The best shrimp i ever bought

Finished that run i was talking about earlier. Headed to buy groceries with a friend of mine. He had run out of supplies and i had told him i would take him today. He didn't know that i was going to wake him up at 9 on a saturday morning!

I didn't really need to buy anything, but decided on replenishing my stocks anyway. I walked over to the seafood section. There wasn't anybody attending to customers when i stuck my head over the display of frozen shrimp. I really wasn't in a hurry and took my time deciding whether to buy any or not. One kind of frozen shrimp looks just like another - how do i figure out which one is fresher or any better than the other? There were salt water, fresh water and farm grown shrimp from thailand; each one of a different size. I decided to get the American shrimp - they were larger and had a gray hue.

While i was mulling over all this, an elderly gent walked behind the counter and apologized for not being there. I said it was okay and added something crazy, "That is fine, i was looking at the prawns anyway." I told him what i had decided on and asked for a pound (if you are ever buying unshelled shrimp, a pound is just enough for a single person - unless you have a recipe that calls for the shell too!). As he handed me the packet of shrimp he said, "Our competitor is charging only 3.99 a pound while our price is much higher. Just tell them that at the cash counter and they will match the price." I looked at him for a brief moment, muttered an awkward "thank you" and proceeded to walk away. He added with a smile, "You didn't hear that from me."