Sending out the Spring Festival bonus again on the fourth day: The hotpot restaurant earned four days' worth of money and didn't leave a single cent for the employees.

During this year’s Spring Festival, a hotpot restaurant in Suining, Sichuan, drew widespread attention for its profit-sharing approach. On the fourth day of the lunar new year, this hotpot restaurant in Qili Chuan once again distributed Spring Festival bonuses to its employees, sharing all profits generated during the four days from New Year’s Eve to the third or fourth day of the lunar new year, totaling 339,000 RMB, with nothing left behind.

It is understood that this bonus covered all positions in the store. The amount varied depending on the role and responsibilities. The store manager received 14,860 RMB, the highest among regular staff, while the highest-paid waitstaff received 4,865 RMB. Even employees responsible for cleaning received 1,447 RMB. After the news spread, many netizens expressed envy, calling such an employer very rare.

The owner of this hotpot restaurant is named Huang Houming. According to reports, this is the fourth consecutive year he has distributed bonuses to employees during the Spring Festival. Starting in 2023, Huang Houming decided to share the profits from New Year’s Eve to the second day of the lunar new year with his staff. This year, he extended the bonus period to include the third day as well, covering four days in total.

Regarding this year’s business situation, Huang Houming admitted that the overall environment was not easy, with rising costs and increasing market competition making store operations challenging. However, despite these difficulties, he坚持 the practice of distributing bonuses during the Spring Festival. He sees this not as an extra reward or a temporary decision, but as a normalized profit-sharing method, reflecting mutual trust between the company and its employees.

Reports indicate that when this practice was first introduced, it also faced some external skepticism. Some believed that the Spring Festival bonus might be just a short-term attention-grabbing tactic, and others worried that employees might be reluctant to return to work after receiving a substantial bonus. Huang Houming did not shy away from these concerns. He stated that in earlier years, the return rate after the holiday was indeed low, but it has improved significantly in recent years.

Huang Houming recalls that after the Spring Festival holiday, many employees return to work on time, and some even bring relatives and friends to help share the workload. Seeing these changes, he feels that his initial persistence was worthwhile and has strengthened his resolve to continue the bonus practice.

Having once worked as a waiter in the restaurant industry, Huang Houming deeply understands the feelings of working during holidays. He openly states that Spring Festival should be a time for family reunion, but employees in the service industry often have to stay on duty, serving dishes and attending to customers, which can be disappointing. Based on these experiences, he has always hoped to show respect and give back to employees within his means.

He explains that the Spring Festival bonus is not for publicity but stems from a personal idea from his youth. When he was working on the front lines, he wondered if, one day, he could become a boss, whether he could give more of his hard-earned money to his employees during important festivals. Now that conditions allow, he has decided to turn that idea into reality.

In addition to bonuses, Huang Houming has been steadily increasing investments in his employees and the company’s foundation in recent years. Instead of rushing to open more stores, he invested in building a hotpot factory covering about 17,000 square meters, providing employees with unified insurance coverage, and establishing a monthly filial piety fund. According to regulations, management receives 500 RMB per month, while regular employees receive 300 RMB per month, directly transferred to their parents.

Meanwhile, factory employees enjoy a two-day weekend and statutory holidays, which is uncommon in the restaurant industry. Huang Houming believes that only by strengthening internal foundations can the enterprise go further.

Facing the reality of intensified market competition, with declining table turnover and average spending compared to two years ago, he remains pragmatic. He believes that online buzz-driven customer flow is often short-term, and the long-term sustainability of the store depends on a stable team and good reputation.

Regarding the possibility of being unable to distribute bonuses in the future, Huang Houming states that he would choose to communicate honestly with employees, explaining the actual situation and working together to find solutions. However, as long as conditions permit, he will坚持 the Spring Festival bonus practice, because in his view, the more difficult times are, the more mutual support and collective effort are needed.