Translated from Japanese.
Original story here: http://komachi.yomiuri.co.jp/t/2013/0316/580192.htm?g=06
Last December the man next door asked my husband to help him change his car tyres, claiming he couldn’t get a tyre-changing appointment anywhere else for a week. Bikes and cars are my husband’s hobby so he has a lot of tools. I’m sure that’s why the guy next door asked him to do it. In the end our neighbor stood inside his nice warm house while my husband did the changing alone. As thanks we received… 3 apples.
Today the same man came to ask for help removing a tyre. When my husband went over he found out the car tyre in question actually belonged to the man’s son-in-law, who was over visiting from the next prefecture! As usual the neighbor, his dauther and his son-in-law just stood around and gawked while my husband did all the work.
I got angry and told my husband to tell them to go to a gas station or car parts shop instead. My husband said he was surprised too, because he thought it was his neighbor he was doing the favor for.
A few minutes ago the neighbor’s daughter came over with a cheap swiss roll that can’t have cost more than 1000 yen ($12) and said “We’ll be counting on you again next time.”
None of the other neighbors come to ask us for help. There are several repair shops and car dealers in the area.
We moved back to my husband’s hometown in the countryside after he retired last year. He says he can’t turn them down because he doesn’t want to spoil neighborhood relations.
I’m not particularly interested in having neighborly relations with people like those but my husband says we’ll be living here for a while so we need to get along. I was furious. “Does this mean you’ll be changing their tyres every year?” I asked him.
They have two other cars as well. Isn’t there a nice way to turn them down?
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