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Hey everyone! Welcome to a new episode of Simply Natural Chinese! I'm Xiao Yue.

Hey everyone, I'm Leo.

Leo, you look really excited today. Did something fun happen?

It was so interesting! Last weekend I went with my grandma to the wet market to buy groceries.

Oh? The wet market — then you must have seen a lot.

I saw my grandma's bargaining skills, and honestly, I was stunned.

Hahaha, you mean haggling, right?

Yeah! Haggling. It was my first time seeing it, and it was amazing.

Haha, when Chinese aunties start bargaining, they're real pros.

Pros? I think we should call them masters!

So today let's talk about haggling, sound good?

Yes, yes! I've been wanting to learn this properly from you.

No problem, don't rush, let's take it slow.

First tell me, what exactly happened at the market that day?

Grandma wanted to buy tomatoes, and the vendor said five yuan per jin.

Mm, five yuan a jin, that's not expensive.

But grandma immediately said, "Too expensive! How about three?"

Haha, that's the very first line of haggling.

I was so embarrassed, I almost wanted to drag grandma away.

Why were you embarrassed?

In the UK, prices are all fixed, you can't bargain.

Right, big supermarkets abroad are basically all "fixed price."

What does "fixed price" mean?

It means the price is set, you can't bargain.

Oh, I see. So Chinese wet markets are different?

At wet markets you can bargain for lots of things, especially vegetables and fruit.

So when grandma said "three yuan," the vendor wasn't angry?

Of course not, the vendor is long used to it.

So what happened next?

You tell me — how did the vendor respond?

The vendor said, "Three is too low. How about four-fifty? I'll knock off fifty cents for you."

Haha, and that's when the back-and-forth begins.

"Back-and-forth"?

It means both sides haggle line by line.

Got it! It's just like playing ping-pong.

Haha, that's a great comparison!

So how much did grandma end up paying?

Take a guess.

Four yuan?

Haha, grandma sealed the deal at three-fifty in the end.

Three-fifty! That's one-fifty cheaper than the starting price.

See? That's the power of haggling.

One-fifty saved per jin — buy a lot and you save quite a bit.

Exactly. Grandma's been buying groceries for decades, she's got tons of experience.

Let me first teach you a few of the most common haggling lines.

Great, I'll grab my little notebook and write them down.

The first one, the simplest: "Too expensive, make it cheaper."

"Too expensive, make it cheaper." Got that one memorized.

Another one: "Can you go a little cheaper?"

"A little cheaper" — there's an extra word, zai.

Right, zai means even cheaper on top of the current price.

And what if the vendor won't budge?

You can say, "Just drop the small change."

"Drop the small change"? What does that mean?

Like if it's eleven yuan, you ask them to drop that one yuan and make it ten.

Oh! Drop the loose change and round it to a whole number.

Right, that's called "dropping the change," or "rounding it off."

"Rounding it off" — that rolls off the tongue nicely.

Chinese people love round numbers when shopping, they just sound nicer.

In the UK we don't really care about that.

Different cultures, that's all.

So what exactly does "small change" refer to?

It's the little bit after the round number, like a few mao or a few yuan.

Got it, the "one yuan" in eleven yuan is the small change.

Exactly right!

Are there other ways to say it?

You can also say, "Give me your honest price."

"Honest price" — like, the real price?

It's the lowest, most honest price — no jacking it up.

Oh, telling the vendor not to rip you off.

Haha, more or less, yeah.

And how does the vendor usually respond?

The vendor often says, "This is already the lowest price, I can't go any lower."

When they say that, is it true?

Haha, not necessarily — you can probably knock off a bit more.

So you can't fully trust the vendor?

When you're shopping, both sides know the score.

But the moves your grandma used were way more advanced.

Yes, yes! Grandma has tons of little tricks.

Tell me, what did she do?

First, grandma was so sweet-talking, always calling the vendor "boss."

Haha, that move is spot on.

Why does calling them "boss" work?

A little sweet talk puts the boss in a good mood, and then they'll cut you a deal.

"Sweet-talking" means saying nice things?

Right, knowing how to say nice things that make people happy.

Grandma also complimented the boss on how fresh the vegetables were.

Haha, compliment first, then haggle — that's the classic playbook.

What's "playbook"?

It's a tactic with a plan and a method behind it.

Oh, taolu — that's another word I've learned.

You're really racking up the learning today.

Also, after buying the tomatoes, grandma asked the boss to throw in a bunch of scallions.

Hahaha, that's asking for a "freebie"!

"Freebie"?

It's when, after buying, you get the boss to toss in a little something extra for free.

Like free scallions, garlic, or cilantro?

Yes, yes, exactly those.

In the UK, once you've paid, that's it — you wouldn't ask for free extras.

Haha, at the wet market, asking for a little freebie is totally normal.

Grandma even said, "Throw in a scallion, and I'll come back to your stall next time."

Haha, that line is brilliant.

Why is it brilliant?

She's hinting that she's a "regular" who'll keep coming back to support their business.

A "regular" is someone who comes to buy often?

Right, bosses love regulars, so they give them discounts.

Grandma had one more move that I thought was the most amazing.

Which one?

She pretended not to buy, turned around, and started to walk away.

Hahaha, that move is called "retreat to advance."

"Retreat to advance"?

It means you step back first, and that actually moves you forward.

So pretending to leave is a way to push the price lower?

Right, often the moment you leave, the boss shouts, "Come back, come back, I'll give it to you cheaper!"

Wow, does that really happen?

All the time! The boss doesn't want to lose the sale for nothing.

That day, the boss really did call grandma back.

See? Grandma won.

Grandma is basically the god of haggling.

Hahaha, "god of haggling" — that title goes to grandma.

But there are also things to watch out for when haggling.

Oh? What should I be careful about?

Some vendors will "short you on weight."

What does "short you on weight" mean?

It means you buy one jin, but they only actually give you eight liang.

Huh? They give you less weight?

Right, the scale is off, or they rig it on purpose.

So what do you do?

Nowadays many wet markets have a "fair scale" where you can re-weigh it yourself.

A "fair scale" — that sounds really thoughtful.

Right, if you're not sure, just go re-weigh it.

Got it. Are there other traps?

Some places will "rip off customers."

"Rip off customers"? That sounds scary.

It's when they see you're an out-of-towner or a foreigner and deliberately charge more.

Oh, because I'm a foreigner, I might get charged a higher price?

Haha, it's possible, which is exactly why you need to learn to haggle.

Then from now on, before I buy, I'll ask a few stalls and compare.

Right, that's called "comparing three shops."

"Comparing three shops"?

Check a few stalls, compare price and quality, then decide who to buy from.

Oh, don't just buy at the first one.

Smart! That way you're less likely to get a raw deal.

Does "chi kui" mean to lose out?

Right, chi kui means you've lost out, you've been taken advantage of.

I'll remember — don't get a raw deal when shopping.

So can you haggle everywhere?

No, there are places where you can't.

Which places can't you haggle at?

Big supermarkets, malls, convenience stores — they're all fixed price.

Right, in those places the prices are written out crystal clear.

If you try to haggle at a supermarket, the cashier will think it's weird.

Haha, that would be so awkward.

Online shopping is basically fixed price too.

So haggling is mainly at places like wet markets and night markets?

Right, also tourist spots, little stalls, and small clothing shops.

Got it, it depends on the setting.

Exactly, reading the setting is important.

Actually, there are places to haggle abroad too.

Right, like second-hand markets in the UK.

Oh, tell me about it.

In the UK, you can bargain at flea markets and garage sales.

What's a "garage sale"?

It's when you put the stuff you don't need out by your garage door and sell it.

Haha, over here we call that "setting up a stall."

But inside UK shops, you can never haggle.

Right, big malls all over the world are pretty much the same.

I actually think haggling is really fun.