Vegetable Stall of the border of Thailand and Liao | The Life Story of Meily
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Meily
#ChongqingMarket
Text/ HUANG Chia
Translation/ HUANG Chia
Photography/ HUANG Chia
Visitors at the Border of Thailand and Liao
Meng Cui’s Thai name is Mondi, which means that she is powerful and is capable of taking good care of the family. Friends usually call her Meily, which is a transliteration of her Thai name “Mondi”. Meily is a self-employed farmer coming from northern Thailand. She usually sells vegetables at the Chongqing Market. Half of the vegetables she grows are from Thailand, and the other half are from Taiwan, including: ginger, lemongrass, lemon leaves, taro, eggplant, sweet potato leaves, onions, red onions, bitter gourd, and other healthy vegetables. She first came to Taiwan when she was 37 years old, almost 18 years ago. At first, she worked in the Meilun Marble Field. After this, she opened a KTV, worked for a cheap Chinese-style restaurant, and finally went to the Chongqing Market to sell vegetables.
The Moment When she Arrived in Taiwan
Before coming to Taiwan at the age of 37, Meily had a husband and three children in Thailand. At first, she wanted to come to Taiwan to earn a living and provide her family a better life. Who could have known that the moment she arrived in Taiwan, the husband would betray her and leave with a young lady. Meily relays, “I was passing all my time raising my three children. I didn't know where the lady was from. But I know she’s from a rural area. I was 17 years old when I got married. After giving birth to the children, I was looking after them. All the money was sent back to Thailand. Then my husband and the lady ran away. My mother was afraid that I would commit suicide after hearing such bad news. She asked me not to think too much. I said I would take care of myself and I asked my mother to kindly help me take care of my children.”
At that time Meily was working at the marble field in Meilun, Hualien, earning a salary of less than 20,000 NTD a month, and sending some of it back to Thailand each month. She was alone in Taiwan, and the hard time of losing her husband made her cry every day. Soon after, she met an Amis man in her work, and she married him shortly after they started to date. Unexpectedly, the second husband was an alcoholic, always asking Meily to pay for his wine, to drink with him, and to clean up the houses of all his brothers and sisters. Unable to bear this kind of treatment, Meily told him that she was going to move out and live alone, and would only want to come back once a week. However, her husband swept her out and told her not to come home again.
Hit Hard
“It was better when there was a job with a fixed salary. Now there is no fixed income when I work in the Chongqing Market. I’m getting older now, and I often have pain here and there, and my body becomes very unhealthy.” In the past, Meily used to work in the marble field, and also has owned a Thai cuisine restaurant and KTV, but after the restaurant closed down, she could only work as an employee in a cheap Chinese style restaurant. “My previous Thai kitchen and KTV had to shut down, because there was not enough income. When I receive less than 2000 NTD per day, it’s out of balance to keep a store.”
When Meily was working in the cheap Chinese style restaurant, she had a good income since she worked from morning to night, and she was also loved by the boss. “I work efficiently! I can move spontaneously according to the needs of the moment. In the past, the night market was crowded and there was no way to walk, but after the pandemic, there was no one here anymore. I can make all the foods, such as: grilled flying fish, grilled panjia, grilled sausages, or stir-fried mixed wild vegetables. The boss also asked me to make lemongrass fish. I am very good at garnishing. But after the epidemic entered Taiwan, I was asked to leave the job.” Fortunately, Meily continuously worked as a self-employed farmer a few years ago, so even if she suddenly lost her job, which she did, she could still go to the Chongqing Market to sell vegetables and maintain a stable life.
In addition to the hardships coming from the business and the relationships, the sudden loss of a family member in Thailand was one of the greatest sufferings for her. “When my child died, he was only 23 years old. Originally, he was working in Taiwan. Soon after returning to Thailand, he was tested and had poisoned blood flowing to his head. Finally, he passed away. Before that time, my third child had called me and told me that he was hospitalized. I went directly to Taipei. My sister’s daughter bought me a plane ticket for me to fly back to Thailand.” After the child was buried in Thailand, Meily returned to Taiwan to work, but because she was too sad, she could barely remember the location of her house each day as she would go home.
The happiest thing is to grow vegetables
For Meily now, the only happiness and spiritual support is to grow vegetables. “When the weather is good and when there is cool wind, the countryside is very quiet, and growing vegetables makes me very happy. In nature, I don’t need to think too much, and I don’t need to listen to what others say. I can grow vegetables quietly.” Meily has now left her second husband, and her children are also working in foreign countries as helpers or international laborers. She now lives alone in a 3,000 NTD bungalow near the coast. She grows and sells vegetables for a living. She plans to work in Taiwan until her body can no longer move, and then will return to Thailand for the rest of her life. It will be the end of her lonely and sad days in Taiwan which will have lasted for 30 to 40 years.