By making a record of Hsiyu's folk customs and the coastal marine life that he had seen over the course of his life, "I can at least let my children and grandchildren know what Hsiyu was like in their grandfather's time; what there was of interest here." In this way, in a quagmire of doubts about the meaning of life, the middle-aged Hong Min-tsung made a new start.
把在西嶼這四十年所經歷的民俗習慣，或是討生活時在海邊所見過的水產都記錄下來，「至少可以讓我的孩子或孫子們知道，在他爺爺那個時代西嶼是什麼樣子，有什麼有趣的事情」，就這樣一個四十多歲的中年人，一個生命的疑問，開始了洪敏聰生涯的另一頁。