After the meeting at the hotel concluded, Zhang Dalong threw himself into the development of the Weibo project with almost obsessive dedication, barely stopping to eat or sleep.
The original plan was to have a proposal ready in five days, but in the end, he delivered it in just two.
Of course, this proposal wasn't completed by him alone; the team members he brought with him also contributed significantly, assisting with data collection, co-developing the framework, and so on.
Liu Yutong sat on the sofa, carefully reviewing the proposal document. She read quickly, her fingers pausing slightly at key points as she pondered.
As time ticked by, Zhang Dalong grew increasingly nervous.
He had no idea whether the Young Miss was satisfied with the proposal he and his team had prepared, as she hadn't uttered a single word since receiving it.
To him, this didn't seem like a good sign.
Just as Zhang Dalong was beginning to grow anxious, Liu Yutong finally spoke.
"Engineer Zhang, thank you for your hard work. While I don't fully understand the overall framework and technical details of the proposal, it feels very professional and logically structured."
She started with affirmation, allowing Zhang Dalong to relax slightly.
"However, from a user experience perspective, I have a few rough ideas. You can hear them out."
"Young Miss, please go ahead," Zhang Dalong immediately adopted an attentive posture.
Although he knew the Young Miss wasn't versed in these technical matters, the foresight she had shown in their last conversation meant he wouldn't dare underestimate her in the slightest or be perfunctory with her.
"It's like this. In the current proposal, the main way for users to interact with content they find interesting is through comments. I find that a bit monotonous."
"For example, if I see a very interesting topic, I might not have much to say in a comment, but I still want to express that I saw it, that I like it, or that I agree. In such cases, could we design a simpler action? Let's call it a 'Like.' No need to input any text, just a light tap to leave a mark, letting the poster know someone appreciates their content and allowing later viewers to intuitively see how popular that content is. What do you think?"
At that time, neither blogs nor platforms modeled after Facebook had a 'like' mechanism. But as someone who had lived through it before, she knew full well how powerful this little feature would become.
Whether it was the later Weibo or various short-video platforms, none could do without this feature, because it intuitively reflected the popularity of content and thus stimulated user engagement and interest.
After hearing the Young Miss propose this feature, Zhang Dalong's eyes instantly lit up.
Technically, implementing this feature wasn't complicated; it essentially involved adding a counter association in the database. However, the underlying concept of social driving forces and the quantification of content popularity was incredibly novel.
Just as the Young Miss said, adding such a positive feedback mechanism could indeed greatly enhance users' sense of participation and boost the efficiency of content dissemination.
"Young Miss, you're amazing. This is a fantastic idea. I'll revise it as soon as I get back."
Afterwards, Liu Yutong discussed several other features with him.
In short, she tried to pour out everything she remembered from her previous life.
These things might have seemed ordinary to her, but to Zhang Dalong's ears, they were anything but. Just from this one conversation, he felt his mind was nearly bursting with inspiration.
The Young Miss's grasp of user psychology and the patterns of social dissemination was simply astonishing, making one feel as though she could foresee the future.
Of course, that was an exaggeration.
In any case, the more he conversed with the Young Miss, the more he admired this girl nearly twenty years his junior.
In all his life, he had never met a woman so intelligent and full of ideas.
No wonder she could start from scratch and single-handedly build the vast enterprise that was the Wanlong Hui.
Another day passed.
An even more comprehensive proposal document was once again placed before Liu Yutong.
Liu Yutong couldn't help but admire Zhang Dalong's execution efficiency; it was remarkably high.
Moreover, in the proposal revised in such a short time, she could hardly find any flaws. Of course, she automatically ignored the technical aspects she didn't understand.
This also proved that the person she had poached was indeed worth the effort.
So worth it!
"Excellent. This proposal far exceeds my expectations. Proceed according to this plan; the project is officially launched. The company will fully support resources and personnel. Whatever you need, coordinate directly with Yu Xin."
"Thank you, Young Miss! I will get Weibo up and running as soon as possible."
Just as Zhang Dalong was about to leave with the proposal document, Liu Yutong called him back.
"Oh, Engineer Zhang, tomorrow is National Day. You can all take the normal holiday." She meant they didn't need to work so hard and should balance work and rest.
"No, Young Miss. I've asked for everyone's opinion, and they've all chosen to work overtime."
Zhang Dalong's words weren't meant to show how hard his team was pushing themselves; it came from a genuine desire to work overtime. And it was completely voluntary from everyone, with no coercion.
Mainly, because they felt they had just arrived in a new environment empty-handed, with no projects or achievements to their name, everyone naturally hoped to prove their value as quickly as possible.
Liu Yutong didn't insist but made a guarantee.
Since everyone has this mindset, then proceed as you wish. I'll have the logistics department arrange meals and all necessary support for everyone during the holiday. Overtime will be paid at three times the standard rate in accordance with regulations, with bonuses calculated separately.
"Thank you, Young Miss!" Zhang Dalong expressed his gratitude again.
"Also, tomorrow our Wanlong Hui's first shopping plaza is opening. Would you like to come and join the festivities, maybe cut the ribbon?" Liu Yutong asked.
Zhang Dalong quickly shook his head. "No, no, I don't want to go anywhere right now, Young Miss. May I make a request?"
Liu Yutong seemed to have already guessed what he was going to ask and said directly, "From now on you don't need to attend meetings unless they're important. You and your team can set your own working hours. If you want to sleep in, sleep in. There's no need to clock in or undergo attendance checks."
Zhang Dalong: "..."
Goodness! The Young Miss must be the worm in his stomach! She even knew what he was thinking.
Actually, he didn't know that in her previous life, there were rumors he had once called Pony Ma to ask for leave from a meeting simply because he couldn't be bothered to attend, and Pony Ma had no choice but to agree.
Because Liu Yutong understood his character, she decided to lift the restrictions altogether, giving him complete freedom.
The effect was obvious.
Zhang Dalong was also deeply moved. In his many years of professional career, this was the first time he had encountered a boss who trusted him so unreservedly.
In the following days, Zhang Dalong and his original team from Da'E effectively went into a state of complete isolation to carry out development work.
Consequently, the project's pace far exceeded expectations.
Not long after Zhang Dalong left, Su Mansu came in to report that Ma Da and Ji Yu had landed and were expected to arrive in Pearl City in about two hours.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yutong perked up. She was eager to see what exactly Ma Da had managed to retrieve.
