2: Chapter 2 Development

"Short Video?"

Zhao Lei and Lin Xiao said in unison.

"Correct."

Qin Mo nodded.

"Short Videos that are only a dozen seconds long, with most not exceeding a minute."

The office went quiet for two seconds.

Zhao Lei spoke up first, his tone filled with skepticism.

"A dozen-second video? This... what is there to watch in that?"

Lin Xiao nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Boss. Current video websites are all about competing for content and copyrights. Users watch TV series, movies, and variety shows. What can you broadcast in a dozen seconds? Who would watch something like that?"

"You are still thinking in the old ways. Although Short Video has the word 'video' in it, it's not the same concept as typical video websites."

Qin Mo's voice was very calm.

"But..." Zhao Lei started to say something.

"Do you browse Weibo?"

Qin Mo interrupted him.

The two were stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Those funny GIFs and Short Video clips on Weibo—do you watch them? Do you repost them?"

Zhao Lei opened his mouth but couldn't find words.

Qin Mo continued.

"Internet users these days have shorter patience and more scattered attention spans. No one wants to spend an hour watching a boring video."

"But they are willing to spend a dozen seconds watching an interesting clip. After finishing one, a simple swipe brings up a new one."

He paused, his voice steady and unhurried.

"This is the Douyin I want to create."

"Users themselves are the producers of content. There's no need to buy copyrights or hire celebrities. Every ordinary person can pick up their phone and film; once filmed, they can post it, and once posted, it could be seen by millions or tens of millions of people."

"Even."

"Ordinary people can change their lives with the help of this platform."

Zhao Lei frowned, digesting Qin Mo's words.

Lin Xiao was also silent.

"Boss, what you said makes sense."

Zhao Lei spoke up first, but still with doubt.

"But will people really watch this kind of software? And how will it make money?"

"We'll talk about money later."

"Right now, we need to build the product first and bring in users."

Qin Mo took a deep breath and looked at the two, his gaze serious.

"Trust me."

Zhao Lei and Lin Xiao exchanged glances.

The office fell into a brief silence.

"Alright."

Zhao Lei stood up first, patted his round belly, and forced a smile.

"Anyway, we've come this far; it doesn't hurt to give it one more try."

Lin Xiao adjusted his glasses and nodded as well.

"Boss, whatever you say, I'll do. I'm with you."

Qin Mo looked at the two brothers who had endured hardships with him for two years. He didn't say anything sentimental, just nodded.

"Then let's start."

Qin Mo turned around, pulled over the whiteboard in the office, and drew the architecture diagram on it.

"The core architecture of Douyin consists of three parts: the frontend, the backend, and the Recommendation Algorithm."

"The frontend is similar to a standard video player, but the interaction needs to be redesigned. It must be full-screen and immersive; users can switch videos by swiping up and down. All operations must be as simple as possible."

"The backend must be able to support the uploading, transcoding, storage, and distribution of massive amounts of video."

Qin Mo paused here.

"You two are responsible for these two parts."

"What about the Recommendation Algorithm?" Zhao Lei asked.

"I'll handle it."

Qin Mo's tone was very flat, as if he were stating something perfectly normal.

"The Recommendation Algorithm is the core of the entire Douyin, and it's the part that is hardest for other companies to replicate."

In his past life.

The reason Douyin was able to stand out from numerous Short Video apps was precisely because of this algorithm.

It doesn't care about who you follow or how many followers you have; it only looks at your behavior—what you like, how long you linger, what you swipe away, and what you watch repeatedly.

Then, like a parasite in your stomach, it will constantly push the content you like in front of you.

In his past life, this type of algorithm took years of polishing and iteration by countless top-tier engineers to gradually mature.

But for the current Qin Mo, the architecture and core logic were already in his mind. All he had to do was type them out line by line.

After all, in his past life.

He had served as the Chief Architect of Douyin.

"The tasks are set."

Qin Mo turned around.

"Zhao Lei, you are responsible for the frontend interaction. Lin Xiao, you are responsible for the backend architecture. I will write down the documentation for the framework and core logic for you."

"I will handle the Recommendation Algorithm myself."

"Any questions?"

"No," the two replied in unison.

"Then let's start."

The three returned to their workstations, and the office quieted down, leaving only the sound of typing.

Qin Mo sat by the window, turned on his computer, and began to build the framework for the entire recommendation system.

His mind was filled with too many things.

The history of mobile internet development in his past life was a history of algorithmic evolution, from the initial collaborative filtering to later deep learning recommendations.

He knew the architecture, pros and cons, and implementation details of every stage clearly.

What he needed to do wasn't to create the most cutting-edge algorithm in one go, but to first use a simple yet effective version to launch quickly and verify the results.

As he thought, his fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard.

Just then.

The phone in his pocket vibrated.

Qin Mo took out his phone, and a QQ message popped up on the screen.

(Jiang Youyou: "Senior!!! Did my mom urge you to pay the rent again? Don't pay her any mind! Wait for me, I'll go back and talk to her!!!")

Looking at the text content, Qin Mo felt a bit helpless.

Jiang Youyou was his junior in university, two years his junior. They had been in the same elementary school since childhood and grew up together; in the eyes of others, they were childhood sweethearts.

However.

Compared to his own working-class parents, Jiang Youyou's family background was much more extravagant.

The current office of Inspur Technology was rented from a property under Jiang Youyou's family name.

These past few years of starting a business had been rough, and Qin Mo had been "specially cared for" by Jiang's mother many times, with Jiang Youyou always mediating in between.

He lowered his head and typed a reply.

"Don't bother your mom. I just paid the rent. Also, I have something I need your help with in a few days; don't turn me down when the time comes."

The message was sent.

Almost an instant reply.

"Need my help?! What is it, what is it! Have you finally decided to accept being supported by a beautiful little rich girl like me!!!"

Qin Mo finished reading the text, flipped his phone face down on the table, and continued coding.

Zhao Lei, sitting opposite him, poked his head out from behind his monitor and asked slyly: "School Belle Jiang?"

Qin Mo didn't even look up.

"Write your code."

Zhao Lei retracted his head, exchanged a look with Lin Xiao, and a knowing smile appeared on both of their faces.

This week, the lights at Inspur Technology never went out at night.

After Qin Mo built the core framework for the Recommendation Algorithm, he wrote detailed interface documentation and framework descriptions, handing them over to Zhao Lei and Lin Xiao to begin development.

He himself dove headfirst into the optimization and debugging of the algorithm.

The office desk was piled high with takeout boxes and instant coffee packaging.

Zhao Lei had dark circles under his eyes, and his keyboard clattered loudly.

Lin Xiao was tall and thin; after a week of staying up late, his eye sockets had sunken in, but his energy was actually getting better and better.

A week later.

Qin Mo leaned back in his chair, watching the program running on the screen in front of him, and let out a long breath.

On the screen in front of him, a video player with a simple interface was running. When a video finished playing, it automatically switched to the next one, playing smoothly with seamless interaction.

And in the invisible backend, the initial core module of the Recommendation Algorithm was already running. Although it was far from as precise as the mature version from his past life, the most basic framework was already in place.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Mo's tone was extremely exhausted.

"It's done."