A body of unyielding iron, all for the one in his heart

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Images and text: Internet

Location: Shishi, Fujian

Environment: East-facing balcony with supplemental grow lights

Seeing this title, Uncle was reminded of a while back, when he saw a foreign website advertising (men's) succulents for sale, mainly some Euphorbiaceae and Cactaceae succulents. When it comes to succulents with unyielding iron character, there are actually many. It's just that today's popular aesthetic seems to lean toward the soft and delicate. On the rare occasions someone posts non-Echeveria succulents, you can often see comments saying they don't like that kind of succulent. With so many succulent varieties out there, finding the ones you truly like is better than just liking whatever everyone else likes -- that's what Uncle thinks. As for the succulents Uncle himself bought... most of them are probably still the ones everyone likes, because the ones everyone likes... are usually cheaper or tend to become cheaper.

There is a world that holds not only the tenderness of a daughter's home, but also the unyielding iron character of a man. The laws of nature tell us that only by being strong from birth can one survive in this world. The world of succulents is the same, except my world has a touch more of proud backbone.

In early summer, I leaned against the balcony at home, looking at pot after pot of blooming succulents, and I remembered the day I first encountered succulents. When the friends around me learned I had grown a pot of Haworthia cooperi, the way they pressed their lips together, not daring to laugh, still loops in my mind like a movie playing on repeat. That's right, they thought that as a man, I just didn't match these cute little succulents at all, until one day, they completely changed their views.

Summer happens to be the hardest time for succulents, because succulents originated in poor, barren desert places, while the environment I live in is a city of reinforced concrete. Once summer comes, hot and humid with lots of rain, the little succulents either rot black or get bugs. I remember when I first fell into this hobby, that first summer, I originally had 10 beautiful succulents, and once summer passed, only 3 were left, drooping their heads, barely alive. I thought succulents that weren't hardy at all like this might really not suit me.

I thought giving up might be the best plan, so I put all the remaining succulents outside the balcony and waited for them to fend for themselves. That night I had insomnia for the first time, and all I could see before my eyes were the shadows of the succulent pots. As time went on, I gradually got used to it. Until one day, I realized I had been utterly wrong.

The succulents I once looked down on had stubbornly forged a miniature world.

At that moment, I realized that it's not only men who have unyielding iron character -- succulents have it too. It's just that the succulents' iron character is awakened through nature's survival of the fittest. They stand proud and unyielding, standing alone against the pouring rain; they are all on their own, forged through bitter cold and scorching heat. They are no less than the green pines and cypresses, they just lack someone who truly loves them.

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