Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

Yu Zhe didn't say much. He picked up the crystal ball that Xiao Lizhi had chosen and placed it on the shelf in front of the shop owner.

"I'd like to buy this. How much does it cost?"

The boss was a rather thin middle-aged man. He had been looking at his phone when he heard Yu Zhe speak, and that's when he realized a customer had arrived.

He immediately put down his phone, looked up, and put on a flattering, fake smile.

Yu Zhe then got a good look at the man's face; he had a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and looked like an dishonest businessman.

As expected, when the shopkeeper saw that Yu Zhe had chosen a crystal ball, he didn't directly mention the price, but instead made some irrelevant remarks.

"Are you three students from a nearby school? Are you friends shopping together? Oh dear, wait, we don't have anyone as pretty as you around here. Are you tourists from out of town?"

While offering compliments, take the opportunity to find out if they are locals. If they are not locals, you can deliberately inflate the prices and rip them off, since they don't know how much the crystal ball is actually worth anyway.

If this person knew that the person standing in front of him was the eldest young master of the Su family, he definitely wouldn't have said so much.

Unfortunately, in reality, apart from some members of large families, not everyone in Fenghai City could recognize Yu Zhe. In fact, these small vendors certainly wouldn't recognize him.

The shop owner's evasive answers annoyed Yu Zhe: "Hey, don't worry about where we're from. I want to buy this, I just want to know how much it costs."

A hint of surprise flashed across the boss's cunning face, but he quickly resumed his flattering smile.

He really didn't expect this "young girl" to answer so decisively, giving him no chance to raise the price.

Since that's the case, he didn't want to say anything more.

But he still

There are backup plans.

"Okay, this crystal ball, right? Wow, you guys have excellent taste! It's my best-selling item. A lot of students who come shopping before buy this, some as birthday gifts for classmates, some as gifts from boyfriends to girlfriends, and..."

So how much does it actually cost?

Zixiao couldn't listen to any longer. She reminded him again that it was obvious the shop owner was just trying to obscure the prices. If he said anything more useless, she wouldn't buy anything.

The shop owner, knowing when to stop, said, "Seeing how beautiful you three are, you truly bring honor to our establishment. So, I'll give you an unprecedented discount—50% off! I'll sell it to you for 150! How about that? That's a great deal!"

After saying that, he added in a low voice, "Don't tell anyone that you bought it at this price. Everyone else bought it for 300. If others find out, it will be hard for me to do business in the future."

"Oh."

Yu Zhe chuckled lightly. As expected of a shrewd businessman, he talks nonsense without even thinking.

The craftsmanship of this crystal ball is indeed quite good, but the material is too ordinary. It's worth at most twenty yuan, but you're asking for one hundred and fifty.

It might fool a little kid, so Yu Zhe immediately put the crystal ball down.

“We can tell how much this is worth. Your business attitude is wrong. How about this, you give me another price and I’ll see if it’s acceptable.”

Although he is not short of money, Yu Zhe's principle is to save money wherever possible.

If it weren't for Xiao Lizhi wanting this crystal ball, Yu Zhe wouldn't have bothered to say anything more.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, his eyes darting around, and then said again, "Sigh! This really is the bottom line! One hundred and thirty!"

"We don't want it."

These words were spoken by Zixiao. She took Yuzhe's hand and prepared to leave. To be honest, she was a little angry. Her brother rarely wanted to buy something, but he encountered such a dishonest merchant.

Although Little Lychee felt a little disappointed, she was still quite sensible: "That's right! We don't want it!"

"Hey, wait a minute!"

The boss is getting a little anxious. It's almost the end of the year, and if the goods don't sell, they'll just be stuck in his hands, which is a real problem.

After weighing the pros and cons, he suggested again, "How about we talk about the price again? If 130 is unacceptable, then you can name a price. I'm not greedy for that little bit of money. If it's reasonable, then we'll go with the price you suggest."

Having said that, Yu Zhe had no intention of leaving immediately.

Bargaining is fun! The act of haggling itself is quite interesting. Of course, you don't have to haggle over everything. If it's a cheap item, there's no need to haggle. But for items like this, you'll be ripped off as much as possible!

"Then you can give us a quote," the boss said.

Just as Yu Zhe was about to mention a price, Xiao Lizhi, who had been silent since earlier, suddenly spoke up.

Five yuan!

Five yuan?!

The price really surprised the shop owner. You know, the cost price of this crystal ball is twenty yuan! You just cut it down to five yuan?

Yu Zhe almost burst out laughing. Good heavens, he had at least tried to say ten yuan, but this little idiot actually said five yuan.

"Five yuan?! Are you kidding me?!" The shopkeeper found it absurd. "Fifty! That's the lowest I can go. Any lower and I won't sell it!"

Who knew that Little Lychee would get so worked up and immediately retort?

"Fine, we won't sell it! Ten yuan! We won't buy it if it's any more expensive!"

"forty!"

"fifteen!"

Thirty-five!

"sixteen!"

Ha ha…

Yu Zhe and Zi Xiao exchanged a glance. Xiao Lizhi's bargaining method was too funny. Others would reduce the price by five yuan, but you would increase it by one yuan. The shopkeeper's expression was quite interesting.

"Thirty! I'm really fed up with you guys! Thirty is already the cost price. I'm just unlucky to have run into you guys."

Since you said thirty so easily, that thirty must not be the cost price.

Yu Zhe had already made up his mind. He told Xiao Lizhi to stand back and then stepped forward to speak.

"It's almost the end of the year, and your crystal balls aren't selling well, are they? You still have a huge pile left. Take my advice, making a little money is still making money, and it's better than not selling them at all before the new year. How about this, a fixed price of twenty yuan. If you agree, I'll scan the code and pay right now. If you don't agree, then we'll leave. You can wait for the good customer who's willing to buy your crystal balls for one hundred and fifty."

"you…!"

The shop owner stared wide-eyed at Yu Zhe, but couldn't utter a single word.

Because it was exactly what was predicted.

His crystal balls are indeed not selling well; he hasn't sold many so far. If he can't sell them this year, he might not be able to next year either. Rather than keeping the stock stuck in his hands, selling them at a low price can at least cut his losses.

Moreover, twenty yuan is the cost price, so it's not a loss; it's neither a profit nor a loss.

But... how did the price get reduced from 150 to 20?

The boss sighed, "Oh well, fine, twenty it is. Today is really weird."

"That's right."

Yu Zhe smiled and scanned the code to pay, then left with Zi Xiao and Xiao Lizhi, along with the crystal ball.

17. The Best Gift (Bonus Chapter)

I turned off the switch on the crystal ball in my hand, and the music stopped.

As Yu Zhe walked, he handed it to Xiao Lizhi.

"Here you go, this is what you wanted."

Holding the crystal ball in both hands, a gleam of light shone in Little Lychee's eyes.

"Wow, thank you, Brother Yuzhe! I'm so happy today."

"Is that crystal ball really that pretty?" Zixiao asked, puzzled. "It's not very practical. If we're talking about decorations, there are plenty of better ones out there."

She glanced at the surrounding stalls; there were music boxes, carvings—all more impressive than this.

The crystal ball is strong.

Little Lychee held the crystal ball, looking at it from left to right, and said happily, "It's not because it's pretty or not, I just like snowy days, and I like anything related to snow, so this little snowman inside is really cute, don't you think?"

"It's alright, as long as you like it."

Yu Zhe also learned about one of Xiao Lizhi's preferences: snowy days. Snowy days are relatively rare in Fenghai City, so it's quite a novelty.

There's one thing Yu Zhe doesn't know: Xiao Lizhi is particularly fond of Yu Zhe's silver hair. One reason is the unique floral scent on his hair, and another is that Yu Zhe's silver hair is loose and sometimes looks like pure white snow at first glance. Xiao Lizhi simply can't resist it; it's too dreamy!

More concerned about another issue than this: "Little Lychee, I was quite surprised just now. I didn't know anything about economics. I thought you were completely ignorant."

"I'm not ignorant! Hmm? Wait, Brother Yuzhe, when did I learn about economics?"

“Weren’t you the one who initiated the price negotiation just now?” Yu Zhe had already guessed that she had gotten the point by accident, but he still explained it to her, “You see, if the other party offers an outrageously high price when you’re buying something, you can then offer an outrageously low price. This makes the negotiation process much easier.”

After all, the final transaction price is usually between the highest and lowest prices.

Little Lychee was completely baffled by this: "Huh? Is that so? But I was just thinking that this thing was probably only worth five yuan, so I just said it directly."

"Haha, that's just your style. Okay, but I still advise you to learn more about economics. It's quite practical and you'll need it in the future."

"Then Brother Yuzhe, teach me!"

"..."

How can you just spout off like that!

Yu Zhe glanced cautiously at Zi Xiao, who was walking calmly beside him, and simply replied, "Okay, I'll explain it to you when I have the chance. This is something that needs to be learned gradually over time. Sigh, it's more like you, the eldest daughter of the Ouyang family, don't know anything, which is what's puzzling. Although you managed to get a good deal this time by accident, it's not bad."

"Hehehe, it's not that amazing..."

"I'm not praising you!"

"Ahem." Zixiao interrupted their fairly pleasant conversation.

She glanced at the time, then turned to Yu Zhe and said, "Brother, it's getting late. Let's go home. We can make dinner in time if we go back now."

"Okay, um? Wait, Zixiao, aren't you going to pick out a gift?"

"No, I don't need it."

As she spoke, Zixiao proudly glanced at Xiaolizhi's crystal ball.

Unlike some people, Zixiao doesn't need these formal gifts; they're a waste of money.

Little Lychee quickly hugged the crystal ball tightly, looking at Zixiao with fear.

I didn't mean to steal it from you!

"Then... let's go back, but I feel like it's a bit unfair to you."

Zixiao said she didn't want a gift, so what could Yuzhe say? He just felt a little guilty. He had already bought a crystal ball for Xiaolizhi, but he hadn't bought anything for his own sister after coming all this way.