A restaurant owner in central China has become an online sensation after tearing up an employee’s IOU (“I owe you”) note for a fire that almost destroyed his business.

Liang, 45, a veteran restaurateur from Zhengzhou, Henan province, has spent more than two decades in the catering trade and now runs a barbecue restaurant with over 20 staff.

One of them, Liu, a 27-year-old chef who has worked there for seven years, posted a photo of the torn-up note on social media on July 3. The story behind it quickly resonated online.

The blaze began after Liu forgot to turn off the flame under an oil pan during a shift handover. It soon swept through the kitchen, storeroom and private dining rooms.

Liu tried to smother the fire with a fire blanket and an extinguisher, while diners called emergency services and moved nearby electric bikes away from danger.

Firefighters later brought the blaze under control. No one was injured, but the restaurant was badly damaged. Its insurance status has not been disclosed.

Overcome with remorse, Liu wrote Liang an IOU, offering to repay the losses through monthly salary deductions of 3,000 yuan (US$440).

Liang tore it up. Patting Liu on the shoulder, he told him to keep working and said: “We will face the future together.”