“All good things come to those who wait. You must adjust your mind to keep up with time.” - Mr. HUANG
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Good Neighbor Vegetable Stall
#ChunghwaMarket
#HonestandKindnessaretheKeytoGoodBusiness
#YoungGenerationsWayofSurvivalbySellingVegetables
May 16th, 2020
Text/ LI Shan
Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun
Photography/ HSIN Pei-Chin
Walking to the middle aisle of Chunghwa Market, you will find a sign full of child’s taste when you look up, which written "Good Neighbor Vegetable Stall". People can't help but guess that the stall owner should be a passionate and chatty woman. However, you will instead find a burly man at the stall, who is carefully peeling the taro for the customers with a shy and honest smile. He is Mr. Huang, born in 1983, has been working in this market for seven years. The customers passing by the stall said that he is the most honest and kind owner, and he runs the most best-selling vegetable stall in Chunghwa Market. Mr. Huang always smiles shyly and makes people more curious about why a young man like him will choose to work here.
He took over the vegetable stall seven years ago and found his own style
“It’s not easy to find a job in the city,” Mr. Huang said. This is in fact the common dilemma for most young people growing up in Hualien. Their vegetable stall was a century-old business. Mr. Huang’s grandma sold her own vegetables nearby before Chunghwa Market was formally established. Later, his father took over the business and gradually gained good reputation in the market. In the early days, the market was very busy and many people even came to buy vegetables at three in the afternoon. However, their stall didn’t have an official name until several years ago when the Ministry of Economic Affairs began to service the stalls for upgrading and transformation and asked the stalls to make their own sign. Mr. Huang’s mother then named the stall “Good Neighbor Vegetable Stall”. She decided this name mainly because she treated the customers as her neighbors and liked to chat with them. Many customers came to buy vegetables as they enjoyed talking with his mother. This shows the unique interpersonal relationship of the traditional market.
Therefore, since his mother handed over the business to him, some customers stopped buying vegetables from their stall. “In the beginning no one knows who you are, but all good things come to those who wait,” Mr. Huang said. With determination and continuous modification, he gradually found his own style after running the business independently for several years. He always pays close attention to the customers’ needs and will sell the vegetables that the customers buy more often. Sometimes, he also sells the vegetables grown by himself. In addition, he always gives practical advice. For example, one time he met a customer who didn’t know how much should buy. Instead of encouraging him to buy a lot and make money out of it, he told the customer not to buy too much, because he will not be able to finish them all. His honest personality makes the customers feel at ease and are willing to buy vegetables from his stall.
Most of his customers are the elderly not young people, he hoped them could live long life
Mr. Huang found that those who come to the market now are mostly elderly. The main reason for this is that Hualien experienced a significant outflow of young people. Also, in the past, the markets were not as organized as they are now. Many young people might have negative impression towards the markets since in their childhood, they were usually left waiting in the noisy and messy markets while their mothers were buying vegetables. The childhood experience stopped them from going to the traditional markets after they grew up. Moreover, now there are supermarkets all over Taiwan, which are convenient, bright and available 24/7 that make traditional markets less attractive. Mr. Huang jokingly said he hopes his customers could live a long life so his business could continue.
He adapts his mind to keep up with time and hope the market will never close down
For Mr. Huang, market makes him feel warm-hearted and the nearby vendors treat him nicely. Even though he is young in the market, he has his own way of running the business. For example, he will neatly categorize different vegetables in different baskets. He also separates the working area and the display area. He keeps his stall neat and clean so the customers can find what they want easily. Mr. Huang believed that young people can make a difference with their ideas, but they must adapt their mind to keep up with time. In the meanwhile, because his customers are mostly elder people, he sometimes has to educate them on some occasions. For instance, he had to stop the elders from removing the stems sneakingly before putting the vegetables on the scale since they thought it would be cheaper this way. He believes it’s important to insist on his principles and the process of education and communication are the key to ensure the quality of his business. He also mentioned that starting from five years ago, the government will randomly detect the pesticides residue in produce in the markets. If any unqualified vegetables are found, they need to be destroyed. Therefore, he thinks that the vegetables in the market are safe to eat. There is no need to worry about it. Mr. Huang hopes that the market will never close down, so that he can make money from selling vegetables to maintain his family and raise his children.