The Daily Life of Collecting Wild Vegetables Casually
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Wild Vegetables Casually
#ChongqingMarket
Text/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan
Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun
Photography/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan
In the late autumn afternoon, at the foot of Nanhua's mountain, the thin water mist covered the trees after a light rain.
“These few plants that you see with many colors are Sesbania flowers. The big plant next to it is Pacilo, and that cluster is Pandan. The season of Telosma cordata flower buds is almost over now. The round and colorful ones are Thai eggplants, and next to them are the world's hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper.“ Brother Liang walked between the farmland, casually introducing his own crops. “An-An wants to grow Cha-om, so we just plant them."
By the side of the farmland, the Lu couple, who had just harvested the white Sesbania flowers, started the truck and set out to collect wild vegetables.
“We grow some vegetables especially for the night market, such as these golden berries. It tastes special, so I plant them."
We grow whatever people prefer to have in the night markets
"We mainly specialize in wild vegetables for night markets and seafood restaurants. We will grow whatever people prefer to have in the night markets.”
Colorful vegetables from Southeast Asia are scattered around the farmland randomly, with a few common Taiwanese vegetables interspersed among them.
It constructs an idyllic landscape that relies on the farmers interests’ and sales in the market.
“Stir-fried restaurants in tourist night markets prefer offering rarer vegetables. If you travel to other counties and cities, would you eat cabbage and water spinach? You would want to try something weird right?” Brother Liang continued saying, “Some customers find it special, and they will buy some home to try.”
“Many Thai people will come to us and buy vegetables for making some hometown dishes such as green curry and Tom Yum soup. Now night markets and seafood restaurants also started to offer different vegetables, so Taiwanese customers are beginning to know about these plants.”
If you’re gonna grow vegetables, grow something special
d“This is the ‘Swan Gourd.’ We plant it in March or April every year. It’s nearly the end of the season now, so they are already old swans. I will knock it on and get the seeds.”
Many seeds are scattered from the dark brown swan gourd.
“I plant all these vegetables by myself.” Brother Liang picked up the little swan gourd on the ground and said: “I am a retired civil servant of the Central Bank. If I have nothing to do, I’m prone to ageing. So, I found something interesting to do.”
In the second half of his life, Brother Liang switched from financial inspections to a vast world of planting. He planted interesting vegetables to enrich his life: "If you want to plant, you have to plant something special, like the world's hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper.”
"Lemon leaves can make Thai Tom Yum soup. South East Asian restaurants will need them, but we don't have much. Its germination rate is low. I'm trying to see whether it could survive cuttings or not.”
Brother Liang brought the seedling tray to the side of the farm, and focused on choosing healthy sea beet seedlings. “An-An and the others will go out to pick wild vegetables. I prefer to grow vegetables on the farm. As long as you’re patient and passionate, it won’t be difficult. There are too many to learn. You just need to concentrate on one task at a time.”
Burmese farmers walking through the mountains and wilds of Hualien
“It was better when there was a job with a fixed salary. Now there is no fixed income when I work in the Chongqing Market. I’m getting older now, and I often have pain here and there, and my body becomes very unhealthy.” In the past, Meily used to work in the marble field, and also has owned a Thai cuisine restaurant and KTV, but after the restaurant closed down, she could only work as an employee in a cheap Chinese style restaurant. “My previous Thai kitchen and KTV had to shut down, because there was not enough income. When I receive less than 2000 NTD per day, it’s out of balance to keep a store.”
When Meily was working in the cheap Chinese style restaurant, she had a good income since she worked from morning to night, and she was also loved by the boss. “I work efficiently! I can move spontaneously according to the needs of the moment. In the past, the night market was crowded and there was no way to walk, but after the pandemic, there was no one here anymore. I can make all the foods, such as: grilled flying fish, grilled panjia, grilled sausages, or stir-fried mixed wild vegetables. The boss also asked me to make lemongrass fish. I am very good at garnishing. But after the epidemic entered Taiwan, I was asked to leave the job.” Fortunately, Meily continuously worked as a self-employed farmer a few years ago, so even if she suddenly lost her job, which she did, she could still go to the Chongqing Market to sell vegetables and maintain a stable life.
In addition to the hardships coming from the business and the relationships, the sudden loss of a family member in Thailand was one of the greatest sufferings for her. “When my child died, he was only 23 years old. Originally, he was working in Taiwan. Soon after returning to Thailand, he was tested and had poisoned blood flowing to his head. Finally, he passed away. Before that time, my third child had called me and told me that he was hospitalized. I went directly to Taipei. My sister’s daughter bought me a plane ticket for me to fly back to Thailand.” After the child was buried in Thailand, Meily returned to Taiwan to work, but because she was too sad, she could barely remember the location of her house each day as she would go home.
Two benefactors
This Burmese sister’s fate with the farm comes from a colleague who is familiar with her husband. “This landlord and my husband work in the same iron factory. He said that his land is spacious but leaves uncultivated, so he asked me if I was interested in taking care of the farm, probably planting some vegetables. You usually had to spend a lot of money on managing a farm a year, but he didn't ask me to pay the rent. He is definitely my benefactor!”
The sound of rain outside became louder. Lu Xiao-Er pulled a chair and opened a bag of sesame biscuits. “Brother Liang comes to help me again. He grows a lot of vegetables for me to sell. These two people have helped me a lot."
We became partner since we get along together
“We have always been selling vegetables in the Chongqing market. The landlord plants dragon fruit himself, and we also sell his dragon fruit."
As for how these two partners with complementary personalities and similar philosophy of work met?
“Well… it was a long time ago. We can’t remember.”
“If you stay at the market long enough, you will get to know each other. If you can get along, you can become great partners.” Brother Liang waved his hand and took a sip of his coffee.