The action flashes back to a scene two days before Hossein's attempted robbery, in which Ali comes to tell Hossein that everything has been cleared for Hossein's marriage to Ali's sister, The Bride. A con artist, The Man in the Tea House, then joins them and expounds on the profession of pickpocketing. Hossein, naturally sensitive to his social status, is somewhat offended by the con artist's automatic classification of him and Ali as mere pickpockets. However, the con artist makes one point which can be taken as something of a universal truth: “If you want to arrest a thief, you’ll have to arrest the world.” Later on, Hossein and Ali attempt to enter the jeweler's shop and are viciously snubbed by The Jeweler, who literally shuts the doors in their faces.