Being in Ukraine would make O. Henry cry (Omar Khayyam, the fish and the preliminary agreement)

Yesterday, I wanted to buy some carp in the store. But the old seller told me that they were out of it.

This made me upset.

The seller offered me to buy another much more expensive fish instead. I drew his attention to its price. But the seller said: "The health is yours. Will you eat this fish? Then you ought to know: “Little of good quality is better than a large amount ofs bad quality”.

I did not like his edifications. With an air of superiority, I told him: “You better starve, than eat whatever; and better be alone, than with whoever”.

The old seller exclaimed: "Oh, you know Omar Khayyam!".

Today, having come to work I saw my colleague talking on the phone. He is a Ph.D. in law as I am. He was speaking into the mouthpiece: "The preliminary agreement? Hold on, I will ask someone right now”. Turning to me, he demanded: "Do you know what a preliminary agreement means?".