For the past 60 years, a durian seller has been plying his trade at the intersection of Short Street and Albert Street.

Back in the day, 91-year-old Zhang Wende (transliteration) used to run a fruit business at Albert Street, reported Shin Min Daily News. He eventually started selling durians after obtaining a street hawking licence.

When a reporter from the Chinese evening daily recently visited his stall, Wende was seen selecting and cutting open durians for a customer.

Despite his age, the elderly man was reported to be skillful and nimble. He was in charge of handling the durians while another woman was manning the cashier and packaging the fruits.

Wende told Shin Min that he has been selling fruits for around 60 years but professed that is difficult to answer questions as he is hard of hearing.

His eldest daughter, Zhang Meiying (transliteration), told the Chinese paper that her father opens shop at around 11am and only closes at around 10pm.

"Except for the monsoon season when there's heavy rain, the stall is usually open for business," said the 68-year-old retiree.

She revealed that her father usually rides an e-bike at home to stretch his muscles and has no problem moving around his stall. However, it does get taxing for him to walk for a long time.

"He typically uses a wheelchair to get around. We live nearby, so I will push him here to open the stall. He also suffers from hyperlipidaemia, hypertension and hyperglycaemia, and needs to take medication regularly," said Meiying.

Business relies on word of mouth

Since her retirement 16 years ago, Meiying and her younger brother would help at their father's stall.

"The government is promoting active ageing, but he dislikes attending community activities. Continuing to work at the stall can also help pass time," explained Meiying.

"I can help at the stall while taking care of him. He can continue working until he wishes to stop. I won't tell him to retire."

Durians sold at the stall are imported from Malaysia, with the Musang King durians going for $18 per kg and the Red Prawn durians going for $14 per kg.

The business does not provide delivery services and relies on word of mouth from regular customers who are mostly Rochor residents.

A regular customer surnamed Zhang was spotted purchasing more than 10kg of Musang King and Red Prawn durians for around $175.

She told Shin Min that she would buy several boxes of durians to share with her family every time she visits the stall.

"The quality and taste of durians here are good. I also noticed that the boss is old, but still strong and continuing to work, so I want to support him."

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com

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