Counterattack starts with controlling probability

Li Hao rubbed his temples, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He knocked on the table:

"What they want is 'formal compliance', not 'substantive change'. In that case, we will give them 'compliance'."

"How does it work?" Xu Lei asked curiously.

"It's very simple," Li Hao explained. "We can recruit a group of local employees in the United States through a labor outsourcing company, sign formal contracts, and make them nominal employees of the company."

"These employees can be assigned to non-core peripheral support work, such as logistics, administrative affairs, or even remote reception. This way, we can meet the 50% ratio requirement without affecting the operation of our core team."

"Is this legal and compliant?" Liu Xia asked.

"Completely legal." Li Hao clicked on a document on his computer. "According to their definition, any employee with a formal contract is counted towards the ratio. As for specific job responsibilities, they don't have any hard and fast rules. We can definitely do it."

In the next few days, Li Hao quickly contacted several local labor companies.

They provide a large number of qualified local employees, most of whom are willing to work part-time or remotely.

Li Hao's team selected a group of people and assigned them to serve in peripheral support positions in the company.

These new employees do not touch the core business, but only handle some simple document sorting, customer email replies and other matters.

The real core team still maintains the original structure and operational efficiency.

Soon, Li Hao submitted a new personnel structure report, and the reviewers from the Secretary of State's Office expressed satisfaction after inspection.

A week later, the Secretary of State's Office again notified Li Hao for a review.

This time, Li Hao attended with confidence, bringing his team's compliance report.

"Have you adjusted your staff structure?" the other party asked coldly.

"Of course," Li Hao said, smiling as he handed over the document. "This is our latest employee ratio report. As per your requirements, the proportion of local employees has reached over 50%."

The other party flipped through the documents, saw the contract and personnel data, and nodded expressionlessly: "It looks fine."

Li Hao smiled inwardly, but remained calm. "We have always abided by the laws and regulations of the United States, and are very willing to contribute to the local economic development."

The official nodded and said nothing more, but the expression on his face seemed somewhat unwilling.

After returning to the company, team members applauded Li Hao's operation.

Liu Xia jokingly said, "Brother Hao, your operation is absolutely amazing! It's completely legal and it blocks the other party's path!"

Xu Lei said with a smile: "These new employees are like 'invisible people'. They don't affect our core work, but leave the other party speechless. It's simply wonderful."

Li Hao waved his hand. "This is just a temporary solution. Next, we must accelerate the development of our core business and silence everyone with our strength."

"That's right!" Ji Shuqiang said confidently, "Since they want to play by the rules, we'll play by the rules even more thoroughly!"

……

However, this storm was obviously not just aimed at him.

"Have you heard?" Liu Xia looked up at Li Hao as she scrolled through the news. "TikTalk is trending again. They've been singled out by the US Congress as a threat to national security."

Li Hao raised an eyebrow and sat on the sofa. "National security? Interesting. How can a social media platform threaten national security?"

"The excuses are the same old, old ones," Liu Xia handed him the phone. "Data privacy, user information might be shared with the Daxia government... Look, they're directly taking away their right to review server data."

Tiktalk is a multinational technology giant in China and has long been listed on the capital market of the United States.

With its light-hearted and interesting short video content and strong user stickiness, Tiktalk has hundreds of millions of active users in the United States, becoming a force that cannot be ignored in the market.

However, the US government obviously does not intend to let such a company from Daxia continue to rest easy.

From the initial data privacy review to the subsequent server migration request, the US regulatory authorities have used almost every means to put pressure on Tiktalk.

"Look at this," Liu Xia pointed at the news page. "They are now required to store user data within the United States and have it monitored in real time by a third-party independent review agency."

"Isn't this just cutting off someone's life?" Li Hao said calmly, but his brows were furrowed.

"There are even more ruthless measures," Liu Xia continued. "If TikTalk doesn't cooperate, it might be directly removed from the platform."

"Take it off the shelves?" Li Hao sneered. "They really dare to take down an app with hundreds of millions of active users?"

"They dare." Liu Xia nodded. "This isn't the first time they've done this. Some of Daxia's tech companies were squeezed out of the market this way before."

Tiktalk's experience is not an isolated case. More large technology companies are also experiencing similar difficulties:

A chip giant was asked to provide detailed information about its supply chain, including its cooperation records with the domestic government;

A new energy vehicle company's autonomous driving data was restricted from entering the U.S. market;

A biotech company encountered unreasonable delays in the FDA approval process, which caused its new drug launch plan to be stranded.

Liu Xia turned off her phone and looked at Li Hao: "Do you think they want to completely exclude us?"

"It's not exclusion," Li Hao said firmly, "it's containment. They're afraid we'll become too strong."

"What about TikTalk?" Liu Xia asked. "Their situation is more complicated than ours."

"It depends on how they handle it," Li Hao pondered for a moment, his eyes determined. "However, this pressure also reminds us. While the US market is important, we can't put all our chips on it."

Liu Xia nodded: "You mean, diversification of layout?"

"That's right," Li Hao stood up, his voice resonant and powerful. "Although the rules of the United States are harsh, as long as there are loopholes, there will definitely be solutions. As for those companies that have no way out, they can only find ways to create a way out."

"So, why don't I give him a way out!" Li Hao thought to himself.

He has been thinking about a bold idea recently:

New Star Investment needs a unique public opinion database that can accurately capture market sentiment and assist in investment decision-making.

He knew very well that this matter had to start with user data.

And who has the most user data?

That would be TikTalk. This traffic giant has a huge number of C-end users and is a direct reflection of market sentiment.

However, Li Hao knew that the situation of Tiktalk was not optimistic now.

Because of the unique style of the new US president coming to power, this company is in the spotlight and is being scrutinized very strictly.

Zhang Jingren, the founder and CEO of Tiktalk, is said to be under great pressure and has an uncomfortable life.

Li Hao seized this opportunity and found Yi Feng with sincerity and kindness.

"Old Yi, please do me a favor and help me. I want to meet Zhang Jingren." Li Hao went straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Oh? You've got your eyes on him too?" Yi Feng narrowed his eyes and smiled, "But Zhang Jingren right now isn't as impressive as he used to be. He's more like a 'frightened bird'."

"Tiktalk has been under intense scrutiny lately, so he probably doesn't want to see anyone."

"That's why I have to meet him," Li Hao said with a firm look on his face. "What he needs right now isn't a safe haven, but a partner. I want him to know that we're not just here to get the data, but we can also help him through this difficult time."

Yi Feng nodded: "Interesting. Okay, I'll try to arrange it. Whether it works or not depends on your ability."

A few days later, Li Hao finally met Zhang Jingren through video call.

In the camera, he looked younger than expected, yet somewhat tired, his face filled with caution and impatience.

"Li Hao, right? Yi Feng said that your New Star Investment wants to cooperate with me. Tell me, what's the matter?" Zhang Jingren went straight to the point in a decisive tone.

Li Hao smiled sincerely, "Mr. Zhang, I know TikTalk is having a hard time lately."

"We all understand that there are some things you're not comfortable talking about, but I can guess that what you need most right now are more partners who can stand by you and understand you. And I'm here to help you."

Zhang Jingren raised his eyebrows, obviously a little surprised, but said nothing.

Li Hao went on to say, "I want to create a public opinion database, relying on TikTalk's user behavior data to extract market sentiment and hot trends."

"This tool is not only useful for us at New Star Investment, but also for you at TikTalk. For example, you can optimize content recommendations more accurately and even use this data to counter external scrutiny and questioning."

"Sounds good." Zhang Jingren's tone softened slightly, but he was still clearly wary. "But why do you think I would trust you? At this critical juncture, I have to be extremely cautious about who I work with."

"Because we are friends, not opponents." Li Hao said firmly.

"Mr. Zhang, I understand your current situation and know how much pressure you are under. We at New Star Investment are not here to cause you any trouble. Instead, we want to use our technical capabilities to help you do this better."

"Furthermore, this cooperation is completely legal and will not cross any red lines. We are not taking any risks, we are just seeking win-win results."

Zhang Jingren was silent for a few seconds, then finally smiled. "That sounds quite comforting. Okay, we can discuss cooperation, but there are two conditions. First, all data usage must be strictly compliant; second, any cooperation must not affect the user experience. If you can do these two things, I'm willing to continue the conversation."

"No problem," Li Hao agreed without hesitation. "Our team will fully cooperate and communicate with you at any time to ensure that all problems are avoided in advance."

After hanging up the phone, Li Hao decided to strike while the iron was hot and directly promote cooperation.

He knows very well that no matter how much some things are discussed online, they are not as practical as face-to-face communication.

Especially for a big man like Zhang Jingren who has experienced many ups and downs, if you want to truly win his trust, you must show enough sincerity and strength.

His mind raced, and he immediately thought of Zhang Feng.