King of Capital

Wednesday, September 1th.

8:30 a.m. on weekdays is the best time to kill time by leaning against the subway railings and browsing Weibo during the commute to work, as it is also the peak traffic period on the platform.

The aftermath of yesterday’s taxi drivers’ siege of Didi’s headquarters has not yet subsided, and another online ride-hailing term has slowly climbed the trending search list, this time starring Uber and interns.

"Why I am being hunted by Uber - the unknown secrets behind the 500 billion valuation", a popular article on a public account with over 10 views, bravely exposes the ugly faces of Uber capitalists.

The author interned at Uber this summer, but resigned after just two months because he disagreed with the corporate culture. He listed several major charges against him on social media and was threatened with prosecution.

No labor contracts are signed with interns. They have to work overtime for 15 hours a day and their daily salary ranges from 30 yuan to 100 yuan, depending on the mood of the boss. The hourly wage is only a few yuan!

The ratio of interns to regular employees is as high as 7:1, and the rate of becoming regular employees is less than 8%.

It's even worse than the child laborers in the Jenny textile factory. Even the African Boy Scouts and warlords would have to admit defeat!

It is really a story that makes people cry and feel sad. Millions of netizens are shouting that all European and American foreigners should hang street lights. As for where the author got the exact proportion data, don't pay attention to such details.

As a result, amid public outrage, Uber topped the trending search list in just two hours and was subjected to all-round criticism from public opinion.

Those who are not of my race must have different hearts. Everyone has the responsibility to boycott Uber and uninstall the software, but the righteous netizens turned around and remembered that they had already uninstalled Didi, which exploited drivers, yesterday...

I was in a dilemma for a moment. I couldn't just find Yidao Travel in some corner and click to download it to register as a user and bind mobile payment. This process was a bit troublesome.

Just when the public opinion was stuck in an awkward position and everyone was embarrassed and unable to resolve the issue, some smart opinion leaders came up with suggestions for everyone.

Anyway, all crows are black, so why not compare the user discounts of Uber and Didi, and use the one that bleeds more. Eat their food, drink their drinks, and play their games, but just don't do anything for them!
If they dare to reduce the subsidies, we will go after the rivals, punish them severely, and redress the rights of the exploited interns and drivers.

This plan immediately received widespread support and approval, and righteous netizens downloaded Didi again, and it only cost 23 yuan to take a Didi taxi for 8 kilometers.

While taking the screenshot and posting it on Weibo, I did not forget to quietly make yesterday’s Weibo post calling for the uninstallation of Didi private. I was reluctant to delete the more than 200 likes.

"Didi's public relations actions are crude, and if Uber just gives a little guidance, it will easily be considered as using netizens as a gun." The young woman's voice is clear and pleasant.

The experienced driver controlled the steering wheel entirely by muscle memory, and glanced at the man in the rearview mirror. He had a baseball cap on his head and a wisp of hair hanging by his ear, so his entire face couldn't be seen, but his skin was vaguely white, delicate and well-maintained.

Even though she was sitting in the narrow back seat, you could tell she was tall. She must be a beauty with a slim waist, long legs and a perky butt.

After all, if a loose-fitting long black coat is worn by someone who is a little short, fat or thin, he or she will instantly look like a monk sweeping the floor in a Shaolin Temple.

What's more, she also wears mid-calf Martin boots, a top-notch body-testing outfit. It can be seen that this girl is beautiful and aware of herself, and confident from the inside out.

"It's not a big problem. There are so many things going on at the end of the year that the focus of public opinion will soon be blurred. The key is to keep up with the intensity of subsidies and burn money."

The old driver was admiring the beauty. When he heard the man next to her speak, he couldn't help but shift his gaze and continued to look at her with some curiosity.

They were a couple wearing the same baseball cap and coat, and they also wore masks to cover most of their faces more tightly.

Nothing can be seen but there is no doubt that he must have some special skills, either his bank card balance or his younger brother's skills, which makes beautiful women frequently actively look for topics to talk about, but he is lukewarm and taciturn.

“Actually, regarding this matter, even smart people know that Didi deliberately used Uber to divert attention. But your boyfriend is right. As long as there are subsidies, it doesn’t matter if the two platforms quarrel.” The old driver coughed lightly and interrupted.

The beauty asked with interest: "Master, can you please tell me how much the subsidy has increased?"

"Uber paid 7000 yuan this week. Didi is not as good as foreign companies. There are too many bells and whistles. There are bonuses for completing orders, a 6-fold premium during peak hours and a 4-fold premium during off-peak hours. If you calculate carefully, you can get more than Uber if you work harder." Experienced drivers are happy to share.

"Didi's subsidy structure is to get drivers to work more, while Uber's subsidy structure is to snatch drivers. Their purposes are different."

The beauty gave an analysis, thought for a moment and then asked, "Let me ask you one more question. How much do you think the average monthly income of drivers can be with such a subsidy?"

"Hey, what's the big deal? Didi and Uber offered subsidies like this in March this year. A full-time driver can earn 30,000 or 40,000 yuan a month if they work hard."

The old driver changed the subject and said, "I can't. My family demolished several houses in Huamu and entered retirement life early. My son and daughter are both bored abroad and come out to drive to kill time."

"You are so lucky."

"Oh, that's what everyone says. Aren't you two young lovers from Shanghai?"

"We're already married and just had a baby." "Is that true?!"

The old driver was so surprised that he turned around and looked at the back seat: "You look young, but you got married and had children so early. Where are you from?"

"He is from Northeast China, and I am from Shaoxing." The beauty said as she took the man's arm and introduced herself to him confidently.

The old driver retracted his attention and looked forward, unwillingly saying, "Now we are all new Shanghainese. It will be good for our children to go to school if we transfer our household registration as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will become increasingly difficult in the future, and even if we have money, it won't work."

"Fortunately, I work at a university and can apply for a talent introduction program. It seems that the school can also transfer my household registration after I have worked for a few years." The beautiful woman plans and manages her small family very carefully.

The old driver was a little envious of why it wasn't his own daughter-in-law: "The university has good treatment but earns less. Raising a child is very expensive. Your husband needs to work hard."

"Be content with what you have and don't pursue making money too much. It's enough for my husband to satisfy his self-worth." The beautiful woman said with a complicated tone.

From the sound of it, he sounds like a gigolo?
The old driver frowned and said, "In today's society, whether a person has ability and talent can be measured by money. Just talking about ideas is too empty."

"Then my husband is still very powerful, worth 50 billion dollars!"

The beautiful woman turned her head and blinked her big eyes to look at the man next to her, then leaned her head on his shoulder with a charming smile on her bright face.

"..."

The old driver was speechless. Although the old saying goes that every inch has its own merits and demerits, it can't be worth 50 billion.

"523 billion." The man suddenly corrected seriously.

The experienced driver endured the stagnation of blood and stepped on the accelerator to drive to the destination, then complained to the customer that there should be a function to blacklist passengers. Sometimes it's quite helpless when you meet strange people.

…………

"Twenty dollars."

Yu Tong paid the fare and calculated the price in his head: "On average, it's 1 yuan per kilometer. The subsidy algorithm is indeed quite complicated."

"Uber burns 3 million in a single week and Didi will have to spend even more to effectively maintain its market share. A complicated subsidy algorithm can save some money." Xie Jingxing was helpless.

Yu Tong tilted his head: "Why did Uber suddenly start to lead the trend?"

"It's just a flash of life. It's impossible to think that the dawn of victory is just around the corner." Xie Jingxing held her slender waist and walked into the mall.

Yu Tong deliberately sang a different tune: "It is possible that you are satisfied with Didi's 2015 operating data, and Uber also feels that it has done well and is more motivated to win the Chinese market."

"Their expectations are too low. How about making a bet? If you guess wrong, my daughter will be weaned a month later." Xie Jingxing was full of confidence.

Yu Tong raised his chin and squinted at him: "You lost. The laboratory donation will be increased by 4500 million US dollars next year. The school will add some more money to buy a second-hand supercomputer abroad to do genome simulation, but the national fund will not approve it."

"It shouldn't be difficult to buy it. Can your school afford the electricity bill?"

Xie Jingxing was not being sarcastic. Forty or fifty million US dollars could buy a large second-hand supercomputer, and the annual electricity bill would be tens of millions of RMB.

Yu Tong was speechless. He leaned into his arms with his chin on his shoulder and complained in a low voice, "We are really poor. Academician Yin Hui discussed with me about buying a supercomputer. When my laboratory is not using it, I can do some outsourcing work to earn some extra money and live frugally."

“Poor thing, if it doesn’t work, I can use Yunshan’s biological laboratory to buy a supercomputer for you.” Xie Jingxing didn’t have any good ideas.

Yu Tong shook his head and said, "Academician Yin Hui is very supportive of me. Besides, we can't rely entirely on our family to pay for the research. We should spend within our means."

As the end of the year approaches, business at the IFC shopping mall is particularly booming, with a long queue forming in front of the LV store. In the freezing cold weather, the couple just stood in the queue, hugging each other, whispering in each other's ears and chatting about trivial things.

Like conjoined twins, they moved forward slowly and clumsily with the crowd, very slowly and leisurely.

Xie Jingxing recalled the scene when he was a child buying New Year's goods with his parents. At that time, the market was filled with the smell of sugar-roasted chestnuts mixed with cold air. Now, there was a faint orange fragrance with body temperature in his arms.

"Honey, I need to buy a lot of things." Yu Tong swiped a long string of memos on his phone. (End of this chapter)