I raised these succulents with my own effort, so why should I just hand them over? An open letter to the freeloaders

Source:

 

Succulent Plant Hub

Every succulent grower probably has one worry: how to refuse succulent freeloaders without making a scene or ruining a relationship. This really takes a lot of skill.

If the precious succulents we raised through so much hardship end up in the wrong hands, how heartbreaking that would be!

The editor has many succulent-loving friends who share the same passion, and we do sometimes give plants to each other, but when it comes to freeloaders, most of us refuse with our whole being. Yes, we grow lots of beautiful succulents, but they are not grown for you!

Stay calm, stay calm. After all, as a nursery owner, the editor should be magnanimous. It was just that one time the editor was at a friend's home, and there were quite a few guests that day. It was a lively and harmonious scene at first, with the adults gathered together laughing and chatting, while the children went off to find their own fun.

The friend was also a succulent lover and had grown quite a few succulents on the balcony. A mischievous child ran over and started poking at them, and with so many people around, no one noticed.

It was not until dinnertime that the child's mother pulled the child away and scolded, "All you do is play with dirty things, look how filthy your hands are!"

The friend went over to take a look, and several pots of succulents had been damaged. One of the friend's most treasured pots, a peach egg succulent, had even had its roots torn apart! The child's mother just smiled and said, "

Sorry about that, kids don't know any better

。”

The friend, not wanting to lose face, was too embarrassed to get angry and just said sullenly, "It's fine, just have the child be more careful next time."

After that mother left, the friend sat alone looking at the succulents for a long time

。

Near the end, when most of the guests had dispersed, this mother appeared again, this time with a big smile, and said to the friend, "My child says he really likes your succulents, and I see

you've grown quite a lot too. Could you give us a few pots for the child to play with at home?"

The friend's expression immediately turned sour, and I was of course utterly disgusted. What do you mean, take them home to play with? Someone else put in the effort to grow these succulents, your child already wrecked a bunch, and now you want to take some home to ruin as well? No one would be willing to put up with that!

The friend couldn't bring herself to be blunt, but I couldn't hold back anymore, so I said to the friend, "Quite a few of these were gifts from me to you, right? You'd better take good care of them yourself!" The friend caught on and picked up the thread, saying, "That's right, quite a few were gifts from others, so it wouldn't be good to pass them on. If you like them, I can recommend a few good shops for you."

As soon as this mother heard that she would have to buy them herself,

she just gave a token agreement and then left with the child

。

Running into something like this just fills you with anger. The friend smoothed things over, which only made the other person push further. If you ever run into this kind of thing again, fellow succulent lovers, you absolutely must not back down!

Today the editor has decided to sternly call out several types of succulent freeloaders, and to include perfect counterattacks. Protecting succulents is everyone's responsibility!

You've grown so many succulents, they're so pretty, give me a few?

-

Bold style

: I'll take what you said before as a compliment, but you'd better take that last sentence back right now and we can still be friends. Your family has so much money, why don't you say you'll share some with me? I'm happy growing so many succulents. If I give them to you, I won't be happy, so why should I!

-

Gentle style

: Right~ I think they're super pretty too, I've been growing them for a long time. If you like them too, next time we can go take a look together. I know a few pretty good shops and can recommend them to you

These succulents all look pretty much the same, just give me two to grow, they're not that expensive anyway

-

Bold style

: Heh, I see your lipsticks are all the same color too, and you still bought a whole bunch! Succulents aren't expensive, so go buy your own. You don't care about them, but I do!

-

Gentle style

: That's where you're wrong~ It's true that some varieties look very similar, but I just can't help wanting to buy them whenever I see them. I'm about to buy another batch soon, do you want to join a group order? It might be even cheaper~

The one you gave me last time wasn't very pretty, how about giving me the xxx this time?

-

Bold style

: I shouldn't have given you one last time! I kindly picked out some easy-to-grow ones for you to try, and you ruined them yourself and now you're shifting the blame? If they're not pretty, go buy your own. Why should I give you the pretty ones!

-

Gentle style

: Ah, did the last one not do well? How about bringing it back and I'll help you grow it. They're all fairly easy varieties. The one you like is very hard to grow, so maybe don't try that one for now~

Why are you so stingy now, you won't even give me one succulent!

-Bold style: It's really not that I'm stingy, ma'am. Is one succulent a small matter? If you kill it, that becomes a big matter! If you're so generous, then don't ask me for one. I hate this kind of person who asks others for help or things while acting all arrogant and invincible!

-Gentle style: It's really not stinginess, I've grown these succulents for so long that I really can't bear to part with them. How about I treat you to a meal instead~ But succulents are out of the question. Try growing one yourself and you'll understand, you wouldn't be willing to give yours up either~

Anyway, you were already planning to give me one, so why not give me that big one

-Bold style: Heh? You pestered me relentlessly, and I reluctantly gave you a small seedling, and that's already good enough, and now you're picky and pushing your luck? I'm not giving you any, not even the small one! Satisfied? What else can you do?

-Gentle style: Try growing the small seedling first. If you start with a big one, I'm afraid you won't grow it well. Later, if you really like them, you can try growing some bigger ones yourself, or different varieties~

After posting photos on WeChat Moments, the freeloaders from the other end of the internet

-

Tell him with unmatched coolness:

No way!

-

Reason with him with emotion and logic

and tell him that growing succulents requires a lot of conditions and patience, and if you grow them badly they can get so ugly they make you question life;

-Or just

reveal your identity directly

and say you're a WeChat seller to scare him, ask if he wants to buy. If he really wants to buy, just give him a friends-and-family price and ship it, testing how sincere he is about succulents;

-Or use the

sob story

, telling him through tears and snot that this one has been grown together with your boyfriend (girlfriend) for many years, that your bond is very deep, and that you're just short of taking it out for a walk on the street every day. If he can still ask for it after that, then the editor would have to wonder about the relationship between him (her) and your boyfriend (girlfriend).

Suddenly I feel that to protect our succulents, we've told freeloaders every lie of our lives!

After all, the scariest thing about freeloaders is this:

They are clearly not people who cherish succulents, yet they casually take away what others hold dear

. That really stings. A succulent that was growing perfectly well becomes half-dead in their hands, and then they can even turn around and blame you. So toward people like this, you should never be softhearted.

The succulents you grow yourself should be cherished well, and you should stay by their side all the way~~~

If you also like growing flowers, then follow us!