He’d been through a hard time and almost gave up until meeting his wife

“It was the most difficult during 1985 to 1995 since the young people didn't want to join this business,” Mr. Zheng said. He smiled bitterly every time he reminisced that period of time. It’s tough to work in the market because it required getting up early for preparation. Most young people hardly consider working at the market since the environment was not as bright and intriguing comparing to other jobs. Mr. Zheng was only in his twenties at that time. He spent more than ten years studying the basic skills, learning the tips of selling chickens in the market with his family, and slowly establishing relationships with customers. He would remember each customers’ faces and needs so as to provide customized services. Nevertheless, after the business went on track, the SARS outbreak and the Financial Crisis in 2008 hit the market drastically, which made him wondering if he should keep doing this, or perhaps he should find a job that was more decent and less tiring. In the same year, two important events occurred in his life and gave him new directions and hopes. One was that he met his wife, who encouraged him to continue the business and accompanied him since then. The other was that the Ministry of Economic Affairs began to service Taiwanese industry for upgrading and transformation. Mr. Zheng decided to give it a try even though no one had ever done it before.

After the outbreak of the bird flu, the ways of processing chickens had gradually changed from slaughtering on site at the market to electrocution at the poultry slaughterhouse. However, this forced many chicken vendors of older generation to retire since they were unable to adapt to changes. At that time, the young man like Mr. Zheng was rarely seen in the poultry industry. He was open-minded and was willing to cooperate with the government's new measures in an attempt to develop a more diverse way of selling chicken. In the past, people preferred freshly slaughtered chickens mainly because they were worried that the chicken would be rotten after refrigeration. That’s why when the market began to ban on-site slaughtering, many customers considered it unacceptable. Mr. Zheng patiently spent almost three to four years to convince his customers that the chicken processed by electrocution was as fresh and tender. In addition, he insisted on selling only fresh and organic chicken, even though he might make less profit this way. With his diligence, sincerity as well as the good quality of his products, he slowly gained the trust of the customers.