A Chinese man who had a gold straw worth 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) tailor-made for drinking milk tea accidentally dropped it while riding his electric bike.
The man surnamed Shou, from eastern China’s Zhejiang province, recently went viral because he asked for police help to look for the golden drinking implement.
Shou was riding his electric bike home at night with the straw in his trouser pocket as he passed over a bumpy manhole, causing the straw to fall out.
Shou panicked and spent an hour looking for the straw without success before calling the police.
Two police officers arrived at the scene and were shocked to learn that Shou wanted them to look for a gold straw weighing about 100g.
According to the maker of the straw, Shou paid 90,000 yuan to have it made at his shop.
Thanks to the price of gold soaring by more than 10 per cent in just a month, the straw is now worth 100,000 yuan.
The police officers used torches in a bid to find the special straw.
After half an hour, they found it lying beside a pavement about 100 metres from the manhole.
Shou was ecstatic: “Now my wife will not punish me by demanding I kneel on a washboard.”
In China, “kneeling on a washboard” is a humorous idiom widely used to describe a wife punishing her husband.
Shou said he had been buying gold for the past decade.
He said he used the straw to enjoy his favourite drink, milk tea. Shou also has a silver straw for doing so.
The gold straw was damaged in the incident and Shou said he had it melted down and would have another made next summer, but would not carry it in his pocket in future.
China has a long-established tradition of buying gold for newlyweds and newborn babies.
In recent years, gold jewellery has become increasingly popular with young people as it is considered both beautiful and a good investment.
As the precious metal’s price rose by more than 60 per cent this year, many chose to have jewellery made from gold they already had instead of buying new gold accessories.
One online observer said: “He uses a gold straw to drink milk tea, but still rides an electric bike.”
“I would not pick it up even if I actually saw it lying on the road because I would not believe a straw can be made of gold,” said another, suggesting this could be a reason Shou was able to get his precious item back. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
