He went after a tiny profit and ended up getting swindled.
Tips
history
Su Shi's 《满庭芳》 (Song): 蜗角虚名，蝇头微利 — "empty fame the size of a snail's horn, profit the size of a fly's head." The classic Song-era dismissal of worldly striving.
memory
Fly's head = tiny; snail's horn = pointless. The Su Shi couplet pairs two of the smallest everyday things in nature into one image of futility.
