![]() Her parents still own one parcel of the original 50 acres. Over the years they grew a variety of Asian vegetables, leased more land and eventually retired. Her memories of crops growing on their farm include cucumbers, snow peas and garlic chives. Even though no one in the family had farmed in Taiwan, Ku’s parents purchased 50 acres. Then they moved to Bakersfield when she was five years old to start a family farm. Ku’s family eventually moved to Southern California in the 1980s and settled in Rowland Heights. Pine is a symbol for longevity and endurance,” she explains. “It is a very apt logo for a noodle company because it meant if you ate their noodles, you would enjoy a long life. A cousin designed their logo by drawing a picture of an old man under a pine tree with a crane flying over it. Her grandfather would sell fresh and dried noodles wrapped in paper at the market and to restaurants. They don't remember him resting ever or having time for himself.” More importantly, Ku recalls that “he always talked about how important it was to use the best ingredients and not taking any shortcuts when you made the noodles. He was very much about doing things the right way even if it takes forever, which I hope I carry to this day.” ![]() He would go to his day job and run the noodle business. He was very thorough and very hardworking. “They always talked about how my grandfather did things,” she continues, “He was not very fast. “My mom and my uncle were able to have a better childhood because of it,” says Ku. When her grandfather discovered how much electricity it took to make tofu, he switched his operation to noodles, a popular ingredient in his country of origin. Ku’s grandfather worked tirelessly at his craft. “My grandfather had a job during the day, but just to make some extra money the side family business at first made tofu,” says Ku. They lost all of their land and money and had to start from scratch. In 1949, Ku’s grandparents fled the civil war in China for Taiwan.
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