Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

On January 25th, Lao Chen got into his BMW X5, drove straight onto the Jingtai Expressway, and headed steadily toward Chunshen.

Chen Guobin was completely unaware that a Mercedes MPV was tailing him from a distance.

At 10:00 AM, Orange Pay pushed a full-screen pop-up to its users and placed an event portal on its homepage: ”Collect the Five Fortunes and Split 100 Million in Cash.”

Products like Pinbei, Gaode Map, Kuai Pao, Fast Taxi, and OFO bikes simultaneously launched their own Fortune Card giveaway events.

The event ran from 10:00 AM on January 25th to 8:00 PM on February 9th. Each day, the first 200 users to collect all five Fortune Cards would receive a 4,999 yuan cash prize (automatically deposited into their Yu’e Bao) and qualify to split the final 84 million yuan cash prize.

The five Fortune Cards were the Dedication Card, the Patriotism Card, the Harmony Card, the Friendliness Card, and the Prosperity Card.

Users had a chance to receive a Fortune Card by purchasing Yu’e Bao fund shares, shopping on Pinbei Mall, using Gaode Map, ordering food delivery, or using ride-hailing services and shared bikes.

Additionally, extra Fortune Cards could be exchanged in the Fortune Card Store for Yu’e Bao trial funds and various physical prizes.

On the surface, it looked like Orange Pay was funding the ”Collect the Fortune Cards” event with 100 million yuan.

In reality, the front and back of every Fortune Card featured advertisements from partner companies.

Telecom: 20 million!

Sunning: 20 million!

Gome: 10 million!

Dangdang: 10 million!

Midea Appliances: 10 million!

...

All in all, there were more than twenty such companies. After deducting the 100 million yuan in prize money, Orange Pay still stood to make a profit of over 70 million.

As soon as the event went live, users went crazy. The rules were incredibly simple: collect five Fortune Cards for a chance to split 100 million in cash.

’Who was to say they wouldn’t get a lucky break?’

Instantly, links to share the event began flooding BBS forums, Weibo comment sections, and the Xiaonei Network. Social media apps like QQ, WeChat, and Mi Chat weren’t spared, either.

Together with Pinbei’s bargain links, they became known as the internet’s two great digital spam plagues.

「Inside a men’s dormitory at a university in Hang City.」

”Brother Zhu, I’m still missing a Dedication Card. What about you?”

”What a coincidence, I’m missing a Dedication Card too. I’ve already ordered food delivery three times just for a shot at that 4,999 yuan.”

”Tell me about it. I’ve placed over a dozen orders for nuts and snacks on Pinbei, just telling myself I’m stocking up for the New Year.”

”I’m missing the Dedication Card too! Does this thing even exist?!”

”Do you guys have a Patriotism Card?”

Just then, a guy in the dorm named Zhou Yang asked quietly.

”I have two, I’ll send you one,” Brother Zhu said generously.

”Thanks, Brother Zhu! The Patriotism Card is the last one I need.” Zhou Yang gave a shy smile, his eyes filled with anticipation.

”Oh, so you just need the Patriotism Card... wait, what? You have a Dedication Card?” Brother Zhu froze for a second, then shot up, darted behind Zhou Yang, and snatched his phone.

And there it was: a Dedication Card, sitting quietly in his list of Fortune Cards.

”Quick, quick! The first 200 people get an extra 4,999 yuan in cash!” another roommate yelled, slapping Brother Zhu on the back and urging him on frantically.

”Right, I almost forgot!” Brother Zhu quickly handed the phone back to Zhou Yang and sent a Patriotism Card to his chat window.

Zhou Yang tapped to accept, and a simple animation of the cards merging into a red envelope popped up on the screen.

”Congratulations! You are the 73rd user to collect all five Fortune Cards. Your 4,999 yuan prize has been sent to your Yu’e Bao. Please check your account!”

A line of text scrolled across the middle of the screen.

Zhou Yang tapped the screen, exited the event page, and navigated to the Yu’e Bao section of his profile. Sure enough, his balance was 4,999 yuan higher.

”Holy shit! Brother Yang, you’re a legend!”

”Quick, tell us, where did you get that card?”

”Treating us to KFC for lunch?”

His dorm mates’ eyes instantly turned red with envy. Although the cost of living in Hang City wasn’t low, five thousand yuan was still about three months’ worth of living expenses for most of them.

”I just went outside the school gate to get lunch. They gave it to me for riding an OFO bike,” Zhou Yang said, not holding anything back.

”Fuck! What are we waiting for?”

Brother Zhu grabbed a jacket and bolted downstairs.

The rest of them, their eyes gleaming, rushed right after him.

”Brother Zhu! Ah Xin! Are you guys still getting KFC or not?” Zhou Yang shouted at their retreating backs.

”We are!”

Brother Zhu and the others yelled back in unison, turning their heads.

Before long, guides on how to obtain the ”Dedication Card” began circulating online. Many ”netizens” actively shared that the drop rate was extremely high when riding OFO bikes.

As a result, college students and white-collar workers in cities like Hang City, Luzhou, Jinling, and Hu City spent the entire afternoon rushing to subway and bus stations, frantically grabbing every OFO bike in sight.

The dead of winter and a north wind that cut like a knife did nothing to dampen people’s enthusiasm for fleecing the sheep.

OFO bike usage skyrocketed. By midnight, Xingchi Technology’s single-day revenue had reached 760,000 yuan, a staggering day-over-day growth rate of 137.5%, and they had gained 349,000 new users.

On the first day of the ”Collect the Five Fortunes” event, a total of 394 people collected all five cards. At that rate, each person was projected to receive a share of 213,000 yuan.

Although everyone knew that with fifteen days left until the final draw, Orange Pay would never let the final prize per person be that high, the prospect of even twenty or thirty thousand yuan was still incredibly attractive.

Some people who received a Dedication Card chose not to complete their set, instead listing the rare card on second-hand sales platforms.

The price shot up from 1,000 yuan, eventually getting hyped up to 6,000 yuan. In the end, some sucker actually shelled out six thousand yuan to buy one.

The hype exploded!

”People Go Crazy for a Share of 100 Million: Spending a Fortune Just to Buy a Single Dedication Card!”

”One of Orange Pay’s Virtual Fortune Cards Sells for 6,000 Yuan!”

”Anyone have a Dedication Card? I’ll buy it for 10,000. If you refuse to sell, I’ll raise my offer. If you agree to sell... just pretend I never said anything.”