“Hello, this is the Gardening Centre help line. How may I help you?”
“Hi, I’m having trouble with my plants. I’m not doing anything to them, but they seem very dry and I think they’ll die soon.”
“I know what the problem is. You need to give it some salt.”
“Oh, thank you! I’ll try that today!”
“You’re welcome. Let me know how that goes.”
“Hello, this is the Gardening Centre help line. How may I help you?”
“Hi, it’s me again. I don’t think the salt is working. The plants are still looking pretty bad.”
“How much salt did you put on them?”
“Um…just a pinch. How much should I put?”
“You need more than that. Put more salt until the plant looks healthy again.”
“Oh, ok, thanks. I’ll try that”
“I’ve got a huge mound of salt all around my plant. I think I used around three kilograms. The plant doesn’t look any better. Is there something I’m doing wrong?”
“Oh! I’m sorry, I should have told you it should be saltwater. If it’s just sitting on the surface, the roots can’t absorb it. How are you watering your plants without dissolving that mound of salt?”
“I never water my plants. Someone told me it was bad for them.”
“Well, give the saltwater a try. Remember, you’ll know when you’ve used enough when the plant looks healthy.”
“Thank you again, bye.”
“I just tried the saltwater a few hours ago and it already looks better! Thank you so much.”
“It was a pleasure. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No, I just wanted to let you know. Thank you again.”
“Hi, my plants are starting to look even worse than before. Are you sure the salt is good for them?”
“Weren’t your plants doing poorly before you started following my advice?”
“Oh…well, I suppose they were.”
“It’s pretty safe to say then that it’s not the saltwater. How much are you using?”
“About a litre per plant per day. How much is enough?”
“You’ll know when you’ve used enough—”
“—when the plant looks healthy, yeah, I remember now. Thanks.”
“Hi, the plant is dead. It’s all brown and mushy.”
“It seems like you didn’t use enough salt.”