Every Wednesday morning, "Big Wang" of "Big Wang's Vegetable Stand" is ready for the competition. Before dawn, he drives down to the fishermen's market in Qixingtan where he struggles for a spot among the locals and the seafood industry professionals waiting for the fishing boats to come ashore. When a Bobcat loader comes in, the scene begins....

Wang Fuyu, who says he feels "rootsy" when he takes hold of his truck's steering wheel, comes from a Tainan farming family and was studying for a doctorate in urban planning. He worked as a city planner and researcher for many years. He moved to Hualien three years ago, when he was placed in charge of the Eastern Taiwan sustainable development project of National Cheng Kung University's Research and Development Foundation. An avid hiker and beach goer, he's now more familiar with the culture and environment of the place than many locals.

One year ago, he said goodbye to the artificial world of academia and abandoned his doctoral degree candidacy, but remained in Hualien. He decided to "replant" himself in the sort of country lifestyle he remembered from his childhood and at the same time live according to what he'd been planning for villages for years. What he did was open a community-supported organic vegetable stall.

Actually, since he spent so much time in the countryside, Wang already knew most of the organic farmers scattered throughout the valley. More than a year ago, at age 36 he started learning how to work in the fields. He grew familiar with the agricultural industry and learned to go without using chemical pesticides. He even learned the difficult "natural agriculture" methods in which even biological controls are not used. He originally planned to return to farm life with his then-girlfriend Su Liting so they could give the child they were expecting a life close to the soil. But due to his loving and faithful Aquarius personality, he'd bring fresh vegetables for his friends every time he made a trip back from the farm. After a while, word about his vegetables got out.

In early 2008, he opened Big Wang's with the operating principles of "enjoy freshness," "protect nature," and "support farmers." To put these into practice, Wang only works with local organic farmers. A week before he puts out the produce, he releases a list. The day before, he stops taking orders and calls farmers to confirm. Early in the morning on the day, he personally drives a refrigerated truck to the farms and selects freshly picked vegetables. This saves the farmers the trouble of refrigerating and shipping their produce. Wang uses a courier service to deliver orders to some of his customers, while the rest come in to pick their orders for themselves.

For ten months, he, his wife, and two partners have been getting a crash course in accounting, marketing, and shipping. They've also learned from the farmers how to go with the natural flow of things. For example, in spring and summer when bugs chew the vegetables so much that they "look like tennis rackets," the farmers just say to the bugs, "If you want to have a bite, just be clean about it and give us your leftovers." When rains batter the freshly-picked peaches all over the ground, the farmers laugh and say, "It looks like we got a full harvest of fruit jam and fruit vinegar."

One special thing, says Wang, is that it would be a shame to live so close to the ocean and not eat fish, so Big Wang's sells fresh, high-end saltwater fish. Wang has always enjoyed the process of buying fish at the fishermen's market, bringing it home, and cooking it. Sometimes when he's late, the fishmongers will set aside a trevally or a mackerel for him.

Wang's three years of practice at the market and his friendships with the fishmongers are the basis for his fish-selling business. When a hobby turns into a business obligation, it's another story. Wang explains that the fish from the market are fresh and delicious but also inexpensive, so the best ones will be snapped up by the insiders within 15 minutes of arriving onshore. Also, he notes, "Fish are not like vegetables in a field." What kinds of fish will be on sale today? How many will there be? There's no way to know. Because of this, when his luck's in he takes a full truckload back in the morning and takes the afternoon off. Otherwise he has to make several trips.

The indomitable one-man operator Wang calls this little business a "micro-scale social enterprise." He hopes to raise his number of customers to 240 from the current 200 or so. He doesn't want it to get bigger than that. "If there were vegetable sellers everywhere, then there'd be hope for Taiwan's organic agriculture industry," he says. He's happy to share his knowledge of the business with others.

After having seen him buy fish and select beans until the middle of the night one day and then get up early the next to select vegetables, this reporter has to ask: Can this still be considered a "slow lifestyle"?

"You just haven't seen me at a time when I'm free," he says, slowing down for a minute and getting serious. "You have to pay a price for freshness and quality." He provides a new definition for "slow living"-it doesn't mean eating slowly but rather being willing to wait for delicious, fresh, and healthy food. Also, "As a merchant, I have to be quick. The quickness is for the sake of slowness. That's the way to create a happy community."

In order to grasp the true local flavor, Wang Fuyu buys fish every week at the Qixingtan fisherman's market.

Welcome to Big Wang's Vegetable Stand, where you can enjoy a cup of freshly made soy milk as you shop for organic dry goods!