Half a century of golden era: Zhang Chun-Chang Chicken Stall
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Zhang Chun-Chang Chicken Stall
#Fuxing Market
Text/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan
Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun
Photography/ LEE Te-Mao, HUNG Tzu-Hsuan
A different Chungyuan Pu Tu
The Ghost Month this year has been very different.
The traditional markets which deeply relied on in-person trading were seriously affected by the spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The market atmosphere had been bleak for several months, and was finally recovered after the nationwide level 3 epidemic alert was lifted. Every household began to shop at traditional markets again in preparation for Chungyuan Pu Tu.
“Now it’s the Ghost Month. It’s the time when people pray for peace and reassurance.”
The Zhang Chun-Chang Chicken Stall in Hualien Fuxing Market is also busy with the orders of Chungyuan Pu Tu.
“In mid-July and during the Chinese New Year, everyone has to prepare offerings of food for religious ceremonies, so it’s usually our busiest season.” Mrs. A-Jiao was handling whole chicken plate after plate nonstop, soon the workbench behind her was full of golden and oily chicken.
“Due to the pandemic, people cannot enter the temple all together. They must enter in groups to provide offerings. Yesterday I prepared over sixty chickens for the temple!” Speaking of Chungyuan Pu Tu, Mrs. A-Jiao wore on her smile again, pointing at the mark of the temple next to the large plate, joyfully said, “you have to earn your own reputation, so you will get orders when there are religious worship events at the temple."
“Some people say that you have to prepare chickens for the good brothers (wandering ghosts), some say that as long as you worship sincerely, whatever you prepare doesn’t matter. Well, the beliefs and preferences of each family are different after all.”
The taste of white chicken
The steam from the cauldron on the stove lingered, you can smell the rich aroma of golden greasy chicken once opened the lid.
“The broth goes well with all ingredients. The owner of the nearby noodle stall just brought a bag to carry some broth a while ago.”
“We won’t cook the chicken with MSG. We usually use two bottles of wine and a lemon to bring out the sweetness of the chicken itself.” While talking with us, Mrs. A-Jiao took out another plate of chicken. “It definitely costs more, but it is also more delicious! People always say that natural food is the best.”
Several customers came to the stall to reserve a chicken as offerings for Chungyuan Pu Tu. Mr. Zhang quickly turned around to jot a note on the calendar on the wall. He’d written down the requirements of each customer with a marker. Mrs. A-Jiao said that the calendar is their order book. To tear the calendar every morning is their daily ritual, and it is also a good way to confirm the workload of the day.
“In the past, I used to cook more than one hundred chickens a day! Now we rarely receive orders for catering purposes. We used to have such orders every day more than ten years ago.” Now people’s eating habits have changed, so the ecology of the traditional markets is changing as well. “Now, we’re pleased as long as someone orders chicken.”
Chicken running in childhood
“When we were fifteen or sixteen, we had to go out to work. We used to sell live chickens. We would use a traditional weighing scale. Have you ever seen one? We would use that scale and sell chicken door by door.”
“I have been selling chicken for so many years, so I can tell which chicken is delicious by observing how they run.” As a farmer’s child, Mrs. A-Jiao followed her parents to farms and streets since she was a child. The farming experience enriched her childhood memories. She was often chased by chickens and ducks when she was little. “I used to kick the shuttlecock when I was a child, and if I saw a beautiful feather from a rooster’s tail, I would pull it off and make a shuttlecock!”
“I got married at the age of twenty and worked in the market for almost fifty-five years now. My husband is a duck farmer, and his seven brothers are all working in the traditional markets in Hualien, such as Fuxing Market and others. Some of them sell chickens and some sell ducks. The eldest brother is managing the pork business.”
The golden years of the traditional market
“The young generation nowadays will seek jobs in other counties and cities. There are more markets and supermarkets, so the crowds are scattered.” In the past, Hualien Railway Station was next to Fuxing Market, which was formerly known as the “Comprehensive Market.” It was the golden years of the traditional market. “The business at the current Fuxing Market has been much worse. In the past, people would queue up from 7 o'clock in the morning, because local mothers woke up very early.”
“At that time, the provost marshal office would send soldiers to buy vegetables. They always came in one regiment or one company. They would order so many chickens at one time, I must keep chopping to provide them with a sufficient amount of chicken.” The business opportunities brought by the army regiment gradually faded after the procurement policy was revised. “Now you must bid on the government’s contract. It is usually quite competitive, so we gave up.”
“We were ambitious when we were young. Now that we are older, we consider selling chicken a kind of exercise. To live is to move!”
Semi-retired daily life in the neighborhood
During the conversation, an old lady drove a scooter slowly towards the chicken stall.
“I want two chickens. My son said your chicken is the most delicious.”
“Thank you for your compliment.”
“My son loves the chicken from your stall. I must come to buy one for him.”
“I can tell you love your son very much.”
The madams laughed together. When the customer packed the big bag of chicken and went home happily, Mrs. A-Jiao said, “if the customer likes our chicken, they will visit our stall again. The madam said that her son likes our chicken which was pleasing to hear. Both good and bad words spread quickly when doing business at a local market."
"I am now semi-retired. When it's almost nine o'clock, my son will send the two of us back home first. He will stay at the stall by himself, so we can relax.” Recalling the golden years of the traditional market, Mrs. A-Jiao, who has spent most of her life in the market, sighed. She said, “after the Hualien earthquake more than two years ago, the restaurants closed down one by one... the economy has not been as good as before ever since. The times are different now.”
Times are changing, and our life still goes on. The friendship between neighbors and vendors is even more precious now. “Sometimes the pork sellers nearby will recommend our chicken to the customers. After spending so much time in the market, we all became good friends, we’re even closer than our own family members.”
The traditional market went through half a century, some sceneries have changed, but some things have never changed. Looking at the pedestrians coming and going, Mrs. A-Jiao smiled, “the only thing that matters is to be true to yourself. No matter what happens, your life must go on!”