Quirky China: A US$10,400 ‘alighting fee’, indignation over 3-US cent overcharge and munching sunflower seeds with foot stuck in sewer
- A family charged the groom US$10,400 to alight from the car on their daughter’s wedding day
- A man posts an online rant over a US$0.03 overcharge
Weddings can be a day to celebrate love, but they can also turn into nightmares that create stress for everyone involved. However, some stories stand apart from the rest.
The deal was not agreed upon in advance and the groom’s family had to make phone calls on the spot to borrow money.
“Shut the car door tightly, tell the driver to send her back the same way, and request a refund,” one person suggested online.
In mainland China, it is customary to request an “alighting gift”, but asking for such a large sum is unusual.
A man infuriated after a restaurant’s 0.2 yuan (US$0.03) overcharge
A 24-year-old man went on an indignant rant online when he discovered he had been overcharged by 0.2 yuan (US$0.03) on his 1,012 yuan bill (US$158).
The man, surnamed Jiang, went out for dinner with a few friends on February 7 in Zhejiang province in eastern China. When he inquired about the bill, he was told by the restaurant manager that a function in the cashier machine of rounding up amounts created the extra charge.
Jiang was enraged by the extra 0.2 yuan charge and decided never to return to the restaurant, as well as posting a rant on the short video app Douyin that went viral.
“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve encountered something like this in a restaurant; nobody makes money easily,” Jiang said.
Jiang’s experience landed on sympathetic ears.
“I’ve experienced this before, and after I complained, the merchant changed the cashier system afterwards,” someone said.
“0.2 yuan per person can make a big difference for the restaurant considering its annual traffic.”
A man chews on sunflower seeds while his leg is stuck in a sewer
Can you keep your cool while waiting for firefighters to come to your aid? This man certainly did.
On February 13, in Xinyang, Henan Province, central China, a drunk man stepped into a sewer and got his leg stuck. According to the report by Urban Channel, he calmly took out a handful of sunflower seeds and began to eat.
When people in the area noticed the situation, they called the fire department, and firefighters eventually rescued the man.
“The perfect interpretation of ‘do not panic in the face of trouble’,” a person commented online, according to mainland media.
