这无功不受禄啊
“Unearned gifts come with a price.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
这是我家主人命我给三公子的见面礼
“This is a token of welcome from my master.”
这 无功不受禄 啊
“Unearned gifts come with a price.”
况且你家主人这见面礼
“Furthermore, this token”
“You give this with an agenda; tell me what you want before I decide to accept.”
In Chinese culture, accepting an unearned gift incurs heavy relational debt (renqing), prompting cautious recipients to invoke classical maxims to probe the giver's motives.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
no reward without desert / not accepting gifts without having rendered service
A formal and traditional idiom commonly invoked when politely declining lavish, unsolicited gifts or favors.
Softens the refusal, making the rejection sound like adherence to principle rather than personal coldness.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“nothing comes for free.”
“No merit, no reward.”
“But we've done nothing.”
“As the saying goes, one should not accept rewards without merit.”
“I've done nothing to deserve it.”
“Thank me? I haven't done anything to deserve it.”
“You have a good prospect. Not at all. You flatter me.”