Daughter's Request for Father's 2-Hour Leave Denied, Father Fired Instead; Jinan "Heartless Stinky Tofu" Boss's Hardline Stance Draws Labor Department Intervention

During the Spring Festival, with only one day off and regular late-night shifts — this is the reality faced by a deep-fryer cook at a shop called "Jueqing Stinky Tofu" in Jinan.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the cook's daughter, Ms. Li, was about to return to Hangzhou for work. Before leaving, she simply wanted to share a farewell meal with her father, and proactively asked the shop owner to let him leave two hours early — with the corresponding wages to be deducted in full. This was hardly an unreasonable request; it was the bare minimum, something both parties could have negotiated rationally. Yet the shop owner's response was uncompromising: not a single minute of leave would be granted. The father was then immediately dismissed by the shop.

Ms. Li went to the shop in person to negotiate, and footage of the confrontation quickly spread across social media platforms. Tens of thousands of netizens left comments expressing outrage, widely condemning the shop owner's handling of the situation as a serious breach of basic human decency.

According to Tianyancha records, the shop in question is registered under the name "Jinan Lixia Zhao Zhengyang Snack Shop," operating as an individually-owned business with Zhao Zhengyang listed as the proprietor, with a business scope covering catering services, food delivery, and online sales. The Lixia District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau in Jinan has formally intervened, jointly with the local sub-district office, to investigate and address the matter. Several legal professionals have noted that this kind of abrupt, heavy-handed dismissal may constitute a violation of labor law provisions protecting workers' fundamental rights. The case is currently under further review.