Chapter 522 - 287: Wouldn’t Trade It Even to Be a God (Part 2)

"For real? He’s so low-key. If it weren’t for this annual meeting livestream, I would’ve never known such a badass existed in our country."

"All rich people are low-key. My classmate said their group’s chairman is ridiculously handsome. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see the man himself."

...

Meanwhile, Qi Sheng, the subject of their discussion, watched with a smile as employee after employee was called up, beaming as they went on stage to claim their prizes.

Compared to the last annual meeting, this year’s was on a grander scale and far more generous.

The General Participation Award: 1,000 yuan in cash for every single person.

With nearly ten thousand employees in attendance, that alone cost ten million yuan!

Third prize: the Huawei Mate 30 5G, 8+512GB version.

Each one retailed for 7,899 yuan, and they were giving away a thousand of them.

With one-in-ten odds, the chances of winning were incredibly high.

Whether you liked Huawei or not, you could resell it and make a killing.

Second prize was a Prada handbag, valued at 20,000 yuan, with 200 winners drawn.

This was, without a doubt, a fantastic prize for the female employees.

And if any male employees won and didn’t want it, the company would buy it back from them at full value.

When you’re handing out perks, what’s the point of being stingy?

When the first prize was announced, all ten thousand-plus people gasped in unison.

Mercedes-Benz E300, BMW 530, Audi A6.

Fully optioned and on the road, they were worth 500,000 yuan each, and there were ten of them in total.

Forget the employees at the venue—even the livestream chat went wild.

"Holy shit, what kind of company is this? They’re just giving away luxury cars?"

"You call a Benz, BMW, or Audi a luxury car? Please, a dog wouldn’t be caught dead in one."

"To the person above: what do you drive? Do you really fucking think real life is like the internet? Out here, you’re considered well-off if you’re driving a Passat."

"I’m so fucking jealous I’m about to break. It feels like I just missed out on a massive windfall."

"I second the guy above. I’m technically a Shengxuan Group employee, but I fucking missed the drawing. Such a huge loss! Even the participation prize was a thousand yuan!"

...

Seeing the prizes on the big screen, Wang Han looked at Qi Sheng in surprise.

"Quite the splurge. You don’t feel the sting?"

"As long as they’ve contributed to the group, a small reward like this is nothing."

Qi Sheng earned over nine billion yuan a month. Spending thirty million on an annual meeting was a piece of cake.

If you want a horse to run, you first have to let it eat its fill.

The list of names scrolling continuously across the big screen finally came to a halt.

Surprised shouts erupted from every corner of the hall.

"HOLY SHIT, I ACTUALLY WON!"

"Unbelievable! You actually won. You must’ve stepped in a pile of lucky shit."

"I can’t even drive! I wonder if the company will let me take the cash value instead!"

"Hey, gorgeous, I can drive! How about I be your boyfriend?"

"Get lost! In your dreams! Hey beautiful, look over here! I’ll even take your last name!"

...

After the first-prize winners were announced, the program continued with performances that the employees had rehearsed on their own.

Performing in front of an audience of over ten thousand, quite a few people got so nervous they forgot their lines.

Fortunately, since it was just the company’s annual meeting, no one in the audience was too critical.

Qi Sheng stroked his chin. ’I should probably sign a few singers,’ he thought. ’We can’t just rely on dull performances from regular employees for next year’s meeting too. Universal Entertainment’s current focus is still on the film and television sector. Traditional record companies have been dead in the water for ages. Now, it’s all about streaming and making a living by selling music rights. If I’m going to build an untouchable titan in the entertainment industry, I can’t ignore the music side of things.’

"What are you thinking about?"

Wang Han patted Qi Sheng’s shoulder, noticing he had been spacing out.

"The gala’s over. Let’s find a place to grab a big meal. We’re leaving tomorrow."

"We’ll head to my place in a bit. I’ll show you the way while we’re at it."

Qi Sheng couldn’t be bothered to find a restaurant. Besides, the team of chefs he had at home was already ridiculously extravagant.

After all, he wasn’t short on Talent Recruitment Cards.

He had chefs for all Eight Great Cuisines of China, a complete set.

In addition, he had chefs who mastered French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian, Indian, and Turkish cuisines.

What’s more, the head chefs for each of these cuisines were all at the Master Level.

Any one of them could easily match the standard of a three-star Michelin chef.

On top of that, a Grandmaster Level executive chef was in charge, capable of whipping up any state banquet dish with casual ease.

It was no exaggeration to say you could eat at Qi Sheng’s home for half a month and never have the same thing twice.

From the moment they arrived at Fort Saint Louis, Wang Han and his friends were left dumbfounded.

Private butlers? Their own family mansions had those too.

But a villa with over eighty rooms? That was just insane.

There were over thirty maids alone.

Then there were the dozen or so chefs, each specializing in a different cuisine.

’Fucking hell, not even an Emperor lived this extravagantly, did he?’

When they heard that Chef Lin Rong had not only trained under a state banquet master but had even surpassed him, Wang Han and the others were all eager to taste his cooking.

Qi Sheng was happy to grant their small wish.

That evening, dinner would be personally prepared by Lin Rong.

Seeing that even the maid preparing their tea possessed such refined skills,

Wang Han completely lost it. "Ah Sheng," he said, "let me ask you something. Can I just rent a room from you and live here? I couldn’t even dream of living like you do every day. How unbelievably happy must that be?"

"In your dreams."

Qi Sheng leisurely sipped his Taiping Houkui tea.

He had a vast collection of similar famous teas stored in his tea room.

They might not have reached the hyped-up prices of hundreds of thousands of yuan per half-kilo, but they were still worth tens of thousands.

"Sir, Chef Lin is ready. Shall we begin dinner service now?"

Tang De walked over, bowed slightly, and respectfully asked Qi Sheng.

Qi Sheng nodded with a smile. "Old Tang, go to the cellar and get my Rafael ’Bridge’ collection gift box. We’re drinking it all tonight."

"Of course. One moment, sir."

A flicker of pain crossed Tang De’s eyes, but he relaxed when he remembered his boss’s net worth.

"The ’Bridge’ collection?"

Fu Songyang felt like he had heard that name somewhere before.

But when Tang De approached, holding a wooden box emblazoned with the Chateau Lafite Rothschild logo, it all clicked into place.