Chapter 964
Problems Encountered by Douyin Overseas
After the company's senior management strategy meeting, Wang Donglai returned to his office.
As I pushed open the office door, the indicator light for "Wa" had been flashing on the side of the desk for quite some time.
The three main screens lit up simultaneously, displaying the supply chain data dashboard, real-time statistics on HarmonyOS installation volume, and the Douyin overseas user growth curve, respectively.
The data stream scrolled silently across the screen, like a never-ending river.
"Boss, I've already selected the tasks that need your attention today."
Nuwa's voice came from the surround sound system, her tone still steady.
"First, Liao Qingfeng of Galaxy Energy submitted a second-phase plan for expanding its solid-state battery production line. The budget is almost half that of the first phase, but the production capacity can be doubled. Second, Liang Song of Galaxy Semiconductor sent a project application for preliminary research on the next-generation lithography technology route. He wants to set up the team framework by the end of the year. Third, the compliance review of Douyin's overseas version in overseas markets was blocked by the regulatory agencies, which required us to provide an explanation of the core logic of the recommendation algorithm, on the grounds that it involves an assessment of the impact of the content distribution mechanism on the public's access to information."
Wang Donglai walked to his desk, sat down, and took a sip of the already cold tea.
The tea was bitter, but it was invigorating.
He tapped the rightmost screen with his finger.
"Let's talk about Douyin's overseas presence first. In North America, they're holding us back on algorithm review. At what specific step are they holding us back?"
Wa displayed an encrypted communication record on the main screen.
The document was thick, with the sending time and security level indicated in the footer, and each page had a red "Confidential" watermark in the upper right corner.
Zhang's reporting style is usually concise, but this record was more than ten pages long, which shows how tricky the matter was.
"The regulatory agency explicitly requested in its review opinion that we disclose three core data points: the ranking weight allocation scheme of the recommendation algorithm, the complete structure of the user profile tagging system, and the content distribution logic during the cold start phase. These three data points are all core trade secrets of the company. The legal team has already held two rounds of cross-time zone video conferences with them, and their judgment is clear: these three data points cannot be submitted as is, but a direct refusal would lead to the risk of Douyin's overseas version being removed from app stores in North America. Currently, the legal team recommends submitting a technical white paper that has undergone strict anonymization, explaining the basic principles of the recommendation algorithm and the fairness guarantee mechanism, but without involving specific weight parameters and tagging system details."
Wang Donglai leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice.
Douyin's overseas version has seen its user growth curve in the North American market rise steadily over the past six months, with a particularly high proportion of young users, exceeding the growth rate of comparable products during the same period.
This trend has clearly made some people uneasy.
Algorithm review is just the beginning. There will be data security review, privacy compliance review, and content moderation mechanism review later. He had already thought of this combination of measures before they were even implemented.
Back then, ASML first blocked equipment exports, then after-sales service, and finally spare parts supply, precisely targeting your most vulnerable points at every step.
"Tell Zhang ByteDance that the framework of the white paper can follow the legal department's advice, but add one clause: proactively invite an independent third-party organization to conduct a comprehensive audit of the fairness of our algorithm. The audit scope should not be limited to the diversity indicators of content distribution, but should also include a quantitative assessment of the information cocoon effect, a statistical analysis of the balance of information access for different user groups, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the recommendation system's support mechanism for disadvantaged content creators. The audit report should be published in full, without deletions or embellishments. They want proof of fairness, right? Then give them the strongest proof!"
Wa entered the instructions into the system one by one, and then added a sentence with a subtle pause in its tone that it only used when conveying bad news.
"Another issue is that morale on the North American team has been fluctuating recently. With scrutiny pressure and increased market competition, several core engineers have been poached by competitors with higher salaries and more lenient remote work policies."
Wang Donglai's fingers stopped.
His silence lasted longer than Wa had anticipated, long enough for its indicator lights to automatically adjust their brightness, as if waiting for a complex command that required more computing resources.
The office was so quiet that only the faint sound of the air conditioner vents and the occasional bumpy sound of a night bus going over a speed bump could be heard from outside the window.
Douyin's overseas version was built from scratch, and many of the members of the North American team are Chinese engineers who jumped ship from major Silicon Valley companies.
When they chose to join Douyin, they were already burdened with the public pressure of "working for a Chinese company." Now, with the added pressure of repeated regulatory scrutiny and the constant worry of their families, it's already quite remarkable that they've managed to hold on this long.
"First, the overall compensation package for all employees in the North American team will be increased, and the long-term incentives for core positions will be doubled. The specific plan will be submitted to HR within a week, bypassing the regular approval process and directly to my signature. Second, Douyin's overseas version is not a predator stealing food from other people's territory, but a way to prove one thing: products made by Chinese companies can survive in the global market with the highest compliance standards, withstand the most stringent scrutiny without collapsing, and win users' votes with their technical strength and service quality. We don't rely on loopholes to gain advantages, nor do we rely on slogans to win sympathy; we rely on the quality of our products."
He paused, lowered his voice, as if remembering something, and added a sentence.
"Finally, if anyone wants to leave due to excessive pressure, don't make things difficult for them. Pay them the full severance pay as stipulated in their contract, plus an extra month's salary as a thank you bonus. Tell them that the door is always open, and they are welcome to come back anytime they want. The company remembers every line of code they wrote, every review they conducted, and every bit of pressure they endured at Douyin."
Nuwa recorded this passage word for word and automatically generated a tracking tag at the end: "North American Team Stability Assessment," with the highest priority set.
Wang Donglai stood up and walked to the window. Tangdu outside the window had already fallen into the dead of night.
The Xuanwu battery production line operates day and night, the cleanroom of the lithography factory is always lit, and the test bench of the Lux engine updates test data every week.
He wasn't worried about any of that!
What he worries about are the unseen battlefields: a compliance game played without gunpowder in an office across the ocean; an engineer hesitating late at night in front of his computer screen whether to answer a headhunter's call; and a young Chinese programmer quietly tidying up his workstation under the silent gaze of his white colleagues.
Technology can be improved, and algorithms can be optimized, but human nature is not code; you can't fix all the bugs with a single update.
He stood by the window for a long time, until the tower crane in the distance turned off its lights, before turning around and sitting back down at his desk.
Liao Qingfeng's proposal was still waiting for his review, Liang Song's project application was still waiting for his approval, and there were still things to do tomorrow. He picked up his stylus, opened the first document, and the pen tip cast a thin shadow on the paper.
Liao Qingfeng's plan for expanding the solid-state battery production line is very well written.
The second-phase production line is located in Chongqing and Chengdu, right next to BYD's new energy vehicle super factory, reducing the logistics radius to within tens of kilometers.
Several items on the equipment procurement list are high-precision coating machines imported from Europe, with delivery dates scheduled for the middle of next year.
Wang Donglai wrote a note next to the list: "Order key imported equipment in advance and pay the full deposit to lock in the delivery date. Don't skimp on this money."
He flipped to the cost calculation section of the plan and stopped at the "human resource cost" column.
Liao Qingfeng's estimate of the average wage for production line workers was based on Tangdu's standard from last year. With the factory built in Chongqing and Chengdu, the cost structure should be recalculated.
"Wa, pull up the average wages in the manufacturing sector in Chongqing and Chengdu, the social security contribution base, and our actual labor costs at the Tangdu factory. Generate a set of comparative data and send it to Liao Qingfeng. Tell him that the labor cost calculation for the new factory in Chongqing and Chengdu should not use last year's old standards, but should be aligned with the actual treatment level of our Tangdu factory. From the first day of production, the new factory should be the same as Tangdu, with full social security and housing fund contributions, overtime pay calculated according to labor law, and the year-end bonus pool established in advance. It's not about using one set of standards in Tangdu and another set in Chongqing and Chengdu; there should only be one standard."
Nuwa recorded the instruction into the system, automatically adding a highlighted reminder in red to Liao Qingfeng's to-do list.
Wang Donglai closed the proposal and put it aside, then picked up Liang Song's project application.
The title on the cover is quite long: "Application for Project Establishment on Launching Pre-research of Hybrid Technology Route of Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography and Synchrotron Radiation Source".
He turned to the first page, where Liang Song wrote very clearly in the very first paragraph: the existing lithography factory's technical route has already gained a foothold in the seven-nanometer and five-nanometer processes, and the engineering verification of the three-nanometer process has also been successfully completed.
However, to move forward, relying solely on synchrotron radiation sources is not enough. We must also master the core technologies of extreme ultraviolet lithography and integrate the two approaches to maintain a generational advantage in the next generation of manufacturing processes.
Liang Song, the pre-research team leader, plans to draw some key personnel from the existing team and recruit some people from several universities and research institutes, keeping the total number of people to within a few dozen.
The budget request has two parts: one is equipment procurement, mainly the experimental setup for extreme ultraviolet light sources and the supporting optical system; the other is talent recruitment, which requires recruiting several senior engineers from overseas who have extensive experience in the field of extreme ultraviolet lithography.
At the end of the proposal, Liang Song attached a list of potential candidates, with each person's current institution, research direction, and estimated annual salary range noted after their name.
Wang Donglai carefully reviewed the list and found that half of the people on it were currently working for ASML or Zeiss.
"Tell Liang Song that the framework of the plan is acceptable, but there are two areas that need adjustment. First, the number of people in the pre-research team can be appropriately increased, and the pace of recruiting overseas talent needs to be accelerated. For those people on the list, have the human resources department form a special team to talk to them one by one. Talk about salary, benefits, family resettlement, and children's education, and make sure every aspect is handled properly. Don't wait for them to submit their resumes; we should take the initiative to visit them."
"Second, for the procurement of experimental equipment, we should not wait for the budget to be approved before proceeding with the process. Let him list the key components that are urgently needed first, and I will have the finance department allocate the funds directly."
Nuwa entered the instructions into the system one by one, and two reminders marked in red were automatically added to Liang Song's to-do list.
After Wang Donglai finished dealing with these three matters, the hands of the clock on the wall had already pointed to eleven o'clock.
"Boss, there's one more thing. Xue Tao and Ma Rui jointly submitted a plan for drone logistics network coverage, which has been posted on the internal network for three days. The core of the plan is to expand the flight range of the Xuan Nu drone from low-altitude urban areas to towns and mountainous regions, opening up direct air transport channels from production areas to consumers. They estimate that after this network is built, the logistics time for Pinduoduo agricultural products can be reduced from several days to several hours, and the loss rate is expected to decrease significantly."
Wang Donglai did not answer immediately, but instead recalled the time when they worked together on drones.
With Dajiang in front and other companies behind, they were just newcomers who charged ahead recklessly, eventually even being acquired by Dajiang.
Every company has its own unique characteristics. Under Wang Donglai's influence, Galaxy Technology and its business lines place greater emphasis on realizing social value.
Therefore, Galaxy Technologies' drones are more geared towards the agricultural sector than DJI's, focusing on more valuable applications.
Drones for spraying pesticides, drones for hoisting, etc.
Now that even unmanned aerial vehicles have been developed, it further highlights Galaxy Technology's technological reserves in drones.
The management regulations for the low-altitude economy are being implemented one by one, and the first batch of low-altitude airworthiness certifications nationwide will soon be open for applications.
Pinduoduo's agricultural product distribution network covers nearly 2,000 counties across the country, with millions of orders of agricultural products being shipped directly from the production area to consumers every day. The conditions are indeed ripe!
Wang Donglai pondered as he read the document.
It didn't take long before Wang Donglai made his decision.
"Approved. Tell Xue Tao that I've reviewed the plan, and the overall framework is acceptable, but there's a key point that needs adjustment. We should start with a pilot program in the southwestern mountainous region, not by rolling it out, but by thoroughly penetrating it. The southwestern region has the most complex terrain, the harshest climate, the highest logistics costs, and the most urgent need for agricultural products to reach the market. If this drone network can operate there, the rest will be much easier. Also, remind him not to focus solely on the parameters of the aircraft themselves; the ground support needs to be in place, with one take-off and landing point for each village, one transit station for each town, and one logistics cloud warehouse for each county. These things are more difficult to tackle than the aircraft themselves, but once they are overcome, they will form the real competitive advantage."
Nuwa entered the instructions into the system one by one, and a project number and budget approval channel were automatically generated at the end of the file.
Having dealt with this matter, Wang Donglai was about to push open the door and walk out when he suddenly stopped, as if he had remembered something. He turned around and added a sentence towards the desk.
"Also, inform Yang Anchao that I need to go to the launch center again before the launch of Pioneer 2."
"Okay, boss, I'll arrange it right away!" Wa replied calmly. (End of Chapter)