Owner sees 2 employees coming to work on two wheeler in harsh winter, gifts Rs 45 lakh BMWs to them

Festive times also brings gifting season. Every around around diwali, several employer gifts employees, some even expensive one. Similar story of a surprise gift given by an employee has gone viral. A restaurant owner in China has gifted two of her employees brand-new BMW cars worth around Rs 43 lakh each after noticing the difficulties they faced while commuting to work on electric scooters. The unusual gesture came from Ma Yanli, who runs a beef hotpot restaurant chain in Jiaozuo, Henan province. According to the South China Morning Post, Ma was moved by the sight of her staff travelling through harsh winter conditions while she enjoyed the comfort of her own car.

The two employees, Li Jie and Liu Yingying, received the luxury vehicles as gifts from their employer. Ma reportedly paid the full purchase price, and neither employee was required to contribute towards the cost. The surprise unfolded on September 24, when Ma took the workers to a BMW showroom without revealing what she had planned for them.

How an employee's struggle during winter inspired the gift

The idea reportedly began taking shape during the previous winter, when Ma noticed one of her employees arriving at work after travelling on an electric scooter in the cold. Li Jie, who had spent eight years working at the restaurant, had been exposed to the biting wind during her daily commute. Ma noticed that Li's face was flushed, her ears had turned purple and her hands had become stiff from the cold.


The sight prompted Ma to reflect on the difference between her own journey to work and that of her employees. While she could travel comfortably inside a car, her staff had to deal with the weather on two-wheelers.

“I said to myself, 'I can sit in my car and enjoy warmth and convenience during transportation.' Why can’t she?” Ma said.

That thought eventually led to a decision that went far beyond a conventional employee reward. Instead of giving her staff a cash bonus or a routine appreciation gift, she chose to buy cars for two workers.

Employees had no idea they were getting BMW cars

Ma reportedly purchased the vehicles around two weeks before taking the employees to the showroom. Each car cost approximately 300,000 yuan, equivalent to around Rs 43 lakh to Rs 43.2 lakh.

Li, one of the recipients, did not realise what was about to happen when she accompanied her employer to the dealership. Ma had reportedly described the surprise as a “big toy”, without revealing that it was a luxury car.

“I am so thrilled! I dared not think about this before. On the way to the BMW showroom, Boss Ma just told me she would gift me a big toy,” Li said.

The car was registered in Li's name on the same day. According to the report, Ma did not ask her to sign an agreement in exchange for the gift. Liu Yingying was the other employee selected for the reward. She received a grey BMW, with Ma reportedly citing her strong work ethic and performance as reasons for choosing her.

“My boss told me you work hard and your performance is excellent. You deserve this car,” Liu said.

For both workers, the gifts meant a substantial change to their everyday travel. Their regular scooter journeys had unexpectedly led to ownership of cars costing lakhs of rupees.

Restaurant owner says employees deserve to share in business success

Ma's decision was not just about rewarding two individuals. She said the growth of her business was the result of the collective efforts of her employees and that they should also benefit from its success.

“I have achieved success in my career. But my company’s prosperity is attributed to the collective efforts of all my employees. So I must let my workers also benefit from the success of my company,” she said.

Her remarks offer an insight into why she chose such an unusual way to recognise her staff. The decision was prompted by a practical problem she had observed in their daily lives, rather than solely by their performance at work.

Employee recognition often takes the form of bonuses, salary increases, promotions or smaller gifts. In this case, Ma opted for a reward that could make a direct difference to the recipients' daily routines.

Although gifting luxury cars is beyond the reach of most employers, the story highlights a different approach to employee appreciation: recognising the contribution workers make to a business and finding ways to share its success with them.

For Li and Liu, that recognition came in the form of brand-new BMWs. For their employer, it was a way to acknowledge the people who had helped her business grow.