A great thing happened the other day at 秀水街 (the silk market), and even the day before at 中关村 (zhongguancun – see below).  A friend of mine said that if I could get a deal lower than the one he got on a U-盘(thumb drive), then he would 请我吃饭(treat me to a meal).  The first vendor I see 居然(unexpectedly)  had a price that was 少于 (less than) 120 块(RMB), the price my friend paid.  He certainly did 出丑(get embarrassed), and I didn’t blink at handing over the 本钱 (buying price – used for sellers) to seal the deal.  He paid not only for his own thumb drive, but now he’ll have to pay for my meal too.  多亏! (what a loss!)

秀水街 xiu4shui3jie1 – Silk Street (AKA the Silk Market) in Beijing
中关村 zhong1guan1cun1 – part of Beijing with numerous tech companies and markets, a Chinese equivalent of silicon valley
U-盘 you1pan2 – thumb drive
请我吃饭 qing2(3)wo3chi1fan4 – treat me to a meal
居然 ju1ran2 – unexpectedly
少于 shao3yu2 – less than
块 kuai4 – in this case, it’s a measure word for RMB
出丑 chu1chou3 – be embarrassed
本钱  ben3qian2 – buying price/initial cost
多亏 duo1kui1 – what a loss!