Tofu is homophonic with "Toufu (first fortune of the year)", so it is considered as a good food which brings happiness.

而豆腐音同“头福”，被视为能够为新年带来福气的好食材。

The man’s travel partner soon came out of the bus to defend him, but her pleas to leave him alone were shouted down by the passengers (translation courtesy of Ministry of Toufu)

这个男人的同伴赶紧从巴士上出来保护他，但是对于她要求的让乘客们离开他被乘客的喊叫声盖了下来（Toufu提供的翻译）