A restraurant waitress pulles the string of 100-yuan notes out of the plastic bag in the half-eaten birthday cake. Photo: Screenshot of video by Xiandai Kuaibao

A restaurant owner in Yancheng, East China's Jiangsu Province returned an unexpected and unintended cash bonus, which had been hidden in a birthday cake belonging to a guest. 

A waitress at the restaurant found a string of 100 yuan notes tied together and packed in a plastic bag in a half-eaten birthday cake while cleaning a private dining room. The money totaled 11,600 yuan ($1,680), Nanjing-based newspaper Xiandai Kuaibao reported on Monday.

The waitress and the restaurant manager were surprised and immediately contacted the man who had booked the room. 

Zhou and his wife Xiaonan came to celebrate Xiaonan's 30th birthday and the cake was provided by Xiaonan's close friend, who had prepared the lucrative surprise. 

"We found some 30 notes while having dinner but didn't realize there were more left in the cake," Zhou told the newspaper. 

"We drank a little and chatted excitedly, so even Xiaonan's friend failed to notice that most of the money had not been pulled out of the cake," he said.  

When the story made the rounds on Sina Weibo, Net users became jealous of Xiaonan for having such a good and wealthy friend. 

"To be honest I don't care about the money, but please give me a taste of such a birthday cake or better yet, introduce your friend to me!" a Weibo user posted. 

Xiandai Kuaibao