Zhao-Wei grew up in Fuxing. Apart from attending university in Taichung, he has always lived on Zhanglu Road.
“It feels like Fuxing hasn’t changed much over the past 30 years—maybe just a few more factories. The street view along Zhanglu Road looks pretty much the same.” “There aren’t really any local markets here, so I usually go to Lukang for daily needs.”
Zhao-Wei quit his previous job and returned home to take up farming, mainly because he wanted more control over his time, and his family happened to have land available. His parents supported the decision and joined in. As of this September, it has been three years since he started.

“I knew the risks were high, so I decided to start from scratch,” he said. “I asked a lot of experienced farmers, and mentally prepared for setbacks—then worked to improve gradually.” Last fall, due to soil problems, all 2,300 of his Galia melons were lost right before harvest. “The harvest window for Galia melons is only one week, so you have to be proactive—start taking pre-orders two weeks ahead. You can only harvest three times a year.”
“Losing over 50% of your melons before harvest is common. Almost every melon farmer faces this.”
“We do have a customer base, but we have to meet their quality standards, provide lab reports, and more.”

To improve his techniques, Zhao-Wei actively participated in farmer training programs and exchanged ideas with other growers. He also used remote control systems to manage greenhouse conditions via his phone. “But I can’t rely solely on computers—I still ask my parents to check in person.”
In his first year, as a perfectionist, Zhao-Wei even adjusted the angle of every single leaf to avoid overlap. “But that was too much—spending an extra five or six hours a day. I don’t do that anymore.”

During the first two years, his income didn’t break even. “After losing all 2,300 melons last year, I had to replace all the soil, which meant over eight months without income.” However, with improved skills and a growing customer base, he’s hoping to break even this year. “But you never know. You can’t feel at ease until the moment you cut the fruit—it might crack the day before.”
“When I wanted to buy high-end seeds before, the supplier refused to sell them to me—worried I was too inexperienced to handle the risk.”
“The key is to grow beautiful melons and increase the success rate.”
“Because our products are high-priced, it’s hard to sell online. Most of our sales are done over the phone or through word-of-mouth.”

In addition to farming, Zhao-Wei has started planning food and farming education. He’s set to collaborate with Rixin Elementary School in Fuxing to give students a hands-on greenhouse experience. After reopening this year, Zhao-Wei also took on the role of president of the Fuxing Young Farmers Association and partnered with NCCU’s 50+1 initiative to expand sales. He looks forward to creating more possibilities together with Fuxing’s young farmers.

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