That night, it was at the same lamb restaurant.
In a spacious private room, a golden-brown, tender, and fragrant roasted whole lamb was placed on the table, surrounded by various exquisite and generously portioned dishes.
The wine was Maotai, and the cigarettes were Huazi!
Seated around were the good brothers who had followed Qin Chuan all the way.
Qin Chuan, Qin Yang, Qin Gang, Zheng Chengdao, Bai Xiaoguang, Yao Dong, Chen Jinyu – the ironclad seven-man combination.
Li Ya was not present tonight.
The crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and fragrant roasted whole lamb, paired with Maotai, was simply the perfect match for winter.
The seven grown men, each with oil dripping from their mouths and sweat beading on their foreheads, exclaimed how satisfying it was.
After several rounds of wine and food, three bottles of Maotai were unconsciously emptied, and a fourth was opened.
Each person had consumed about half a jin of liquor, and nearly two packs of Huazi had been smoked.
"Alright, everyone, hold on, I have a few words to say."
Qin Chuan felt the atmosphere was just right and stood up.
The crowd, who had been chatting and joking, immediately stopped their actions, and pairs of eyes converged on him.
"Let's welcome the boss to give us a speech!"
Bai Xiaoguang shouted loudly, leading the applause, and the others clapped their hands vigorously.
Qin Chuan smiled as he looked at the flushed faces and then raised his wine glass.
"The Lunar New Year is approaching. After New Year's Eve in two days, we will bid farewell to the special year of '98 and step into the brand new year of '99."
"Unknowingly, everyone has known each other for almost a year!"
As Qin Chuan spoke, the people sitting around the table glanced at each other, all feeling a sense of how quickly time had passed.
Indeed, the New Year was almost here, and this year had flown by!
"Perhaps for many, knowing someone for a year is nothing. In their lives, there are many, many people they've known for decades, not just a year!"
Qin Chuan's voice, steady and powerful, echoed throughout the private room, and everyone listened intently.
"But what I want to say here is that the way people interact is completely different!"
"For some people, even if you've known them for ten, twenty, or even thirty years, what's the point? Your relationship remains the same, and it won't change much with the accumulation of time!"
"In fact, most relationships will become increasingly distant, to the point of being almost forgotten!"
Qin Chuan's words struck the deepest part of everyone's heart. They all showed complex expressions.
Isn't reality like this? In everyone's life, they meet too many people, but only a few can maintain good relationships. Most will be gradually forgotten.
"But we are different!"
"Although we haven't known each other for long, less than a year, we have come together, helped each other, and are completely like a family. Although we are not related by blood, we are closer than brothers!"
"I call this relationship 'fate.' Heaven has brought us together through fate!"
Qin Chuan said with conviction, holding his wine glass.
"In work, although I am your boss, in private, we are all friends, brothers! How I have treated you this past year, I believe you all have a clear understanding in your hearts. What do you say?"
Qin Chuan spoke these words truthfully, so before his voice even fell, a cacophony of voices quickly erupted.
"Boss, you've been absolutely amazing to us!"
"Yeah, we brothers have never met such a good boss like you!"
"We brothers, we truly admire you from the bottom of our hearts, you are our idol!"
Bai Xiaoguang, Yao Dong, and Chen Jinyu all spoke up.
Even Zheng Chengdao, the most mature and steady one, stood up and said, "Boss, as long as you don't leave us, then all of us will follow you for the rest of our lives!"
Qin Yang and Qin Gang did not speak, as they were Qin Chuan's biological brothers, and such words were unnecessary. Saying them would instead make their brotherly bond seem less genuine.
"Good!"
Qin Chuan raised his wine glass. "Then I'll have this glass of wine to thank you all for your support of me as your boss this past year!"
"My success is inseparable from everyone's dedication. As long as you stay, I will not abandon you. Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Bottoms up!!"
Shouts of encouragement rose and fell, and everyone stood up, clinking their glasses together. Their emotions were greatly stirred, and they tilted their heads back, draining the wine in their cups.
After finishing the wine, Qin Chuan lit a cigarette, took two deep drags, then turned and took a leather bag from under his chair. He unzipped it in front of everyone and poured the contents onto the table.
"Whoosh!!"
Stacks of thick banknotes instantly appeared before everyone's eyes.
Those who had just sat down were immediately stimulated and sprang up, their eyes shooting out dazzling light, even Qin Yang included.
At any time, the allure of money is always the greatest.
Looking at the piles of thick banknotes on the table, the lively atmosphere in the private room disappeared, replaced by a dead silence, which eventually turned into heavy breathing.
The pile of money on the table was at least two to three hundred thousand.
Such a large sum of money was an astronomical figure at this time, something many people had never seen in their entire lives.
However, the people in the private room were different. They had seen more money than this before, during the sale of the property development, when over two million cash was laid out before them. That had truly stimulated everyone at the time.
But this time was different from that. Back then, no matter how much money it was, it didn't belong to them. Now, the large sum of money on the table should be for them.
It's just that this money seems like a lot...
"Why the hesitation? This is a total of thirty thousand, five thousand for each person. I don't have any more!"
"Consider this my thank you to everyone for this past year!"
While everyone was hesitating, Qin Chuan's voice rang out.
"How much?!"
"Five thousand?!"
"Boss, isn't this a bit too much?"
Almost as soon as Qin Chuan finished speaking, excited voices chimed in.
It wasn't because the amount was too little, but because it was too much!
What was the average per capita salary at this time? Around two to three hundred yuan per person, meaning a year of hard work would only earn them two to three thousand yuan.
Based on everyone's expectations, Qin Chuan was certainly going to give them money for inviting them to dinner tonight. They had quietly discussed it among themselves, with some guessing a year-end bonus of one thousand yuan, some two thousand, and the highest not exceeding three thousand yuan.
This was already a lot of money, considering that everyone here received their regular salary from the finance department for food and entertainment.
Unexpectedly, Qin Chuan suddenly said that each person would receive five thousand yuan, which was more than ten times their predictions – fifty times the thousand yuan and twenty-five times the two thousand yuan!
Everyone was shocked by Qin Chuan's lavish generosity.
A year-end bonus of five thousand yuan was simply unheard of.
"Xiao Chuan!"
Qin Yang and Qin Gang were also anxious. They were both stunned by their brother's generous gesture. That was hard-earned money!
However, Qin Chuan ignored his brothers' anxious expressions, leisurely crossing his legs on the chair, smoking.
"Is five thousand a lot?"
"I think it's not a lot at all!!"
Qin Chuan's calm voice echoed, and he returned to the powerful boss aura he had during work hours. His eyes were sharp and commanding, silencing everyone.
"I just said we are brothers. Do you think I'm like others, just spewing sweet words to appease you?"
"Absolutely not!"
"True brotherhood means if I have meat to eat, you will definitely have soup to drink. This is my reward to everyone!"
After saying this, Qin Chuan paused, a hint of impatience on his face, and urged them.
"Hurry up and take it, don't be so indecisive!"
"It's just five thousand yuan, look how excited you all are!"
"My brothers are not people who are easily intimidated by a mere few tens of thousands of yuan!"
"Next year, or the year after, perhaps the bonuses will be even higher. By then, you'll find that today's five thousand yuan is nothing special!"