Because the tea cooperative is staffed entirely by women, it is jokingly referred to by its own members as a "nunnery."
If the tea cooperative is a nunnery, then the beekeeping cooperative, run by Shan Yan, is definitely a "monk's temple"—traveling over mountains and valleys, collecting honey from house to house, and carrying it down the mountain are all physically demanding jobs. Therefore, all seven employees of the beekeeping cooperative are Shan Yan's apprentices.
At nine o'clock in the morning, everyone gathered at Jiang Xiaoman's express delivery station.
The last batch of goods has been shipped out, and now the warehouse next to the post station is empty. Lang Ying and her team cleaned the place up, and Jiang Xiaoman specially ordered a large red banner online to hang above the stage. Below it were several rows of tables and chairs borrowed from the school, making it look quite like a conference room.
Jiang Xiaoman went to the market early in the morning and bought a box of tangerines, a box of apples and bananas, and a big bag of peanuts, melon seeds, rice candy. The scene was as lively as if it were Chinese New Year.
A large pile of items sent by sponsors had already been placed on the open space next to the podium.
With more than a month to go before the Chinese New Year, major brands have already launched a wide variety of New Year's goods. In addition to several brands that they frequently collaborate with on small appliances and daily necessities, the most common sponsors this year are various New Year's gift packages.
Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu turned on the live broadcast room, and arranged for two acquaintances to help film the scene. They were found by the town's propaganda officer, who said that they wanted to use this event to complete the propaganda task assigned by the county... It's not easy being a grassroots cadre!
Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu also needed to edit the video of this event, so they simply asked someone to help them film it, as they had more important things to do today.
Jiang Xiaoman is quite eloquent and has a college education, so his speech was well-written and professional. The shareholders unanimously elected him as the host of today's awards ceremony.
Seeing the employees below staring longingly at the mountain of New Year's goods piled up beside them, Jiang Xiaoman coughed, turned on the microphone borrowed from the village, and announced the official start of the commendation meeting.
Since everyone was on the same side and there were no leaders present, Jiang Xiaoman kept it brief. He first thanked everyone for their selfless dedication and hard work for the cooperative throughout the year, then looked forward to the bright future of the cooperative, and finally, he and Shan Yan, as the main persons in charge of the two cooperatives, read out the list of award recipients.
Jiang Xiaoman originally intended for everyone to receive a share, but Shan Yan disagreed. He felt that everyone could receive the New Year's goods, but the bonuses must be differentiated, otherwise it would give the employees the wrong impression that no matter how well they performed, they would at least receive a month's salary as a bonus at the end of the year, which would be quite prestigious.
"I want them to know that face is something you have to earn yourself!"
"All you do is slack off all day long, and you want to go home and show off your year-end bonus like everyone else? Dream on!" Shan Yan said coldly.
Jiang Xiaoman also felt that Shan Yan's words made sense, so she simply listened to him.
Therefore, this year's year-end commendation meeting set up two Special Contribution Awards, two Outstanding Contribution Awards, and four Best Improvement Awards. The remaining recipients did not receive any prize money, but instead received a New Year's gift package.
"By a show of hands at the cooperative's shareholders' meeting, it has been decided to award Comrade Lang Ying the Annual Special Contribution Award, with a prize of 10,000 yuan!"
"Comrade Shansong is awarded the Annual Special Contribution Award, with a prize of 10,000 yuan!"
"Comrade Qingshan's Outstanding Contribution Award, with a prize of five thousand yuan!"
"Comrade Shan Ying's Most Improved Award, prize money three thousand yuan!"
...
Those who received bonuses and certificates beamed with pride, while those who didn't were secretly resentful. If they had known earlier that hard work would bring an extra bonus at the end of the year, they would definitely have worked even harder than those who received bonuses. Next year, they would also strive to perform well and get a generous red envelope to take home for the New Year!
After the bonuses are distributed, the next step is the New Year's gift package.
Calling it a "gift package" wouldn't be accurate, because there are so many sponsors. This year, the employees will definitely not be able to carry all the New Year's gifts they receive with their hands. They'll probably need a tricycle to make two trips to get them.
"This year, Xiaoyu and I have made great progress on our video accounts, which wouldn't have been possible without everyone's support and help. Let me make it clear first, the New Year's goods that the cooperative distributed this year weren't bought by us shareholders, but sponsored by our brand patrons. I won't name the specific names, since they didn't pay any promotion fees..."
The audience burst into laughter.
People are no longer the country bumpkins they used to be. They all know that with Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu's number of fans, getting them to mention a brand name during a live stream would require at least a six-figure promotion fee.
Fans couldn't stop laughing when they saw this, and some even tagged the brand's official account in the comments, asking the brand to support Xiaoman and Xiaoyu. They said, "We've already given them the products, so what's a little more promotional spending?"
Hiring a celebrity to endorse a product can cost at least several million yuan a year.
With these few million, we could cover the entire year's worth of promotions for Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu—what a bargain!
The brand tycoon had tears in his eyes.
Is it that they are unwilling to pay?
They all wanted to transfer the money directly to Jiang Xiaoman, but she just wouldn't take it!
However, this made the fans feel much better.
Joking aside, if Jiang Xiaoman really turns the employee commendation meeting into a business recruitment event, it would be too utilitarian. In that case, some netizens would criticize them, saying that after they became famous, everything they do is driven by utilitarian motives.
However, although the names of the sponsors were not read out, Jiang Xiaoman still designed the distribution process a little. All the prizes were arranged in a long row, and then the employees came up one by one to sign for their items at each booth.
On the left are all large items: a rice cooker, a soy milk maker, a complete set of New Year's customized banquet tableware, and a four-piece flannel bedding set for each person.
In the middle were various daily chemical and household products: a bucket of branded sunflower seed oil, two bags of Daohuaxiang rice, a box of black sesame oil, a box of detergent, a large box of paper towels, plus some hand soap, shower gel, dish soap, shampoo, etc., all sent by brands we often cooperate with. The prices were not high, only a thousand or so yuan. Being able to show your face in the live broadcast room of a big influencer like Jiang Xiaoman with tens of millions of fans is simply a great deal!
On the right are New Year's goods sent by brands that Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu have decided to collaborate with. There are gift packages of mountain products from other places, as well as gift packages of candy and snacks for the New Year, and toy blind box gift packages that children love now.
"So many? We can't possibly take all of this back," Qingshan exclaimed, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"If you don't want it, why don't you give it to me? I'll ask my brother to borrow a tractor to take it back."
“Who said I don’t want it anymore? I’ll call home right now and get someone to help me carry it up the mountain.”
Many people in the village knew that the cooperative was going to hold an awards ceremony, and quite a few villagers came to watch the excitement since they had nothing else to do.
Originally, we thought that at most, it would be like in the village, with each person receiving a 500 yuan red envelope, a bucket of oil, a bag of rice, and so on. This was the best treatment we could imagine.
After all, the village officials only distributed this many items.
Unexpectedly, they had been standing outside for quite a while, while inside, bonuses and New Year's gifts were being distributed, creating quite a commotion.
After a while, helpers from various families arrived to help move the New Year's goods, some driving tractors, some riding tricycles, and some driving oxcarts.
Anyone who didn't know better would think they were there to buy goods.
How much stuff can a rural cooperative distribute during the Chinese New Year?
Is it really necessary to be so arrogant?
As it turned out, the tricycles and oxcarts really couldn't hold it all.
The villagers were astonished to see the cooperative's employees carrying large bags of things out, including big items like rice cookers and soy milk makers.
Did Xiaoman and that Jiangyu make a fortune? They gave their employees so many gifts for the New Year!
Lang Ying and others were worried that distributing so many items at once would cause trouble for Jiang Xiaoman, so they explained that these items were not purchased by the cooperative, but were sponsored by the cooperating brand.
However, the villagers still felt that Jiang Xiaoman's actions were somewhat wasteful.
They didn't care whether the brand sponsoring the awards ceremony was trying to get some exposure during the live stream and get free advertising. They just felt that since these nice things were given to Jiang Xiaoman by others, he should keep them for his own use, or sell them or give them to relatives, saving a lot of money during holidays.
Giving all of it to his employees like that, isn't that just wasteful?
Some people even went up to Jiang Youliang and kindly advised him to control his son, saying that he was spending money so recklessly before even getting married, how would he save money to get married in the future?
Now, no one dares to introduce Jiang Xiaoman to anyone.
Anyone with eyes can see that Jiang Xiaoman has both a diploma and skills, and earns a lot of money. He probably, no, he definitely wouldn't look at a country girl who has nothing. He will definitely find a partner in the city in the future.
But city girls have exceptionally high standards when it comes to finding a partner; they want a house, a car, money, and a diamond ring—they don't want to miss out on any of them.
The villagers meant well, but Jiang Youliang of today is no longer the old rural man who only knew how to grow potatoes and raise piglets.
He didn't confront the person directly, since they meant well. After getting rid of them, he privately called his son aside and explained the situation.
Jiang Xiaoman thought his father also thought his actions were too extravagant and wasteful, and was about to explain when his father unexpectedly said—
"Don't worry about what the villagers say behind your back. If their old folk tales were so effective, why haven't they gotten rich? Instead, you've become wealthy."
"The way to conduct oneself in society is to be true to one's conscience and to be worthy of those who truly care about you!"
"Think about it yourself. In the past year or so, you and Xiaoyu have been running around like crazy. Did the people in the village who like to gossip behind your backs help you more, or did the people under your command help you more?"
"Just remember this: whoever helps you make money, whoever helps you make your life better and better, you should treat them well. If you keep this in mind, you can't go wrong!"
“Yes! Dad, you are a great philosopher!” Jiang Xiaoman gave his father a thumbs up.
At the same time, he secretly regretted not turning on his phone earlier.
I should really record what his dad just said and post it online!
Let all those parents who get a few words of advice from relatives during holidays and then make trouble for their sons and daughters take a good look!
Don't assume that everything your relatives say is for your child's good.
I really want to do what's best for them, so why is it that when your son or daughter encounters difficulties outside, these relatives never take the initiative to lend a hand?
Chapter 201
After the employee commendation meeting, the two cooperatives sealed the warehouse with big red paper, and the employees went home to prepare for the Chinese New Year.
Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu, however, were not idle.
The Lunar New Year is the busiest time for live-streaming e-commerce hosts. They chose to stop their cooperative operations a month in advance, not only to accommodate the local custom of staying home for the New Year, but also to concentrate their efforts and try to make more money when people's spending power is at its peak before the New Year.
While self-media has become known as a lucrative business in recent years, the industry is also evolving very rapidly.
In layman's terms: You don't even know when you'll suddenly be gone.
Therefore, many self-media accounts will try their best to sell products and make money while they are popular, for fear that the whole team will starve if things cool down.
Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu didn't have this kind of anxiety. However, now that they've reached this point, when the brands they usually work with want to hold events during the Chinese New Year and invite them to participate, how can they refuse to give the brand a chance?
The two discussed it privately and decided that since they were going to have to fool the brand anyway, they could also make some extra pocket money, so why not?
I might as well hold a few special New Year's goods sales and include all the brands I've worked with. No matter what the results are, at least I've shown my sincerity.
These two laid-back livestreamers never expected that, despite being prepared to give up, they would still be pushed into the top ten of the sales rankings by a mysterious force!
Dear friends, have you forgotten the enormous contributions you made to tens of thousands of migrant workers and dozens of large-scale enterprises in W City Industrial Park during this year's super flu outbreak?
As the saying goes, a drop of water in need should be repaid with a spring of water.
Moreover, this wasn't just a small favor from Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu; it was a life-saving act!
The management committee was the quickest to repay their kindness, directly granting Jiang Xiaoman and her group a ten-year rent-free lease on a prime shop. It's estimated that once the farmers' market opens, their stall will receive "special attention" from the management committee, and there will be no more unpleasant incidents like vegetable bullies or truck bullies trying to extort favors from them.
Large enterprises in the industrial park can also do this; they can directly donate money and goods to Langshan Town.
The tens of thousands of migrant workers in the park are pitiful; they have never found an opportunity to repay Jiang Xiaoman and others.
They originally wanted to support Jiang Xiaoman and her livestream business, but lol! With their hand speed, they simply couldn't compete with those ruthless fans!
Moreover, Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu usually stream from 8 pm to 10 pm, which happens to be the time when many companies work overtime in the evening.
By the time they finish broadcasting, the cucumbers will be cold.
So, ever since they were lucky enough to snag some local specialties from a livestream during the last lockdown, they haven't been able to do so since they started working overtime after the lockdown ended!
Thankfully, hard work pays off!
Just as their factory was closed for the Spring Festival holiday, Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu started a live stream to sell New Year's goods!