Xiaomi Heavy Industry, its first entrepreneurial venture!

Chapter 407 Today's Headlines! (Second Update!)

An EU spokesperson stated that, in response to the terrorist attacks in Japan, the EU will adjust its inspection procedures for goods from East Asia entering the EU to reduce the risk of potential terrorist attacks. This adjustment is merely an additional inspection and does not require any formal procedures.

Professor Song Yushan, an economics expert, said that the rise of populism and strong national narratives in the world due to the 2008 financial crisis has led to frequent terrorist attacks around the world.

The frequent terrorist attacks further exacerbated the impact of the financial crisis, ultimately leading to a continued economic downturn, which in turn triggered a stronger rise in populism and a more intense nationalist narrative...

On the bus that came out of the airport, Zhang Yiming was holding his phone, browsing news on a mobile webpage.

As I was looking at it, my phone chimed with a text message popping up.

[Dear customer, as of today, the 500MB of data included with your ¥388 Global Pass package this month has been used up. Continued internet use will be charged at ¥0.01/KB. To avoid exceeding this limit, we suggest you reduce your internet usage or subscribe to a data top-up package. Reply "LLB" to inquire about top-up packages, and enter "TD" to unsubscribe.]

Seeing the text message that suddenly popped up, Zhang Yiming instinctively wanted to smash the phone aside, but then he remembered that he had just bought it not long ago, so he carefully turned off the data switch and put the phone back in his pocket.

The person sitting next to him was a former employee of the company. Noticing Zhang Yiming's movement, he tilted his head and asked curiously:
"Boss, what's wrong? You seem really angry!"

"Nothing! I used up all my data watching international news, and those stupid mobile carriers made me pay for a data package." Zhang Yiming waved his hand irritably, crossed his arms, and looked out the window.

He didn't want to talk, but the employee next to him wanted to initiate a conversation, so he turned his head and asked again in a low voice:
"What day is it? I remember you didn't use up your data before?"

Rolling his eyes, Zhang Yiming turned around and said, "The company has WiFi!"

Sensing his displeasure, the employee who had been pressing him for answers turned away and looked out the window.

With no one to disturb him, Zhang Yiming finally had time to appreciate the view outside the window.

The gardens of Suzhou are the most beautiful in the world. He didn't see any gardens, but only a busy construction site and a somewhat dilapidated village.

As my gaze swept across the bustling construction sites, I caught a glimpse of something unusual out of the corner of my eye: a factory that seemed completely out of place with its surroundings.

The roof is sky blue, the walls are snow white, and large characters are embedded in the walls.

In the center of these large characters is a striking silver-white rice-shaped icon.

Xiaomi Heavy Industry has arrived!
With a screech, the bus stopped in front of Xiaomi Heavy Industry Communications Company. The driver pulled the handbrake, grabbed the walkie-talkie next to him, and coughed twice.
"Dear new colleagues, we have arrived. Please take your luggage and get off the bus. Go to the guard room to register your information, and then follow the security department staff to the administrative building."

"Thank you everyone for your help!"

Upon seeing the bus arrive at the gatehouse, Han Shunfa picked up the registration list in his left hand and the personnel information in his right, smiled, and walked out of the gatehouse, waving to the people who had just gotten off the bus.
"Hello everyone, I am Han Shunfa from the Security Department. I am in charge of signing you in. Please come here to register your information and sign in first."

"After you sign in, I'll take you all to the HR department!"

Zhang Yiming stood in the crowd, glanced around, and then was the first to walk towards Han Shunfa, take the pen, and sign in on the register.

He was signing in, while Han Shunfa was looking at his file.

The photos and basic information in the file match up.

And so, for every sign-in, Han Shunfa would check it.

After everyone had signed in, Han Shunfa put away the sign-in book, raised his hand and pointed to the office building: "Everyone, this way please!"

After leading the person to the personnel department office, Han Shunfa slapped the documents into Liao Xiangjun's hand:
"Manager Liao, I've brought the person over to you. Remember to call me if you need any help!"

After handing over the documents, Han Shunfa turned and left without looking back. Liao Xiangjun glanced at the documents for a moment, then put them aside. She took the files from another colleague in the personnel department, a slight smile playing on her lips, and slowly approached Zhang Yiming, handing him the documents.

"Manager Zhang, this is Liao Xiangjun, the one you were chatting with on the phone."

"This is the employee registration form. Manager Zhang, please have all the new colleagues register."

"Registration complete. You are now employees of Xiaomi Heavy Industry Group Lin'an ByteDance Company."

"We'll rest today, and a special car will take us to Lin'an tomorrow."

As she spoke, Liao Xiangjun distributed the job registration forms.

While the group was filling out forms, she went to Zhang Yiming's side and whispered:
"General Manager Lin just instructed you, Manager Zhang, to go to his office after you finish filling out the form."

Knowing that Lin Yi had something to discuss with him, Zhang Yiming sped up filling out the forms. After finishing the employment registration form, Liao Xiangjun handed over the inspection work to the other people in the human resources department, and then took Zhang Yiming upstairs.

Upon entering the elevator, Liao Xiangjun pointed to the floor: "This headquarters is actually the headquarters of a telecommunications company, and there is also the headquarters of a special alloy company next door."

"After you've met with General Manager Lin, Manager Zhang, come to the HR office again. I'll give you a contact list. If you need anything, just call the number in the list."

Upon reaching the top floor, Liao Xiangjun led the person to Lin Yi's office door and gently knocked on the door:

"President Lin, I've brought Manager Zhang with me!"

With a creak, the door opened, and Lin Yi poked his head out of the room. "Manager Liao, you can go downstairs now. I'd like to have a talk with Manager Zhang!"

Liao Xiangjun decisively turned and left. Seeing that Zhang Yiming didn't move, Lin Yi waved to him again: "Come in and sit down!"

After accommodating the person on the sofa and handing them a cup of freshly brewed tea, Lin Yi turned and picked up the metal combination lock case from the table, handing it over as well.
"The underlying software logic source code that I told you about before!"

The metal box wasn't big, about 30 centimeters long and wide, and about the thickness of a palm.

There are combination locks on both the left and right sides of the handle of the box.

He carefully placed the box on the coffee table in front of him, then pressed it down with his hand. Zhang Yiming turned around, about to ask a question, when Lin Yi took a laptop from his desk and pointed the screen at Zhang Yiming.
"Here, look at this PowerPoint presentation!"

As the sound played, Zhang Yiming's gaze fell on the computer screen. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the screen displayed a software design specification PowerPoint presentation.

[Today's Headlines]

After looking at the software's name, Zhang Yiming's gaze shifted downwards, and all his attention was drawn to the software's UI displayed in the PowerPoint presentation.

What he cares about most is the left sidebar of this software.

The sidebar contained various options, and as his gaze slid down, he felt that these options were longer than his life.

【focus on】

【recommend】

[Trending List]

【local】

【novel】

【video】

[Enjoy Listening]

【entertainment】

【Technology】

【car】

[Finance]

【military】

【physical education】

【internationality】

[Health] [Learning]

【game】

【software】

【document】

[Current Affairs Release]

After reading through all the content in the sidebar, Zhang Yiming finally understood why Lin Yi had allowed him to bring his team over.

Because each option in this sidebar is a complete function, and extending each function means a lot of work.

The team he brought was like ants in the face of this long list of options.

It's never finished, it's simply never finished!

Below the sidebar are the software's basic functions.

There are only three: [Homepage], [Tasks], and [My Account].

【Homepage】is the current page, which is very easy to understand. 【My】should be the account settings page. The only thing that Zhang Yiming doesn't quite understand is what this 【Task】is about.

Does this software also handle other business on the side?
If it's messed up, how can this software survive?
After calming himself down, he dragged the mouse to continue scrolling down. The subsequent content of the PPT was an explanation of each option. The more Zhang Yiming looked, the more alarmed he became.

He suddenly realized that, apart from the most basic options, every other option—videos, novels, technology, cars, learning, and current affairs—could be developed into a separate platform.

But now, these separate platforms have been integrated and placed on the same platform.

This puts a lot of pressure on the platform's operation, but if the platform is operated well, it will bring users a unique sense of convenience, which is actually a kind of monopoly.

Humans are creatures that are very averse to trouble and love to stay in their comfort zone.

Moreover, there is a significant difference in ability between each individual.

Some people have independent thinking and information retrieval skills. They can use fragments of their own words to dig deep into the internet world and find what they want.

But such people are a minority.

Most people lack these two abilities, or their abilities are insufficient, which makes them feel powerless when searching for relevant information and materials.

If, at this time, there is a comprehensive platform that can help them solve these problems, then these people will become loyal and sticky users of that platform.

As long as you don't do anything reckless!
That way you won't die!
Once a certain level of loyal users is reached, that's when the platform will turn a profit.

By then, the advertising revenue alone will be so high that you'll be rolling in money!
Lin Yi has the source code of the recommendation algorithm and a design specification PPT. The only remaining problems are how to promote the platform and how to run it!

He immediately recalled what Lin Yi had said before: to run the web version and the app version simultaneously.

But soon, he remembered the text message he had received on the bus not long ago.

My monthly mobile data plan of 388 yuan includes 500MB of data, but it's only the middle of the month and I've already used it all up.

He couldn't imagine how high the mobile data charges would be when other people browsed web pages on their phones, let alone when using mobile apps.

This software... isn't so easy to promote.

After a brief hesitation, Zhang Yiming told Lin Yi about receiving a text message in the car and his concerns.

After hearing the concerns, Lin Yi nodded with relief, took the mouse from Zhang Yiming, and dragged the PowerPoint presentation down to the explanation page for the "Task" option.
Look here!

The 【Tasks】 interface is very simple, just like the task list in the games Zhang Yiming played, which consists of a large number of tasks with different requirements.

According to the PPT, users can accept tasks posted by the software on the "Tasks" page, just like playing a game, and then complete the tasks.

However, the tasks posted in the game only reward you with in-game currency and in-game equipment upon completion.

The tasks on the 【Tasks】 page offer incentives upon completion, and those incentives are real RMB!
After carefully reviewing the instructions in the PowerPoint presentation, Zhang Yiming abruptly turned to Lin Yi: "President Lin, this..."

Lin Yi crossed his arms and sat down naturally on the sofa armrest, leaning against the back of the sofa, and asked Zhang Yiming with a smile:
"Old Zhang, do you know why in our context, finding a job is often shortened to 'finding a way to survive'?"

"Why?" The question was rather absurd, and Zhang Yiming was completely confused. He was from Fujian, and although there was such a word in Fujian, it was not commonly used. Therefore, he really couldn't connect the word with the PPT he was about to discuss and the platform.

Lin Yi didn't explain, but instead continued to ask with his arms crossed:

"Do you know why many people oppose their children going online?"

A new question, which also left Zhang Yiming somewhat bewildered, was asked, but he was able to offer some answers to it.

Organizing his thoughts, he calmly explained, "First of all, going online really does interfere with studying. Except for very special people, when others go online, it takes up study time."

“In our environment, not studying hard is tantamount to committing a crime that could lead to the extermination of nine generations of one’s family.”

"Secondly, the internet can't support one's livelihood..."

Zhang Yiming's voice grew softer and softer as he gripped the mouse tightly with his right hand and dragged the PowerPoint presentation down to the task settlement instructions.

[Task Incentive Settlement Instructions: All task levels are settled on the 3rd of each month, and incentives are distributed to the account on the 10th of each month. Account holders can choose any bank account to withdraw their rewards.]

Lure them with benefits!

With this realization flashing through his mind, Zhang Yiming dragged the mouse to the task description page.

[Task Description: Completing the corresponding task will earn you task completion rewards, and you can also use the task reward experience to upgrade your account level.]

[Daily check-in task...]

[News browsing task...]

[Video posting task...]

[Learning guidance tasks...]

[Document publishing task...]

Each task has two rewards: account experience points and cash.

The cash rewards for these tasks range from a few cents to tens of dollars, and the difficulty of the tasks varies depending on the reward.

But these rewards are all real money!

A lot of money!
This money, withdrawn from the platform to my own bank account, can be used for shopping, dining, travel, etc.

It can also be used to top up phone credit.

If participants can earn money from internet platforms by completing tasks, they will remain active and consistently produce high-quality information. By utilizing this high-quality information, they can attract more customers and generate stable traffic.

In the internet age, traffic determines everything.

With sufficient traffic, a platform has better leverage when negotiating with merchants who need to advertise.

This creates a positive cycle between the platform and the participants.

As the developer of this platform, it's inevitable that I'll be remembered in history. And while I'm remembered, I can also make a lot of money!
He became CEO, married a beautiful and wealthy woman, and reached the pinnacle of his life!
Thinking about all the possibilities for the future, Zhang Yiming was extremely excited. At this moment, he finally confirmed that his job change was the right decision and that the future was bright!

(End of this chapter)