Xialun Yam Barbecue Sweet Potato Introduction
Tsai Yau-tian (born in 1934) is a farmer who sells sweet potato vines (seedlings) to local farmers for planting. The Tsai brothers did not want to inherit the family business, so the eldest brother, Tsai Chen-tsun (born in 1964), went to the north to open a restaurant, while the second brother, Tsai Chen-hsiung (born in 1965), opened a supermarket in Kouhu. The restaurant did not perform well and eventually closed down. Tsai Chen-tsun thought of the sweet potatoes from his childhood and started selling them at the Linjiang Traditional Market, with supplies provided by Tsai Chen-hsiung who stayed in their hometown. Surprisingly, the business was very good, though the profits were not high. After selling them for a while, he switched to selling charcoal-grilled sweet potatoes, which became a hit, leading to the creation of a registered trademark "Tuo Bo Shu Charcoal-Grilled Sweet Potatoes." In addition to supplying his brother Tsai Chen-tsun with sweet potatoes, Tsai Chen-hsiung also became a supplier for more than ten charcoal-grilled sweet potato sellers in the northern region. In 2003, he closed his supermarket business to focus on sweet potato supply and also began selling charcoal-grilled sweet potatoes himself, with his brother's consent, branding it as "Tuo Bo Shu Charcoal-Grilled Sweet Potatoes," achieving success in the Hsialun area. Tsai Chen-hsiung sources his sweet potatoes from two places; primarily from Yunlin, but when the local supply is low in September and October, he purchases them from the mountainous areas in central Taiwan, where they are planted in March and April, ready for harvest in September and October.
