From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 1021 Feng Zhengming is being sued (Second update, please subscribe)

After reaching an agreement with the owner of the Baishui Sheep Head Shop, Feng Zhengming sent Liu Fangyou to his door with an acquisition contract the next day.

The contract transfers the small shop, the recipe for boiled mutton head, and the shop's old signboard.

Feng Zhengming gave the boss a transfer fee and then rehired him.

The idea is to have the owner continue to run the shop for you, while also training new successors within the shop.

In fact, Feng Zhengming learned very quickly. Basically, after watching his boss do it once, he already knew how to do it.

Overall, the key to boiled mutton head is primarily the white braising liquid base.

The combination of various spices is arguably no less impressive than the original recipe for Feng family braised pork that Feng Zhengming created.

Secondly, the sheep's head must be deboned while it is still hot.

This requires very precise hand skills.

Because the sheep's head must have cooled down, the meat is stuck firmly to the bone, making it even more difficult to peel the meat off the head.

Another skill is slicing mutton head meat with a knife, which is a piece of cake for Feng Zhengming.

Even because the old shopkeeper was old, his knife skills were not as good as Feng Zhengming's.

Finally, there's the salt and pepper in the horn.

Salt and pepper is also a unique specialty of boiled mutton head that is not shared among different shops.

The boss didn't hold back anything from Feng Zhengming, essentially passing on all his secrets to him.

After signing the contract, Feng Zhengming immediately began to renovate the shop.

Just like the two branches in Beijing, Feng Zhengming also specially commissioned a facade in the style of ancient Beijing architecture.

In addition to boiled mutton head, the restaurant also prepares sesame paste flatbread, as well as mutton soup, mutton, mutton offal, and even a full set of mutton spine, which is equivalent to opening a whole mutton restaurant.

Furthermore, according to Feng Zhengming's plan, this small shop will also sell roasted lamb skewers in the future.

He knew very well that those large grilled meat skewers near some tourist attractions were extremely popular.

Feng Zhengming's idea is to make large, authentic lamb skewers that tourists will feel is worth the money.

Meanwhile, Feng Zhengming has already begun acquiring small shops in a flurry of activity and is starting to renovate them one by one.

The news quickly spread throughout Beijing, and Feng Zhengming was subsequently sued by the city's catering association and chefs' association.

Feng Zhengming was completely baffled by this matter.

The others who were with him were even more bewildered.

Everyone was puzzled: why would Feng Zhengming be sued for simply acquiring and reorganizing traditional Beijing snack shops?
Moreover, this time the case was quite large-scale; the Beijing Catering Association and Chefs Association jointly sued him.

However, since they had sued him, Feng Zhengming knew he couldn't escape the consequences.

He had no choice but to report to the relevant authorities himself.

Stepping into a small conference room, I saw many people sitting inside, all clearly waiting for Feng Zhengming.

Master Hou was present, as were Master Wang and several other master craftsmen from Beijing.

There are also personnel from some departments who are in charge of this matter.

And representatives from the Beijing Catering Association and Chefs Association who filed a lawsuit against Feng Zhengming.

As soon as Feng Zhengming entered, everyone's eyes fell on him.

First of all, everyone noticed Feng Zhengming's attire. Unlike the others, he didn't arrive at the scene dressed formally in a suit and tie.

Feng Zhengming arrived wearing a chef's uniform, specifically the uniform from his Zhengluxing Catering Company.

This attire alone demonstrates Feng Zhengming's stance at the meeting.

He didn't want to compromise with anyone; he was determined to stick to his own ideas.

Everyone present noticed Feng Zhengming's attire.

Some people were naturally pleased, understanding that Feng Zhengming had not been affected.

Some people, however, were not so happy, feeling that Feng Zhengming was far too arrogant.

Master Hou said, "Feng Zhengming, please sit down. Don't be nervous. We just received some reports about you, so we need to conduct some investigations."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Feng Zhengming sat down in a solitary chair in front of them.

After sitting down, Master Hou did not ask a question first, but let another person ask the question.

"Feng Zhengming, we have received a report that you used illegal means, coercion and inducement, to acquire some time-honored brands in Beijing. Is this true?"

Feng Zhengming said calmly, "I am indeed acquiring some old shops in Beijing, old shops that used to be popular on the streets and alleys of the city."

However, I did not use coercion or inducement; I was legitimately acquiring them, as you can see from the acquisition agreement I submitted.

I gave them ample respect and spent real money to acquire them, making them stores under my Zhengluxing brand.

Then another person asked, "Feng Zhengming, can you explain why you want to acquire those time-honored brands?"

Feng Zhengming answered very bluntly: "To protect them."

"Protect them?" This question surprised the person who asked.

There were even people at the scene who were suing Feng Zhengming whispering among themselves, expressing their contempt and ridicule towards him.

Feng Zhengming calmly recounted the story.

"This isn't my first time in Beijing. Every time, I come and go in a hurry."

Because every time I come here, I participate in state banquets and showcase Chinese cuisine to people all over the world with my skills. It is my honor, so I have never dared to slack off in the slightest when I come here before.

I didn't dare to wander around or sightsee too much; most of the time I just came and left.

After a brief pause, Feng Zhengming continued his story.

"This time I opened two branches in Beijing, one of which is near a tourist attraction, which gave me more time for the first time to go out and explore some of Beijing's unique snack shops."

Then I was disappointed. I didn't expect that most of the shops in Beijing's tourist attractions had fallen to the point of being deceptive and misleading.

Those so-called Beijing specialty snacks no longer taste like what people remember them to be.

Many small shops, due to poor locations, outdated practices, and a lack of marketing and management skills, are on the verge of closing down.

It breaks my heart to see all that. Beijing, as our capital, has such a long history and rich cultural heritage, yet it can't even preserve its authentic local delicacies.

So I had the idea of ​​acquiring those old shops and revitalizing them.

I also need to repackage the old shops to let more people know about their unique features.

Feng Zhengming's explanation had already secured the victory.

If we had to choose one person to represent Chinese cuisine nationwide, it would definitely be Feng Zhengming.

He is the national culinary champion and now one of the most famous top chefs.

More importantly, although he wasn't the top scorer in the first or second graduating class, he was extremely famous, and he also owned a top-notch restaurant in Shanghai, a restaurant that was recognized both domestically and internationally as a benchmark in all aspects.

In that case, who would dare say that Feng Zhengming cannot represent Chinese cuisine?

His catering company acquired some small shops in Beijing that were on the verge of bankruptcy.

Let's take over those crafts that are on the verge of being lost and pass them on.

And who can say that he acted out of selfishness?

Even if he really did have selfish motives and wanted to monopolize the operation of various small shops in Beijing's tourist attractions.

But he's already achieved this, so he deserves his monopoly and the money he makes.

Feng Zhengming's narration ends.

He didn't shout or try to defend himself; he simply stated the facts calmly, expressed his true thoughts, and then sat there quietly waiting.

Then it was Master Hou's turn to start discussing.

After some discussion, Master Hou looked at the representative who was suing Feng Zhengming.

"Feng Zhengming has already made his thoughts clear, so what else do you have to say? Or do you have any new evidence to present to sue him?"

The plaintiff's representative, who was present at the scene, looked completely bewildered when asked this question.

They originally thought that with their influence in the capital, they could definitely ruin Feng Zhengming's plans.

But now Feng Zhengming sat there with an air of righteous indignation, showing absolutely no sign of panic.

He even wore his chef's uniform when he arrived.

This shows that he didn't take this matter seriously at all.

The representatives of the plaintiffs gathered together to discuss the matter.

But in the end, no agreement was reached.

On the contrary, some of them felt that the farce was meaningless.

"Fine, fine, keep arguing with me. I'm not getting involved anymore. I said from the beginning that this kind of lawsuit is pointless, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened! Aren't you ashamed of yourselves enough?"

They were clearly really caught up in the discussion, so they ended up arguing on the spot.

In this situation, Master Hou and his colleagues looked at each other helplessly.

They were initially incredulous when they saw the lawsuit against Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming has only opened two stores in Beijing not long ago. Logically speaking, even if someone wanted to sue him, they wouldn't be able to find any excuse now.
The lawsuit against Feng Zhengming turned out to be about his alleged coercion and inducement to seize a long-established brand in Beijing.

Then, after investigation, Master Hou and his team discovered that Feng Zhengming had not acquired the time-honored brand at all.

He actually acquired some street food stalls in Beijing.

Of the shops he has temporarily acquired, only one old shop selling boiled mutton head has some reputation.

Some other small shops, taking advantage of their proximity to tourist attractions, have actually been criticized by many tourists for their products and services. Even Mr. Hou and his colleagues have received complaints from customers.

Master Hou and his colleagues also conducted investigations with relevant departments, but the results were all inconclusive.

The main issue is that it's their own rented shop to run their business, so you can't interfere with how they do it.

So, in Master Hou's view, it was actually a good thing that those small shops were acquired by Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming can systematically reform the craft and revive some of the old techniques.

What should have been a great thing has now been sued by the Beijing Catering Association and Chefs Association.

Master Hou asked again, "Do you have any new evidence?"

Under Master Hou's persistent questioning, the representative could only shake his head in the end to indicate that he did not.

However, I still maintain that Feng Zhengming's acquisition of those small shops was wrong; it was clearly a deliberate act of malicious competition that disrupted the catering market in Beijing.

They further questioned whether Feng Zhengming was qualified to acquire those snack shops and whether he was qualified to claim that he could run them well.

Feng Zhengming simply couldn't be bothered with Li Hui's unreasonable accusations regarding these obvious advantages.

Master Hou and the others also felt helpless.

In the end, he could only take the initiative to apologize to Feng Zhengming.

This matter will remain unresolved for the time being.

Even afterward, Master Hou approached Feng Zhengming and bluntly told him, "I have already reported this to the leadership. Now we all support you in continuing the acquisitions. It is indeed a good choice for you to integrate those snack shops in Beijing."

Feng Zhengming smiled after hearing this: "Okay, thank you for your trust, leaders. I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Master Hou chuckled and joked, "I really didn't expect you to think of acquiring and integrating those small shops in Beijing."

Feng Zhengming: "I did come to Beijing this time to see things in person and eat at some restaurants near tourist attractions before I learned about some of the underlying issues."

Many shops sell things that are clearly designed to rip off tourists, and I think that's really damaging to the image of our capital city.

Master Hou nodded: "You're right. The marketing department and other relevant departments have conducted various investigations into this matter, but they haven't been able to completely manage it."

Feng Zhengming didn't want to know how much entanglement was behind it, nor did he want to hear about any game theory issues.

He simply wanted to preserve the local snacks of Beijing in his own way.

"If Master Hou has time, you can come and visit my new little shop and give us some pointers on how to make boiled mutton head, Yuanmeng sesame seed cake, sesame paste sesame seed cake, and many other Beijing snacks."

Master Hou laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha, great! I'll definitely come and see for myself when I have time, and try your boiled mutton head."

Feng Zhengming: "Thank you for your help, Master Hou."

Master Hou: "Zhengming, do your best. We all support you and believe you can do it well."

Not only Master Hou, but also many other experienced masters, including Master Wang, are very supportive of what Feng Zhengming is doing.

Everyone knows that preserving and passing on the unique street food of Beijing is not an easy task.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming stepped forward and used his catering companies to conduct centralized acquisitions and revitalize those snack shops.

This is actually a very good thing, as it allows for better preservation of the snacks and further promotion and development.

"Zhengming, you could actually re-register your restaurant company in Beijing, add some projects, and build a truly powerful restaurant group. It would be much easier for you to integrate those smaller shops then."

Master Hou gave Feng Zhengming some pointers and also said that if he really needed to handle some procedures, he could help out.

Feng Zhengming was genuinely grateful: "Thank you, Master Hou. I will prepare all the necessary procedures and then officially establish the catering group."

"After acquiring and integrating all the small shops, we'll need to reorganize them to ensure they're managed well again."

Master Hou nodded with a smile: "That's right, I look forward to your success."

Feng Zhengming: "It will succeed. I still believe in the strength of Chinese cuisine."

(End of this chapter)