I’m a Pepper, You’re a Pepper

We have said before the concept of a “case” of coke or water is pretty much non-existent here in China. Typically if you want 24 cans of Coke, you take 24 cans of Coke off of the shelf and let them roll around precariously in your shopping cart.

Well today, Scott was at the import grocery store and noticed full cases of Dr. Pepper. This is the first time in our 3 months of living here we have found Dr. Pepper. We like Dr. Pepper, but our best friends here in China are Dr. Pepper junkies. Thus, Scott decided to purchase 5 full cases of the unique tasting soda.

After spending 6.90 yuan per can (about $0.90 each), he headed for the door. Now, this is not your typical grocery store. It is best described as being inside a shopping mall. So it is usually illegal to remove the shopping carts from the store. However, after several botched Mandarin phrases and a lot of hand waving, Scott was able to convince the clerks to allow him to transport the cargo with the cart.

After maneuvering past throngs of gawkers en route to the parking lot, Scott came upon Mr. Chen gabbing with several other drivers. After one of the drivers pointed at me, Mr. Chen immediately turned around. Usually Mr. Chen is not surprised with what we purchase. However, today when he turned around, he was taken aback by the mountain of soda. With a very surprised look on his face and an immediate chuckle, he spouted something in Mandarin that sounded a lot like “What the f___” before loading up the car and heading home.