What should you do if you catch a cold? These response methods are worth knowing

Market days are truly a whirlwind of activity. In a single morning I weave through one stall after another, finding out what produce the farmers have on their tables right now (so I can photograph it for promotion), finding out what they will have in the coming weeks (also for promotion), or introducing new customers to the stalls. I go from one stall to the next, and aside from talking about organic produce, I really seldom chat or gossip with the farmers, until I caught a cold and my whole pace slowed down. When the farmers saw that I had a cold, it was as if they were seeing their own child fall ill; they all hurriedly called me over. Below I describe the conversations I had at each stall, one by one:

(By the way, if any of you catch a cold, please still follow the proper medical steps! Do not believe in folk remedies!)

Ruhong Organic Farm - PeiChi has a cold! Vinegar is the best thing to drink; vinegar can disinfect, and once the bacteria and viruses are all dead, gone. As the auntie spoke, she diluted a cup of vinegar and ”pushed” it right up to my lips, meaning I should drink it right away, no question about it, and only after finishing it could I leave; otherwise I was not allowed to go. After drinking a cup of vinegar, I moved on to the next stall…………

Shengyuan Organic Farm - PeiChi has a cold! Here, take this turmeric powder. The big brother ”pushed” the turmeric powder at me, and I quickly refused. In this back-and-forth, the big brother kept ”pushing” while starting to talk about the benefits of turmeric powder, completely drowning out my voice: turmeric powder contains curcumin, which is a natural disinfectant……………………. (You can find plenty of articles on Google describing how great turmeric powder is!) Then the big brother took the opportunity to stuff a jar of turmeric powder into my bag. I wanted to pay, but the big brother said: We are all family here, no need to pay!!! (Truly so heartwarming!!!)

Xingmu Tong Red Guava Vegetable and Fruit Orchard - It happened that, that week, the big brother at the stall was promoting ”dried red guava.” As soon as the farmer heard I had a cold, he told me to open a pack myself and steep it in hot water to drink (again, family, so no need to pay????). Big Brother Qiu said: Dried red guava contains tannic acid, which can disinfect, so just steep it and drink it as water!………. A quick plug here for dried red guava: it really is very tasty, with tannic acid giving it a pleasant bittersweet sweetness. It is really delicious!

The story is not over yet….

After the farmers chatted…… and shared cold remedies, another stall found out I had a cold! So then……..

Xuanju Organic Farm - Big Sister Fang did not run into me at the stall, so she came looking for me herself. She even brought over a cup of houttuynia tea that had been brewed for customers to sample, and told me to ”drink” this, that it can boost immunity and is a natural disinfectant! Drink up~ drink up~ (Big Sister insisted I had to drink it, and I really could not bear to refuse her. Oh my, it was super bitter………. Houttuynia tea is so bitter, I frowned!), and when packing up the stall, Big Sister even came over to ask if I wanted to take some houttuynia home to brew (shocking!).

I really have to praise the market's ”human warmth” to the skies. With this ingredient in the cold treatment, sure enough the cold got better especially fast. That is the end of the introductions; these are my market power-ups!

Everyone is welcome to come stroll through the MIT market at Chung Hsing University on Sunday mornings~

Unlike ordinary organic stores or big-box stores, as soon as you walk past and see a vegetable you do not recognize and take one extra glance, all kinds of vegetables and fruits start to speak up, and the farmers will introduce the name of the vegetable, the growing process, what nutrition it has, how to cook it………., and what fills this place is interaction and mutual trust between people.

Attached is a picture from last year when the market held a charity sale for its anniversary, and the market committee members donated works for the charity sale. It really is people together with people, so many people, so much human warmth!