“The recognition and affirmation of the customers are the key.”—Mr. Shui
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Wangjiazhuang Seafood Stall
#ZhongshanMarket
#FishMustBeFresh
#WorkHardAndSellAtFairPrice
#EnoughMoneyIsEnough
June 29th, 2020
Text/ LI Shan
Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun
Photography/ Lee Te-Mao
Mr. Shui has a group of loyal customers. They will come all the way from Guangfu Township to buy his fish. He has been with the Zhongshan Market and witnessed its transformation over time. He never argues or compares with others. In fact, he is open-minded, and he felt confident and satisfied about the changes. He insisted on selling fresh fish with good quality only. Before moving to the Zhongshan Market in 1994, he was selling fish in Yuli, Guangfu and Hualien Port. He’s been working in the Zhongshan Market for twenty six years now.
He grew up in the fish village and gained the knowledge of fish
When he was a kid, he lived in a small fishing village in Kouhu Township, Yunlin County. He could enjoy the sea view in front of his house, swim in the ocean and eat fish whenever he wanted to. Until this day, Mr. Shui still has the habit of eating fish at every meal. He knows if the fish is fresh by the first bite. When he grew up, his father moved to Hualien to do business. He didn’t follow his father to Hualien right away. Instead, he went to Taipei and did many different jobs like working at the construction site. He even traded futures, but ending up losing a lot amount of money. He eventually chose to settle down in Hualien together with his father. Mr. Shui decided to sell fish because it was difficult to find a job in Hualien. He was willing to learn how to run the business. The Wangjiazhuang Seafood Stall offered a variety of seafood with best quality, some are from Hualien Port and some are from Keelung Commadeon Fish Market. He won’t purchase too much fish at a time and he only purchases fresh fish even if it’s more expensive. Mr. Shui is convinced that maintaining the good quality is the key to gain trust and be recognized by customers.
His wife stopped him from retiring so he continues to sell fish
Mr. Shui used to work for the whole day, and barely had time to sleep. Now the Zhongshan Market starts in the afternoon, he doesn’t feel as exhausted as before. Because his children are already grown-ups, he is thinking about retiring, but his wife won’t let him. Therefore, he continues to sell fish. At 6 o’clock in the morning, the fish will be delivered to the stall. After he put the fish in the freezer, he will go to the Hualien Port at 10:30 to process the neritic squid and wait for the fishing boat to see if there are other fish products available. At noon, he may purchase some more fish products and put them in the car. He will drive back to the market at 2 o'clock in the afternoon to arrange the stall and start selling at 3 o'clock, and close the stall when sold out. This is Mr. Shui’s daily life at the market, just like his personality, simple and organized.
He works hard and sells at a fair price to keep his customers
Mr. Shui said he used to purchase fish products at the fish market by Hualien Port. However, in the past ten years, Hualien’s fish catches had decreased, and the fish market next to Hualien Port closed down so he had to find other source to purchase fish products. Even with this kind of situation, Mr. Shui still manages to stay calm and insist on his own principle of picking fish products to maintain the quality. He wants to be responsible for the products he sells, and he doesn’t want the customers to buy fish at a lower price but with bad quality. Mr. Shui gains trust from regular customers by ensuring them a variety of fresh fish products at his stall. He builds a long-term relationship with the customers. He believes that trust is fundamental in running business at a traditional market. If the customers once bought the fish that’s not fresh, they might stop buying from him. He hopes the customers can taste the fresh fish only like he did when he was a kid. One time a regular customer told him that he bought a fish that was not fresh, Mr. Shui immediately refunded the money back to the customer. Mr. Shui said that he might make mistakes sometimes, but he would also learn from the mistakes.
Happiness comes first, money comes second.
“Don’t ever dream about making fortune overnight,” Mr. Shui said. He has been working hard on his business with his wife for many years, and he never dreams about making a lot of money. To him, enough money is enough. If he priced the products too high, he will lose the customers anyway. Except the busy days before the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year’s Eve, Mr. Shui is not as busy as other vendors who needs to work from early morning till late night during Chinese New Year. He runs the business at ease. He prefers to spend time with his family when they come back home for reunion. When being asked about if he ever worried that the customers will stop buying fish products from him if he didn’t have the fish they want, he calmly answered that he takes it easy and doesn’t think too much. He said it is fun and interesting to work in the traditional market. He enjoys chatting with other vendors and customers. They are just like his friends so he doesn’t feel tired at all. Time passes by without noticing.