Direct delivery from Beigang! A shop in Hualien that sells products form Beigang: Beigang Garlic and Yang Ji Dried Tofu
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Beigang Garlic and Yang Ji Dried Tofu
#ChongqingMarket
Text/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan
Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun
Photography/ LEE Te-Mao
On the brightly lit shelves stand bottles of black sesame oil, just like the welcome ambassadors lined up in a row, greeting the customers arriving in the shop with a big and warm smile.
With various goods scattering high and low, the white garlic cloves were all over the bamboo sieves, being lined with peanuts and dried tofu with warm earth tones, as if the sunshine on the other side of the island was brought here.
This shop is owned by a family that moved across the Central Mountain Range from the rural area of Beigang, Yunlin. The family brought the taste of home to Hualien and made here their new home.
This is a shop in Hualien that sells products from Beigang.
From Beigang to Hualien, the crossover of two generations
Mrs. Hong's family came from the countryside of Beigang, Yunlin. Her father, who used to be a farmer, moved to Hualien and started a wood business to make more money. Nevertheless, lumbering was banned in Taiwan later on. In order to sustain the family, her father opened an incense shop in the Chongqing Market, and in the meanwhile selling broad beans, sesame oil and garlic from Beigang.
As far as Mrs. Hong can recall, Beigang was very rural. Every family in the village knew each other well, and the neighbors would know whose child you were upon meeting you. “In the past, people in Yunlin didn't have a phone at home, so you would often hear the temple broadcasting about someone getting a phone call.” The strong connection did not disappear with the migration of the elder generation; in fact, it grew stronger with the increase of distance.
“My generation was born in Hualien,” said Mrs. Hong. When she was a child, Mrs. Hong would ride a bicycle to the shop and see what she could help. Watching her parents busy with the family business is a daily scene in her memory that is not distant, but she never thought that one day coincidentally, she who teaches music will take over the shop where she grew up.
In 2015, the Chongqing Market was rebuilt. The family was faced with the dilemma between moving into the market or closing the business. Mrs. Hong, who was still a piano teacher then, was affected by the declining birthrate which resulted in fewer and fewer students year by year. Thus, Mrs. Hong had more time to accompany her children, do volunteer work, and tell stories for kids. She would head to the shop whenever needed. As time goes by, Mrs. Hong gradually created a new daily routine. She would do business during the day and teach piano at night, and that was when she started to consider taking over the family business.
Just after moving into the new Chongqing Market, Mrs. Hong had to change her sales strategy due to the open market stall design. She stopped selling incense, because it is heavy, also hard to display and store. Instead, she specialized in selling Beigang’s agricultural specialties, and the homemade lu-wei (braised dishes) with the improved recipe she got from her mother.
“This is life. You must be flexible!” Mrs. Hong smiled genuinely.
From “Beigang Garlic” to “Yang Ji Dried Tofu,” the simple name of the shop bears the crossover of two generations of Mrs. Hong's family.
Family mobilization: Delivering the fresh goods from Beigang straight to Hualien
After the business transformation, the family worked together seamlessly. The agricultural products of Beigang in the shop are provided by Mrs. Hong’s father’s acquainted relatives and friends in the hometown. Her dad is in charge of the shipping and inventory handling, giving full play to his professions in doing business for many years. “One generation plants the trees, and another gets the shade. My father certainly teaches me the secret to success in business.” And because they are acquainted with the sellers, Mrs. Hong is able to have the freshest goods from Beigang delivered straight to Hualien. “For example, we will ask the relatives at hometown to fry Beigang Peanuts and deliver them to Hualien right away," Mrs. Hong mentioned.
Mrs. Hong’s mother is her furnishing and product consultant, because she is good at visual merchandising and cooking. From merchandise display, suggestions for lu-wei (braised dishes)’s improved recipe, preparation of materials to greeting customers, Mrs. Hong’s mother has been giving her full support, so that she can do her best in making breakthroughs and transforming the business of the shop.
“Now the shelves at the shop are made by my husband,” Mrs. Hong said. She is a clean and tidy person, so she hopes the merchandise display could also be like that. In addition, she wants the shelves to be wind and sunlight resistant without blocking the view of the neighboring stalls. She and her husband would discuss how to improve the design of their stall together, and occasionally went to various markets to learn from other stalls.
Facing the rise of online shopping, Mrs. Hong firmly said, “our service must be more and more exquisite.” Mrs. Hong’s family has been striving to strike the best balance between cost and customized services, step by step evolving and now their shop is like a sensory feast with well-proportioned materials that are rich in color, fragrance and taste.
Quality is the most important thing to customers
When it comes to product sales, Mrs. Hong’s principle is very simple. She said, “I will not sell others what I don’t want.” In order to ensure the customers could get the products with the best quality, Mrs. Hong has been extremely picky in the process of picking garlic, finding the supply of goods and purchasing.
Additionally, the secret of Mrs. Hong’s highly acclaimed marinated eggs is not only the perfect combination of ingredients and two hours of slow cooking, but also Mrs. Hong's insistence on the sense of beauty and business reputation. She mentioned that for the ones that are broken or unsellable, they will eat them all by themselves, or share them with their customers, relatives and friends for free. Although she might earn less money by doing so, she never regrets her decision. She insists that “quality is the most important thing to customers.”
You must help those in need when you have the ability to
Mrs. Hong, who has always been enthusiastic about charity, not only participates in volunteer activities, but also offers her homemade dried tofu to bring warmth to more people. In response to the cooking for charity activity that was held in the rural areas by the Northern and Eastern Volunteer Chef Team, Mrs. Hong generously offered her homemade dried tofu as one of the dishes served for the disadvantaged. At other times, for every pack of dried tofu sold in the shop, Mrs. Hong also donated three New Taiwan Dollars to collect bricks for the East African residents who lost their homes due to natural disasters.
Mrs. Hong’s kindness also established connections among customers who visited the shop. The woman of the Chinese Music Club, who was concerned about the burial of the needy family, was originally just a customer. When she knew Mrs. Hong’s usual devotion to charity, she invited her to participate in the collection of burial resources. Upon seeing this, other customers at the shop also said they were interested. Eventually, more and more customers, who have never met each other before, joined the charity project together.
"It's not a lot of money, but by collecting it together, we can help people. I think it's great."
“My parents have a great influence on me.” Mrs. Hong remembered that when she was young, her parents used to tell her to help those in need when she had the ability to. Her parents often donated money for building temples, bridges and roads, so she learned the joy of sharing. “Although my parents are not very wealthy, they are more than happy to do so,” she said.
With Beigang’s products and homemade lu-wei (braised dishes), the small shop is no longer just a place selling daily necessities, it has become a heart-warming scene in the market.