Wild Boar Loquats are still tender without pesticides, and he gets up at three in the morning to give it his all

In Xinshe, Taichung, at a place where a bus stop sign is named "Cold Weather" and the surroundings are shrouded in mysterious swirling mist and clouds, there is a couple who pour all their heart and passion into growing loquats. They grow loquats without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, so natural that even wild boars know to pick them to eat. But the couple's easygoing nature and their belief in thriving together with nature did not stop the wild boars' greediness. They even had a flash of inspiration and simply named them "Wild Boar Loquats"!

Looking out from inside the work shed perched on the mountaintop, loquat trees stretch as far as the eye can see. March and April are exactly the season when loquats bear fruit. Golden and silver paper bags wrap the fruited loquats. Zhan Guirong, the person in charge of Wild Boar Loquats, explains, "That is to make sure the loquat fruit grows up healthy inside." They look like Christmas trees hung with little bells, and the entire Xinshe mountain area is swaying with the blessings sent by loquats.

Fun fact: Is loquat paste made from loquats?

Loquat paste is a household standby used to clear the lungs, relieve coughs, and soothe sore throats, but its main ingredient is loquat leaves, not loquat fruit. Loquat leaves are a medicinal material recorded in the traditional Chinese materia medica. Together with herbs such as Sichuan fritillary, platycodon, and Glehnia root, plus maltose or honey, they can be simmered into loquat paste. Loquat leaves can also be used in formulas such as Xinyi Qingfei Tang and Qingzao Jiufei Tang.