Meaning:
Literally translated as “at cabbage price,” this term means “at a very competitive price.” The cabbage, a commonplace vegetable consumed in North China, is planted each year after corn has been harvested in early fall and is ready for the market in early winter. Easy to plant and produce in large quantities, cabbage is very cheap in its harvest season. Therefore, the term was first used in northern Chinese dialects and later accepted by standard Mandarin, to mean “very cheap, especially compared with its true worth.”
Example:
A: 猜猜我刚买的包包多少钱?
Cāicai wǒ gāng mǎi de bāobāo duōshǎoqián?
Guess how much I paid for this handbag?
B: 五百块?
Wǔbǎikuài?
Five hundred bucks?
A: 这可是正品三宅一生的包包，双十一白菜价不到三千。
Zhè kě shì zhèngpǐn sānzháiyīshēng de bāobāo，shuāngshíyī báicàijià búdào sānqiān。
This is an authentic Issey Miyake bag, and I only paid less than 3,000 yuan for it, a bargain price during the Singles’ Day sales promotion.