Chasing my first 5,000 yuan in free money
I am a hunter. Before you conjure an image in your mind of me stalking the streets of Beijing with a 12-bore shotgun as I seek my quarry, calm yourselves, dear readers.
What I mean, in fact, is that living up to the oldfashioned stereotype of people from my native country of Scotland as being “careful with money”, my hunting involves the search for a few extra pennies.
For most people, I am certain that the concept of “free money” is very appealing, and Chinese bike-sharing giant Ofo is well aware of this, as it now offers small financial incentives to its customers.
My “hunting”, like that of many other users of the popular transportation app, involves searching for “red envelopes” that appear in some areas where Ofo bikes are available.
What adds to the allure of this offer, and the “thrill of the chase” is that these “red envelopes” could contain anything from a few jiao up to 5,000 yuan ($735).
All you need to do is hire a bike from one of the “red envelope” areas showing up on the app, use the said vehicle for at least 10 minutes, then, after you pay the fee for hiring the bike, a red envelope will appear on the screen.
Simply open it, and the financial gift will be revealed.
After you have “earned” 10 yuan from the envelope you are given the option of transferring it to your WeChat or Alipay wallet, transforming the virtual earnings into money you can spend on whatever you want.
Initially I dismissed this as just another marketing gimmick, but when I updated the Ofo app on my smartphone several weeks ago, and the “red envelope” option started to appear I caught the bug, and began seeking out these potentially lucrative offerings.
So, how much have I amassed since I started “hunting”? So far, about 27 yuan.
I will let you know when I have made my first 5,000.