I went to a local Chinese grocery store yesterday to buy some gas for the hotpot gas burner that we use to make fresh hot-pot soup. Tony waited in the car becaus eit was cold outside, and he’s getting sick, so I went in alone. I always get these looks from people in Asian groceries, like I am lost, or what is she doing here, or wow, white people can eat Chinese/Korean/Japanese/Vietnamese food?!?!? Not always so in this higher-end neighborhood, because I think many of the middle-class and upper-class whites in the area like the cachet of “shopping in a Chinese grocery store”. That means they are “upper-class” and “worldly”.

I, however, just want to buy some food.

The gas cans were $1.99 each, 4/$7.98, which is the same damn thing. The cashier, however, couldn’t get the barcode to pull up. Having had problems identifying the snowpeas, I wondered at his approach to this new problem. The bagger was obviously training this guy, and when he scanned it again, and it didn’t pull up, he looked to her. She asked him if it had pulled up (duh) and he said it didn’t, then he turned to me and asked me in English what the price was. I said, “1.99 each”. He looked at the bundled package of 4, which would thus be $8, and told the woman in Chinese something about how I was lying to him, that that’s too cheap.

Now, I don’t claim to speak perfect Chinese, but you can tell, not just with the words for “lie” and “cheap” that he thinks I am rooking him, but also with the body language.

The line got longer. This is rush-hour at the grocery store, so impatient people want to get out, go home, and eat dinner. He asked the lady to go check the price. She didn’t budge, and told him to go check the price. He looked at the lengthening line, and decided to try me again.

I spoke a bit more slowly, but not patronizingly, and said “Each one is $1.99″. I should have said “each can”, but I didn’t think of it.

He is still thinking I mean the 4-pak is $1.99, and since his line is lengthening, he’s thinking about actually giving it to me for that much, but then the problem begs, how much is a single can? Why would this loony woman buy one outside of the package? Stupid white girl…

I can see the wheels turning, desperation starting to dawn as he fervently wishes I hadn’t even tried to buy the damn things. So I tell him, holding the single can in my hand, “這是二塊錢.” (“This is $2.”)

Humiliation and embarrassment suffuse his face as he turns scarlet. He’s not an older guy, probably in his early 20s. At that age where a woman speaking to him in his tongue (!), and correcting him, can cause him to lose composure. I am not a show-off, so I didn’t continue the transaction in Chinese, and I probably couldn’t have done much more than that, but the guy was floored. And I got my gas cans.

Victory for the white girl!!!