ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column
Beating those boxing peddlers to the punch
By Erik Nilsson
Updated: 2007-04-25 13:36
Suddenly, this strange little lady started slapping me around. And the
harder I bargained, the harder this vicious vendor whacked me.
It was all in good fun, and part of the theatrics of the haggling game at
this open-air market behind Beijing's Wangfujing shopping street, but
despite being about one-third my size and weight, this peddler packed a
mighty punch.
I had taken my visiting family and friends on a shopping mission. For my
culture-shocked visitors, China's open-air markets seemed to be truly
bizarre bazaars, and they had some trouble getting used to flexible
pricing. But they soon found that a trip to a Chinese open-air market is
like playing Let's Make a Deal and The Price is Right simultaneously; and
sometimes, it can even be a bit like Nintendo's Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
This spirited saleswoman was selling scrolls preferably, to
fresh-off-the-boat Westerners, such as my visiting friends Jenny and
Andrew. She had just about talked them into paying several hundred times
the value of these artworks, when I showed up and started driving a
harder bargain.
Her: "How much you give me?"
Me: "20."
Her: "Gasp! Gasp! Oh, my God! No!" (As if her stomach burst).
Me: "How much, then?"
Her: "300 yuan."
Me: "Gasp! Gasp! Oh, my God! No!"
Her: "No, really, 300. Good price!"
Me: "No, 20 is a good price. I know; I'm not a tourist. They're offering
30 over there."
Then, this sadistic saleswoman started clobbering me. After a half hour
taking blows from these fists of fury and having only knocked off 50
yuan, I decided to seek better deals elsewhere or at least refuge.
The next week, I came back with my parents to finagle with my friends
behind Wangfujing.
And one by one, my unwary family members wandered into her stall ready to
splash too much cash, and I would come to the rescue. I just hoped to
give them a fighting chance; the vendor just hoped for a chance to fight.
Every time that I'd offer a slightly lower-than-reasonable price, she'd
hit the ceiling then start hitting me.
It was very entertaining to my visitors to watch this sprightly
saleswoman throttling this oafish foreign galoot. But I would not be
beaten into submission or overpay for the scrolls.
And once all of my guests had independently stumbled into the stall of
Beijing's boxing businesswoman and we had no more shopping to do there,
the vendor began suddenly appearing wherever else I was in the market.
She'd deliver a few good cuffs then disappear back into the crowd.
The whole thing was particularly amusing to the mostly Chinese crowd,
especially when she burrowed another vendor's calligraphy brush to take
my corporal punishment up a few notches.
By the end of our third trip to the market, I left with an armful of
traditional trinkets and sore spots.
But kneading my freshly tenderized shoulders while walking toward a cab,
I reflected on this shopping experience that proved to be more than I'd
bargained for. And I realized: That's the price you sometimes pay when
bargaining in Beijing's bazaars.
(China Daily 04/25/2007 page20)
Top Entertaiment News
� Brando documentary examines the actor's actor
� Beyonce's special edition hits copyright snag
� Hugh Grant wins libel case
� Britney set for 'semi-secret' comeback gig
� 'X-Men' spin-offs 'Magneto' and 'Wolverine' planned
Today's Top News
� China to act on pollution, warming gases
� Yang a popular choice as FM
� Hu, Lien stress cross-Straits peace
� US captures senior Al-Qaida operative
� Yang Jiechi named new FM, replacing Li Zhaoxing
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Free Chinese Lesson, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment