary, the base salary of front-line workers at Tesla's Shanghai factory is already nearly 50% higher than the industry average. Some companies are even suing Tesla, saying that it is maliciously damaging the employment environment."
"As for employee stock ownership, Tesla is gradually moving towards this. Employees who have been with the company for a year or more are eligible for stock options. Although the number is not large, they are indeed available. I have reviewed the specific plan, and there are no major issues."
Wang Donglai put down his teacup and tapped his finger lightly on the table.
“Masla is a man who sometimes acts like a madman, and at other times he is more clear-headed than anyone else. He knows what money should be saved and what money should not be saved.”
Liao Qingfeng turned to the next page and introduced, "Mercedes-Benz."
"The five social insurances and one housing fund are fully paid, and there are no problems with the social security records of the joint venture factory. The working hours are very well controlled, with front-line workers averaging about 45 hours per week. As for the base salary, the base salary of front-line workers in Mercedes-Benz's joint venture factory is not low, about 20% higher than the industry average. In terms of employee stock ownership, they adopt a profit-sharing method - a certain percentage of the profits are distributed to all employees each year. It is not stock ownership, but the effect is similar. This year, it is expected to be increased to 10%."
"Did you encounter any resistance during the audit process?" Wang Donglai asked.
"No."
Liao Qingfeng answered quickly: "Mercedes-Benz was very cooperative. Their foreign management had a very clear attitude on employee benefits—this is a standard they have been implementing in Germany for decades, and they have no psychological barriers to implementing the same standard in China. In fact, one German factory manager said in an interview that he thought our inclusion of employee benefits clauses in the Xuanwu Battery contract was the smartest supply chain management method he had ever seen."
Wang Donglai raised his eyebrows slightly: "The exact words?"
“These are my exact words. The audit team recorded them, and I can play that recording for you.”
Wang Donglai waved his hand, indicating that it was not necessary.
His gaze lingered on the green checkmark on the Mercedes line for a moment, then he said, "Germans have indeed been ahead of many countries when it comes to labor rights. It's not because their capitalists are more benevolent, but because their workers' organizations are more powerful. After decades of negotiation, a set of rules that both sides can accept has been formed. If we bring these rules here, they don't need any adjustments; they're a high standard from the start."
Liao Qingfeng turned to the next page.
His speech slowed down noticeably, as if he were navigating around some potholes on the road.
“Apple’s situation is rather special. Their main contract manufacturers in China are Foxconn and Pegatron. Our requirement is that Apple, as the authorized supplier of Xuanwu batteries, must ensure that its entire supply chain meets the employee benefits terms. Foxconn barely managed to do this, but Pegatron did not.”
He laid the two audit reports side by side; the left one had more green markings, while the right one had more red markings, making the comparison immediately clear.
"Foxconn has made significant reforms. All social insurance and housing fund contributions are now paid in full based on actual wages. Although working hours are still high, they have indeed been reduced somewhat, and the base salary has also increased. I had the audit team conduct an unannounced visit to Foxconn's factory in Zhengzhou, and the feedback from employees was generally better than last year."
"The story of Heshuo is another matter."
Liao Qingfeng's finger moved to the report on the right, his tone becoming noticeably cold. (End of Chapter)