“No” in Chinese means “you need more potatoes!”
I usually love anything resembling a farmers market. Fresh fruits and veg stacked in colorful arrangements just inspire healthy eating and while traveling these are great places to sample local produce. Markets are usually cheap too, as the vendors have little overhead.
Yesterdays experience was unlike any I have ever had at a market. After a very unsatisfactory lunch Tate and I ventured into a local market to grab some veg to snack on (and help erase memories of lunch). I picked up a red pepper, a tomato, and two carrots from a women’s stall. She immediately put the items in a big bag and added more of everything plus radishes, cauliflower, and a giant piece of ginger. I wrestled the bag back and closed the top firmly just as she tried to throw a few pounds of raw potatoes in. She was very insistent on more, more, more but I kept the bag clamped shut and shook my head “no”. She laughed at me and repeated “no” while shaking vegetables at me.
Finally I convinced her to weigh the bag and she typed 50 yuan into the calculator. $8 for a few carrots, tomatoes, and peppers! I made some universal gestures indicating “no way” and the price dropped to 40 yuan, still too much!
This dance went on for a while, me choosing a few items, her adding more, me taking them out, her giving us an inflated price. She was really pushing the radishes and the potatoes! In the end we had to walk away, frustrated and empty-handed.
