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Henan Mine, a Chinese company that develops, manufactures, and sells cranes in Henan province, has recently gone viral on Weibo for giving out a total bonus of RMB73 million (S$14 million) to its employees in January 2023, reported Chinese news outlet Dushikuaibao.

Speaking to Dushikuaibao, the company's publicity manager, surnamed Feng, shared that RMB61 million (S$11.8 million) was given out during its annual party on Jan. 17, while the rest was awarded during a competition hosted by the company the next day.

According to a video recording of the company's annual party posted by Dahebao, mountains of cash could be seen piling up onstage.

In fact, some of the stacks appeared to be so heavy that two people were filmed carrying them onto the stage.

One of the recipients could also be seen dropping a pile of cash accidentally on the floor when walking offstage because he carried too many stacks in his arms.

Individual bonus as much as RMB5 million

Feng told Dushikuaibao that most of the attendants at the annual party were from the sales department, and around 40 colleagues took home a total of RMB61 million (S$11.8 million).

Three salespersons received the highest bonus of RMB5 million (S$972,515) each for making more than hundreds of millions of sales for the company. One of them even managed to sell more than RMB300 million (S$58.3 million) worth of cranes.

Feng said that the bonuses given out in person at its annual party were more than RMB1 million (S$194,552) per person. Those who received smaller bonuses could collect their payouts from the finance department, which would deposit the amount to their bank accounts directly.

Competition for money-counting

According to Feng, all high-performing employees were also invited to participate in a money-counting competition on Jan. 18 in which they could take away any amount of cash as long as they managed to count them accurately within 15 minutes.

He said one colleague who worked in the production department took home RMB157,000 (S$30,535) after successfully counting the notes at the competition.

A video posted on Douyin (the Chinese version of Tik Tok), taken by user Jiujiufangshao, showed what the competition looked like:

The entire table appeared to be covered by hundred-yuan notes, and staff could be seen grabbing a few notes from the sea of cash before counting them by hand.

Also rewarded employees previously

However, these cash payouts were not the only rewards Henan Mine's employees received this Chinese New Year.

Feng said that the company had also given out angbaos — which had an average amount of RMB 3,000 (S$538.6) — to its more than 5,000 strong employees.

Those who spent the holidays away from their hometown also received CNY hampers, consisting of Chinese white wine and groceries, according to the company's official website.

Feng shared that the company had previously given out cars and medals made of pure gold as year-end bonuses to employees, reported Dushikuaibao.

In 2020, the sales department reportedly received a total of RMB27 million (S$5.2 million) worth of bonuses and participated in a money-counting competition with prize money of RMB10 million (S$1.9 million).

Getting job applications after video went viral

Feng said that many people called the company on Jan. 27, the first work day in China after CNY, to hand in their resumes.

He claimed he had attended to more than 200 calls and online enquiries over two days.

Company making profits despite challenges

Henan Mine made a total sales of RMB9160 million (S$1781.7 million) in 2022, which translates to a 20 per cent increase from last year's results, Dushikuaibao reported Feng as saying.

The company's official website also stated that its products have already been sold to more than 80 countries and regions in 2020.

Their publicity manager further claimed the company did not raise any funds and had no outstanding debts over the last three years.

If true, these are impressive achievements considering the company is privately owned and had to navigate China's strict Covid-19 restrictions, which limited business activities and crippled the economy.

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Top images via Weibo