video

[holycurse]

[Hello Prismatica, this video feed is showing a bright-eyed cheerful teenager whose face is way too close to the screen.]

—Is it working? I think this is right...ah, Lord Windmaster, can you hear me? I was just out shopping, and this market is selling two entire loaves of bread for the price of one! And they're fresh, too!

[He sounds more excited than a guy should be about bread...also there's some movement as he lifts a shopping basket into view. Showing off his prize!!]

I picked up some coupons for other things here too, so I've been looking for those...have you heard of coupons, they're really quite amazing, they would have made life much easier before—er, but if there's anything else we need, please contact me! You can use the array if you like, I just wanted to show you the bread...I still haven't found the "fabric softener" on this coupon, but it sounds like something Ruo Ye would like...anyway, yes, that's everything! I'll be looking around here for a while longer, but I should be home in a shichen or so!

[Aaand end message. How did he manage to post on a public forum instead of sending a private message? The gods just don't know.]

Comments

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[huaisang]

A... coupon?

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[holycurse]

[how do people keep seeing this--oh well, he's rolling with it.]

Yes, a coupon! It's some sort of paper which lets you buy things at a lower price. The stores here don't allow bartering, but these are a reasonably nice substitute.

[huaisang]

That sounds incredibly useful. I must have some of those, how do you obtain them?

[holycurse]

You can find booklets of them right at the door! Most of them are for objects I don't recognize, but you could consider that a good reason to try something new. Have you been to [insert supermarket] before? I can get you the address if you'd like.

[huaisang]

Really? So easily? It sounds simpler than trying to haggle. [ a chance to be lazy? he's taking it. ]

That would be very kind of you.

[holycurse]

It's simpler, but I feel I could sometimes get much better deals through haggling... [too poor to be lazy....not that he's ever been lazy before.

also: sending the address! it takes a while because he doesn't actually remember it and has to go looking around for the info and then he's kind of a slow typer so that's another few minutes--]

I just discovered they're selling entire pre-cooked chickens! They look quite tasty, too!

[huaisang]

Haggling has more of a margin for error but is equally profitable when success, is it not?


Oh, I'm getting one of those for dinner. Jiang-xiong will surely know how to season it at least.

[holycurse]

You're probably right about that. Haggling can be applied to whatever is available in a store though, whereas these coupons are each for a specific item.

Jiang-xiong? Is that a friend of yours? Come to think of it, my own Shi-xiong might know how to season a chicken as well...I should ask him!

[huaisang]

He is, he is a very good friend! But I cannot see him cooking... I might have to make him try. [ read: harass ]

Shi-xiong? You mean Shi Qingxuan?

[holycurse]

You never know until you try! I've been practicing my cooking skills myself, and I like to think I'm improving at least. [Sometimes his roommate eats it and doesn't burst into tears!]

That's right! Have you met?

[huaisang]

We have, we have! What a fateful coincidence that we both know them.

[holycurse]

It really is! Shi Qingxuan and I are actually sharing a residence at the moment. Are you a friend of his? Or hers?

[huaisang]

Oh! I am a friend of hers, we went shopping a while ago during the festival.

[holycurse]

She does love shopping...though I worry about her finances sometimes. I hope you enjoyed yourselves, regardless! I know I did.

[huaisang]

I think we did, she has such impeccable taste! It was a lot of fun.