When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

As the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve 2020, the night sky over Tangdu was illuminated by fireworks.

The flu outbreak in Seoul has largely subsided after the full rollout of Wanwusheng (a health center), with a sharp drop in the number of new confirmed cases, and intensive care unit beds have finally become available.

On New Year's Day, Zhang Weihua unusually got off work and came home before 10 a.m. When he opened the door, his daughter was sitting on the sofa watching TV, and there was a bowl of steaming dumplings on the coffee table.

This flu came on fiercely, but it also left quickly.

No one can accurately estimate how disastrous the final numbers would have been if the "Wanwu Sheng" (a type of plant) hadn't been deployed in time.

The posts of gratitude and "thank goodness for Galaxy Technology" that flooded the internet were drowned out by the sound of fireworks and firecrackers on New Year's Eve, becoming a quickly fading episode in this era.

Following this, major platforms successively released the "2019 Mobile Internet Report".

Douyin's annual data report shows that the number of monthly active users of mobile Internet in China has reached 11.33 billion, and the demographic dividend has officially come to an end. The growth rate of the average daily usage time of mobile Internet users has plummeted from a high level in 2018 to single digits in 2019. The era of rapid growth in the total national time has ended, and competition has become a zero-sum game.

At the same time, total domestic mobile phone shipments also declined year-on-year.

The data agency summarized it in one word in its report: "stall."

The first to feel the chill was Qiandu.

This company, once the leader of BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent), has suffered repeated setbacks in the mobile internet era. Its search market share has been continuously eroded by Toutiao and WeChat. Despite talking about its AI strategy for several years, it has been unable to find new growth points for revenue and profit.

The term BAT is rarely mentioned anymore; instead, the term "Galaxy" has taken its place—a new industrial ecosystem centered around Galaxy Technology, a group of companies in their respective fields that are being forced to upgrade by its technical standards and employee benefits.

Penguin's financial report was equally dismal.

This company, which has created an astonishing growth miracle since its listing, saw its revenue growth rate drop to its lowest point since its listing in the first three quarters.

The tightening of game license approvals, the double whammy of Douyin and Toutiao for information flow ads, and the peak growth of paid memberships for Penguin Music and Penguin Video are all bad news.

Weibo's trending topics remain lively, with celebrity gossip and variety show clips still dominating the list, but the stock price continues to decline, and revenue growth is only 1.65%, the lowest since the company went public.

The capital market doesn't care about trending topics, it only cares about monetization efficiency, and Weibo's monetization efficiency is being crushed by Douyin with overwhelming force.

Didi's situation is even worse.

After Tangdu issued licenses for operating driverless ride-hailing vehicles, Galaxy Technology's fleet of driverless vehicles began operating on the streets of Tangdu.

Zero accident rate, lower prices than Didi, and standardized service – each of these is a fatal flaw that Didi cannot counter.

Didi's driver turnover rate has hit a record high, and more and more drivers are signing contracts with Galaxy Technology for unmanned driving maintenance positions. These contracts include a base salary, five social insurances and one housing fund, paid annual leave, and commercial insurance.

Huangtuan's market share has plummeted from over 60% at its peak to less than 20%, Eleme has only 10%, and the rest has been swallowed up by Pinhaofan.

Huangtuan and Ele.me were forced to follow suit by providing social security and base salaries for their riders, leading to soaring operating costs and further widening their losses.

Pinhaofan, backed by Galaxy Technology's cash flow and AI dispatch system, exchanges stable compensation for stable jobs for riders, stable jobs for riders for service quality, service quality for merchants and users, and ultimately, merchants and users for the entire market.

This is not a subsidy war, it's a rules war!
At the same time, the high welfare benefits promoted by Galaxy Technology have ignited the contradictions that were originally masked by the argument that "996 is a blessing" even earlier.

On Douyin and Toutiao, more and more employees of large companies are posting anonymously, showing their overtime records, abnormal indicators in their medical examination reports, and the compensation they received after being laid off by their companies under the guise of "optimization".

The voices of opposition transformed from an undercurrent into a torrent.

Galaxy Technology's four-day work week, three-day weekend, full social security coverage, and minimum year-end bonus of 12,000 yuan have become the most striking contrast in this torrent.

Those internet heroes who were once endlessly admired are falling from their pedestals at a dizzying speed.

A revolutionary change, one that can both carry and capsize a boat and is not up to anyone else, is brewing at an alarming pace.

Galaxy Technology is at the end of one technology cycle and is starting a new one.

Just after New Year's Day, while the ginkgo leaves in Tangdu were still carpeting the ground in gold, Huangtuan headquarters and Ele.me headquarters each received a letter.

The sender was Pinhaofan.

The letter was politely worded, but its meaning was clear: Please send someone to Tangdu before the specified date to attend the preparatory meeting for the National Food Delivery Industry Association and jointly discuss industry standards.

Three days later, at the headquarters of Yinhe Technology in Tangdu High-tech Zone, in the conference room of Pinhaofan, Wang Xing of Huangtuan, Zhang Yong, CEO of Ele.me, and the heads of more than a dozen local food delivery companies that were still in operation gathered together.

The air conditioning was set to the perfect temperature, the tea was pre-Qingming Longjing tea, and each person had a thick draft of the industry association's bylaws in front of their seat.

Liu Siyuan, the general manager of Pinhaofan, sat in the main seat on behalf of Galaxy Technology. When he spoke, his tone was steady and his words were well-chosen, but every point he made was a hard line that was not open to negotiation.

"The minimum hourly wage for food delivery riders cannot be lower than 1.5 times the local minimum wage standard. The platform is responsible for paying the full social insurance and housing fund for all full-time riders, and part-time riders must also purchase commercial accident insurance. Delivery time limits are dynamically adjusted according to road conditions, weather and order type, and safety benchmarks are set. In severe weather, the delivery time will be automatically extended. We will not accept any platform's 'exploitative speed increase'."

"Negative review appeals must be jointly adjudicated by the rider, the user, and the platform; the rider should not be solely responsible. Merchant entry requirements and commission rates will be uniformly capped, and merchants whose dine-in hygiene does not meet standards will not be allowed to list. The platform is prohibited from charging merchants commissions exceeding the cap, nor from requiring them to sign exclusive agreements."

Finally, there is a seemingly insignificant but actually most fatal point: "All food delivery platforms should open up data access to Pinhaofan, and Pinhaofan should uniformly allocate delivery resources to avoid resource waste, traffic congestion and safety hazards caused by repeated deliveries from multiple platforms in the same area."

The entire conference room was completely silent.

The heads of more than a dozen local small companies looked at each other, some with their teacups halfway up, others typing rapidly on their phones, probably reporting to headquarters.

Liu Siyuan didn't urge him, but simply picked up his teacup and slowly drank while waiting.

Wang Xing stood up, his face flushed red.

Huangtuan has been suppressed by Pinhaofan for more than a year, with its market share falling from 60% to 20%, rider turnover rate remaining high, and stock price declining all the way down.

Now, Pinhaofan is directly presenting the industry association's bylaws, demanding that it open up its data, accept unified scheduling, and increase riders' wages and provide social security according to unified standards.

"Can I say a few words?"

Liu Siyuan gestured for him to proceed.

"Huangtuan is already working on rider social security. Although we started later than you, we're also making up for it. Minimum hourly wage and safe delivery time limits are negotiable, but data access is another issue..."

His voice trembled slightly, not from nervousness, but from the resentment of being pushed to the limit: "Delivery data is Huangtuan's core asset, accumulated over a decade and billions of dollars. Opening up data access is tantamount to laying our dispatch system, business district profiles, and rider distribution all in front of you. Frankly, what's the difference between this and directly handing over command?" Liu Siyuan placed the teacup back on the table, making a very soft clinking sound.

"Mr. Wang, what is your dispatch system? Is it using algorithms to force riders to run red lights, speed, and drive against traffic to meet those delivery deadlines that have been pushed to the limit? Is your business district profile used to surround high-quality merchants, force them to sign exclusive agreements, and lower the traffic weight of those who don't sign? Your rider distribution data is accurate down to every street and every community, but it's not used to plan safe routes for riders; it's used to squeeze every last drop of delivery efficiency."

“I don’t deny that you’ve been accumulating this data for years and burning through billions. But you know very well what it means for delivery riders and merchants. Asking you to open up the data today is not to take away your command, but to ask you to hand over command so that we can all redefine the rules together.”

Wang Xing's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't speak.

The Huang team behind him was equally silent. Some were drawing meaningless circles on their notebooks with their fingers, some were repeatedly bringing up the delivery data table and then locking the screen, and some were leaning back in their chairs staring at the ceiling, as if trying to figure out how to find a crack in this dead end.

Ele.me CEO Zhang Yong slowly stood up.

He had just spoken to Jack Ma on the phone before leaving Hangzhou. The call lasted a long time, and Jack Ma only said a few words at the end: "Wang Donglai is a man of open strategy. You might think that the conditions he sets are putting pressure on you, but if you look at it from another angle, he is using higher standards to force everyone to keep up. Whether you can keep up or not is up to you."

Zhang Yong did not answer at the time, but remained silent for a moment before saying, "I understand."

He stood up at that moment, his voice much calmer than Wang Xing's.

"Ele.me agrees to join the association. There are no issues with data access, and the rider compensation standards are also recognized. We need to further refine the delivery time safety benchmarks on the previous page, including the criteria for judging severe weather and the formula for calculating delays. Localities can make minor adjustments based on their actual situations, but there must be an upper limit to the extent of these adjustments to prevent local authorities from exploiting loopholes. If the final draft remains unchanged, Ele.me can sign it now."

A low murmur arose in the conference room.

The heads of those local delivery companies who were still observing were originally hoping that Huangtuan could withstand the pressure, and even if Huangtuan couldn't, Ele.me would still struggle along.

As a result, Ele.me directly invested, and in front of everyone, they took the initiative to increase the terms, not only to sign the agreement, but also to make the terms even stricter, leaving no room for anyone to find loopholes.

Someone subconsciously looked at Wang Xing's face. Wang Xing's expression was very bad, but more than that, it was exhaustion, the kind of exhaustion that comes from having your chessboard overturned and then finding that you don't even have the strength to turn it back upside down.

Liu Siyuan turned to him: "President Wang, what do you say?"

Wang Xing did not answer immediately.

He looked down at the thick draft of the industry association's bylaws in front of him, his fingers repeatedly tracing the edges of the pages: standardized delivery times, doubled minimum hourly wages, tripartite adjudication of negative reviews, open data access...

Each item hit the most critical spot precisely.

He recalled the passion he had when he was making games, the transformation from games to food delivery, and how Huangtuan had climbed out of the bloodbath of the group-buying wars and finally stood at the top of the domestic and international food delivery market.

At that time, he felt that the throne was welded in place and that no one could shake it.

But now?

Pinhaofan quickly captured a large share of the food delivery market.

When he doesn't follow the rules, he can't beat Pinhaofan.

Now that we've agreed to share the meal, we need to get everyone involved in setting new rules. If you don't follow through and set the new rules, you won't even be eligible to sit at the table anymore.

He stood up, his voice much hoarser than before.

"Huangtuan also agreed to join the association. We discussed and finalized the terms of the charter one by one, but I have no objection to the overall framework, data openness, fee standards, and rider rights protection. Since we are going to set industry standards, let's see it through to the end. I suggest that we establish a technical working group for the detailed rules of delivery time safety benchmarks and the formula for calculating delays in severe weather, led by Pinduoduo, with each company drawing technical personnel, to come up with a feasible solution within a month."

Liu Siyuan nodded and said that he would create a separate working group to discuss this matter after the meeting. Then he closed the draft charter, stood up, and said his last words to everyone.

"Thank you all for your support. The era of unbridled growth in the industry has come to an end. Pinhaofan is not here to steal market share, or at least not just that. What we want to do is establish rules and truly treat all practitioners, especially those who brave the wind and rain on their electric bikes, as part of this industry, rather than just replaceable numbers on the platform's revenue chart. Once we sign the agreement, it will be time for us to move forward together."

Without hesitation, Zhang Yong unscrewed the pen cap and wrote his name in the signature column, the force penetrating the back of the paper.

Then he stood up and pushed the agreement toward Wang Xing.

Wang Xing picked up a pen and wrote on the signature column for a long time, so long that everyone in the conference room was watching him.

The moment the pen touched the paper, he suddenly remembered standing in front of the huge gong at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange when Huangtuan went public, his face full of smiles.

At the time, I thought it was the starting point; now I realize it was the peak.

After signing the agreement, he handed it to Liu Siyuan without saying anything more.

The heads of more than a dozen local delivery companies then stepped forward to sign in turn, and the whole process lasted about ten minutes.

After everyone signed, Liu Siyuan put away the agreement and informed everyone that the association's unveiling ceremony would be held after the New Year, with Pinhaofan, Huangtuan, and Eleme serving as rotating chairpersons, and Pinhaofan serving as the first chairperson.

Wang Xing walked at the very back. After leaving the conference room, he didn't go straight to the elevator, but stood at the end of the corridor for a while.

His assistant cautiously approached, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up: "Mr. Wang, the car for the return trip is already waiting downstairs. Also, could you tell me about the flight back to Beijing tonight?"

He stopped halfway through his sentence because he saw Wang Xing laughing.

That smile contained self-deprecation, weariness, and a stubbornness that came from being suppressed for too long, finally accepting fate but not entirely resigned.

On the same day, news of the establishment of the China Food Delivery Association was released.

When the news broke, the internet was silent for a few seconds before the comments section exploded.

"The unified minimum hourly wage and the tripartite adjudication of negative reviews are too harsh. In the future, when I see riders rushing in the rain, I won't just feel heartbroken. At least I know that they won't be penalized with the entire day's delivery fee just because of one late delivery."

"Wang Xing actually signed it, that's the most shocking thing. To make someone who once said 'either become number one or die' bow down and accept the new rules, there's no need to discuss just how strong Pinhaofan is."

"If you don't sign, you're out. Would you sign? Right now, we're all vying for seats at a table of open conspiracy. If you sit down, you can still play; if you stand up, you can't play at all."

"Just two days ago, Huang Tuan was saying online that the reform of rider treatment would take time, but today he signed the association's charter at a group-buying platform. Time really waits for no one, and neither does the market."

"Ele.me was very clear-headed this time, and didn't struggle at all from beginning to end."

"I wish Xinghuo Express would do the same someday. They already have a huge market share, so if they really did it, I'd absolutely support them!" (End of Chapter)