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ChinaPeople & Culture

How a Chinese man paid 1 million yuan for noodles by accident - then got it back

  • Mobile payment mix-up over bill for US$12 meal
  • Man is surprised when told of his error

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The man’s huge overpayment stands out on the list of receipts. Photo: Weibo
Mandy Zuoin Shanghai

A man who accidentally splashed out over 1 million yuan (US$141,500) on a 100 yuan meal in eastern China was spared a huge overpayment when the restaurant owner found out and returned the money, news app Kankanews reported on Monday.

The unnamed man, aged about 40, visited a noodle restaurant in Zhuji, Zhejiang province earlier this month with three friends, and mistakenly made a mobile phone payment of over 1,001,000 yuan, the report said.

He was trying to buy a pre-loaded payment card for 100 yuan that came with 120 yuan of credit, and intended to use it to foot the bill for the four meals, which totalled just 85 yuan, according to the report.

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The incident happened on the restaurant’s opening day, on October 20, and staff only noticed the unintended extra takings the following day because they had been so busy, owner Yuan Yan was quoted as saying.

Restaurant manager Chen Ruoxuan spoke of her surprise after she found someone had paid over 1 million yuan for an 85 yuan meal. Photo: Weibo
Restaurant manager Chen Ruoxuan spoke of her surprise after she found someone had paid over 1 million yuan for an 85 yuan meal. Photo: Weibo
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“When we checked guest payments, we were stunned to find such a long number,” the restaurant’s manager Chen Ruoxuan said. “We counted and found it was 1,001,264 yuan.”

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