What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 228 Decision Making (5k)

Obviously, he was very confident when communicating on the phone...

Obviously, he was very polite when we met and chatted...

The honeymoon period has just begun...

Yu Xing felt his scalp tingling at Ge Zhijie's performance. The core of the incubation project is to "use speed to defeat slow". If it continues like this, what is there to fight for?

He did not express his dissatisfaction immediately, but instead thought carefully about how to deal with this matter.

Judging from previous exchanges, Ge Zhijie's technical ability is sufficient, which is what the company needs. As for his suspected unstable emotions...

Yu Xing thought about it for a long time. He first talked with the two programmers recruited from Baidu and NetEase, and then confirmed his understanding with the employees of Bai Xiaosheng. First, he tried to confirm a safe technical route. For example, compared with the system architecture mentioned by Ge Zhijie, WeChat seemed to be able to be designed using a combination of layered architecture and distributed design.

The former can theoretically have advantages such as higher scalability, maintainability, and technical diversity, but it...

"Mr. Yu, it's not that I don't want to support Ge Zhijie's idea, but shouldn't we consider the competition with Penguin when developing such software? We shouldn't have so much time and resources to promote technology, right? Currently, only Alibaba has practiced in this area in China. This concept, which we tentatively call microservice architecture, is good, but I don't think it is really suitable for us."

"This kind of development is very difficult. We have no experience in this area. If we rashly try to split a large system into multiple microservices, both development and maintenance will be a problem. I feel a headache just thinking about it. The coordination of business logic across services will be very complicated, and we have to maintain data consistency..."

Tan Ruize, who had previously had disagreements and arguments with Ge Zhijie, gave a very firm opinion. His proposal was to adopt a combination of layered architecture and distribution.

Yu Xing was not impatient and asked the NetEase employee for his opinion: "Combining layered architecture with distributed architecture, this is not the only solution at present, right?"

"Yes, but compared to what Ge Zhijie wants to do, this is already much more restrained." Tan Ruize said, "Mr. Yu, we have to choose a system architecture based on the characteristics of the software. For example, once a software like WeChat is successful, it will have many functions, a large user base, a large amount of data, and high real-time requirements."

"We divided the system functions into presentation layer, business logic layer, data access layer, etc. from the very beginning. This way the structure is clear and easier to maintain and expand. Different teams can also develop and maintain different layers."

"I don't know whether software like WeChat can achieve market success, but I think we still need to consider improving the concurrent processing capabilities of the system. Distributed architecture can meet such needs."

"This will take a long time to explain. Mr. Yu, I will compile all of this into a report tonight and give it to you tomorrow."

"In short, I think Ge Zhijie's idea is too advanced. Other architectures on the market are easy to develop and deploy in a single system. However, as WeChat has more functions, the complexity of the code will increase dramatically. Modifying functions later may affect the stability of the system, and it is not easy to meet the needs of high-concurrency scenarios."

"If we use a master-slave architecture, data synchronization may be delayed, which is not conducive to real-time chat on WeChat. If we use a simple layered architecture, it has no distributed support and once we need to process high concurrency and large-scale user data, I am afraid that performance bottlenecks will soon appear."

Yu Xing digested this information, thought about it, and then asked, "According to what you said, if we only use a layered architecture, under the current normal circumstances, at what scale of users will we encounter performance bottlenecks?"

"It depends on how complex the business logic is. Hmm..." Tan Ruize pondered for a while and said, "From a vague point of view, 30 to 50 may easily hit a bottleneck. This is the demand for instant messaging. The system must be able to handle a large number of requests at the same time in a short period of time."

He said seriously: "Otherwise, if we have two products, QQ works smoothly but ours does not. How can we compete?"

When Yu Xing heard what Tan Ruize said, some vague memories were activated. Did MiTalk also encounter such a problem back then?

It launched the voice function earlier than WeChat, which attracted a lot of fans, but it often crashed and seriously affected the user experience.

The experience of this kind of product is definitely very important, and Penguin has made QQ number one in China, so its experience and ability in handling this aspect are unparalleled.

When it comes to competing products, how big a user base does it need to be to achieve the minimum sniping effect... Yu Xing hopes that this number will eventually be in the tens of millions, that is, it will have at least 1000 million users when it sells.

This way, they can be sold at a higher price and have a real impact on penguins.

Of course, be sure to use a base, the more the better.

Yu Xing hesitated for a while and asked, "From what I heard...how big a team would be needed to develop this way?"

"Mr. Yu, let me calculate for you. To do the overall organizational design and technology selection, it will take three to five people. The front-end is for Android, iOS and Symbian, and each platform requires five to eight people. The back-end is responsible for implementing the business logic of WeChat. We have to do distributed system development and data management here. I don't know if fifteen people can stop. Oh yes, there is also mobile adaptation and optimization, which I think will take five people. In addition, functional, performance, compatibility and other aspects of testing..." Tan Ruize counted on his fingers and calculated carefully.

Yu Xing couldn't help but interrupt: "Write all the details in the evening report. How many people are there in total?"

Tan Ruize calculated in his mind and quickly gave the answer: "80 to 120 people."

Yu Xing frowned. Considering the development background of Zhang Xiaolong's team, the team was expected to be around 20 people, of which the core team was Ge Zhijie's five people. Now, if you calculate it this way, the scale has expanded too rapidly.

But he thought again and thought that this should be right.

Product development is not difficult, but the difficult part is the support behind the product.

Zhang Xiaolong and his team would only encounter minor problems in this regard, and Penguin would provide quick support once confirmed. However, if they wanted to start from scratch, they would need to make technical plans in this regard. However, the company had just been established, and the number of employees would have to catch up with Bai Xiaosheng, who had only been in office for a year and a half.

Seeing that Mr. Yu was considering it, Tan Ruize added, "Penguin's system architecture is similar. Moreover, it has a larger user base and uses more architectural designs. Since our product is going to compete with Penguin, we should learn from it in this regard."

It was hard for Yu Xing to disagree.

He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Then give me the report tomorrow morning, and we will try to determine the direction and budget within two days."

Tan Ruize was very surprised. He said that these were indeed his thoughts after careful consideration and he was worthy of his treatment. However, he did not expect such a direct response.

What should a leader be like?

Isn't this a compromise?
Although Mr. Yu did not agree immediately, his attitude was already clear.

Tan Ruize was both surprised and excited.

"I can understand Ge Zhijie's idea now, and so can you, but we need to find the most appropriate and realistic path under the pressure of competition from giants." Yu Xing expressed his position, "Since we are going to do it, we will do the best within our capabilities, and then see how it turns out."

The best within your ability!
Yu Xing didn't hesitate too much. He was more inclined to Tan Ruize's idea because...

Well, the system architecture of Penguin, whose core business is instant messaging products, is very convincing.

Regardless of the number of users, product functions or system stability, the giants naturally have their own technical expertise. Considering that an emerging application is not really going to compete with the big devil like QQ with hundreds of millions of users, the effect of advance preparation may be able to support this kind of early competition.

Yu Xing had his own calculations in mind. Even according to the upper limit of Tan Ruize's estimate, the salary expenditure for 120 people in one year would not exceed 1 million, while WeChat company already had 1500 million in its account.

As long as WeChat company can achieve some results, the intermediate financing can support the necessary investment.

When the output is greater than the input, it is a profitable account.

What's more, there are people waiting for an opportunity to move over the mountain.

After forming a preliminary inclination that evening, Yu Xing compiled the recordings of his conversation with Tan Ruize and used the main technical parts of the recordings to seek opinions from the programmers at Bai Xiaosheng.

Undoubtedly, there is a big gap between Bai Xiaosheng's programmers and Tan Ruize and Ge Zhijie who were hired at great cost, but they can also provide indirect evidence.

Finally, Yu Xing got a feeling.

Ge Zhijie is a radical, while Tan Ruize is a less radical radical.

The next morning at 8:30, Yu Xing invited Ge Zhijie to his office and tried to relieve some of his mental stress. He started by asking him three questions.

"Mr. Ge, do you think that our WeChat company, which was established less than a month ago, is a big company?"

"Mr. Ge, do you think our technical strength can match Alibaba's exploration of the technological frontier?"

"Mr. Ge, do you think the company's funds can support this?" Ge Zhijie remained silent, his face beginning to look a little unsightly.

After a while, he gave his thoughts: "This is the framework for competing with Penguin products. It may indeed require some exploration, but I have been trying to communicate with people from Alibaba these two days. Maybe I can recruit a few people who have experience and capabilities in this area."

"Mr. Ge, we can't reserve so much time for exploration. We need to come up with an effective solution as soon as possible." Yu Xing pointed out the problem. "Our main contradiction at present is to take advantage of the fact that Penguin has not yet made efforts on the mobile side and get ahead for a while. The longer this period of preemptive running is, the more hope we have of success."

"If it succeeds, then it won't be too late to do exploration in reverse. Take Alibaba for example. Didn't it only start exploring in the past two years? Why didn't it do this when it was founded?"

"It's the same principle. We can't be obsessed with the magic of the cutting edge of technology."

Ge Zhijie felt embarrassed after being criticized like this, and his unstable emotions began to stir again.

"Mr. Ge, please don't resign." Yu Xing noticed the slightest sign of this, so he stopped him first and then talked about his experience, saying sincerely, "Mr. Ge, you know I'm a medical student. We have a concept called 'evidence-based medicine', which says that we should combine the doctor's personal experience with the best current research, and then consider the patient's wishes to develop the most suitable plan."

"In terms of experience, we have to look at the experience of people like you. In terms of the best research, China should not look at Alibaba, but at Penguin, which is doing instant messaging..."

After Yu Xing said this, he handed over the report that Tan Ruize had written overnight, which explained the system architecture design of Penguin, compared the advantages and disadvantages of various architectures, and the current situation of WeChat company.

It has to be said that such a eloquent essay by Tan Ruize is enough to break his impression of programmers.

"Mr. Yu, you think he is more correct, right?" Ge Zhijie said this after reading it.

"WeChat needs a direction that is more suitable for the current stage. As for whether his suggestion is more correct, I hope Mr. Ge can give me an answer after a detailed discussion with him." Yu Xing said here and continued with the third factor that he had not mentioned just now, "How the company develops also depends on willingness. Mr. Ge, you must fully consider my willingness to invest, so that we can move forward on the fastest path."

Ge Zhijie looked at Mr. Yu in front of him, his expression still not looking very good.

Yu Xing did not try to persuade him like he did in the past few days. Instead, he said, "Boss Ge, at this early stage of the company, we need to appoint the most capable people. Tan Ruize will be our deputy technical director from today."

"I feel unwell..." Ge Zhijie's emotions fluctuated and he wanted to resign again.

Yu Xing interrupted directly and said, "Mr. Ge, the company is recruiting people, and the Bai Xiaosheng recruitment team is also helping to recruit people, but some people have reported that the technology produced by Baidu is not very good, and suggested that I recruit from companies such as NetEase, Huawei, and Alibaba."

Ge Zhijie laughed disdainfully, thinking that there might be such words, but it was more likely that it was Mr. Yu's method of provoking him.

"You can resign, resign, resign. You have to prove something before you resign, right? Even if you spend all my previous 20 million budget?" Yu Xing shook his head slightly, showing some disdain. "It seems that Tan Ruize at least dares to spend money and ask me for a budget."

Yu Xing seemed to have found a second person with whom he was entering a honeymoon period.

Seeing that Ge Zhijie didn't say anything, he continued, "Boss Ge, we signed the contract in black and white before, but if you are really afraid of Penguin, I understand. Think it over and leave if you want. Then let Tan Ruize be the technical director. I think he thinks he is no less capable than you."

Ge Zhijie put down the report and glanced at Mr. Yu. "Okay, Mr. Yu, if you have the guts to spend the money, there is no reason for others not to spend it. Pressure is pressure, and everyone who faces Penguin will feel pressure. I still think microservices will be a better and longer-term choice, but since you said so, let's do it this way."

Yu Xing said "hmm".

"I'll go find Tan Ruize." Ge Zhijie took a step forward and said, "I'll go and inform him to be the deputy technical director."

Yu Xing answered with one word: "Okay."

The president's office became quiet again.

Yu Xing picked up the report and couldn't help frowning again. He really couldn't understand Ge Zhijie's emotions. If he were to choose again now, he really felt that Tan Ruize seemed more suitable.

But then I thought about it...

Could it be that Tan Ruize has some other problems?

Those who work in technology always have to return to the technical level and talk about these things, which can be quickly verified with time.

Yu Xing called his secretary in and asked him to go downstairs to coordinate the recruitment of WeChat company. He had just placed an order with Bai Xiaosheng, so he could find candidates quickly, efficiently and economically.

Near noon, Yu Xing was still thinking about the development of WeChat when a number he had rarely contacted appeared on the phone. It was Li Shanyou from Ku6.com.

"Hey, Mr. Yu, I wish you a happy new year." Li Shanyou greeted with a smile.

When "If You Are the One" first started recording, Yu Xing and Li Shanyou were seated next to each other. They could communicate with each other normally, but their relationship was not very close.

Therefore, Yu Xing was a little puzzled about his sudden call. After a few pleasantries, he finally understood his purpose.

"I watched the show that just aired, and President Yu was still talking about me." Li Shanyou's laughter faded a little. "President Yu is always well-informed."

Yu Xing was a little surprised and said frankly: "Mr. Li, I don't know what you mean. I haven't been to the show for a long time, so I didn't see many familiar people. I felt a little emotional."

Li Shanyou on the other end of the phone was a little skeptical of this statement, but after thinking for a few seconds, he chose to believe it and sighed, "Mr. Yu, I am leaving Ku6.com. I thought you had already received the news and mentioned me like that."

Yu Xing didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I really don't have this."

"Aren't you a know-it-all?" Li Shanyou said.

Yu Xing replied: "Not really..."

Li Shanyou was silent for a while, then said, "Mr. Yu, I have an unwelcome request. I thought you had uncovered the internal conflicts in our company. Well, since you didn't, but I made the call anyway, I still want to say this: if there is news that I am leaving Ku6, I hope Bai Xiaosheng will not publicize it or describe the conflicts between me and Shanda."

Ku6.com was acquired by Shanda in 2009 and was immediately injected into NASDAQ-listed Hurray Entertainment, achieving a curve listing.

When Yu Xing heard this request, he could only respond with regret: "Mr. Li, do you know what kind of person I am?"

Li Shanyou: “…”

It seems like I have entrusted my trust to the wrong person!
He could only say: "Then please don't confuse right and wrong and don't distort the facts."

Yu Xing promised: "That's for sure. Of course, if this matter is irreversible, I think it would be better if you post a message on the forum, Mr. Li. What do you think?"

Li Shanyou pondered for a moment and thought that this was quite right, so he responded, "Well, wait until I officially resign before speaking out, so as to avoid groundless speculation."

Yu Xing then asked: "Since even you have resigned, does Shanda have any subsequent layoff plans?"

Li Shanyou felt a little numb on his scalp: "I probably can't decide this."

Yu Xing did not ask any more questions and only gave his blessing: "Mr. Li, leaving Ku6 may not be a bad thing. I hope you will start a new journey this year."

Li Shanyou thanked him for the blessing. After ending the call, he held the phone and was stunned for a while before realizing that he had not achieved his goal at all. Instead, he had to post on Bai Xiaosheng...

He shook his head, feeling only helplessness and sighing.

Yu Xing on the other end of the line pondered the call for a moment and didn't think it was a big deal, but he still instructed his secretary.

"Pay attention to the situation of Ku6.com. There seem to be some changes recently."

Don't miss out on big things and don't miss out on small things.

If WeChat is to expand, Baixiaosheng must also continue to develop.

(End of this chapter)