Will You Be My Trainer?

The shopkeeper named his price with utter confidence—and loudly enough that Zhou Yuang almost wanted to say, "Good! That's the spirit!"

To hell with your master craftsmen.

That much for something so plain?

"Five hundred."

Zhou Yuang said it with even greater confidence.

Japan has its master craftsmen. Seres has a long tradition of haggling.

I may be from Seres and about to go to university, but you can't seriously take me for a gullible Seres college student, can you?

For something worth a hundred, start by offering thirty.

"...Who haggles like that?"

Most people in Japan didn't haggle. Even when they did, they didn't do it like Zhou Yuang. The shopkeeper's eyes widened as he challenged him.

"Fair point."

The older generation would have opened with ten.

"Four hundred and fifty."

Zhou Yuang's generous concession nearly threw the shopkeeper off, but he soon launched into practiced chatter, changing the subject again and again to push the price up.

The shopkeeper wanted to make money. Didn't Zhou Yuang want to save it just as badly?

After a few rounds of back-and-forth, the shopkeeper seemed to run out of patience and turned to the young Uma Musume beside Zhou Yuang.

"Young lady, could you rein in your brother? Things aren't easy for me either."

Not easy?

Looks to me like all you care about is money.

Zhou Yuang turned to the young Uma Musume too. Under the shopkeeper's gaze, the shy girl's face grew hot. She looked ready to raise the white flag.

Then Zhou Yuang hooked an arm around her shoulders and faced the shopkeeper with perfect confidence.

"Sir, our mom and dad brought my little sister here earlier and bought her a pretty expensive hair accessory. That makes us repeat customers, doesn't it? How about a little discount?"

*She