A National Taiwan University graduate student took a leave of absence to sell oysters; being an oyster guy is actually not hard

The Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed, and many people have enjoyed a lavish Mid-Autumn barbecue feast, but for 29-year-old Huang Yicheng, known as the "Oyster Man," charcoal smoke has long been the most familiar scent in his life. Four years ago, he dropped out of graduate school at National Taiwan University and returned to Qigu, Tainan, to take over the family oyster-farming business, and he even started selling grilled fresh oysters at night markets. The Tainan City Government Tourism Bureau adapted his story into a short film, "Oyster Man, Not Hard," which will have its premiere the day after tomorrow.

In recent years, one grilled fresh oyster stall after another has appeared in night markets, and besides advertising their fresh, in-shell oysters, they often display the words "Oyster Man." This is not the fictional cartoon character "Conan," but the real young oyster farmer Huang Yicheng, who farms oysters in Qigu, Tainan.

"You can tell how cooked the oysters are by looking at the surface; when the water inside the shell has reduced by half, they are about ready to serve," Huang Yicheng says under a blue sign reading "Oyster Man Grilled Fresh Oysters" that is steeped in maritime flavor. He skillfully pries open an oyster shell, revealing a plump oyster the size of a thumb inside. "Keeping the shell on means the oyster inside is still alive and at its freshest."

In the bustling Shanhua Night Market, Huang Yicheng busily turns the oyster shells over the charcoal fire. Even though he is already wearing two layers of gloves, because he has no time to change them, the scalding juices dripping from the shells occasionally seep through and burn his skin. The spare ice water beside him seems useless amid the never-ending stream of night market crowds.