Narrator (2:42)

David serves as an army cook for five years. But then on April 30, 1975, Saigon falls to the North Vietnamese army and suddenly the war is over. The US backed capitalists in the south have lost.

Co-host (2:56)

Now this sets a whole bunch of changes in motion. The communist government takes over, Saigon gets renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. And obviously people have big feelings about.

Narrator (3:06)

All of this, but for David, he's just relieved the war is over. Five years of army life have left him basically broke. He's gotten married to a nurse during the war and they have a baby on the way, which is amazing. But there's a lot of pressure for him to now his growing family.

Co-host (3:21)

Oh yeah.

Narrator (3:22)

Happily, David stayed close to his older brother, the same one he followed to Saigon as a teenager to work in the chemical store. This brother owns some farmland just northeast of the city. And guess what he grows there?

Co-host (3:33)

Alfalfa. Tons of alfalfa. No, it's gotta be chili peppers, right?

Narrator (3:36)

It's jelly peppers. It's chili peppers. David helps his brother farm the chilies and bring the crops to the market. But soon they discover a problem most farmers face on the regular market volatility.

Co-host (3:49)

Market volatilities. Yetis. During harvest season, your crop is everywhere and the price is super low. During scarce times, the price might be high, but you just don't have enough product. And it's exactly this situation that devastated American farms during the Great Depression. And it's why the US government has been paying farm subsidies to farmers since 1933.

Narrator (4:09)

David and his brother don't have the option of subsidies, but they do have a different secret weapon.

Co-host (4:14)

Interesting.

Narrator (4:15)

Thanks to their time working in chemical retail, David knows how to use a couple basic food preservatives.

Co-host (4:20)

Yes.

Narrator (4:21)

Which means he can take their chilies and turn them into a shelf stable, long lasting sauce.

Co-host (4:26)

It's like that scene in every movie, Jack, where like some random character's got a random talent that suddenly saves the end of the day. Like I think that's half the characters in Goonies.

Narrator (4:36)

Yeah, they get past the booby traps because the girl can play the organ. Suddenly, David and his brother are no longer in the chili business. They're in the chili sauce business.

Co-host (4:45)

It's a too long oat startup, which actually means chili Vietnamese.

Narrator (4:50)

But they don't have the means for fresh packaging. The business is so small, so young, so bare bones that they repurpose Gerber baby food jars left behind by American soldiers.

Co-host (5:00)

I'm sorry, Jack. Pause the pod for a moment. David's first Company relied on old used recycled baby food jars from GI Joe.

Narrator (5:08)

That's what I'm saying. And the entire operation becomes a family affair. David's father in law washes the jars and David processes the peppers.

Co-host (5:15)

And Jack, this may be my favorite visual of all. But once the sauce is made, David then delivers it by bicycle to each of the markets throughout his neighborhood.

Narrator (5:25)

You can hear the clink of the baby food jars while he's riding his bike over the potholes.

Co-host (5:30)

Well, after three years in, David's small business is actually a modest success even under communist rule.

Narrator (5:36)

And if life had remained stable for David, we probably wouldn't be talking about it today.

Co-host (5:40)

Good point.

Narrator (5:41)

But then something happens that pushes David hard to make an unthinkable decision. So even as David Tran and his family are building their modest hot sauce business, life in general is getting harder. David and his whole family are of Chinese origin. And though they've been living in Vietnam for generations, the new government is stoking anti Chinese sentiment all across the country.

Co-host (6:02)

For thousands and thousands of Vietnamese people of Chinese descent, rations are now limited. The government starts seizing businesses and seizing assets and forcing people to work as farm laborers. It's horrible.

Narrator (6:17)

David decides enough is enough. So in 1978, he's able to get his wife and kid and then her parents on the refugee boats taking people out of the country. Until finally, months later, it's time for David to join them. Wow, it's December. Dusk is falling over Ho Chi Minh City. David shivers as he steps onto a soot covered bus. Instinctively, he reaches into his pockets to guard his money. Only he's left all his current currency behind. Luckily, he has something more valuable hidden away in his luggage.

Co-host (6:47)

Oh, and it's not a chili sauce recipe. More on that in a bit.

Narrator (6:51)

The bus rumbles away from the city and towards the seaport. He and a handful of other passengers board a tiny little sailboat to escape the country. The small boat is how you get to a much, much bigger boat. A massive Taiwanese owned freighter called the Hui Fong, which means gathering prosperity. But for the 3,000 people aboard the Huy Fong, prosperity seems really far away. The ship is crowded. There aren't enough bathrooms. The rough seas make passengers sick. Everyone is hungry and exhausted. And no one knows exactly where they'll be allowed to dock. So on Christmas Eve 1978, the Huy Fong arrives in Hong Kong. But authorities won't let them dock for almost a month. Oh, they're refugees in a boat with 3,000 people. And they're just Floating Jack.

Co-host (7:42)

I got annoyed at Delta the other day because we were taxing for, like, 13 minutes.

Narrator (7:47)

And then finally, in mid January, they're allowed to disembark.

Co-host (7:50)

Wow.

Narrator (7:50)

Together with thousands of shipmates, they file into a refugee camp in a converted airport. And despite all the hardship, David is thankful his wife and kid have made it to a different refugee camp in Indonesia. And David has one more thing going for him now.

Co-host (8:06)

Yetis, you remember that Jack said a few minutes ago David couldn't take any money with him when he left the country? Right, Jack?

Narrator (8:13)

Yeah, it's true. Yeah.

Co-host (8:15)

In fact, taking more than $10 out of Vietnam was prohibited by the Vietnamese.

Narrator (8:19)

Government, but refugees were allowed to bring food.

Co-host (8:23)

Interesting.

Narrator (8:24)

So David brings a bunch of cans of condensed milk. But if some inspector were to crack open those cans and they wouldn't find any dairy in there, oh, what would.

Co-host (8:33)

They find in those little cans?

Narrator (8:34)

He hid away $20,000 in gold, yetis.

Co-host (8:39)

For context, that's about $90,000 in today's money.

Narrator (8:43)

And David has to sit on this treasure for the next eight months in the camp until he can be reunited with his family. Don't touch those condensed milk cans.

Co-host (8:51)

This guy's a risk taker, but it's a calculated risk. Let's hope it pays off.

Host (9:03)

You just heard a clip from the Sriracha episode of the Best Idea Yet. To hear the full story, follow the Best Idea yet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen early and ad free by joining Wondery. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or spot.