Very embarrassing indeed, if you don’t have sufficient money to pay things!!
Yesterday I intended to buy something light from a cafeteria to munch on, but accidentally got attracted to the appetizing chapfan there.
Changed my mind and had my early lunch alone, forgetting that there were only RM3 and some coins left in my wallet.
I happily took some fried lau she fan, an egg and some meat. Showed my chapfan to the uncle at the counter, who had to press on the calculator long before he quoted me the price,
“RM4.30, leng zai.”
And it suddenly hit my mind at that instant that I only had less than RM4 left! HOW?!
I felt pissed and helpless. Why must they charge a leng zai so much for a plate of chapfan, right?!
Then the very much needed survival instinct kicked in just in time when I was most in need.
“HAR?! Why so expensive one??!”
I asked in a pretentiously shocked and loud voice, hoping he would give me a cheaper price because I didn’t want to be known as that-idiot-who-didn’t-bring-enough-money. Uncle pretended to not have heard what I asked.
“Ya, RM4.30,” he repeated.
“But there are only one meat and one egg. How can it be RM4.30?” I defended, although I knew the portion of my chapfan was kind of big and the price rational.
He looked at me in a rather ridiculous manner like I had just demanded to marry his daughter. He probably thought I came from a background of typical taukehs and taukeh-nios, who have the tendency to bargain like there is no tomorrow.
“OK lah, I give you RM3.80 lah.”
With that, it got my way out from an embarrassing moment. The amount of money left was just enough to cover my lunch!
All smiles, with no need to wash plates for him. Muahahah!
