Haggling
















All over China, even in very large cities like Hangzhou (population: 7 million), you see open air markets. It is essential to bargain in these places. Fengyi, or Felix (above) as he calls himself in America, was concerned that I would not know how.

I'm not entirely sure where I learned this fine art. I think from my Austrian Jewish grandmother. Her apartment was near Sutter Avenue in Brooklyn, where there were many peddlers and pushcarts years ago, and I vaguely remember her haggling.

In the market, I saw some wooden beads bound with the great knot of China. The proprietor of the stand wanted 120 yuen, or about $17.50. It was worth less than half that, I thought. We argued awhile, the proprietor in his minimal English, I in my minimal Chinese; and we kept track using a calculator. Finally, we settled on a price of 20 yuen.

Below: Trinkets in a market stand.















It's a game, sort of. Felix says I'm as good at it as the Chinese.
Maybe it's genetic.