At noon, Tenda employees set aside their work and prepared to head to the annual meeting venue.
The venue was at a nearby luxury hotel, not far away. There were two buses responsible for shuttling the employees from Shenhua Haojing, while other employees scattered throughout Jingzhou, such as the delivery guys from Headwind Logistics and the admins from Slackin’ Internet Café, would take taxis there, with the company reimbursing the fare.
Wu Bin arrived at the venue by bus, still feeling somewhat dazed. He hadn’t yet recovered from the shadow of the morning and was still obsessing over why he hadn’t passed Tenda’s spiritual compatibility test.
“Why exactly…”
“I should have answered correctly…”
On the way, he had been searching for similar tests on his phone, but not only could he not find the answers, he couldn’t even find similar questions.
Embarrassingly, as an HR in the human resources department, Wu Bin had to resort to searching Qiandu for help with this kind of test, which was simply humiliating…
But he had no choice. To pass the test and successfully become a permanent employee, even the humiliation of seeking help from Qiandu was acceptable! As long as he could find the answers!
Following the crowd into the venue, Wu Bin, who had been lost in thought, looked up and suddenly realized that the setup of the venue was different from other annual meetings he had seen before.
Very simple!
The hotel’s hall was very spacious, with ten people per table and about a hundred tables, showing that the total number of people at the annual meeting reached nearly a thousand.
The arrangement of these tables was just right, neither too crowded nor too sparse.
Unlike other company annual meetings, this one didn’t have any flashy decorations. There were no display boards, banners, or pull-up banners, and even the stage wasn’t going to be used because it was already filled with various gashapon machines and claw machines.
Not only was the stage filled with these things, but looking around, the entire venue was surrounded by similar machines with a wide variety of options.
There were claw machines, gashapon machines, air guns, ring toss…
In short, it felt like accidentally walking into a game arcade.
There was a projector and a large screen, but currently, it only displayed an elegant, simple annual meeting theme background, looking clean and decent, without giving off any tacky or flashy impression.
Wu Bin wasn’t very interested in gashapon machines, claw machines, and other arcade games because he always felt they were scams.
He had watched a science video online explaining that these machines had tricks, which is how arcades ensure they make more money.
For example, with claw machines, the probability of grabbing a doll can be set.
Some unscrupulous businesses directly set this probability to 1%, so when the mechanical claw grabs a doll and rises, the current gradually decreases, the claw’s strength weakens, and the doll naturally falls, giving customers the illusion that “it wasn’t grabbed firmly.”
And after grabbing 99 times, on the 100th attempt, the claw’s current won’t weaken, and as long as it’s aimed at the doll, it can be successfully grabbed.
Of course, there are also some businesses that are more conscientious and set this probability to 1/20 or 1/10.
But no matter what, you’ll never win, and the business will never lose. It’s all a scheme.
Many customers think they grabbed a doll because of good luck or good technique, but it’s neither—it’s all predetermined by the machine.
So, Wu Bin had never been interested in arcades.
But this time, the situation was different from what he had imagined.
Arcades are a rip-off because you have to spend your own money.
But what if someone else pays and lets you play for free? Suddenly, it becomes interesting!
There was a table next to the entrance of the hall where colleagues from the administrative department were distributing tokens.
These were the game coins used in arcades, and everyone received a whole package with at least fifty or sixty coins.
For gashapon machines, each turn typically costs around 10 to 15 yuan, but now one game coin allows for one experience.
In other words, one game coin represents about 10 yuan.
And Wu Bin received at least five or six hundred yuan worth of game coins.
These tokens were given for free and could be used freely in the venue, definitely not having as many tricks as an arcade.
Of course, colleagues from the administrative department also explained that the entertainment activities would take place after the meal, so everyone should eat first and play afterward.
Wu Bin was already very happy with these game coins, but it didn’t end there.
The administrative colleague then stuffed a thick red envelope into his hand.
“This is the sunshine award,” the administrative colleague smiled.
Wu Bin was surprised: “I just joined and haven’t become a permanent employee yet. Is there a share for me too?”
The administrative colleague nodded with a smile: “Of course, since it’s called the sunshine award, everyone gets one.”
Wu Bin couldn’t help but feel warmth in his heart.
That was so well said!
The sunshine award, of course, is for everyone!
Previously at Hengtu Games, not only interns but even formal employees who hadn’t been with the company for three full months were not allowed to participate in the annual meeting lottery.
This was because there had been an embarrassing situation before where an intern who had just joined directly won the first prize, a laptop worth over ten thousand yuan, and then resigned the next day…
Therefore, many companies don’t allow interns to participate in the annual meeting lottery.
Wu Bin had thought that he probably wouldn’t be eligible for the sunshine award and the annual meeting lottery, but now he realized he was wrong.
Tenda didn’t treat him like an outsider at all, nor did they go to great lengths to guard against him!
Thinking about it this way, Wu Bin felt even worse because he hadn’t passed Tenda’s spiritual compatibility test that morning.
The company is so good to me, yet I’m still not worthy to be a part of it.
It’s too painful!
I must grasp the essence of the Tenda spirit as soon as possible and make my contribution to the company!
Wu Bin followed his colleagues from the human resources department to his seat, and the first thing he did was take out the money from the red envelope and count it.
Ten red notes!
For Wu Bin, this was already a lot, considering that the sunshine award at Hengtu Games was just a set of shampoo…
And it was the anti-hair loss kind.
Although this was useful for most employees, it wasn’t worth much money…
In contrast, Tenda was so generous, even with the sunshine award. How lavish would the prizes drawn later be?
Wu Bin played with the brand-new game coins in his hand while observing the situation at the venue.
There was a long table on the stage covered with a red cloth, and under the cloth, there seemed to be many items piled up, probably the prizes for this annual meeting.
The specific prizes were not yet clear, but there seemed to be quite a few, piled up like a mountain.
Soon, most of the seats were filled.
It was impossible for anyone to be absent from Tenda’s annual meeting because Mr. Pei had repeatedly emphasized that unless one was sick and bedridden, no one could miss it.
Wu Bin had heard before that at a certain company’s annual meeting, an employee missed the special prize due to overtime work and didn’t receive the award.
This kind of thing would never happen at Tenda.
If it did happen… the consequences would be unimaginable.
Perhaps not only the overtime employee but also his direct supervisor and department head would be implicated.
Wu Bin looked at his watch; it was already 11:30.
He was still wondering when the annual meeting would start when he noticed that waiters had already begun serving food.
Wu Bin: “???”
Wait, are the procedures mixed up?
In a normal annual meeting, shouldn’t there be an opening first, then an awkward dance, leaders giving speeches, summarizing the achievements of the past year, looking forward to the future, and then, after several segments, food would be served?
But here, not only were the awkward dances skipped, but even the leaders’ speeches were skipped!
Wu Bin tried hard to look towards the front tables and found that Mr. Pei had no intention of giving a speech; he seemed to be considering which dish in front of him to eat first.
Wu Bin felt a bit dizzy. This annual meeting was too direct!
Everyone arrived and started eating right away, not wasting a single minute!
At this moment, a lottery countdown appeared on the big screen.
“What the hell! So direct?”
Wu Bin was completely confused.
It’s one thing not to have leaders give speeches, but before starting the lottery, shouldn’t there at least be a host to connect segments and liven up the atmosphere?
But even this was skipped!
It was a preset lottery program, drawing prizes at regular intervals!
All employee information and photos had been entered into the database, and the system would draw directly from it.
The first prize was already displayed: 300 Bluetooth earphones worth 799 yuan each!
In terms of sound quality, 799 yuan earphones were just decent, but at this price point, the portability and user experience of Bluetooth earphones were already quite good.
Many people couldn’t distinguish superior sound quality, but having a portable Bluetooth earphone was always a good thing, very practical for commuting.
So, everyone’s eyes turned to the big screen, their faces showing expressions of “want.”
A very cool special effect appeared on the big screen, with the photo in the center scrolling rapidly and stopping on the photo of a colleague Wu Bin didn’t recognize.
At the same time, a cry of surprise came from a corner of the venue, followed by a round of applause.
It was colleagues from the same department congratulating the lucky winner.
Afterward, this photo quickly shrank and flew to the upper left corner of the big screen, and the center photo scrolled again to draw the next winning employee.
These photos quickly layered on the big screen, while various sounds began to erupt in the venue, some cheering, some regretful.
“I won!”
“Wow, Bluetooth earphones, good stuff!”
“A good start?”
“Not me… It’s okay, the prizes get better later!”
At first, the applause was quite frequent, but the lottery was too fast. With 300 earphones alone being drawn, everyone got tired of applauding.
However, although the applause decreased, the atmosphere at the venue became increasingly heated!
Later, everyone was doing two things:
Eating and staring at the big screen.
Although the annual meeting had no host and no program, no one would find it inappropriate; they found it enjoyable.
Who wants to watch those programs anyway?
Everyone was just looking forward to the lottery!
Now, the first prize had already been drawn for 300 people, one-third of the employees present had won prizes, and cheers rose and fell throughout the hall.
Soon, more prizes appeared one by one on the big screen.
899 yuan mechanical keyboards, 1299 yuan air purifiers, 2199 yuan robot vacuum cleaners, vacuum cleaners, 3599 yuan game consoles…
The further it went, the higher the value of the prizes, and the more enthusiastic the atmosphere became!
Wu Bin looked at the prizes continuously being drawn on the big screen, becoming more and more shocked.
How many prizes were prepared?
For Hengtu Games’ annual meeting, there were basically only four or five types of prizes: the sunshine award, third prize, second prize, first prize, special prize, and so on.
And the number of these prizes wouldn’t be too many; more than a dozen prizes would already be considered a lot.
But at Tenda, prizes were being given out as if they cost nothing!
At the beginning, there were 300 Bluetooth earphones and mechanical keyboards, and the later prizes, which were much higher in value, also numbered in the hundreds!
Directly exceeding many other companies by an order of magnitude, right?
With a rough calculation, just up to the vacuum cleaners, the number of prizes had already exceeded 1,000…
Judging from the numbers, most people present should have already received prizes!
Wu Bin’s luck was neither good nor bad. He hadn’t won anything until just now, when he won a 2199 yuan handheld vacuum cleaner.
Wu Bin had been interested in this vacuum cleaner for a long time, not because he wanted it, but because his wife wanted it.
It was a brand quite well-known abroad, not only with high aesthetics but also particularly good to use. The only drawback was its high price.
Wu Bin had thought about whether to buy it several times, but after repeated consideration, he had always been deterred by the high price.
But now, he won it at the annual meeting!
And this wasn’t the end.
Given the richness of these prizes, there must be even bigger prizes later!
Wu Bin hurriedly shared this good news with his wife.
Looking at it this way, this job change was worth it!
At this annual meeting, he had already received game coins worth over 500 yuan, a red envelope of 1000 yuan, and a vacuum cleaner worth 2199 yuan, which had completely crushed the rewards he might have received at Hengtu Games’ annual meeting!
A prize in the 2000 yuan range was already at the level of many companies’ second prize at annual meetings, and considering the number of prizes, Wu Bin didn’t think he would have won at Hengtu Games.
This was a huge win!
Amid his happiness, Wu Bin thought about the Tenda spiritual compatibility test from the morning.
He was even more eager to pass this test and become a member of Tenda.
…
Pei Qian ate while observing everyone’s reactions.
Hmm, everyone seems very happy!
That’s good.
Everyone was happily eating, happily participating in the lottery, and Mr. Pei was happily giving away money. Perfect.
Since everyone’s goals were aligned, there was no need for so many formalities at the annual meeting. Quickly eat, get the money, and leave, without wasting time.
Pei Qian hadn’t included himself in the lottery list because he felt it was unnecessary.
Most of the prizes could be indirectly reimbursed from the system, so he didn’t care. It was better to free up one more spot for his employees.
Pei Qian figured that by now, most people present should have received prizes, right?
Because this lottery wasn’t completely random probability, but a pseudo-probability like in game card draws.
Each person could win at most twice, and those who hadn’t won yet had an increasingly higher chance of winning as the lottery progressed.