China News Service, Nanning, March 24th: Title: Taiwanese businessman Zhang Zhongyi’s "Tongue Story": Efforts to transplant Taiwanese cuisine to Nanning
Author Jiang Xuelin Li Weidong
"I have been working in Nanning, Guangxi for 20 years. I have always wanted to transplant Taiwanese food to Nanning. I have been working hard to do this well." Taiwanese businessman Zhang Zhongyi said in an interview with reporters recently.
Zhang Zhongyi came to Dongguan, Guangdong in 1994 to work hard. In 2003, he went west to Nanning, Guangxi with a Taiwanese company. He initially opened a food processing factory covering an area of more than 5,000 square meters in Cha Road, Nanning City, producing sausages, tribute balls, and pearls for pearl milk tea.
"Unexpectedly, due to the sharp drop in the pearl market and the increase in the price of starch, the raw material used to make pearls, the factory only lasted for one year and could no longer continue." Zhang Zhongyi said.
On March 22, Zhang Zhongyi and Ye Qiuhong were packing sausages. Photo by reporter Jiang Xuelin
A bad start in Nanning did not affect Zhang Zhongyi's determination to start a business. After he sold the factory, he built a food processing factory in Quangang Industrial Park, Jiangnan District, Nanning City, specializing in making sausages, tribute balls and rice dumplings.
Zhang Zhongyi told reporters that the food he processes focuses on Taiwanese flavor. The sausages use Taiwanese craftsmanship, and the spices come from Taiwan. The products are mainly supplied to shops that make Taiwanese delicacies such as braised pork rice, and are also sold through wholesalers to Liuzhou, Guilin, Guigang, Qinzhou, Beihai and other places in Guangxi.
"People in Nanning like to eat barbecue, but because we use fresh pork for processing sausages, the production cost is high. Roadside barbecue stalls are not suitable for the sales of our products. Most of our products are supplied to restaurants." Zhang Zhongyi said that some high-end customers , after buying our sausages in a physical store, you can place an order directly with us through the QR code on the packaging bag. This past Spring Festival, sausages, meatballs and rice dumplings all sold well.
After years of hard work, Zhang Zhongyi has established a firm foothold in Nanning. His products are gradually opening up the market. What makes Zhang Zhongyi most happy is that he found love across the strait in Nanning. At a party, Zhang Zhongyi met his wife Ye Qiuhong, who was working as a planner in a media unit in Guangxi. After going back and forth, Zhang Zhongyi finally won Ye Qiuhong's heart.
On March 22, Ye Qiuhong was packaging sausages. Photo by reporter Jiang Xuelin
Zhang Zhongyi, who fell in love across the sea, has been working in Nanning for 20 years, and his wife Ye Qiuhong has become an indispensable helper in his business. He has become accustomed to life in Nanning and likes the pace of life in this city. "In order to further expand the market, we have innovated our products. After the Spring Festival this year, we added a variety of flavors to the Taiwanese sausages we made, and introduced snail powder-flavored and huangpiguo-flavored sausages integrating Guangxi characteristics."
Zhang Zhongyi, who has integrated into the life of Nanning, has left many good memories of his entrepreneurial experience in Nanning with the delicious food with the brand of southern Taiwan. He is satisfied with his life in Nanning. His wife and children have allowed him to write the memories of his life into the memory of this city. "I like life in Nanning. I rarely go back to Taiwan now." Zhang Zhongyi said that prices here are cheaper than in Taiwan, there are more business opportunities than in Taiwan, and life in all aspects is not worse than in Taiwan.
After leaving Taiwan for decades, Zhang Zhongyi is not as familiar with Taiwan as Nanning. In Nanning, he loved eating rice noodles with raw pig's feet. When he returned to Taiwan, this living habit would change. "I would like to live in Nanning forever." Zhang Zhongyi said. (over)