From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming's two branches in Beijing have become two must-visit restaurants for many people in the city within a week of opening.

Moreover, both restaurants have their own delicious dishes that are widely praised.

What surprised many people in the capital the most was that Cao Zhiguo was in charge of the roast duck and Lü Chongshan was in charge of the noodles.

At first, everyone went to both stores, probably because of Feng Zhengming's reputation.

But after trying it out, the two stores became indispensable to the Capital Volkswagen Group.

First of all, Sun Hongcheng is a person who really knows a lot about roast duck, as evidenced by the roast duck at Cao Zhiguo's shop.

He has thoroughly studied the roast duck making skills passed down from his ancestors, especially his grandfather's notebook.

He just hadn't found the right way to do it in the past.

After meeting Feng Zhengming, Feng Zhengming dissected the recipe and taught him how to separate the steps and how to delegate different steps to others, thus ensuring that the secret recipe for roast duck would not be leaked.

Under Feng Zhengming's guidance, Sun Hongcheng quickly mastered the knack of it.

He is now only responsible for the final baking process, leaving all other procedures to his apprentices.

This way, he can be relatively relaxed and the quality of the roast duck can be guaranteed to the greatest extent.

As for Cao Zhiguo, who is in charge of the store, he offers customers both dine-in and takeout options for roast duck.

One method is to follow the traditional Beijing roast duck method, slicing the roast duck into pieces and arranging them on a plate for the customer, or packaging them separately for the customer to take away.

Another, more rustic way to eat it is to chop the roast duck into pieces, bones and all.

The second way to eat it is also the way to eat Nanjing roast duck, which originated in Nanjing.

But Feng Zhengming, along with his fifth senior brother and Sun Hongcheng, made some changes.

They even gave the second way of eating it a very Beijing-style name: Wu Chi (武吃).

This has made it very popular with many tourists from other places.

After all, if you want to eat slices of roast duck, you can find countless restaurants all over Beijing.

You can even find roast duck in some restaurants that aren't traditional roast duck shops.

But at that time, if you were to ask where in Beijing you could find a place that would chop up roast duck into pieces and serve it to you, the only one that would be the branch run by Cao Zhiguo would be this.

This incident was even reported by Beijing TV.

The restaurant owner, a long-established roast duck shop, specifically criticized them in the newspaper.

When faced with these questions, Feng Zhengming responded very directly.

"Tradition is meant to be subverted. Besides, I never said that the roast duck in my restaurant must be the roast duck from Beijing. Couldn't it be Nanjing roast duck? Or a roast duck created in my own Shandong cuisine style?"

Faced with Feng Zhengming's answer, the several stores in Beijing were left speechless.

If the roast duck theme in the branch is a subversion of tradition.

Then Lü Chongshan's noodles have truly become the undisputed king of the capital.

In the past, among all kinds of noodle shops throughout Beijing, none dared to claim that their noodles were the most authentic.

But now that Lü Chongshan has appeared, he has been directly judged by the gourmets of the capital as the most authentic.

It was truly Lü Chongshan's handmade braised noodles that made the gourmets of Beijing crave it every day.

To be honest, this braised noodle dish doesn't seem particularly special.

It's a unique type of braised noodles from Beijing.

However, the unique feature of Beijing-style braised noodles lies in the thickening of the gravy.

The thickening sauce for the gravy needs to be just right—not too thin, but not too thick to stir.

The key is that the broth used for braised noodles needs to be very rich and flavorful.

In the past, there were indeed many good noodle shops in Beijing.

However, in recent years, with the influx of more and more regional cuisines into Beijing, as well as various foreign cuisines, the city has seen a surge in popularity.

This has severely squeezed the market for some of Beijing's original specialty snacks.

Many noodle shops selling braised meat sauce have gradually closed down.

Many gourmets in Beijing who want to enjoy this dish can only make it at home, and naturally, the taste is not quite the same.

Now, with Feng Zhengming's branch, Lü Chongshan's move has reawakened the long-dormant memories of Beijing's gourmets.

No one expected that Feng Zhengming's Shandong cuisine fast food restaurant would have such authentic Beijing-style braised noodles.

In addition to braised noodles, Lü Chongshan also fully demonstrated his cooking skills.

They also cook various different toppings, adding to the options available for noodles at the shop.

Later, Lü Chongshan even learned how to make the toppings for noodles in Jiangsu cuisine.

They launched noodle sets with different toppings.

You can order a variety of toppings, eat the toppings as appetizers first, and then use the toppings to mix with noodles at the end.

At Feng Zhengming's suggestion, Lü Chongshan also launched a free noodle refill service.

As a result, Feng Zhengming's two stores in Beijing quickly became memorable to many people.

Everyone remembered Feng Zhengming's two stores.

This is naturally something that some chefs and restaurant owners in Beijing do not want to see.

Who could have imagined that Feng Zhengming would so easily break into the Beijing market?

The key is that his two stores gained recognition from both locals and visitors in Beijing in just one week.

This is undoubtedly a huge blow to the catering industry in Beijing.

Several restaurant owners in Beijing, who were considered somewhat famous, got together to discuss countermeasures.

"What should we do? They are more famous than you, their skills are better than any chef you've hired, and they can use high-quality ingredients to open a shop at reasonable prices."

"This Feng Zhengming is simply not giving us a way out."

"That's right. With him doing this now, my shop's business has been cut in half."

"The key issue is that he set the price so low; isn't that directly going against us?"

"That's right, why do we open near tourist attractions? Isn't it to make money off tourists?"

“That’s right. Those tourists who come to Beijing, they’re already here for tourism, do they need that little bit of money? Even if we set the price high, they won’t think it’s expensive. They’ll think that’s how it should be in the capital.”

“Now that Feng Zhengming is doing this, it makes it seem like we’re deliberately ripping them off when tourists find out.”

"My store's operating costs are what they are. If I don't price it that high, how am I supposed to survive?"

Most of the business owners in Beijing have opened their shops near some of the city's well-known tourist attractions.

It can be said that they make money by exploiting tourists in scenic areas.

Their vegetable prices are generally much higher than the average price in Beijing.

However, because it's located near various tourist attractions, people who are tired from sightseeing have no other choice.

So the only option is to eat at their restaurant.

However, Feng Zhengming also opened a shop near the tourist attractions, and his prices were much cheaper than theirs in all aspects.

The key issue is that these restaurants, originally located in tourist areas, never considered hiring top-notch chefs.

Naturally, the food served at this restaurant was absolutely terrible.

The service was practically nonexistent. In the past, they had a monopoly near tourist attractions, so they could operate however they wanted.

However, now that Feng Zhengming's branch has appeared, it has quickly become the most popular store near the tourist attraction by making good use of its reputation and the added boost from Feng Zhengming's fame.

This is undoubtedly a huge blow to the restaurant owners near the tourist attractions.

"Alright, tell me, what should we do next?"

"Yes, yes, let's discuss what we should do next."

"What can we do? What else can we do? Do you dare to touch Feng Zhuangyuan's shop?"

“I heard that Scholar Feng is still in the capital. If we touch his shop, then I’m afraid none of us will escape.”

"Look how scared you all are! What a bunch of cowards! You were so indignant just now!"

"Exactly, when have we old Beijingers ever backed down?"

"We must let Feng Zhengming know that Master Jing is not someone he can mess with."

"If you want to take down his shop, you can do it. I'm not involved."

Some people said they would not participate, which immediately split the group of bosses who were discussing countermeasures into two factions.

Moreover, the majority of people actually disapprove of causing trouble.

These bosses are indeed angry, but they're not stupid.

Feng Zhengming is currently riding high, so how could he possibly target his shop?

Besides, this is in the capital city.
The group of guys who wanted to resort to extreme measures looked at each other, and in the end they had no choice but to give up the idea.

After all, if most people don't support it, they don't need to resort to extreme measures themselves.

Then someone else suggested, "Do you think we could contact Feng Zhengming? Could we collaborate with him? Or could he give us some guidance?"

Hearing this, all the bosses fell silent.

The boss, who had previously been clamoring to cause trouble, became even more sarcastic and cynical.

"Are you planning to drag us down with you? What's the point of us discussing this then? Why don't we just go and beg Feng Zhengming?"

Another person chimed in, "Yeah, we should just go directly to Feng Zhengming and ask him for help. Why are we even discussing this here?"

Some people started to get impatient: "This won't work, that won't work, so what should we do?"

In reality, these bosses really don't have any other options.

In the past, they made money from tourists by opening shops near tourist attractions.

It takes advantage of its geographical location.

For so many years, I've always thought that since I have a good location, there's no need to put in much effort.

The emergence of Feng Zhengming's store is tantamount to a devastating blow to them.

After another period of silence, someone else suggested a solution.

"Do you think we could team up and collaborate with some travel agencies? Have them launch some programs to transform our shop into a time-honored brand in Beijing, thereby attracting more customers?"

As soon as the idea was uttered, the others looked at each other, thinking that it seemed like a pretty good idea.

“Great idea, this is a great idea. We can cooperate with travel agencies and have them bring people to our store, which will divert customers from Feng Zhengming’s branch.”

"That's right. Without customers, even if the store's products are indeed of good quality and low price, it's useless without customers."

"Hahaha, as expected, there is a way, a way to deal with Feng Zhengming."

"But do you think Feng Zhengming might use this trick too?"

"No way, he's the top scholar, how could he possibly use this method?"

“That’s right. He values ​​his reputation and would never do such a thing with a travel agency.”

"If we do this, won't someone report us later?"

"What's there to report? We're an old establishment in Beijing. The travel agency arranged for us to eat there, and we served them local specialties and dishes. We didn't cheat anyone."

After some discussion, the owners of these long-established shops at the tourist attractions finally came up with a solution.

In this day and age, we collaborate with travel agencies.

Or rather, it's quite common to give travel agencies a small kickback so they can bring their tour groups to the store to spend money or eat.

The reason why these shop owners in Beijing's tourist attractions never thought of this before is because...

The main reason is that there are just too many tourists at the tourist attractions in Beijing.

In a situation where one can eat one's fill all year round.

Who would still want to partner with any travel agency?
However, things are different now because Feng Zhengming has opened a branch near the tourist attractions, which has led many people to prefer queuing up at his branch.

They're even willing to queue up to buy the food, take it out of the store, and find a place by the roadside to sit down and eat it.

In short, I was unwilling to go into any other shops within the tourist area.

While the owners of these old shops were figuring out countermeasures.

Feng Zhengming was also having a meeting with his fifth senior brother, Lü Chongshan, and the others.

During this time, Feng Zhengming stayed in Beijing and carefully observed some of the city's old shops.

He discovered that many old shops, especially near tourist attractions, were doing very poor quality work, taking advantage of their proximity to the sites.

In the past, without Feng Zhengming's branch, many tourists visiting Beijing had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

Now that Feng Zhengming has a shop near the tourist attractions, many people know about it and go there specifically to eat.

Moreover, in Feng Zhengming's view, those old shops in tourist attractions clearly have old traditions, but in reality, the chefs in the shops are unknown.
Many old things in Beijing are made in a way that is somewhat ambiguous.

The problem is that it's poorly made, and the price isn't cheap at all.

Some of them really seem to be deliberately trying to rip off tourists.

Feng Zhengming, along with his fifth senior brother, Lü Chongshan, and his wife, discussed a grand ambition: to acquire some of the old shops in the scenic spots.

Hearing Feng Zhengming's plan, Fifth Senior Brother, Lü Chongshan, and the others were all taken aback.

Even his wife, Luo Qing, looked surprised.

Cao Zhiguo spoke first: "Zhengming, you want to acquire those old shops? Do you know how much it will cost to acquire those old shops? Many of those old shops have been operating near tourist attractions for many years."

Although the owners may have changed long ago, their current owners would definitely ask for an exorbitant price if you tried to acquire them.

Luo Qing: "Yes, it would probably take a lot of money to acquire those stores, and the key is that those owners would definitely deliberately inflate the prices."

Lü Chongshan, however, seemed to support Feng Zhengming's idea of ​​acquiring the company.

“Master, I think the acquisition was the right thing to do. I’ve been to all those shops. They’re not only expensive, but the food isn’t very good either. Many of them even feel like they’re just putting up a show.”

Instead of letting them ruin those old shops, Master, why don't you buy them and we can find someone to take them over ourselves?

Ever since the day Lü Chongshan opened his business, when Feng Zhengming publicly announced that he was his apprentice.

He always referred to Feng Zhengming as "Master".

However, Lü Chongshan's support did not garner support from others.

Luo Qing: "Old Lu is right. It would be better if we arranged for someone to take over after the acquisition, but it won't be easy to acquire them. They will definitely ask for an exorbitant price, or even an outrageous one."

Feng Zhengming said with a serious expression: "Then we need to make them unable to continue operating and voluntarily transfer the store to me."

These words surprised everyone present, and a firm resolve could be sensed in Feng Zhengming's words. (End of Chapter)