by Ryan (Note: This interview was conducted mainly in Chinese and translated to English for the article. Thank you to my friends, who have chosen to remain anonymous, for being live translators when I stumbled on my Chinese.) NTU’s food vendors quite literally fuel the school. They toil from dawn to dusk, preparing and serving food to students and teachers alike, providing them with the energy for the days’ classes, studying, club activities, and whatever else one might be up to. These vendors are a constant throughout our time here – one that we often take for granted. Yes, their primary purpose in the school may be to serve us food and earn money, but that should not make us overlook the fact that they also have names, lives, stories, triumphs, and struggles. In this article, we sit down with Bai Shang-yong, owner of one of my favourite food spots in the school: Shao Bao (稍飽), or Soulba, as it is known in English. He tells a moving story of how he came to be a food vendor in NTU, his experiences, both the good and the bad, of working here for almost seven years, and gives us a glimpse of his life outside of work, and his plans for the future. Soulba is located behind the Xinsheng Lecture Building, overlooking the scenic Drunken Moon Lake. It operates from 9:00am-7:00pm, selling a wide array of rice bowls with meat, fried snacks like hashbrowns, and drinks like milk tea and coffee. I arrived there at about 2pm on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon to request an interview with Shang-yong. He enthusiastically accepted, but asked that I wait a moment while he settled something in the stand. The midday lunch rush may have passed, but Shang-yong and his employees remain hard at work: clearing trash from the overflowing waste bins, taking inventory, discussing procedures to improve efficiency, and taking the occasional order. In the meantime, I wander around the seating area and ask customers what they think of the stand. Some are regulars, who rave about the food’s quality and tranquil ambience. After a couple minutes, Shang-yong emerges from his stand and sits outside with me, and we begin our conversation. Origins Shang-yong comes from a family of food vendors, but he joined the trade rather late. He began his independent food venture with Soulba 6 years ago at the age of 32 mainly out of love for his grandmother, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year after a long battle with cancer. Shang-yong grew up without parents, and his grandmother (who was a food vendor herself) raised him like he was her own child. NTU initially approached some of his other family members to open a stall in the school, but negotiations stalled in the final week. Shang-yong decided to take the leap and start his own food business to prove to her that he could live up to the family legacy. “It was a rocky start, I didn’t even think I would last half a year.” Shang-yong recounts. But 6 years on, Soulba is one of the hottest stalls in NTU, and I am sure his grandmother his looking down on him smiling. A Day in the Life A typical work day for Shang-yong begins with leaving home around 7:00am and arriving at his stand before it opens at 9:00am. Once he gets there, he and his staff begin to prepare the day’s meals – grilling meats, chopping up vegetables, cooking rice etc. The team prepares between 300-400 meals each day, of which most go to students and the school’s staff of course, but some are reserved for Shang-yong and his team. “I have been eating my own food every single work day for the entire time I’ve been here!”, Shao-yong says with a hearty laugh, “My favourite is the garlic pork belly rice.” Soulba almost always sells out at the end of the day, but the occasional 5-6 bowls that remain will be taken home by the staff to enjoy for dinner. 11:30am-1:00pm marks the beginning of the lunch rush, and team Soulba goes into overdrive. Two employees each take a pushcart and several prepared meals to bring to Putong Lecture Building and the Social Sciences department, while Shang-yong holds down the fort. “These push carts are vital to Soulba,” Shang-yong stresses, “We would probably not be able to survive without them.” 2:00pm-5:00pm is when things start to slow down, but that does not mean they can kick their feet up. Shang-yong and his employees are still busy with taking inventory, dealing with new stocks, and most dreaded of all: cleaning. Soulba’s picturesque location is both a blessing and a curse. Its peaceful atmosphere may play a part in attracting customers, but it also brings some unwanted guests: birds, geese, and ducks, who often defecate on Soulba’s grounds. People can be a nuisance too, as students and teachers alike will sometimes dump their own trash into the stand’s waste bins and cause them to overflow. A lot of time is hence spent tidying up the area – both out of a sense of personal duty, but also for fear of risking a fine. Shang-yong is caught between two managements in the school – one of which dictates that he only has to ensure that his stall is maintained properly, and another that deems the entire area around it to be his responsibility as well. The latter threatens to give him a hefty fine should they deem the area not up to par whenever they carry out an inspection. When asked if he feels this is unfair, Shang-yong heaves a sigh and replies “It’s annoying having to answer to these two managements who don’t communicate with each other, but it is what it is. It’s important to maintain a comfortable and hygienic eating environment for customers anyway.” The dinner crowd rolls in again around 5:00pm-7:00pm, and the team kicks back into high gear. However, even after closing ours Shang-yong still has to stick around to tidy up and ensure things are in order for the next day. He typically leaves around 10:00pm, sometimes later. The Good Running Soulba is certainly no easy feat, but Shang-yong still treasures the experiences he has gained from it. Other than making his grandmother proud and the resilience that he has developed from it, Shang-yong values the students which he serves. “I have stayed in Taiwan my whole life, but sometimes I feel like I have seen the world by talking with all these international students. It helps me practice my English too!” Shang-yong even ends up becoming friends with some of his regulars. He recalls a story of his first year running Soulba, where he spotted a crying student sitting by Drunken Moon Lake, looking like they were about to jump in. He dropped what he was doing and sat by their side to console them, and 5 years later they are still friends and remain in contact. “It is very sad when the friends I have made graduate and I no longer see them as much, but it always makes my day when they come back to visit!” The Future Unfortunately, Soulba’s contract expires at the end of this year with no option of renewal, so Shang-yong will have no choice but to leave the school. “I don’t mind though, since I mainly started Soulba to prove to my grandmother that I could run a food business. Now that she has passed away, I think it’s a good time to stop.” Shang-yong plans to take some time to rest after his seventh and final year. Running Soulba has been a rewarding yet weary process, and Shang-yong does not actually profit much from it despite its flourishing business. Profit margins are low due to rising ingredient costs and having to pay his workers’ salaries. Most of what he has made from Soulba has also gone to his grandmother’s cancer treatment over the past couple years. Shang-yong has much to keep him occupied in the meantime though –his hobby of rearing various reptiles, frogs, fish, and other animals. He takes care of over a hundred creatures of various species, all documented on his YouTube channel FERRET WONDERLAND which currently sits at 160,000 subscribers and over 13 million channel views. “There are so many of them that I can’t give them names because I won’t be able to remember them all!” Shang-yong chuckles as he eagerly shows me a video. The channel began in 2020, and is a joint project between him and his friend. It started off as a fun hobby but grew into an actual source of income with Shang-yong making money off ad revenue, sponsors, and selling some of the creatures he breeds.
Shang-yong also hopes to use this break to improve his English so that he may one day join his friend in the Philippines to begin yet another food venture. “My friend thinks my food would sell really well over there, but I have to work on my English so that I can properly communicate with the people,” Shang-yong says with a glimmer in his eyes. Closing Words I went into this interview looking for a story, but I came away with a friend. I hope this can remind us of the people and lives behind the hands which serve us food every day, and better appreciate them. I am sure even just learning their names will brighten up their day, maybe you could even have a quick chat with them if they are not too busy. There is less than 3 months before Shang-yong and Soulba leaves the school, so maybe pay them a visit if you have not already. Be sure to try the garlic pork belly rice! a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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