Chapter 263: Annual Meeting (Part 2)

The lottery began.

A series of numbers flashed rapidly across the big screen.

After a few seconds, Sun Tao called out loudly, "Stop!"

"Alright, Mr. Sun has called stop. The number is 169. Who is the winner?" the host asked loudly.

A young male employee in his twenties excitedly stood up and said, "It's me! I'm number 169!"

The female host smiled and said, "Don't get too excited just yet; the prize hasn't been determined. If it turns out to be a bag of laundry powder, your excitement might be in vain."

Everyone laughed, and the young employee sat back down, slightly embarrassed and blushing.

The second round of the draw began, this time showing pictures of various prizes instead of numbers.

Li Dong waited for a moment before shouting, "Stop!"

When the spinning stopped, the previous male employee happily exclaimed, "It's a microwave oven! It's a microwave oven!"

"Congratulations to this colleague for winning a microwave oven!" the male host announced.

The female host, dressed in a bright red qipao, walked over to the male employee with the microwave oven.

His colleagues congratulated him, and although it wasn't one of the top prizes, a microwave oven was still a nice win.

The draw continued with various prizes being revealed.

Some won refrigerators, others won speakers, and of course, there were also those who won laundry powder.

The most unusual prize was a pig's head wrapped in red silk, won by a young female employee in her twenties.

Seeing this prize, the entire room burst into laughter.

Li Dong, bemused, asked Shen Qian, "I don't remember this prize being on the list."

Shen Qian grinned and said, "I added it myself. Don't worry, there are still two more prizes to be drawn."

Li Dong shook his head with a smile. Only Shen Qian would come up with something like this. Most people wouldn't have the audacity.

The first round of the draw ended without anyone winning the grand prize or several of the more valuable prizes.

However, everyone remained hopeful as there were still more chances to win.

The show went on.

The next program featured the employees from the Longhua store.

Compared to Dongping store's choir, Longhua store's employees were much more impressive.

The male host, looking excited, announced, "Next, let's welcome the Longhua store employees to perform a belly dance!"

As the host spoke, five or six young and attractive women took the stage in refreshing costumes.

As the music started, these stunning performers wiggled their hips and belly, eliciting loud cheers from the few male employees in the audience.

Li Dong clapped along with the crowd, and Shen Qian whispered with a chuckle, "Can you see? This is specifically to attract you single guys. Are you excited?"

Li Dong gave her a sideways glance and scolded, "Watch your own show, your thoughts are quite impure!"

After being scolded twice by Li Dong, Shen Qian was irritated and huffed, turning away from him.

...

The dance quickly ended, and the second round of the lottery began.

The previous draws had gone smoothly; no one had left empty-handed.

However, when the host asked, "Who is number 482?"

No one stood up.

After asking a few times, a nervous girl from a table on the left finally stood up.

Li Dong looked back and smiled when he recognized her. 

It turned out that the winner was not a Yuanfang employee but a girl from Meng Qiping's table, named Li Wan, who lived in Cheng Nan's dormitory.

It was actually quite normal. With just over five hundred people and more than a dozen from Meng Qiping's table, it was not surprising for someone from outside Yuanfang to win.

Li Dong said nothing and let the draw continue.

When he called stop again, the prize displayed on the screen was one of the most valuable ones: a laptop.

In 2006, a laptop was considered a luxury. Yuanfang's laptop cost around 10,000 yuan, and it was surprising that an outsider won it.

However, since the attendees included not only Yuanfang employees but also partners and friends of the leaders, no one was upset.

Li Wan, who had just won the laptop, was a bit dazed.

She only realized the situation after the hostess left, saying, "I won?"

Meng Qiping, eyeing the laptop, said eagerly, "You didn't win, actually this is mine. You can give it to me if you like."

Li Wan gave him a disdainful look and said with a smile, "I'm not giving it to you. I won it myself. If anyone should get it, it should be Mr. Li, not you."

"Meng Ge wouldn't even care about a laptop," Meng Qiping muttered.

He then looked enviously at the laptop in Li Wan's hands and asked, "Can I at least take a look?"

"Don't even think about it!"

Li Wan huffed and, feeling a bit anxious, asked the others, "Do you think I can keep this laptop?"

Though she was reluctant to part with it, she felt a bit awkward since they hadn't informed Li Dong before attending and she wasn't a Yuanfang employee.

The laptop was worth over 10,000 yuan, enough to cover her living expenses and tuition for a year if sold.

Bai Su smiled and said, "If you won it, just keep it. Yuanfang never said only their employees could win. Besides, do you think Mr. Li would care about a laptop?"

Everyone agreed with this perspective.

Li Wan also smiled, and others were hopeful. If Li Wan could win, maybe they had a chance too. A laptop was small compared to the ten thousand yuan in cash or a car...

The thought excited everyone. For these students, even a shopping voucher worth 10,000 yuan would be incredibly lucky.

Yuanfang's shopping vouchers were easier to sell than the laptop Li Wan won.

Even if they didn't use them, selling them for over 9,000 yuan wouldn't be a problem.

The draw continued, and the car and 100,000 yuan cash prizes still hadn't been won.

However, a lucky employee won a ten-day trip for two to the Maldives, which was the best prize so far.

There was a small incident where a supplier guest won a bag of laundry powder. The guest, holding the laundry powder with a wry smile, was met with laughter from the crowd.

Even the suppliers, who were all millionaires, found it amusing.

The suppliers were there for fun, not to worry about the prizes.

...

Next, various programs prepared by the stores took the stage.

There were singing performances, dances, skits, and even cross-talk.

Regardless of the performance quality, the applause was thunderous.

The mountain of prizes gradually diminished, with only some large items left after the smaller prizes were distributed.

After the eighth program, the main event came.

Someone won the first prize: 100,000 yuan!

The crowd erupted in excitement, congratulating the lucky winner who was smiling broadly.

100,000 yuan was a significant amount. Not only the employees but even store managers and directors felt envious. With 100,000 yuan, one could do a lot.

In the southern suburbs, 100,000 yuan could buy a small apartment.

Or, in the city, it could cover the down payment for a good apartment.

The host, excited, said, "Next, let's welcome the first prize winner to the stage to share their joy with us!"

When the winner, Xiao Xu, came on stage, Li Dong was a bit surprised and said, "Shen Qian, isn't she the girl who was with Qi Yunna last time?"

Shen Qian scratched her head, not remembering clearly.

Looking back at the Yao Hai district area, Shen Qian saw Qi Yunna and nodded, saying, "Yes, she came with Manager Qi."

Li Dong chuckled. This girl, though not very old and new to the company, won the top prize.

Of course, the prize was meant to boost morale.

A new employee winning also showed Yuanfang's fairness and was beneficial for Li Dong.

On stage, Xiao Xu was dazed, and only after the host repeatedly asked did she stammer, "Thank you… Thank you, Mr. Li, thank you to the company, and thank you to our store manager…"

The host laughed and teased, "Does this prize have anything to do with your store manager? Why are you thanking them?"

Xiao Xu, sweating a bit from nervousness, said, "Without our store manager, I wouldn't have been able to attend the annual meeting, so I want to thank our store manager!"

The host laughed again, "Which store manager is Xiao Xu's? Please stand up and share your feelings!"

Qi Yunna stood up, and the male host, who initially wanted to continue teasing, suddenly went quiet and dryly said, "So it's Manager Qi. Congratulations to Manager Qi's Yao Hai store for achieving something. We hope everyone continues to strive!"

The female host quickly changed the subject, congratulating Xiao Xu briefly before sending her off the stage.

If it were an ordinary store manager, the hosts' teasing would be harmless, and everyone would laugh it off.

However, Qi Yunna was special—she was the first person demoted but who stayed on as a lower-level leader. Everyone interacted with her cautiously, neither offending nor becoming too familiar.

A bit of teasing was fine, but making Qi Yunna feel mocked was not ideal.

While 100,000 yuan was a lot, the draw continued with one first prize and one grand prize remaining. The excitement remained high as everyone anticipated.

With eight rounds already completed, the chances of winning big prizes were increasing, and everyone was eagerly waiting.

In the next rounds, the two grand prizes didn't appear.

However, the Maldives trip was drawn twice, and a 10,000 yuan shopping voucher was drawn once.

Li Dong noticed that the Maldives trip for two was won by Cheng Nan.

Seeing Meng Qiping's excitement as if he had won five million, Li Dong couldn't help but laugh.

As time passed, more programs were performed.

Prizes continued to decrease, with the second 100,000 yuan prize eventually going to a lucky winner.

As the clock approached six o'clock, the crowd started to show signs of fatigue.

The female host suddenly said excitedly, "Everyone, quiet down!"

"The next program is something everyone will surely look forward to!"

"Next, let's invite Yuanfang's Chairman, Mr. Li Dong, to the stage for the final performance!"

...