This also happened right where we are. My high school classmate told me the story.
A restaurant opened near her home, originally run by a husband-and-wife team. Business was decent, but they got too busy to manage on their own, so they hired a female server from Northeast China, who had come to work here while her husband stayed home farming. This woman was no ordinary worker—she kept the entire restaurant, inside and out, in perfect order. The owner's wife quickly found herself with much less to do and stopped spending so much time at the shop, often going out to play cards instead.
When there were no customers, only the owner (who was also the chef) and this woman from the Northeast were left in the restaurant. Quite naturally, they began a secret affair, which lasted for about half a month.
Then, one day, a strange and unexpected visitor suddenly burst into the restaurant. He had a ring of "er-ti-jiao" firecrackers (a powerful type of explosive, now quite rare) tied around his waist, a long string of firecrackers bound tightly to his back like a prisoner, and a lighter in his hand. He charged in looking ready to die.
The diners were stunned (probably thinking at first he was just some firecracker salesman gone mad). Then he began screaming and sobbing, accusing the owner of stealing his wife and declaring he didn't want to live anymore. The owner came out from the kitchen and just stood there, watching this dramatic spectacle. Of course, this man was the husband of the Northeast server. His entire performance was just an act to extort money from the owner.
The owner wasn't stupid. He quickly offered the man a seat and began negotiating over how much money to pay. The man immediately stopped crying, sat down, lit a cigarette, and started calmly discussing the terms.
When the negotiation was nearly settled and the man seemed satisfied, he finished his cigarette and casually flicked the butt onto the floor. Unfortunately, due to the way he was sitting, the fuse of the string of firecrackers on his back had drooped down and touched the ground. The falling cigarette butt landed right on the fuse and instantly ignited it. Firecrackers began exploding amid the man’s screams. People scrambled for water, and in panic, the man tried to tear the string of firecrackers off his back. But in doing so, the sparks reached the fuses of the "er-ti-jiao" around his waist. One thunderous blast after another erupted, and everyone in the restaurant fled in terror…
The scene descended into utter chaos. The only things people clearly remembered afterward were the deafening explosions and a small piece of intestine hanging from a power line outside.