Jane: Thank you! Guess how much it costs.

L: bright colors, smooth material, exquisite craftsmanship, soft lines…Darling, it looks elegant on you! It can’t be any cheap stuff. Something around two hundred, I guess.

J: your offer is way off the mark. It set me back only sixty-five.

L: then you got a windfall! Was sixty-five the original price, or did you get a special discount.

J: neither. I drove a hard bargain with the vendor before I got the price down.

L: how much did she ask for?

J: three hundred! That’s daylight robbery. How dare she play tricks on an old hand like me? Without hesitation, I gave my offer---no more than fifty.

L: she must be fuming with anger at such a bid, wasn’t she?

J: not at all! She’s really been around, and seemed quite accustomed to bargaining like this. That’s the trade. She only demanded a higher bid, saying the purchase price was even higher than seventy. She was lying! Then I inquired:"May I have it at sixty?" she waved her head.

L: then you pretended to go without buying it?

J: yeah. I turned around and started to move out. Just then, she yelped behind my back:" all right, all right! I may sacrifice a little. Let’s fix it sixty-five! Can’t be cheaper."