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Even at the ripe old age of 90 years old, one Singaporean man insists on tending to this humble stall hawking fresh tau kwa (firm beancurd) daily.
Started selling tau kwa since young
Liu Zhenhe's (transliteration from Chinese) affinity with tau kwa started from when he was a young boy, according to Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News (SMDN).
Image from Shin Min Daily News/Facebook.
Liu was born in 1932 and grew up under impoverished conditions.
This, coupled with the Second World War, meant Liu did not receive much education.
As a result, he decided to follow in his mother's footsteps and entered the tau kwa trade at a young age. His mother worked at a tau kwa factory while he would go door-to-door to deliver the tau kwa that was produced.
At the same time, Liu would also resell the beancurd and noodles he had bought to rake in some extra cash.
Began making own tau kwa
However, this all came crashing down when the factory decided to halt operations and the mother-son duo found themselves without a job.
Despite this, Liu and his mother were determined to stay within the trade. They decided to make their own tau kwa and purchased stone mills and soybeans.
Their decision, and homemade tau kwa, were met with great success and business began to boom for the pair.
Liu and his mother were able to upgrade and expand their operations from a small delivery bicycle to peddling their goods out of a small delivery lorry.
When his kampung was phased out, Liu, 43-year-old then, decided to set up shop selling his homemade tau kwa at Ang Mo Kio 628 Market and Food Centre.
Shows up at stall daily at 1am
In fact, he has been doing so from the same spot for the past 47 years, nearly half a century, although he no longer makes his own tau kwa.
At the age of 90, Liu now co-runs the stall with his youngest son, Liu Hongnan (transliteration from Chinese), 56, but he refuses to retire and be idle.
The spritely old man still shows up at his stall every day at 1am without fail.
He would help to prepare the stall for its opening and with other simple tasks that are less physically demanding.
SMDN reported that Liu is a first generation hawker at Ang Mo Kio 628 Market and Food Centre, where he is one of the oldest stall owners.
Image from Shin Min Daily News/Facebook.
Other spritely old folks
Top image from Shin Min Daily News/Facebook