Winning a lucky draw might be the dream of millions but not many people are fortunate enough to actually win lotteries and jackpots. In the age of hustle culture, paid leave from the office is a luxury as well. So when a Chinese man received a mind-boggling prize, he became the envy of millions of people online. According to South China Morning Post, a firm hosted its annual party on April 9, 2023 after three years due to the delays caused by the pandemic. During this event, an employee of the firm ended up winning a year's worth of paid leave and stunned everyone who came to know of this stupendous stroke of luck.

 A member of staff from the company’s administrative department, surnamed Chen, told Daxiang News, that the boss of the firm had apparently planned to throw a surprise for everyone with a special prize. Chen said that even the boss was shocked when someone won the special prize of one year of paid leave because the odds were really low. 

Another staff member called Song revealed that the chances of hitting the ultimate jackpot were one in a thousand. Even though there were cash prizes up for grabs, it doesn’t match up to the big win the lucky guy received. A man surnamed Li who happens to be a colleague of the winner posted a video of the lucky man holding a cardboard resembling a cheque with “365 days paid leave” written on it. Li also added that the awestruck man was clinging to the cardboard long after the party was over.

According to the winner’s co-worker Chen, the lucky dude held a management-level position in the firm and his only worry after grabbing the grand prize of the night was inquiring about “who is going to do his work?” The lucky man, surnamed Lu, later appeared in a video on China’s famous social media app Douyin and revealed that he has worked at the imported food company since he graduated from school 14 years ago. This was his first time winning the top prize at the annual party.

Lu also disclosed that he was presented with two options by the company. In one option, he was allowed to take 365 days of paid leave and in the second option, he was entitled to receive an extra yearly payment without taking the vacation. Lu’s story trended on the Chinese social media platform Weibo’s hot search list and has been viewed 250 million times by April 12. Many suggested he take the cash instead of the vacation whereas others urged him to opt for the year-long holiday. Some even worried that Lu “might find himself replaced or even out of work after resting for a year.”

But Lu has enough faith in his company and said that they won’t sack him after all these years of service. He admitted that he was finding his job quite tiring in recent years and he could use the vacation as an opportunity to spend some time with his loved ones. Lu’s story is definitely one of the most wholesome workplace events that we have come across recently and we secretly wish our companies were as generous as Lu’s company. After all, who can refuse a whole year of holiday and still get paid?