The Wild Goose Chase

Funny thing about living in China. The most random things are usually easy to find, if you ask the right person. And the seemingly normal items are usually impossible. For instance, things like over the counter drugs – pepto bismol, antibiotic ointments, ibuprofin, are impossible to buy. Fingernail polish remover? Forget it. Inexpensive Walmart mascara? Nowhere. So, in order to “get things done”, there’s usually a mission of the day.

Being our 25th wedding anniversary, Tuesday’s mission was for me to find and buy lobsters for dinner.

Game ON.

A friend of mine told me I could find lobsters downtown at Sanyuanli Market…so, off we go. 45 minutes later, we arrive and I tell Lee, “I’m trying to find lobsters for dinner.” He says, “Ok! I go with you! Let’s go!” Lee is very enthusiastic. We found several places that sold American lobsters and negotiating began. Lee loves to bargain, and he’s been doing it a long time. He’s good at it.

The first place was selling them for 110 kuai a pound. Pretty expensive. About $18 a pound. Lee walked away. Next place came down in price to 98 kuai per pound. Again, I watched Lee walk away, telling the shop owner he would not pay that much, when he knows he can get them for 85.

All this action was somewhere between entertaining and slightly funny and wearing me out. This was starting to look like a quest we now refer to as, “The blanket incident.” The first time we were living here, my driver and I drove all over Beijing in a quest for the lowest priced blanket. I ended up calling Doug at work and crying before it was all over. I just wanted a blanket.  And now? I just wanted the lobsters.

But no. Lee was now on a quest. He made a call to a shop at Jing Shen wholesale seafood market and they wanted 200 kuai to deliver said lobsters to my house. I’m listening to him telling this man on the phone that it is too expensive. I know where this is heading. (I should have known to bring a snack.)

He gets off the phone, turns to me and says, “We go directly to wholesale market! Let’s go!” And we drive another 30 minutes to the main wholesale seafood market for Beijing. Whoa. This place is crazy busy and I believe I was the only “Meiguoren” (American) within one square mile. These people work so hard for their money. Building after building, row after row of every kind of sea creature imaginable.

“Our” shop owner and his wife sold us the lobsters for 85 kuai a pound. Still expensive – $13 a pound but it was worth it for a special occasion.

And then he asked Lee how old I was.

Like I couldn’t understand him. Lee told him he wouldn’t believe it. He guessed I was 40. Ok- I’ll take that compliment, but really, how could he tell? AND, it was totally weird to be talked about right in front of you (and you understand what they are saying.)

Nevertheless, it’s a normal question to ask, just like how much you weigh and how much money you make. I’ve even been asked how much my jewelry cost. I’m used to it.

Got the bugs packed up and back in the car. Had to wait, because, you guessed it- another traffic jam. An hour home….pretty good. Total time? 4 hours. Mission accomplished.