{
  "id": 13640967,
  "title": "Restaurant owner buys top workers BMWs after seeing them ride e-bikes to work in the cold",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/restaurant-owner-buys-top-workers-bmws-after-seeing-them-ride-e-bikes",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-11T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "VnExpress International",
    "slug": "vnexpress-international",
    "url": "https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/restaurant-owner-buys-top-workers-bmws-after-seeing-them-ride-e-bikes-to-work-in-the-cold-5130122.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In an unusual gesture of appreciation, restaurant owner Ma Yanli purchased a BMW for each of her top employees, Henan TV reported in September. The dealership worker Li Jie recounted how Ma expressed delight at the opportunity, stating the vehicles were \"big toys.\" Another employee, Liu Yingying, claimed Ma attributed her BMW to her hard work and outstanding performance. After a particularly harsh, windy day with Ma observing one employee, Xiao Liu, turning red from the cold, the idea for the gesture emerged. Ma told Hangzhou-based City Express that the goal was to provide the team with comfort they'd otherwise lack, as they commuted via electric bikes through rain and strong winds. The initiative even turned Ma into a trending topic on Chinese social media, with users joking about the restaurant's sudden fortune.",
  "summary": "A restaurant owner in China's Henan Province has given top-performing employees BMWs worth about 300,000 yuan (US$44,700) each after seeing them ride electric bikes to work in the cold.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}