On 8 September in Zaozhuang, Shandong, a 2-and-a-half-year-old girl was playing near a steriliser cabinet inside a malatang restaurant. After opening the door, she shook it and pulled down hard, causing the 10–15 kg cabinet to suddenly tip over.

At the critical moment, a man dressed in black who was preparing sauces at the condiment station reacted quickly, using one hand to hold up the falling cabinet while still holding his sauce tray in the other. His swift action prevented the cabinet from crashing down onto the child. Startled, the girl burst into tears as her parents and staff rushed over to set the cabinet upright.

The girl was unharmed, but the man’s arm was cut by the cabinet’s edge. Staff immediately took him to a nearby clinic for cleaning and bandaging.

The restaurant later revealed they had tried to take the man’s contact details to thank him, but he politely declined.