Mandarin orange farmer in Japan shocked by would-be freeloader’s request

All occupations require different skills. People work, develop their skills, and are paid for their work.

Unfortunately, there are individuals in this world who don't understand the value of other people's skills or underappreciate their work.

They may say things like: "do it for free," "it's good practice for you," or even "do me a favor," even though they have no intention of returning it.

A shameless stranger

Case in point. Earlier this month, Japanese farmer and Twitter user まーくん Mākun (@masaki0530122), who grows mandarin oranges in Wakayama Prefecture, posted about an unbelievable incident he experienced.

One day, while harvesting his mandarins, a complete stranger called out to him as he passed by the orchard along the road.

When Mākun approached to see what he wanted, the stranger suddenly asked him point-blank:

"Can you spare some of your mandarin oranges?"

Needless to say, the fruit he was harvesting was for sale and represented an important source of income for the farmers. When Mākun told the man how much the mandarin oranges were worth, the man seemed surprised, and then, unbelievably, said:

"What? You have so many of them, but you won't give some to me for free?!"

As a parting shot, he said: "What a cheapskate," and left.

みかんの収穫中、「すいませーん」と声が聞こえた。何やろ？と近づくと、通りがかりの人がいた。「みかん分けて貰えませんか？」と言われ、金額を伝えると「こんなにいっぱいあるのに、無料でもらえないんですか!?」そして、捨て台詞のように「ケチですね」って…。言い方もやけど、モラルがな…。
— まーくん?和歌山の果物農家 (@masaki0530122) November 5, 2022

Mākun was taken aback by the stranger's shameless attitude.

While he often has pleasant conversations with passersby, he says that he is sometimes approached by people who make such morally offensive offers or other suspicious people.

Perhaps the passerby was trying to get some out-of-spec oranges that weren't fit for sale.

However, no matter how substandard a product may be, if word gets out that it's being given away for free, that can potentially diminish the value of all products and affect sales for the entire industry.

Above all, demanding free goods that people have worked hard to produce is a disrespectful and immoral act.

Mākun's episode went viral, eliciting a variety of opinions, such as:

"How amazingly shameless. So these things really do happen...."
"I can't believe it... I almost feel ashamed as a fellow human being."
"No, no, no, it's people who ask for freebies like this who are cheap. Cheap in their morals, that is."

Of course, this kind of behavior isn't limited to farming. Online, people who earn money for their skills, whether it's technical, artistic, or otherwise, often share anecdotes about people asking them to "do it for free."

Hopefully, more people will understand that paying someone means recognizing the value of their work.

By - grape Japan editorial staff.