191: Chapter 191 The "A Song of Ice and Fire" of Public Opinion

CCTV's "Focus Report" Studio · February 16, 8:00 PM, the program begins.

The host opens: "This Spring Festival, the 'year-end bonus' of one Huaxia tech company has become a national topic. Some are envious, some are skeptical, and some are deep in thought. Tonight, we enter Spark Technology to see what lies behind this 'year-end bonus'."

Camera cuts:

Scene 1: Red Flag factory, technician Lao Li.

Lao Li looks a bit nervous in front of the camera: "My name is Li Jianguo, I am 45 years old, a technician on the Red Flag production line."

The camera follows him home after work—an old residential complex, a two-bedroom apartment.

Li Jianguo's wife takes out her phone and shows the online shopping record: "He used his year-end bonus to buy our daughter a laptop, the latest model, over 8,000 yuan. Our daughter is studying computer science at university in Nanjing and needs a good computer."

Daughter via video call: "Dad, I received the computer, it works really well. Thanks, Dad!"

Li Jianguo's eyes redden: "This is Dad's support for you... Study hard."

Scene 2: A rental apartment in Shenzhen, chip engineer Xiao Wang.

Xiao Wang is 27 and shares a rental with his girlfriend.

"My monthly salary is 30,000, and my year-end bonus is 150,000," Xiao Wang says to the camera. "We originally planned to buy a house in five years, but now... we have enough for the down payment."

The camera captures them looking at houses: at the sales office, Xiao Wang and his girlfriend are holding a calculator, calculating monthly payments.

"This 80-square-meter unit has a down payment of 600,000 and a monthly payment of 12,000," says Xiao Wang. "I can afford it."

His girlfriend cries: "We... finally have a home."

Scene 3: Xian, test engineer Sister Zhao.

A single mother with an eight-year-old daughter.

"My year-end bonus was 60,000, and I saved 50,000 for my daughter's future education," Sister Zhao says. "With the remaining 10,000, I took her to Hainan for a trip. It was her first time seeing the ocean, and she was overjoyed."

Camera: Hainan beach, the little girl running after the waves, her laughter crisp and clear.

Back in the studio.

The host summarizes: "This isn't showing off wealth; this is allowing workers to share in the dividends of development. Spark Technology's employees create value with their sweat, and the company rewards them with real money. Perhaps this is a micro-practice of 'common prosperity'."

The program airs, viewership rating breaks 5%.

Huaxia Daily Commentary · February 17

Front-page editorial: "Looking at Huaxia Corporate Cultural Confidence Through Spark".

Excerpt:

"...Spark Technology uses compensation and benefits far exceeding industry standards, not only retaining talent but also stimulating creativity. This is a form of cultural confidence: believing that Huaxia engineers are no less capable than anyone else, and believing that Huaxia enterprises can set the rules rather than follow them.

"An enterprise that dares to pay its employees is the one with the most confidence in the future. Because only by believing that tomorrow's profits will be higher than today's can one dare to make large-scale investments today.

"This confidence stems from deep cultivation of technology, persistence in innovation, insight into the market, and even more so from a firm optimism about the country's development trend..."

The article is reprinted by major media outlets.

Official media sets the tone: The Spark model is worthy of affirmation.

February 17

Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili, the trending lists on the three major platforms:

#Spark Annual Meeting Drone Phoenix# (820 million views)

Phoenix videos from various angles, set to different music.

Top-rated comment: "This is the true combination of technology and art; it's much better than some celebrity concerts."

#I Won a Car at Spark# (650 million views)

The winning employee livestreams picking up the car, the whole process of driving it home from the 4S dealership.

Comments: "Soaking up some good luck!" "I'm going to interview at Spark tomorrow!"

#The Moment the Spark Year-end Bonus Arrives# (780 million views)

Compilation: Expressions of employees receiving the bank text message.

Some screaming, some crying, some hugging their families and spinning around.

Comments: "I'm jealous, I'm really jealous." "This is the reward hard work should have."

The most viral video:

A Spark employee uses their year-end bonus to give red envelopes to all the elderly over 60 in their village.

In the video, a small village, in front of the ancestral hall. The young man holds the red envelopes, handing them out one by one to the elderly.

"Grandpa Zhang, this is a small token of my appreciation."

"Grandma Li, please take this to buy something tasty."

The elderly smile, their faces full of wrinkles: "This child, he's grown up!" "Spark is a good company!"

Finally, the young man faces the camera: "I grew up in the mountains, and the village elders watched me grow up. Now that I have the ability, I should give back. It's not much money, 500 yuan each, but the sentiment is there."

This video has over 10 million likes and 500,000 comments.

Top-rated comments:

"This is the warmth of technology"

"Made money and didn't forget his roots, well done"

"Is Spark hiring? I don't need a year-end bonus, just give me a chance"

February 21

Hangzhou, a closed-door meeting of a small and medium-sized enterprise forum.

A dozen bosses are in a tea room, the atmosphere is oppressive.

President Wang, who makes precision machinery, speaks first: "One of our technical backbones was poached by Spark. He worked for eight years; I paid him a monthly salary of 25,000, which is average for the industry. How much does Spark offer? 50,000! And a five-month year-end bonus! How can I compete?"

President Li, who makes mobile phones, sighs: "Now when young people interview, they all ask 'How many months is your year-end bonus?' I say 'one month,' and they turn around and leave. Last month I tried to recruit ten engineers, only two showed up."

President Zhao, who makes software, is even more depressed: "We had a project team in our company that resigned en masse to go to Spark. I asked why, and the leader said: 'President Zhao, you are a very good person, but the money Spark gives can allow me to buy a house in Hangzhou, which you cannot provide.'"

Complaints rise one after another.

Finally, President Dong, a 58-year-old self-made entrepreneur who manufactures glass, slams the table:

"It's all the atmosphere Spark has ruined! Giving out several months of year-end bonuses at every turn is irresponsible! Young people just entering society need to exercise more and endure more hardship; salaries that are too high are not conducive to growth. Back in our day, we worked for a few dozen yuan a month, didn't we make it?"

Someone whispers: "But Spark employees are indeed highly efficient..."

"That's a bubble!" President Dong says excitedly, "If they pay money like this, how many years can the company survive? Once their growth slows down, these huge labor costs will crush the company! Mark my words, within three years, Spark will collapse!"

These words are overheard by a reporter attending the meeting. Subsequently, this statement is published online.

February 22, "Financial Weekly" publishes an interview with President Dong, titled: "Old Entrepreneur Criticizes Spark: High Welfare is Poison".

The article ferments rapidly. On Douyin, someone edits President Dong's interview into a funny "ghost animal" video. The soundtrack is "Inflation," President Dong's face is enlarged by special effects, and he repeatedly says: "Salaries that are too high are not conducive to growth... Back in our day, a few dozen yuan..."

The video hits 100 million views in three hours.

Top-rated comments in the comment section:

"Translation: I don't want to give you money, but I want you to work your ass off."

"Back in your day, a few dozen yuan could buy a house; we can't even scrape together a few hundred thousand for a down payment now."

"I suggest President Dong distribute company shares to employees so they can 'exercise and grow' together."

The Chinese microblogging platform topic #Should High Welfare Be Criticized# rushes to the trending search.

The debate is fierce:

Pro-President Dong faction:

"Young people really should endure hardship; if money comes too easily, they won't know how to cherish it."

"If Spark does this, what will happen to small and medium-sized enterprises? They won't be able to survive."

"High salaries will raise lazy people, which is not conducive to a fighting spirit."

Pro-Spark faction:

"It's only right and proper that effort and reward are equal."

"The value created by Spark employees deserves this income."

"If all enterprises were like Spark, would young people still have to worry about buying houses?"

A Spark employee anonymously posts a long article:

"I've been at Spark for two years, working 10 hours a day, resting one day on the weekend. But the company gave enough money, enough respect, and enough room for growth.

"We do chip design, a project cycle is half a year, and the pressure is huge. Sometimes to adjust a parameter, pulling an all-nighter is common. But the company provides free late-night snacks, taxi reimbursement, and psychological counseling.

"Last year my mother got sick and needed surgery. After the company found out, not only did they approve a long leave, but they also gave me 50,000 in consolation money. The HR Director said: 'Family is most important, work can wait.'

"This is called a fair trade, not a 'bubble'. I contribute wisdom and sweat, and the company gives me the reward I deserve. Is that wrong?"

This article is reposted a million times.

Economists also join in:

Pro-faction Professor Zhang: "High salaries drive innovation. The reason Silicon Valley is Silicon Valley is because it can afford to pay high salaries to engineers. The Spark model is the inevitable path for Huaxia's tech industry upgrade."

Opposition Professor Li: "But it will raise costs for the entire industry. Small and medium-sized tech companies cannot afford to keep up with the salaries, talent is siphoned away, eventually forming a monopoly, which is detrimental to ecological health."

The debate lasts until February 28.

Finally, official media speaks out again.

Huaxin Agency short commentary:

"...Enterprise salary levels should be determined by the market and by value creation. As long as it is legal and compliant, and benefits both labor and capital, high salaries are not a sin, and low salaries are not a virtue. The key is to look at: where the money comes from and where it goes.

"Spark's high salaries stem from high profits brought about by technological innovation, and are used to incentivize employees to create greater value—this is a virtuous cycle.

"We encourage more enterprises to improve efficiency through technological innovation, thereby having the ability to let employees share in the fruits of development. This is the proper meaning of high-quality development."

The final word.

Public opinion gradually calms down, but the impact is far-reaching:

Employment intention among universities, Spark firmly ranks first

Small and medium-sized tech companies begin to rethink their salary systems

The whole society's perception of "engineer value" is reshaped

Meanwhile, Su Chen, who was at the eye of the storm, only posted one Douyin after returning from his trip:

"Thanks to everyone for your attention. Spark will continue to do what it should do: make good products, treat employees well, and give back to society. As for the rest, let time prove it."

Attached image: By Erhai Lake, the back view of him and Lin Wan holding hands.

The sunset is like gold, the lake water like a mirror.

The years are peaceful, but a storm is already brewing behind him.