Unable to make ends meet on the mountain, Hong went back to Tainan to run a pharmacy in 1965, using the proceeds to keep the homestead project afloat.
1965 年，香港新約教會傳佈到台灣之際，洪以利亞因山上放牧耕種入不敷出，只好回台南老家經營西藥房，以維持山上經營。