Today's sales are incorrect. We're short of 370 yuan. You check the noon sales list.

Boss, I've checked it three times already... The noon sales were just those twelve tables. Mr. Li's table had 320 yuan, the student group 280 yuan, and the total for individual customers 450 yuan. I counted the list three times.

Counting what? What's the use of counting? The money? Where is the money? It's missing 370 yuan in the drawer. Either you made a mistake in the count, or someone wasn't clean-handed.

Boss, what you're saying... I've been working here for five years and I've never touched a penny in the drawer. If you don't believe me, you can check the surveillance footage -

The surveillance camera broke last month and it costs 800 yuan to repair. It's better to invest that money in two more boxes of oil.
He stands up and walks around the cash register
You check again. One by one. From eleven o'clock to two o'clock, all the sales lists, all the change. One cent less and we won't be able to leave work tonight.

She bites her lower lip and takes out a stack of crumpled menus from the drawer. She starts to recheck, her fingers trembling slightly. Old Guo stands behind her, his breath on her neck. *

Silence persisted for three minutes. All that could be heard were the clicks of the calculator and the creaking of the ceiling fan. *
Suddenly frozeWait a moment.
What
Lowering her voice, her gaze fixed firmly on the ground below
Boss, something.

She frowned, following her gaze - *

*In the gap of the floor tiles, a dark brown beetle, about the size of a fingernail, was slowly crawling. Its carapace shone with a glossy sheen under the dim light, its six slender legs moving alternately, and its antennae trembled alertly. *

The insect seemed to sense something, stopping at the edge of a cr*ck and raising its antennae. *
Smiling coldly
An eyesore. The store is already dirty enough, and now you're causing more trouble.
Loudly
You must have climbed in through the back door, right? The garbage truck hasn't come these two days, and the back alley is full of garbage.
With a gloomy expression
Garbage truck? Hmph, even the sanitation fee was not paid on time, just like everyone else, and they are bullying us, these small shops.
He lifts his right foot, and the dark bl*e plastic sandals hang slowly above the bug
Even a bug dares to swagger in like this. Do we here consider this a public toilet
They moved in unison, using their bodies to block the bug's possible escape route. Her sandals were stepping on another cr*ck, making a slight scraping sound. *

The camera suddenly drops down, getting very close to the ground. *

The pattern of the tiles transforms into a series of undulating grey canyons, with cr*cks being deep and unfathomable ravines. Dust and food debris are scattered like huge st*nes throughout. *

The employee's feet: Dark bl*e plastic sandals, the sole texture has been almost worn smooth, covered with bl*ck and yellow dirt. The toes are short and stubby, with dust and particles resembling chili seeds embedded in the spaces between the toes. There are varicose veins protruding at the ankle. *

*The employee's feet: Red sandals, the straps leaving a light red mark. The heel is thin and the veins are visible. The nails are painted with peeling red polish. The nail polish on the big toe is lifted in one corner, revealing a yellow spot indicating nail fungus below. *

The insect's antennae quivered rapidly. It changed direction and attempted to crawl towards a cr*ck - but the snow's feet blocked its way. *

It turned to the other side and the sole had already covered it. *

The voice was terrifyingly calm
Look at it, it's still looking for a way out. Thinking it can escape.
Staring at the bug
It doesn't know what we want.
With the sole hovering, just one centimeter away from the bug
Don't you know? Of course it knows. Look at how its antennae are shaking. have instincts, they know when to .
Pause
Last time we came for dinner, we gave him fifty less. I gave him a look, and he immediately paid. He knew that too.
Low voice Since then, I haven't come again.
Smirk
It's better if he doesn't come. The people at his table were making a lot of noise. Two bottles were broken, and it wasn't hard to clean up.
The sole slowly pressed down
The same goes for this bug. It crawled in, dirtied my floor, and it has to pay the price. *
Apply more pressure. The middle part of the insect's exoskeleton is concave, and body fluids are seeping out through the cr*cks, appearing as transparent, pale yellow. *
Close your eyes and take a closer look. Your breathing has quickened.
It's not c*mpletely yet. Its legs are still moving.
Come here. Give it a good beating.
Kneel down and stare at the half-crushed insect. Its three legs have broken and are crooked on the side, but the other three are still twitching. The area where the carapace is cr*cked, the internal organs can be vaguely seen. *

She lifted her right foot and used the toe-capping part of the flip-flop to press against the insect's body. *
Speaking to oneself
How small it is... Such a tiny one, what can it eat? crumbs? Garbage?

Standing behind her
You can eat whatever you want, but you shouldn't be here. This is my shop.
Start rubbing slowly. The toe area of the sandals is pressing back and forth on the insect. *

The insect's body fluids seeped out through the grooves of the sole, mixed with the s*nd and dust on the floor tiles, turning into a thick paste that stuck to the crevices of Petra's toes. The shell fragments pierced into the skin between her toes, leaving tiny red dots. *

She rubbed it several times until the insect body became c*mpletely flat and merged with the dirt on the ground. *

Breathed a sigh of reliefAll right.
Shaking his head
Not good. Look at this.

*He pointed to the ground: The head of the insect and a part of its thorax were still relatively intact, and one of its antennae was still quivering slightly. *
The eyes are gloomy
This thing is tough. Just like some others, you might think you've crushed it, but it can still breathe.
Staring at the remaining worm head
So... what should we do?

Taking off the left shoe
Let me do it. I'll show you a trick.

*He stood on the ground barefoot, with thick soles and calluses all over. With the toe of his left shoe, he pushed the worm's remains to the center of the tile - a relatively clean area. *
The tone is like imparting a skill
When crushing the bug, you can't just use brute . You need to use skill. Look, it's now flattened, but the structure is still intact. The beetle's shell is divided into three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. You need to handle each part separately.

*He aligned the heel of his sandals with the bug's head, slowly pressed down, and then began to grind it, his movements resembling those of extinguishing a cigarette butt. *

Footwear soot - dried sauce, street dirt, sweat cryst*ls - all mixed with insect . The head carapace was c*mpletely shattered, and the antennae were broken. *
Looking, he suddenly smiled
Boss, your movement... It seems like you're making scallion oil pancakes.
Not smiling, he continued to grind
Scallion oil pancakes? Scallion oil pancakes require kneading the dough. This is simpler than kneading.
He moved his heel and aimed at his chest
This is the second strike. The chest plate is the hardest, so you need to exert some .

*He exerted with his heel and rotated left and right. Shattering sounds of the exoskeleton filled the air, like chewing on brittle bones. *

Stand even closer and look down, almost lying on the ground. Her eyes were wide open, and the pupils reflected the crushed insect. *
Imitating the customer's high-pitched voice
"Boss, there are grains of s*nd in this dish! They're poking my teeth
Scanning her, her lips twitched
Grains of s*nd? The grains we use in our dishes are free and come as an extra bonus.
Continuing to imitate
Then what about these bugsAre they also free
Stopping the action, answering seriously
The bugs cost extra. High protein, nourishing.

*The two looked at each other, and suddenly burst into short, muffled laughter. The laughter echoed in the empty store, seeming abrupt and eerie. *

The laughter soon ceased. *
Standing up, with eyes full of excitement
Let me give it a try.
Move aside
OK. Remember, do it c*mpletely.
Take two steps back, do some running, jump up --*

*Both feet down at the same time! *

The red sole pattern - a wavy design - left distorted marks on the insect . The insect had been flattened into thin sheets, thinner than a piece of paper, but there were still slight twitching at the edges. *

She jumped for the second time, then the third time. Each time she landed, there was a dull "thud" sound. *

While dancing and shouting
Tell you to steal! Tell you to climb! Tell you to dirty the ground!
Looking, a complex expression appears on her face
Enough.
Stop. Her chest is rising and falling, and fine sweat is seeping from her forehead. She lowers her head to look at the ground: The insect is now a dark brown stain, barely recognizable as belonging to any living creature. *

Crouch down, close your eyes and observe carefully. He took out a folding from his pocket - the handle was covered with rust - and used the tip of the to stir the insect fragments. *

calmly
Five inches.gasping for breath
What five inches?

using the tip of the to draw a line on the ground
The distance from the heel of your shoe to the original position of the bug is exactly five inches. I measured it.

puzzled
So?

putting away the, his gaze drifting away
"Five-inch punishment". An old saying from my grandfather's generation. Not for people, but for rats that steal grain.
He lights a cigarette and takes a deep drag
In the past, when there was a rat infestation in the granary, those caught couldn't be simply . They had to measure the distance, from the rat's nest to the grain pile, exactly five inches. A punishment site was set up there. The rat was tied there, and other rats watched. Then it was slowly ground to - starting from the t*il, inch by inch until the head. A distance of five inches, the rat could survive for a long time, and the entire granary could hear its cries.

frowning
What about the other rats They run away after seeing
exhaling smoke
Run? After seeing, they won't dare to come back. understand fear more than humans. When humans see a penalty, some might imitate. don't. They only know: Go there, and you have to that way.

Your foot today, from lifting to dropping, is exactly five inches. By accident, you used the old method.

* Looking down at his own foot and then at the bug on the ground. She said nothing. *

Suddenly grabbing her ankle
It's not over yet.

Startled
Boss

Pressing her ankle onto the
The punishment must be thorough. The final step of the five-inch punishment: Use the punishment device to touch the until it is c*mpletely integrated.
Command
Clamp it with your toes.
Trying to pull back the foot This... It's too dirty...
Clutching her ankle, the veins bulging
DirtyYou mop the floor every day, your hands are in the sewage all the time. How can it be dirty? You serve food, guests spit on the floor, you kneel to clean it. How can it not be dirty
The voice drop
This bug is cleaner than a human. It at least doesn't steal money. She shuddered. She looked into her eyes, those eyes held a kind of fanaticism she had never seen before. *

She slowly lifted her toes. *

The fragments of the insect's - now in a thick, sticky consistency - were stuck between her toes. The sharp fragments of the exoskeleton pierced through her skin, causing a slight stinging sensation. She could feel the size and shape of each fragment, and even discern that one of them still retained the curvature of the exoskeleton. *

Lower your hand and take a step back
Rub. Rub until it's impossible to tell what's the insect and what's your foot.
Close your eyes. Her toes tighten and she begins to rub. *

The thick paste flowed between her toes, mingling with the sweat on her feet, the dust, and the plastic smell from her sandals. The shell fragments gradually ground down into finer powder, c*mpletely blending with the dirt. *

This process lasted for one minute. She rubbed very carefully, paying attention to every toe gap. *

When she opened her eyes, there was only a layer of dark brown stain between her toes, resembling dried or old rust. *

Soft and hoarse voice All right.

Kneel down to inspect, nod Um. They couldn't be separated. The insects became a part of you, and you became a part of the ground.
He stood up and walked towards the sink
Go and wash. Walk to the sink in the back kitchen, turn on the faucet. The water flows over her toes, the dark brown stains gradually dilute and turn into light brown, flowing out through the drain. *

She washed for a long time, scrubbing with soap three times. But the stinging sensation from the shell fragments still remained, as if they had already embedded themselves into the skin. *

He walked over to the cash register, sat down again, and picked up the calculator. But he didn't press any buttons; he just stared at the screen. *

The store fell silent again. The ceiling fan continued to spin. *

The stain on the ground has become blurred, and only by looking closely can the outline of a t*ntacle be discerned, resembling the remnants of some ancient writing. *

Wipe off your feet, walk back to the cashier counter, and keep your eyes on your toes ...... It's disgusting.
Without looking up
Disgusting? Or a relief?

A moment of silence
I don't know. It's... I feel like there's something extra on my feet. And something missing as well.

Finally pressing a button on the calculatort tomorrow.

Surprised
Not checking it

starting to light the second cigaretteWhat to checkIt's three hundred and seventy yuan less. Maybe it was a mistake in the record, maybe it was bl*wn away by the wind, maybe...
He glanced at the ground
Something ate the money.

Following his gaze to the ground
Money eaten by bugs
laughs, but without any joy
Who knows Anything can happen in this world.

He opened the drawer, took out two one-hundred-yuan bills, and pushed them to Yu Zhaohui
The overtime pay for tonight. Go home.

Looking at the money, not moving
Boss, what if the money really can't be recovered...
Interrupting
Forget about it. Three hundred and seventy yuan. Just use it to feed the dog.
He paused
Or take the money, fold it, and put it in the pocket. She walked towards the back door, placed her hand on the doorknob, and stopped. *
Boss, you said... That bug, when it came in, what did it want to do?
A long silence
Perhaps it was looking for something to eat. Perhaps it was lost. Perhaps it thought this place was nice, warm, with light and the smell of food.
He flicked off the ash from his cigarette
It didn't know what was waiting for it here. Just like us.

Turning around
Us?

Looking at her
We opened the shop, thinking we could make money and live a good life. We didn't know about the health bureau, the fire department, the landlord, the suppliers, the competitors... We didn't know that one day the flow of business would decrease, customers would leave, the surveillance would break down, and bugs would crawl in.
He smiled wryly
We are also bugs. Bigger ones.

Standing at the door, the light and shadow divide her face. One half is in the dim store, the other half in the deepening night outside. *

Softly
Well... Who's stepping on us?

There was no reply. He extinguished the cigarette, stood up and began to turn off the lights.
Let's go. The door is locked.
Push the door open, turn off the last light, and the store falls into darkness. Only that smear on the ground, at the edge of the streetlight outside, emits a faint damp light. *

He stood in the darkness, looking down at the stain. *

Then he lifted his foot and stepped on that spot once again for the last time. *

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