I was 12 and spent about Five 10 hour days working on an old neighbors back yard and fence. He was around 65, lucid, had a giant house. It was 2002.
I stripped the paint and replaced broken slats and painted them, raked the yard, mowed the yard, cleaned the yard, re-tilled the garden by hand, cleaned the side of his house, cleaned his cars, organized his shed, threw out tonnes of trash.
50 odd hours of work, and the old fucker gives me a $5 bill at the end of it. I thought he was joking, my dad thought he was joking. His explanation? On day three he asked me if I wanted a drink and he gave me two sodas, and after that “I was dam lucky I got $5”