Gift giving tends to work best when the recipient shows basic gratitude.

So when one time-strapped man gifted his father $100 for Father’s Day, his dad publicly shamed him for not giving him even more.

But instead of taking it personally, he just decided his father would never receive another gift from him ever again!

Keep reading for the full story.

Complain about a gift? You get no more gifts.

In my culture, it’s customary to give cash in a card instead of a gift. Depending on the occasion, I’d usually give around $200–$500.

I never really liked giving my dad money because he just took it for granted and never reciprocated.

But still, he held his tongue for the sake of continuing tradition, and Father’s Day was no exception.

I did so anyway to keep in line with the culture and not be the black sheep of the family.

One Father’s Day a few years ago, I was working long hours and completely forgot to prepare his gift — and I was running late to the dinner.

Zero time to pick up a card or get cash from the bank.

So he was forced to improvise.

I made do with what I had — grabbed a blank envelope from my office and stuffed the last $100 bill I had in my wallet into it.

Dinner went by as usual and gifts were given to my dad.

As we were leaving the restaurant, my dad pulled me aside — away from the family.

It turns out, his father wasn’t appreciative of this gift.

He pulled out my torn envelope from his pocket and showed me the $100 bill I had given him.

He said, and I quote, “Do you think I need $100? What am I going to do with $100? If you’re going to give me this little, you’re better off giving me nothing at all!”

He was obviously expecting more cash, and this was his loving way of telling me I was being cheap.

He said nothing to his father but later brought the whole thing up to his mother.

I was honestly kind of shocked by his extremely rude comment and just shrugged and walked away.

I relayed what happened to my mom later that week.

She was completely disgusted by her husband’s behavior.

She is much more understanding, and she said exactly what I felt — that he should be appreciative of anything I give him, especially since he literally gives me nothing when my special occasions come around.

I told her I would heed his advice and never give him anything at all.

She had no idea just how seriously he was about to take her suggestion.

My mom thought I was joking, but I was serious.

My dad’s birthday dinner rolled around and I stayed true to my word and literally got him nothing.

He decided to use this opportunity to mess with his dad’s head.

I didn’t come completely empty-handed, though — I brought some paperwork my mom wanted me to review in an envelope.

When she walked past me to use the restroom, I handed her the envelope, which she placed in her purse.

It soon became clear this plan worked like a charm.

According to my mom, my parents got home and were going over the gifts my dad received. He mentioned that he didn’t see anything from me.

But wait — he said he saw me give my mom an envelope during dinner. Could that be his mystery cash present?

Nope.

My mom let him know that it was just her paperwork.

I rarely talk to my dad, even when I see him on special occasions. I haven’t brought him a single gift in years, and he hasn’t said a word about it.

And that was the end of that.

What did Reddit have to say?

This user would have snatched back their money right then and there.

This commenter begins to question the very practice of gift giving.

His father was acting like a complete child in this instance.

This commenter points out the strength of the son’s character.

Be careful what you wish for!

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.