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Step three: At this point, I will enter a store with an agreeable¹⁶ -looking vendor and the object of my desire. Now, there are two ways I usually approach the situation and it all depends on the atmosphere. The first strategy is to walk right up to the bag and point to it and ask her the price. She gives me a very high price, I look at her and furrow my brow¹⁷ . Then I take the calculator, give her my last price and walk out. She’ll be running after me and tugging¹⁸ on my clothes and asking for a more reasonable price. However, it’s essential that I stay firm and tell her I’ve given her my last price. If this vendor doesn’t succumb to my relentlessness¹⁹, another one will. They usually raise my last price by 5 Yuan but that’s fine. My second strategy is to walk around the store and casually point to other things and ask for their prices. Lastly, I point to the bag. She gives me a high price and I exasperatedly²⁰ frown and tell her it’s so expensive it’s not even worth bargaining for. She’ll pester²¹ me to give me my last price and I’ll tell her I don’t really like it. She’ll then go on convincing me that it is good quality, hand-made, and very fashionable. I give her my last price, walk out, and just hope she calls me back.

Step four: After I purchase what I want, I walk out of the store with a satisfied smile and the perfect amount of smug²² in my eyes.

Bargaining may be a battle, but I can never help but feel pity for the enemy. They go to such great measures to make a sale and their profit all depends on how they talk to the customer. All day long, they stand on the ready. They constantly call out to people, put away clothes, and clean up the mess customers like me have made while scourging through the items for sale²³.

When I say they take all measures to make a sale, I mean they take ALL measures to make a sale. I was wandering in the bag department as soon as I arrived at Hongqiao market²⁴ . I was just getting my bearings²⁵ when a girl slipped out from behind the counter and grabbed my hand. I thought I had dropped something but she began tugging at me to go look at her bag collection. I tried to pry free²⁶ but she wouldn’t let go. I was laughing up to the point when I realized that the girl would probably never let me go until I bought something from her. So I started to take a look at her bags and as soon as her eyes glanced the other way for a split second I ran as fast I could, horrified²⁷. Let’s just say that wasn’t a good start to my day of shopping.

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16. agreeable: 和蔼可亲的，令人愉快的。

17. furrow my brow: 皱眉头。

18. tug: 用力拉。

19. succumb to: 屈服于；relentlessness: 坚韧不懈，百折不挠（relentless的名词形式）。

20. exasperatedly: 恼怒地，生气地。

21. pester: 纠缠，烦扰。

22. smug: 自命不凡。

23.他们不停地招呼顾客，整理衣服，为像我这样将商品糟蹋成一片狼藉的顾客收拾残局。scourge: 使遭受苦难，蹂躏。

24. Hongqiao market: 红桥市场，位于北京市东城区天坛东路，与天坛公园仅一路之隔。经过三十年的发展，目前的红桥市场已经成为了一个以珍珠为龙头的国际化旅游商品市场。市场的各类产品每年都能够吸引近百万的外宾来此参观购物。

25. get my bearing: 弄清自己的方位，辨明方向。

26. pry free: 摆脱。