A restaurant owner in China has gifted brand-new BMW cars to her top-performing employees after feeling upset about seeing them brave freezing weather on electric scooters during their daily commutes.
A restaurant owner in China has gifted brand-new BMW cars to her top-performing employees after feeling upset about seeing them brave freezing weather on electric scooters during their daily commutes. Ma Yanli, who owns a beef hotpot restaurant chain headquartered in Jiaozuo, in central China’s Henan province, accompanied some of her employees to collect their new luxury cars on September 24. Each BMW was reportedly worth 300,000 yuan (approximately US$45,000), and Ma had paid for the vehicles in full two weeks before handing them over, Henan TV reported.
For the employees, the unexpected reward was nothing short of a dream come true.
“I am so thrilled! I dared not think about this before,” one of the recipients, Li Jie, was quoted as saying. “On the way to the BMW showroom, Boss Ma just told me she would gift me a big toy.”
Li received a brand-new white BMW registered in her name on the same day, without having to spend a single penny. In a further display of generosity, Ma did not ask her to sign any agreement in exchange for the expensive gift.
How a freezing morning inspired the generous gesture
Ma revealed that the idea of gifting BMWs to her employees first struck her last winter. Like many of her colleagues, Li relied on an electric scooter to travel to work.
One chilly morning, Ma noticed Li arriving at the restaurant with her face bright red from the cold, her ears turning purple and her hands stiff from the biting wind. The sight deeply moved Ma, particularly because Li had dedicated eight years to working at the restaurant.
“I said to myself: I can sit in my car and enjoy warmth and convenience during transportation. Why can’t she?” Ma said.
For Ma, the gesture was about more than rewarding individual performance. She said her professional success was built on the collective contributions of her employees, and she wanted them to share in the company’s prosperity.
“I have achieved success in my career. But my company’s prosperity is attributed to the collective efforts of all my employees. So I must let my workers also benefit from the success of my company,” added Ma, who has spent two decades in the catering industry.
Li was not the only employee to receive the luxury gift. Another staff member, Liu Yingying, was presented with a grey BMW in recognition of her hard work and outstanding performance.
“My boss told me you work hard and your performance is excellent. You deserve this car,” Liu told the media.
Not the first time the restaurant owner has rewarded her staff
Ma’s generosity extends beyond luxury cars. During traditional Chinese festivals, she regularly distributes daily essentials and cash bonuses to her employees.
Her gesture has also drawn attention to a wider trend in China, where business owners who reward their workers with substantial bonuses and expensive gifts often become talking points on social media.
Another prominent example is Cui Peijun, chairman of Henan Kuangshan Crane Company, who has earned the nickname “the boss who loves distributing money most” for his generous employee rewards.
Before the Spring Festival last year, Cui reportedly distributed a staggering 180 million yuan (approximately US$27 million) in bonuses to his employees. The amount was equivalent to around two-thirds of the company’s profits from the previous year.
Cui also rewards his workforce on other occasions. Every International Women’s Day, he gives each of his 2,000 female employees 800 yuan. In August, workers from rural areas receive an additional 1,000 yuan as a “grain reaper subsidy” to help their families rent harvesting machines for their crops.