During the Eastern Han Dynasty, a learned man named Han Kang was not only well-versed in the classics but also skilled in medicine. He often traveled to famous mountains and rivers, gathering various herbs to sell at the market in Chang'an.
As a highly skilled physician, he gathered only genuine, potent herbs. Customers simply described their ailments, and he would select the perfect remedy, naming a fixed price that allowed no haggling. If a customer dared to bargain, he would refuse the sale entirely.
For over thirty years, Han Kang lived in obscurity as a medicine seller in the marketplace, earning fame for his "no-haggling" policy. One day, a woman who did not recognize him came to buy medicine. When Han Kang named his price, the woman said, "Old sir, your price is too high—can you lower it a bit?" Han Kang glanced at her and replied, "Buy it if you want, or leave it if you don't. No bargaining."
The woman wanted to buy Han Kang's medicine but found it too expensive, so she pleaded with him to lower the price, but Han Kang firmly refused. Enraged, she snapped, "In all of Chang'an, only Han Kang sells medicine at a fixed price—are you Han Kang too?"
The woman finished speaking, dropped the medicine, and stormed off. Han Kang watched her retreating figure, sighed, and said, "I hid in the marketplace selling medicine to avoid fame. Now even a young woman knows my name—why should I continue selling medicine?"
So he retreated to the Ba Ridge mountains, living in seclusion and never again selling medicine in the city. Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty repeatedly summoned him to serve as an official, but each time, Han Kang refused.
Later, the idiom "no second price" came to describe never quoting a different price in transactions.
Source: Zhao Qi (Han Dynasty), *Records of the Three Auxiliary Regions*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "言不二价" came to describe never quoting a different price in transactions.