Only the Cat Knows by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0000000000000
Published: 2024-02-08T19:50:18+00:00

EIGHT

Another payday. Accountant Liu walked over and handed him an envelope. He couldn’t wait to count the banknotes.

Forty yuan and seventy-five cents—ten yuan more.

It couldn’t be right. It must be wrong! Wrong! he exclaimed soundlessly. Wetting his finger with spittle, he counted it twice more. He was correct—forty yuan and seventy-five cents. He put the money and the pay slip into his pocket and started pacing in front of the tool racks, utterly distracted. The furry stain on the concrete floor looked darker, though as greasy as ever. The sight of it—as so often—disturbed him.

He sat on the stool in the corner of the workshop, lit a cigarette and spat out a wad of tobacco leaves, biting his lips feverishly. He noticed Xiao Yang wandering toward the toilet again: though it wasn’t even lunchtime yet, he’d already gone three times. The old wall-clock seemed dead. He noticed these things with a kind of desperation, clutching at normality. He wasn’t dreaming—or was he? He took out the money, cigarette jutting from his mouth, counting it again.

So strange!—ten yuan more. They would never give me a raise without telling me, surely? Perhaps Accountant Liu made a mistake and gave me extra accidentally? Yet Liu— astute, meticulous, prudent—never made a mistake. And, if he had, just this once, he would certainly discover it and track it down. In such a case, if I kept the money and denied it, Liu could even lose his job . . .

Fingering the notes, he thought, Ten yuan can last a while and buy a lot of things, maybe some meat and eggs from the black market. The kids would be thrilled! Or perhaps I should give the ten yuan to my sister, in part-payment of my debt?

Just then he spotted Accountant Liu, smiling at him. His hands began to tremble.

Ten yuan extra, right? Liu spoke lightly, a sly look on his face.

Ah, L-L-Liu, he stammered.

It’s a raise, ten yuan a month, starting next month, Liu said. We have not forgotten about you, my friend.

So: thirty yuan had finally become forty. He nodded, almost dizzy. Liu mentioned we—but who did he mean by we?

This particular extra ten yuan is from me. I know how much you need it, Liu said, in a lowered tone. Just between ourselves, if you please! I do have some petty cash, you know. It’s all right: you can always pay me back. No big deal! And listen, that’s not all!—your application for the Financial Hardship Subsidy was also approved. You should get another ten next month from that. The chairman of the Labor Union told me, only yesterday.

Thirty had turned into forty; forty had turned into fifty. The next-month mantra had finally worked! Tentative as he was by nature, he couldn’t suppress a great bounding sense of hope.

He was just beginning to express his thanks when Liu stopped smiling. His face suffused with sudden rage, he hissed, I did this for you! Only for you, you motherfucker! You forced me to steal! I jeopardized my job for you!

I’m so sorry—so sorry—I never intended—I never .

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.