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, attracted 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 roles and responsibilities. The store manager received 14,860 RMB, the highest among regular staff, while the highest among ordinary servers was 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 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 further, covering from New Year’s Eve to the third day, a total of four days.

Regarding this year’s business situation, Huang admitted that the overall environment was not easy, with rising costs and increasing market competition making store operations challenging. However, despite these difficulties, he坚持春节分红的做法。在他看来，这并不是额外奖励或临时决定，而是一种常态化的利润共享方式，是企业与员工之间应有的信任体现。

Reports indicate that when this approach was first implemented, it also faced some external skepticism. Some believed that the Spring Festival bonus might be just a short-term tactic to attract attention, and there were concerns that employees might be reluctant to return to work after receiving a substantial bonus. Huang did not shy away from these concerns. He stated that in earlier years, there were indeed cases of low return rates after the holiday, but these have improved significantly in recent years.

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

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

He explained that the Spring Festival bonus was not for publicity but stemmed from a personal idea in 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 permit, he decided to turn this idea into reality.

In addition to bonuses, Huang has been 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 per person, 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 believes that only by strengthening internal foundations can the enterprise go further.

Facing the reality of intensified market competition, with a decline in 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 support for the store still depends on a stable team and good reputation.

Regarding the possibility of being unable to distribute bonuses in the future, Huang said he would choose to communicate honestly with employees, explain the actual situation clearly, and work together to find solutions. But as long as conditions allow, he will坚持春节分红的做法，因为在他心中，越是困难的时候，越需要彼此承担、共同前行。