Bargain

A girl,looking exhausted in her suit,came into a bar at 11 pm.She carelessly dropped her purse on the counter and complained with a sigh: “My parents can never spare me—not even once.How can I follow their order and go back to work in my hometown? It’s a place with literally nothing!”

Without taking the turn,the bar owner asked softly: “What would you like tonight?”

“Anything that can knock me out in 10 minutes.”

Nodding understandingly,the owner filled her glass full with pure and authentic vodka.

“What could I possibly do?” The girl let out a bellow of distress with all fingers clutching her hair forcefully.

It was then the bar owner started talking: “Couple of months ago,I got a call from someone claiming that they had kidnapped my son and demanded a ransom of 100 million yuan.”

“You have a son?” asked the girl.

“Nope.”

“Then why didn’t you just hang up the phone?”

“I was getting a little bit emotional when he said the number 100 million since no one has ever thought that highly of me,” he continued.“So I began to negotiate with him by telling him that 100 million was too much for me and suggested 20 million instead.”

“Did the scammer agree to take that sum?”

“He asked me on the phone whether I indeed had that much money.I replied by saying no.He then sounded like very unhappy and criticized me for lying to him.I responded back by pointing out he was doing exactly the same thing.”

“Does your story have anything to do with what I am facing?”

Looking deep into the girl’s eyes,the owner said: “If you are being blackmailed,do not give in too soon.Instead,bargain with them.”

(FromCai Kangyong’s EQ Lesson 2: Because This Is Your Life,Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House.Translation: Zhang Xueqin)