The farmers were operating on slim margins, and a single typhoon or an overabundant harvest could put them into the red. In a piece called "Take It If You Dare," he describes how some farmers switched their crops from rice to spices for betel-nut. Profits from growing the spices for two or three years could be greater than those from growing rice for a lifetime.
〈敢的拿去吃〉一文，則敘述農民為了逐利，將稻田改種「荖花仔」（可夾在檳榔實中做調味料），而且一分地荖花仔的三、兩年收入，竟比一輩子種一、兩甲稻田獲利還多。