A man in Shunde, Foshan left his 2-year-old daughter at a noodle shop as collateral after he was short on his bill.

How much did he owe? RMB1.

The father racked up a whopping RMB6 bill, but had only brought RMB5, so he ended up leaving his daughter alone at a noodle shop at night while he went to retrieve more cash.

Surveillance footage shows the father leaving the shop followed by his young daughter. When the man notices his child is following him, he nudges her back into the shop and leaves.

According to local media reports, the event took place sometime in early April, and by the time the man returned with the money, around two hours later, the shop owner had already called the police.

The father is quoted on a post by Xinkuai Bao as saying: “It’s not like I don’t want her, it’s just I didn’t bring enough money with me, so I could only leave her at the shop, run home to get some money and come back. But my electric bike ran out of battery so it took me two hours to come pick my daughter up.”

The two were eventually reunited, while police reprimanded the father for his lackluster decision-making skills. Although, we reckon the chat with police seemed pleasant when compared to the conversation the man likely had to have with his wife.

READ MORE: 4-Year-Old Chinese Girl Dies After Being Left in Car by Phone-Obsessed Father

[Cover image via @新快报/Weibo]