WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 115 Presents

It was a lovely afternoon with the sun shining brightly and a warm breeze flowing through the alleys.

"If we're buying presents for everyone, should we make a list?" Li XiWang wanted to know.

"I think it will be fine if we group people together." Wei Ying replied.

"How do you mean, father?" She asked.

"For example, SiZhui and Jin Ling can be grouped together with their little girl, so can XiChen-Ge, Jiang Cheng and little Li Li. That's six, and then you have Wen Ning, Li Hua and their little boy...so nine so far." Wei Ying smiled at Li XiWang counting on her fingers.

"What about JingYi-ge and ZhitiaoJie?" Li XiWang stopped walking and ran back to whisper something in Wei Ying's ear.

He beamed at her, and nodded.

"Sometimes these things are not planned, sometimes you just see something and you know, that person is going to like this..."

Lan Zhan handed over his purse to Wei Ying, who handed it right back, in surprise.

"Does Wei Ying not wish to?" Lan Zhan was confused.

"I think that's your department. I shall stick to harassing them about the price, though to be honest, I don't know what the current prices of anything is..." Wei Ying beamed back at him. "I'm sure, as tourists, we stick out like a sore thumb. Fresh meat, so to speak." He snickered at the look of distaste on Lan Zhan’s face.

They were passing a stall with weapons, and there was a vast array different kinds. Daggers in assorted sizes, some curved and looking particularly lethal, others with elaborate sheaths and handles. Wei Ying saw Li XiWang looking at one in particular, and he motioned for Lan Zhan to pay for it. When they asked about the price, the vendor told them that it was a set of two, absolutely identical weapons, and so they ended up buying two.

Just behind the man, Wei Ying spotted an archer's quiver, complete with a dozen arrows, all tipped with gold. Wei Ying had never seen anything like it before and he wondered aloud if Li Hua would like such a gift.

"It's probably too expensive, though, my love." Wei Ying said in a theatrical voice, turning away and winking at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan remained rooted to the spot.

"Nothing is too expensive for my Wei Ying." He said clearly, and in a loud enough voice that Wei Ying could practically see the gold pieces flashing in the vendor's eyes.

"No, no...we shall just have to see if we can find something cheaper...elsewhere." Wei Ying continued to announce.

But Lan Zhan was refusing to budge.

Wei Ying tugged on his sleeve and pulled him away, a short distance where he could explain what they were doing clearly, to him.

"But, why do we not simply pay for what we want?" Lan Zhan asked, brow furrowing.

"Because, my love...that's what they're expecting...and we can't do that." Wei Ying explained.

The confusion wasn't going away.

"We have money. Wei Ying should not worry." Lan Zhan began pulling out bags of silver pieces and gold pieces, and Wei Ying had to stop him when his hands became full.

"No...no...my love...stop." Wei Ying handed them back. "You don't get it. They are charging us more money because we don't belong here, and they can tell. So they will raise their prices just because of our ignorance...right?"

Lan Zhan was already shaking his head.

"Why would they do that?"

Wei Ying sighed, smiling softly.

Oh well, no one could say he hadn't tried...

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. If we find something we like elsewhere, we're not going to go for it immediately, okay? We're going to bargain. This is good practice for you." Wei Ying wrapped an arm around his waist and they walked to the next stall, where Li XiWang had been gesturing wildly for the past twenty minutes.

"Just follow my lead, okay?" Wei Ying whispered that in the shell of Lan Zhan’s ear, which lit up like a candle.

If Wei Ying continued to do that, Lan Zhan was going to agree to anything he said.

"Mn." He replied confidently.

Li XiWang was pointing to a delicately carved jewellery box.

"Isn't that pretty?" She said, excitedly.

"It is...I wonder if there are any more to choose from." Wei Ying replied, pretending he wasn't that interested in it.

"But this one is nice." She insisted, her stubborn streak coming out at the wrong time.

Wei Ying wanted to smack his own forehead. Why was this so hard?"

"Mn. Why is this so hard?" Lan Zhan asked him. "Does Wei Ying truly not like the box?"

"No, I do, it's just that-"

But before he had even finished speaking, Lan Zhan was pulling out pieces of gold just like that, and Li XiWang was helping him store their purchases in his qiankun pouch.

Wei Ying feared this whole bargaining thing was going over their heads. Was it really that difficult to comprehend? He didn't think so...right?

"Okay, let's try it this way." He had one more suggestion, hoping it was going to work. "If we say yes to something immediately, that means the vendor knows we like it, and he'll try to get more money for it by increasing his prices...right? With me so far?"

"Always with Wei Ying." Lan Zhan vowed.

Wei Ying sighed internally and plodded on, vowing that if this didn't work, he was just going to leave them to hash it out. Lan Zhan was not in need of a thrifty partner after all...

"So, if I say yes, it means no. And if I say no, it means yes, I like it very much and we are going to buy it. Okay? Got that alright?"

"But why?" Li XiWang looked really confused. "Why can't we say if we like something? That's just weird..."

"No, it's not." Wei Ying sighed again, this time it was loud.

Neither his husband nor hus daughter who were both so smart usually, were getting it...

Wei Ying wanted to growl like Rumi...

They stopped at a stall selling an assortment of fans. Some were made from bamboo, paper, and silk, all exquisitely painted and embroidered. There was even a lace one. Wei Ying could only think of one person who might enjoy these, and so he spoke in a loud voice, "I don't think any of these will do."

"Alright." Lan Zhan moved on ahead with a second glance.

"No, wait...Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying hurried after him.

The problem was, there was a lot to look at and take in.

And Wei Ying gave up his strategies because his adorable family was way too straightforward and unassuming.

"I like that one." He pointed out a letter opener.

It had lotus flowers trailing all the way up its handle and Wei Ying had thought of his brother immediately.

"Okay. I don't like it either." Lan Zhan pulled him away from there faster than he could blink.

"Wait, Lan Zhan! What are you doing??!" He protested feeling terribly confused now.

Hadn't they abandoned that code thing already?

"No means yes, and yes means no. Wei Ying said he liked it. Means no." Lan Zhan pouted.

"Right, you know what? No more code, no more playing games. Got it?" Wei Ying insisted, thinking about how hard it was to resist such a beautiful face, and simultaneously feeling....frustrated about everything. "Yes means yes, and no means no. We're changing back."

"But why?" Li XiWang wanted to know. "It was fun. I liked it."

"Mn." Lan Zhan agreed. "Good game."

Wei Ying was left staring after them in disbelief.