diymy Chapter 23 Garage
Chapter 23 Garage
The day after returning to Shenzhen, before the Light project team's merger mobilization meeting had even begun, Lin Shen's name and a new appointment had already been sent to the relevant teams via email.
Notice Regarding the Establishment of the "WeChat" Project Team and Personnel Arrangements
The email was brief, containing only a few key points: Based on the needs of product strategy exploration, an independent project team called "WeChat" has been established, headed by Lin Shen, a core member of the original Light project team, who will report directly to Zhang Xiaolong. The project is positioned as an experimental pioneering product, with independent resource accounting and an initial three-month duration. Volunteers from the original Light project team are now being recruited; positions are limited.
This configuration sounds a bit shabby.
But the moment this email was sent, it still caused ripples within the Light project team and even in a wider area.
"Brother Shen, this is..." Lu Chuan nimbly kicked the table leg, and the chair slid smoothly toward Lin Shen under his control.
"Literally, the company has decided to continue exploring the path of 'light' social networking, and I will take the lead," Lin Shen replied directly.
"Wow, that's awesome, Brother Shen!" Lu Chuan was about to say something when the internal communication software suddenly flashed – a general meeting.
Inside the meeting room, Zhou Botao chaired the last plenary meeting of the Light project team.
The reactions varied. Most people felt that this was a sign that Light had been recognized, since it had finally caught up with WeChat, which was personally led by Zhang Xiaolong, and the merged project would have more resources, making it more than the sum of its parts.
A small minority felt it was a failure and that internal horse racing was unnecessary.
Of course, they didn't want to think about these decision-making matters anymore. What was on everyone's mind now was a more crucial question: how to merge?
"Based on Mr. Zhang's decision, the new team will focus on developing the main product to counter MiTalk. Most of the staff will need to move south to Guangzhou, and personnel relationships will eventually change. The specific departures and transfers will be determined within a week."
Zhou Botao's last words sparked a low murmur in the conference room.
As expected, the merger still primarily focuses on micro-email.
At that moment, some people subtly cast their gazes toward Lin Shen in the back row.
It's as if this is a fork in the road.
"Lin Shen, come to my office for a moment." After the meeting ended, Zhou Botao called him over, and Chen Mo was also called over.
"I'm going to get something, just a moment," Chen Mo said as he walked toward his workstation, with Lin Shen following behind Zhou Botao.
"Sit down." Zhou Botao patted Lin Shen's shoulder, his tone complicated. "Lin Shen, you've taken a risky step. President Zhang gave you an opportunity, but he also gave you a tightrope. Walk it well, and your future will be bright; step on it..." He didn't finish his sentence, shaking his head.
He actually admired Lin Shen very much; it was he who suggested promoting Lin Shen to senior engineer ahead of schedule. His original plan was for Lin Shen to serve as the deputy head of the backend team in the merged new team, responsible for the core voice functionality. But unexpectedly, Lin Shen's path was faster and riskier; if he failed, he would likely fade into obscurity at Tencent.
He didn't dwell on it; the company document had been issued and had to be followed. He changed the subject: "Those willing to come with you, you can talk to them yourself. I won't stop you, but don't let it affect the overall merger. As for the office location..." He glanced at the email the administration had just sent, "We've cleared out a small, unused project room in a corner of Building C. It's a bit out of the way and a bit rudimentary, but it's quiet. The administration will contact you for the keys."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhou. Light doesn't belong to me alone. Without you and Teacher Chen..." Lin Shen's words were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Chen Mo walked in and handed Lin Shen a USB drive: "The latest archive of all the core code of Light 1.0, a record of the pitfalls encountered, and some... fragmented ideas that I didn't have time to implement." His tone was calm, and his eyes were full of entrustment, "Take it, use it if you need it, if you don't... just keep it as a memento."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhou, and Teacher Chen." Lin Shen took the USB drive and didn't say anything more sentimental.
Perhaps these two are the ones who are most reluctant to part with Light, and now they have decided to truly pass on Light.
Zhou Botao watched quietly, then took out a small tin of tea from the cabinet next to him. It wasn't the kind he usually used to entertain guests, but something that looked more personal.
"Don't bother, I'll do it." He waved to Lin Shen, who was about to get up to help, and skillfully scalded the cups, rinsed the tea, and brewed it himself, his movements unhurried and deliberate. "Try this, it's from my hometown. It's not a famous tea, but the taste is authentic."
The rising steam, carrying the refreshing aroma of tea, filled the office, slightly easing the somewhat heavy atmosphere from before.
Chen Mo leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of him, his gaze fixed on the USB drive in Lin Shen's hand. He suddenly spoke, his voice lower than usual: "The name Light... was chosen by me and President Zhou. Now that you've decided to change it to 'WeChat,' we agree. But I want to tell you a story..."
Chen Mo's story begins in Tencent's headquarters building and ends when Lin Shen joins Light. In essence, it's about a group of people colliding ideas and pooling their wisdom.
As Lin Shen watched the two of them chatting away, a smile crept onto his lips, as if he too had participated in Light's creation from nothing.
"The things on this USB drive, especially those 'fragmented ideas,' are from our original team, arguing in the meeting room, scribbling on the whiteboard, and suddenly thinking of something in the middle of the night and getting up to write it down... They may be immature, even a little naive, but they are traces of Light's true desire to 'shine' in that direction. Don't just treat them as a thought." Chen Mo gave another instruction as if entrusting his son to someone else.
"Alright, Chen Mo, don't put so much pressure on Lin Shen." Zhou Botao refilled their teacups with the fairness cup, then picked up his own cup, blew on it, and said, "But when it comes to product development, sometimes you need a bit of 'naivety' and 'stubbornness.' In that respect, Chen Mo and I aren't as good as you. At least, we don't have the guts to ask Boss Zhang for projects. Now that you're starting your own business, whether you call it 'WeChat' or something else, you can't let this momentum dissipate!"
"Mr. Zhou, I will remember." Lin Shen nodded.
"Besides, you must be under a lot of pressure. Mr. Zhang's decision to have you report directly shows that he values you, but it's also a test. Your little corner of the world is far from the central authority; if you do well, it'll be a pleasant surprise, but if you don't... you might just disappear without a trace. But the two of us, at least I will be watching."
"Me too," Chen Mo briefly echoed, pushing up his glasses. "If you encounter technical difficulties, or simply want to discuss some 'unconventional' ideas with someone, feel free to call anytime. Guangzhou and Shenzhen aren't far away."
Lin Shen recalled Chen Mo's words when he first joined Light: "Our team atmosphere is great," a feeling as warm as the purple clay teapot in his hand. He knew that these two had expressed their support for him in the most practical way.
"I understand." Lin Shen nodded, his tone solemn. "I'll find a way to catch Light's energy and put it into WeChat. The corner may be small, but it's perfect for focusing on polishing it. As for the pressure..." He smiled, with a touch of youthful vigor. "When I joined Tencent, wasn't it to do something different? Now that I have the opportunity, it's perfect."
In the following time, the conversation moved beyond work.
Zhou Botao reminisced about his amusing experiences at the research institute right after graduation, complaining about how cumbersome the equipment was back then. Chen Mo rarely spoke about his hobby of assembling audio equipment in his spare time, describing tuning the sound as being like optimizing code—even a slight difference would feel off. Lin Shen also shared some anecdotes about renting an apartment in Shenzhen and his disastrous attempts at cooking.
Laughter occasionally broke the silence in the office, temporarily easing the impending separation and reorganization.
As dusk settled outside the window, Zhou Botao checked his watch. "Alright, that's enough for today. Lin Shen, remember, you chose this path, and you're walking it yourself. Take care."
"Definitely. Mr. Zhou, Ms. Chen, please take care of yourselves too. See you in Guangzhou, or... wait until I bring you good news about 'WeChat'."
The three stood up, without much handshake or small talk, and simply nodded to each other.
it is more than words.
As Lin stepped out of the office, he took a deep breath; the lights in the corridor were already on.
He knew it was time to start building his own team. He had already discussed the principle with the two of them: they couldn't take away Light's core technology.
What he needs is someone who truly agrees with the "light social" approach, is willing to give up a clearer future after the merger, and accompanies him on a high-risk gamble.
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When Lin Shen returned to his workstation, most of the people in the office had already left, but a chubby figure was playing Minesweeper on Lin Shen's computer.
"Why aren't you off work?"
"Shen-ge, you guys are done talking..." Lu Chuan turned around, startling Lin Shen. The kid was beaming with eagerness, even more excited than him. "Admin came to deliver the keys, I got them for you. I also went to see the office. So, how about it, count me in for the new team?"
"What about your advisor?" Lin Shen had anticipated that the chubby boy was clever, and now his only concern was his status as an intern.
"I've spoken with Sister Ting, and the HR department's opinion is that I can choose you as my mentor."
"You trust me that much?"
"Brother Shen, you know me. Going to Guangzhou for a merger? Nothing beats the excitement of building WeChat with you! Besides, the office location is fantastic; once the door's closed, it's our own territory! Count me in! Absolutely!"
"Let me remind you again, the main product after the merger has a large platform, abundant resources, and a 'stable' future. If you follow me to that corner, the project might be gone in three months, and you'll have to find a new position, starting from the margins."
"I couldn't be clearer!" Lu Chuan practically danced with glee upon seeing Lin Shen's agreement. "What's the point of 'stability'? Following you, Brother Shen, we're dealing with the 'future'! It's 'different'! I'm happy to serve my 'code pet' and do things like 'emotional compression'! Besides," he winked slyly, "I believe your chances of winning, Brother Shen, are much more interesting than going to Guangzhou to handle integration!"
Lin Shen smiled. After more than a month of getting to know him, he genuinely realized that this chubby guy was really useful in crucial moments.
"You alone are not enough. I need a truly lean and efficient small team: backend, client, and test.
"People need to be reliable, technically sound, and most importantly—truly understand the 'lightweight' and 'connected' aspects we want to achieve, be willing to accept rapid trial and error, and even accept the possibility of no results. Keep an eye out for me; now that the merger direction is set, some people might not want to go to Guangzhou, or have doubts about fully integrating into the micro-email technology stack. This is our opportunity," Lin Shen stated, sharing his thoughts.
Lu Chuan immediately understood: "Got it! Brother Shen, what do you think of the double assessment of those who agree with the 'pet mentality' plus those who are hesitant?"
Lu Chuan immediately reached a consensus with Lin Shen and also put it into action: "Brother Shen, leave it to me! I'll find the list and initial intentions right now, but you'll have to make contact with the people."
In the following days, the 16th floor of Kexing Science Park was filled with both busyness and melancholy.
With the merger list finalized, some are packing up to head south, while others are uncertain about the future.
Against this backdrop, Lin Shen privately met with several people.
He first contacted Zhao Cheng, an engineer in Wang Hao's team who was extremely interested in the "emotion compression" algorithm and had even tried to optimize it privately. Zhao Cheng was a man of few words, but his eyes lit up when he talked about audio algorithms and "preserving emotions".
Lin Shen asked directly, "After the merger, the audio module will most likely use a more stable solution. If you had a completely independent environment, and you only pursued the most accurate transmission of emotions at the lowest bitrate, how far could you go? Are you willing to give up the opportunity to join the main team and try your luck in this corner of the world?" Zhao Cheng hesitated for two days before finally giving a clear answer: "I want to see how many theoretical lower limits I can break. I'll stay."
Su Man from the testing team, the girl who wrote "grooming" in her weekly report, was worried about possibly going south. Lin Shen showed her the interactive prototype of "WeChat" and that secluded room, and asked Su Man:
"If you were to 'nurture' this product, in a quiet corner where no one would bother you, where would you first 'groom' it? This might allow you to better utilize your sensitivity to the user experience than doing standardized testing with a large team." Su Man almost immediately pointed out several details that could cause confusion and proposed a testing approach. "I like corners; they're quiet and I can focus. I'll join."
On the client side, Cheng Xiangdong was the only one who took the initiative to approach them. He also brought two other people with him. The three of them each had their own strengths, covering almost all the back-end systems on the market in 2010.
He highly approves of Lin Shen, but also offered his own thoughts: "Lin Shen, the technology stack and pace after the merger might be quite different from Light's. I think the path we want to take, although risky, is closer to the product itself. I'm good at making experimental things stable. If needed, I can come over. Working in a corner is fine; it's efficient."
Lu Chuan's "list" also played a role. He persuaded Sun Hui, a backend developer who had a clear understanding of the backend logic but was overwhelmed by the upcoming large-scale technical restructuring, and Li Yue, a frontend developer who was worried that he would not be able to focus on UI details after moving south.
After speaking with them separately, Lin Shen acknowledged their abilities and sincerity.
A week later, the merger and reassignment list was announced, and while many people rushed to Guangzhou or changed their work positions, the core team of the "WeChat" project had quietly taken shape.
Lin Shen led his eight "volunteers" to the secluded, unused project room at the end of the corridor in Building C.
The room wasn't big, cluttered with old tables, chairs, and other odds and ends, and the view from the window wasn't as expansive as the main office area. But as Zhou Botao said, it was quiet enough; once the door was closed, it was a world of its own.
Everyone pitched in to clean, brought out computers, and drew the first sketch of "WeChat" on the whiteboard. The corner quickly came alive.
Nine people held their first team meeting here. There was still a dusty smell in the air, but what was stronger was a "gunpowder smell" that was a mixture of pressure, excitement, and extreme focus.
"This will be our base from now on, our 'garage'." Lin Shen got straight to the point, writing two words on the whiteboard with a marker: "Debt Clearance" and "Polishing".
"We only have nine people, three months, and very limited resources. The first version is scheduled for release in two weeks." He glanced at each face. "I know you've given up more 'stable' futures to come here. So, there are some things I must say upfront: what we're doing isn't improvement, it's experimentation. The code might not make it into the main repository, and the product might disappear quickly. But every idea we validate here could potentially spark something much bigger in the future."
"I can't guarantee success; I can only guarantee that this was a real adventure. If you want to back out now and return to the merger sequence, it's not too late."
Nobody moved.
Lu Chuan grinned: "Brother Shen, stop getting sentimental, let's get down to business! This 'garage' of ours, I bet it can produce rockets!"
Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed.
Lin Shen smiled, turned around and tapped the whiteboard: "Okay. First thing, clear the debt. Take a week to resolve the annotations, unit tests, and coupling issues of the Light core communication link. We need a robust 'heart'. Cheng Xiangdong and Sun Hui will lead the effort."
"The second thing is to refine it. Zhao Cheng will focus on the stability and efficiency of 'emotional compression'; Li Yue will optimize the 'breathability' of the interaction; Lu Chuan and Su Man will identify all the 'bumps' in the experience, make a list, and tackle them."
"In the past two weeks, we haven't focused on new features, but rather on ensuring a solid foundation and a thorough user experience. We aim to make the first version of WeChat as 'lightweight' and 'smooth' as possible."