Quirky China: woman falls for ‘amnesia water’ scam, actor Xiao Zhan mobbed at hotpot restaurant, and man carrying bags of rice finds fame
- A woman was told that amnesia water was so magical she would forget her troubles after drinking it
- Crazed fans of Xiao Zhan, a famous actor on the mainland, mobbed a hotpot restaurant after his location was revealed online by the venue
A woman in southeastern China has reportedly been swindled out of 6,500 yuan (US$1,000) buying “amnesia water” from an online shop.
Surnamed Qian, the woman who lives in Suzhou in Jiangsu province, said she was interested in the product after she had a fight with her boyfriend and wanted to forget.
After getting in touch with the seller through a texting app, Qian was told that the amnesia water was so magical that people would forget their troubles after drinking it, with part of their memories eliminated, she told police.
The seller shared screenshots of supposed success stories and previous sales records to convince her he was legitimate. Qian sent the money in several remittances.
She only realised she was tricked after the seller didn’t show up at the agreed time and in the agreed place. He also blocked her on the app.
The case is under investigation. But police face some difficulty since their chat histories have been deleted as the seller instructed Qian to do so, telling her the trade of magic water was illegal.
Hotpot restaurant in hot water for outing celebrity
A hotpot restaurant chain has apologised for divulging the whereabouts of an A-list Chinese star, prompting a fan frenzy.
The restaurant apologised on Monday after a public backlash.
“We were too excited just now. We didn’t mean to interrupt the celebration feast,” said the company on Weibo. “We are sorry to the public and to every guest in our restaurant.”
The restaurant said that Xiao had left the venue safely.
Video of the incident has been viewed about 300 million times, with 30,000 comments left online.
“I hope this restaurant should hold basic morals to do its business. Otherwise, it will lose customers,” wrote one person on Weibo.
“The restaurant should respect other people’s privacy, no matter whether he is a star or an ordinary person,” another person said.
In an online survey by the China News Service, 80 per cent of 7,800 participants said the restaurant should be fined for “infringing other people’s privacy in order to grab their attention”.
Rice carrying worker captures hearts
A video clip with a migrant worker carrying nine bags of rice on his back has gone viral, with many commenting on the hardship displayed.
Duan Wenfei, 51, has been working in Guangdong as a migrant worker for the past 33 years. He has a son and a daughter living in his hometown in Hunan.
The video was taken by his co-worker at a grocery store in Guangzhou, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reports. Duan said two new colleagues could only carry three bags of rice each at that time, so he just loaded the remaining nine bags on himself.
He said he and his wife were only reunited with their children once a year — during the Spring Festival holiday period. His daughter once complained that her parents only cared about earning money and did not love her.
Duan said he burst into tears, the report said. “Then I explained to her: if we didn’t go to work in Guangdong, how can our family make a living? How can you have the money to study?”
He said he hoped his children would study hard, so that they wouldn’t have to do labour work like him in future.
“He not only holds the rice on his back, but also a family,” commented a Weibo user.
