196: Chapter 196 The Shocking Prize

Next up was the time for performance programs.

The first program was a male employee from Zhang Tao's team singing the song 'Old Boy'.

This song was the theme song for the micro-movie released by the 'Chopstick Brothers' last October. It hadn't been out for long, so it was surprising someone already knew how to sing it.

The singer didn't have much technique, but it sounded pretty good, and his emotions were spot on.

Once the song ended, it drew a round of applause from everyone.

After the male employee stepped down, Qiao Linlin walked onto the stage in high heels, holding cue cards in her hand with a professional yet sweet smile on her face.

"Thank you to our Tang for that wonderful performance," she looked down at the cue cards and then raised her head, "Next, we will proceed with the first round of lucky draws for this annual meeting."

The audience below instantly fell silent, and everyone's eyes focused squarely on the stage.

"Third prize, a total of 10 winners—" Qiao Linlin deliberately drew out her words, keeping them in suspense, "The prize is an Apple phone worth 5,000 yuan."

"Wow—" The crowd below immediately broke into a commotion.

They hadn't expected the company to go so big in the first round of the draw. If the third prize was already worth 5,000 yuan, then how good would the second and first prizes be?

"Are you ready?" Qiao Linlin smiled and raised her hand.

"Ready!"

"Come on, three, two, one, start!"

Linlin stood on the stage, and with a shout of "start," the names on the big screen began to scroll rapidly. Thirty seconds later, the screen froze, and 10 names were neatly listed on it.

The banquet hall was quiet for less than half a second before the atmosphere exploded.

The winners stood up cheering; some even excitedly hugged the colleagues next to them. Those who didn't win were both applauding and heckling, with laughter and cheers blending together.

"Congratulations to these 10 colleagues!" Qiao Linlin raised her voice to be heard over the noise below. "Will the winning colleagues please come to the stage to collect your prizes!"

Two hotel waitresses wearing cheongsams entered in single file, carrying trays.

Five brand-new Apple phones were neatly stacked on each tray.

The gazes from below were all drawn to that patch of white.

The winning employees also made their way onto the stage.

Some ran up taking three steps in two, unable to hide the smiles on their faces;

Some walked at a leisurely pace, but the curve of their lips simply wouldn't go down;

Others only reacted after being pushed by a colleague, waving back at their table as they went up, drawing another round of laughter from the audience.

The ten people lined up on the stage, standing in front of a long table.

The waitresses turned slightly and tilted the trays forward to make it easier for them to take the phones. The young man on the far left was the first to reach out; he picked up a phone, turned it over in his hands a few times, and grinned, revealing a row of neat teeth.

The girl with a ponytail next to him followed by picking one up and whispered a "thank you."

One by one, the ten phones were quickly collected.

After taking a group photo, the winning employees all walked off the stage.

"Alright, the third prizes have all been given out." Her voice spread throughout the banquet hall through the speakers, tinged with a smile, "Colleagues who didn't win, don't worry—"

She deliberately drew out her words, her gaze sweeping over the pairs of shining eyes below.

"Because there are still the second prizes, the first prizes, and—"

She paused, the smile on her lips deepening.

"The Grand Prize."

As soon as the words fell, applause and cheers exploded again, even more intense than before. Some whistled, some pounded the tables, and some raised their glasses toward the stage, shouting "The boss is generous!"

After the draw came more performances, round after round. Some sang pop songs, some danced hip-hop, and one young man even performed a magic trick. Although his technique was slightly unrefined, the atmosphere was built up well, and the audience watched with great interest.

Soon, the second round for the second prizes and the third round for the first prizes were all completed.

There were 8 winners for the second prize, and the prize was a laptop worth around 10,000 yuan.

When this prize was announced, there was also a lot of discussion among the crowd.

"Dell laptops? A ten-thousand-yuan computer?"

"Holy crap, the company is really going all out!"

...

As for the first prize, there were three in total, and the prize was a 100g gold bar.

Compared to the previous prizes, although there were only three, this prize was undoubtedly the most eye-catching.

After all, since ancient times, everyone has known and loved gold.

100 grams of gold, calculated at the gold price in 2010, was worth about 30,000 yuan.

But the feeling a gold bar gave was far more than just 30,000 yuan. That glittering gold color, the heavy weight, and the '9999 Pure Gold' inscription—the moment it was held in hand, things like Apple phones or laptops all had to take a back seat.

Moreover, unlike electronic products, this stuff wouldn't depreciate over time; it would even appreciate.

According to the trends of his previous life, if someone could save it from now until 2025, the gold originally worth 30,000 would rise to 100,000.

With the conclusion of the first-prize draw...

Only one last performance remained.

However, the attention of the employees present was no longer on the program.

Because after the last program ended, it would be the draw for the Grand Prize.

After experiencing the first three rounds of draws, the employees were highly anticipating the Grand Prize.

After all, since the first prize was already worth 30,000 yuan, the Grand Prize was estimated to be over 50,000 yuan.

Soon, the last performance ended. The lights in the banquet hall dimmed and then brightened again, and everyone's attention focused on the stage.

Qiao Linlin walked up in her high heels, her white evening gown shimmering softly under the lights. She walked to the center of the stage, picked up the microphone, and said with a smile in her voice: "Next is the most exciting moment of this annual meeting—the final round of the lucky draw!"

The audience suddenly fell silent, everyone's eyes fixed on her.

"The prize is—" Qiao Linlin drew out the word, her gaze sweeping across the crowd, and then she suddenly raised her volume, "58,888 yuan in cash! We invite President Chen to the stage for the draw!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the audience exploded with a 'boom'.

"How much? Fifty-eight thousand?"

"Holy crap—"

"Is that for real!"

Whispers and exclamations mixed together, and the entire banquet hall instantly reached a boiling point.

58,888 yuan in cash was roughly equivalent to a year's salary for an ordinary employee. When this number was dropped, no one could stay calm.

Chen Fan stood up and walked onto the stage. The spotlight followed him, and hundreds of eyes from below watched him as the atmosphere was pushed to its peak.

He walked to Qiao Linlin's side, took the microphone, and without any extra words, simply and decisively said: "Start."

The names on the big screen began to scroll rapidly. Dozens of names jumped around on the screen.

Thirty seconds later, Chen Fan shouted: "Stop."

The screen froze abruptly.

A name appeared right in the center—Zhang Qian.

The banquet hall went quiet for a moment.

Everyone's eyes turned in unison toward a table in the corner.