Seeing the slightly fanatical looks in the cowboys' eyes, Jiang Hai smiled smugly.
To be honest, three years ago, he would never have imagined himself handling this much money. Yet now, he not only possessed it—he had the power to create it.
"As we agreed before, we'll allocate 0.2% as bonuses," he said calmly. "So this year's total bonus comes to just over five million dollars. I've rounded it up for everyone—$5.17 million in total."
He paused, then added, "I should clarify something. Gladstone Nelson, Black Hill, and Edie Lewis joined us later this year, so I've only prepared year-end bonuses for you. You won't participate in this round of profit sharing. But don't feel discouraged. Next year we'll have 40,000 head of cattle, and at least 30,000 will be sold. If we keep the same standards, next year's revenue could reach $4.8 billion. The year-end bonus pool would be around $9.6 million. When that time comes, your share will only be bigger, not smaller."
The crowd instantly grew excited.
Although the three newcomers felt a little awkward at first, Jiang Hai's words quickly filled them with hope. Next year, they too might receive bonuses worth over a million dollars.
Over a million.
"$5.17 million, split equally among Robbins Garcia, Burke Daller, Patrick Turner, Harriman Fells, and Bell Lester—$1.034 million each. What you do with the money is your business. Just remember to pay your taxes next year."
Smiling, Jiang Hai pulled five Citibank checks from his pocket and laid them out.
Robbins and the others immediately understood. Grinning, they stepped forward, picked up their checks, glanced at the numbers, and stuffed them into their pockets. If they weren't trying to keep their composure, their mouths would have been hanging wide open.
In the distance, Penelope slowly sipped her red wine, while the Turner brothers sat frozen in disbelief.
Their eyes, however, were shining.
Penelope had long known Jiang Hai wasn't stingy with his own people—his treatment of Moses Adams had already proven that. Anyone who worked for him never had to worry about money. It was no wonder people were loyal to him.
Father really is lucky to work under him, she thought. Though… this boss is far too lecherous.
After everyone thanked him and returned to the crowd, Jiang Hai pulled out another sheet of paper.
"Alright, next let's talk about the fisheries' profits."
The moment he said that, everyone leaned in.
"This year, not only did our ranch perform well, but the fisheries had a bumper harvest too. Lobsters, grouper, red snapper, giant grouper, Atlantic salmon, king crab, tiger prawns—we had great yields across the board. And because of our location, our seafood sells for much higher prices than elsewhere."
He smiled.
"American red snapper: 13,700 tons at $40,000 per ton—that's $548 million. Grouper: 8,900 tons at $60,000 per ton—$534 million. Giant grouper: 7,980 tons at $65,000 per ton—$518.7 million. Atlantic salmon: 6,412 tons at $100,000 per ton—$641.2 million. Tiger prawns also go for premium prices. Lobsters sell for $5,000 each, king crabs for $2,000 each."
He lifted the paper slightly.
"Fish alone brought in $2.2419 billion. Adding everything else—including tuna—our total seafood shipments reached $2.49448 billion."
Even though Jiang Hai already knew the numbers, reading them out loud still impressed him.
Just beef and seafood alone had earned him nearly five billion dollars this year.
And most importantly—since he owned the sea rights—he didn't even have to pay taxes on it.
"Using the same 0.2% rule, that's another $4.98 million. Let's just round it to five million. This one goes to the fisheries team."
He took out five more checks.
"Edward Anderson, Tommy Charles, Enrique Cecilia, Andrew Christian, and Marlen Rupert—$1 million each."
The five men burst out laughing.
Although they earned less than the cowboys this year, everyone knew the fishing grounds had expanded at least fivefold. And with tuna farming coming online, future profits would only skyrocket. Sooner or later, they might even surpass the ranch.
As they happily accepted their checks, Dulles Gerrard and his apprentice O'Connor Murphy straightened up. They knew their turn was next.
"Next is the winery," Jiang Hai continued. "Because wine is sold by vintage, we didn't release much this year. Fifty thousand bottles at first, then another hundred thousand. The initial price was $800 per bottle. The later batch sold for $1,200."
Hearing this, the Turner brothers exchanged looks.
Even Penelope unconsciously drank faster.
She had assumed the wine was homemade and maybe worth a few dozen dollars—at most a hundred. She hadn't expected it to cost over a thousand.
"Our goal is $2,000 per bottle," Dulles Gerrard suddenly said, standing confidently. "This wine absolutely has that potential. Within three years, we'll reach that price."
This year, he no longer looked embarrassed—he looked radiant.
"Those 150,000 bottles alone brought in $160 million," Jiang Hai added. "And we still have 1.2 million bottles aging in the cellar. Even valued at $1,000 each, that's $1.2 billion in inventory."
He smiled and pulled out two red checks.
"So Mr. Dulles and Mr. Murphy will receive $3.2 million total—$1.6 million each."
The two men bowed politely like true European gentlemen before accepting their rewards. With this money, they could return home with their heads held high.
Finally, Jiang Hai turned to the newest recruits.
"As for you new brothers, since you joined late, there won't be formal profit sharing this year. But I've prepared a year-end bonus—$100,000 each. If you work hard next year, I believe there will be seven more millionaires here. What do you say?"
Cheers erupted instantly.
Even without a million-dollar payout, $100,000 was already incredible. In America, $50,000 a year counted as middle class. Their bonus alone doubled that.
They knew they had made the right choice coming here.
Jiang Hai was absolutely an employer worth following.
"Alright!" Jiang Hai suddenly raised a beer high into the air. "Now it's time for a wild party!"
The crowd roared.
Whether drunk or not, everyone already felt intoxicated with excitement.
In the distance, Qi Ya and Qi Jie watched him laughing among the crowd and couldn't help smiling.
Following a man like this—whether they would regret it someday—no one could say.
But whenever they looked at Jiang Hai, all doubts disappeared.
Especially for Qi Jie, Liu Ya, Feng Yunchen, and Ai Xiaoxi.
This man—
They were determined to have him.
(To be continued.)