From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming stayed in Beijing for a full three months.

In three months, he acquired almost all the snack shops in Beijing's tourist attractions.

Moreover, all of them underwent renovations, giving the small shops near the attractions a fresh new look.

Many people in Beijing felt that Feng Zhengming did the right thing.

This also garnered Feng Zhengming a lot of support.

As a result, even the catering associations and chefs' associations in Beijing, who had previously held some opinions against him, had no choice but to accept Feng Zhengming's status in the capital.

After acquiring and integrating all the small shops near the tourist attractions in Beijing, Feng Zhengming and his wife had a serious discussion.

“I’m planning to go back to Shanghai. The old villa restaurant there needs me, but I’m afraid you can’t come with me to Shanghai this time.”

Even without her husband saying it, Luo Qing knew that he needed her to stay in Beijing.

On the one hand, the snack shops near the tourist attractions in Beijing have just completed their integration.

Everything seems to be doing very well now, and everything is on the right track.

But no one can guarantee that this is because Feng Zhengming is in Beijing.
Therefore, Feng Zhengming definitely had to leave first, and he also wanted his wife to stay behind to cooperate with Fifth Senior Brother and Lü Chongshan.

With his fifth senior brother and Lü Chongshan as his mentors, Feng Zhengming was at ease with their skills.

He also trusted his wife's abilities in business management.

When her husband brought it up, Luo Qing did not refuse his arrangement.

“No problem, I’ll stay in Beijing for a while. Besides, Mengran will be with me, so I won’t be lonely. Beijing isn’t far from Jinan, and I can bring my parents and grandfather over.”

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, I'll talk to Quancheng later and arrange for my parents to come and keep you company."

Luo Qing: "Oh, I was just saying, you actually had someone send Mom and Dad over?"

Feng Zhengming: "You also have to take care of the child. You can't take our Youyou with you every time you go somewhere, can you? How about I ask my second aunt and aunt-in-law to come along too?"

Luo Qing: "Can you please stop bothering so many people? I've invited my second aunt and my aunt-in-law over; they'll think I'm being dramatic."

Feng Zhengming looked at his wife with concern: "But you're pregnant now."

Hearing her husband's words, Luo Qing did not continue to object.

"Well, how about we have my second aunt and my aunt come? It's too much trouble for my parents to come."

Feng Zhengming agreed: "Okay, I'll ask my second aunt and aunt-in-law. If they're willing, I'll arrange for you to rent a courtyard house."

Luo Qing was immediately dumbfounded: "Are you burning money? Renting a courtyard house? How much would that cost?"

Feng Zhengming: "At that time, we can also bring Grandpa over to stay for a while."

Luo Qing: "That's fine, but if Grandpa and the others come, will we need to hire some people to clean the house? If Auntie comes, she'll definitely have to bring the kids with her."

Feng Zhengming: "You decide that. It doesn't matter how much money you spend. The main thing is to find someone you can trust."

Luo Qing nodded: "Okay, I'll ask Meng Ran to help me look for it."

Luo Qing asked again, "When you go back to Shanghai alone, remember not to work too hard. I see that Xia Hui and the others are doing very well in Shanghai. There hasn't been any bad news from them, which means they can keep the restaurant running."

Feng Zhengming: "Of course, after all, Xia Hui, Sun Hai and Zhu Xu are all in the restaurant's kitchen."

Luo Qing hesitated for a moment, but still asked a question.

"You still need to make proper arrangements for Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui. They haven't been getting good opportunities yet, and they're bound to have some complaints about you."

Feng Zhengming: "Don't worry, they have no objections now."

Luo Qing looked at her husband with some surprise.

"Think about it, do you think they don't know what we did in the capital? Even if they knew what we did, what complaints would they have about me?"

After thinking about it carefully, Luo Qing realized that her husband was right.

What Feng Zhengming did in Beijing this time can be said to have completely gained the approval of the higher-ups.

Furthermore, it can be said that what he did was in perfect harmony with the development of Chinese cuisine.

It could even be said that Feng Zhengming saved the traditional street food stalls in Beijing.

With this added layer, Feng Zhengming's position in the domestic catering industry is now unshakeable.

For Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, Han Rui, and other young chefs who have joined Feng Zhengming's team, following Feng Zhengming and his group will only bring them more benefits.

"Don't worry, when I go back to Shanghai this time, I will have a good talk with the five of them and ask for their thoughts."

If they feel uncomfortable staying at the old-style restaurant, I will make arrangements for them to work at other restaurants in Shanghai, or even open their own restaurants in Shanghai, each specializing in their own cuisine.

Luo Qing: "If you asked them to open restaurants featuring their respective cuisines, they would probably be happy to do so."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, we are just investing in them. The rest is up to them to do. If they don't manage it well, I won't be lenient with them."

Luo Qing: "It's not good to go too far, after all, they've helped you a lot over the years."

Feng Zhengming: "Don't worry, I'll make it clear to them. If they lose money, I can't let them lose it."

Luo Qing agreed with this statement; it would be a loss to open a shop for them.

We definitely can't let them continue to lose money.

Feng Zhengming's expression turned serious: "We will see even faster development in the future, including facing huge challenges in the catering sector."

Shanghai and Beijing will be two highly competitive markets, presenting them with both opportunities and significant challenges.

Luo Qing thought for a moment and asked, "Then what about the south? You really don't cross the Yangtze River?"

Feng Zhengming: "Take it one step at a time. When we cross the Yangtze River and head south, we can't rush it. I think Cantonese cuisine is the best preserved and passed down. I specialize in Shandong cuisine and spend most of my time in the north."

I feel I'm simply not qualified to instruct others on Cantonese cuisine.

Perhaps later, if Jiang Chengzhe is willing, I can support him to go south and open a shop.”

Luo Qing couldn't help but laugh after hearing her husband's words.

"I never expected that you would back down like this."

Feng Zhengming also laughed: "This is not admitting defeat, it's just that I know my own limitations. Who can guarantee that they can cook all the cuisines from all over the country well?"

Why is my store doing so well in Shanghai and Beijing? It's almost as successful as it is in Jinan!

Luo Qing looked at her husband: "Why?"

Feng Zhengming explained simply: "Beijing is more inclined towards Shandong cuisine because our cuisine is more similar to Shandong cuisine. It is easier for us to come to Beijing and influence the catering industry there."

Shanghai is an economic development center, attracting a large influx of people from other places.

With a large influx of out-of-towners, besides Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine is actually the only other relatively mild and widely accepted cuisine.

After listening to her husband's explanation, Luo Qing nodded, agreeing with him. Feng Zhengming continued, "So if we're talking about opening a restaurant for those five young chefs from Shanghai, I might choose to support Wang Hanwen in opening his Sichuan restaurant first."

This surprised Luo Qing again: "You didn't support Li Yao and Han Rui's local cuisine first?"

Feng Zhengming: "Shanghai cuisine? There's never a shortage of Shanghai restaurants."

Luo Qing was still puzzled: "Then why is it Sichuan cuisine?"

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, because in the eyes of some people in Shanghai, Sichuan cuisine, like our Shandong cuisine, is not as high-class as Cantonese cuisine, so if we want to support them in opening restaurants..."

I'm going to open another high-end Sichuan restaurant; I'm going to shatter some people's perceptions.

Hearing her husband's words, Luo Qing couldn't help but feel that her husband was not going to the South or to compete in the Cantonese cuisine market.

In reality, he simply didn't want to go to someone else's home turf; instead, he wanted to bring Cantonese cuisine to the north to compete.

Of course, Feng Zhengming also intended to elevate the status of Sichuan and Shandong cuisine.

Luo Qing: "And Huaiyang cuisine too?"

Feng Zhengming: "That's actually simpler. You just need to make the classic Huaiyang cuisine well. No matter which restaurant you put it in, it will make people feel that it is high-class. But Deng Huaichuan is still a bit short of the mark."

Luo Qing suddenly laughed: "Do you think Deng Huaichuan and Wang Hanwen got their names wrong?"

Deng Huaichuan's name contains the character "Chuan," and he studied Huaiyang cuisine.

Wang Hanwen's name contains the character "文" (wen, meaning character), yet he didn't study Huaiyang cuisine, known for its scholarly culinary traditions, but instead went on to learn Sichuan cuisine.

Feng Zhengming was amused by his wife's words: "This may be fate."

The wife then asked, "What about Huang Yunliang? He studied Fujian cuisine, so he should be able to compete with Cantonese cuisine."

Feng Zhengming: "That's not difficult. We'll have him open the restaurant next to the Cantonese restaurant."

Luo Qing was taken aback at first, then couldn't help but laugh.

"You're so mean! You deliberately opened a Fujian cuisine restaurant next to a Cantonese cuisine restaurant. Are you trying to make Fujian cuisine and Cantonese cuisine compete against each other?"

Feng Zhengming: "I think it's very suitable. Most people will know more about Cantonese cuisine, but many people may not know about Fujian cuisine at all, and may not know that dishes like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall are actually Fujian dishes."

So it's convenient to open a Fujian cuisine restaurant next to a Cantonese cuisine restaurant, so that people can have a comparison.

Luo Qing thought about it and felt, "It does seem like we could open them together for comparison."

Feng Zhengming: "It also requires their own efforts."

Luo Qing: "That's true. If they want to open a restaurant, they need to have their own team."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, so they need to be able to build their own team first."

Luo Qing: "During this period, did they have a suitable team?"

Feng Zhengming: "We do have apprentices for now, but we lack suitable assistants for them."

Before his wife could speak, Feng Zhengming sighed helplessly.

"All five of them are a bit too arrogant. In this respect, Jiang Chengzhe is more tactful."

Luo Qing: "But it is their arrogance that has given them their current skills."

Feng Zhengming: "But ultimately, a restaurant cannot be run by one person alone."

Luo Qing could only nod in agreement.

“When I go back to Shanghai this time, I also want to have a talk with them and make them understand some of their problems. If they want to open their own restaurants, they need to be more tolerant.”

Hearing her husband say this, Luo Qing nodded: "I still hope that the five of them can be like A Zhe."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, I hope so too. That way, we'll have restaurants representing several cuisines, including Shandong, Sichuan, Huaiyang, Cantonese, Fujian, and Shanghainese, plus Beijing cuisine from the capital."

Luo Qing reminded, "And Jiangxi cuisine, Chef Yu Fuxiang and his team should be able to open restaurants in Jiangxi Province as well."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, and there's also Jiangxi cuisine. So, we've already taken over the mainstream cuisines."

Luo Qing: "You haven't mastered Anhui cuisine, Hangzhou cuisine, Suzhou cuisine, Hunan cuisine, and Hubei cuisine yet."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "There are many things we don't know how to do. The three northeastern provinces, as well as Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, and even the Hebei and Henan cuisines near Beijing, we don't have suitable chefs, do we?"

Luo Qing said irritably, "Are you really planning to integrate all the cuisines in the country?"

Feng Zhengming: "I have this idea, but I probably can't do it. A person's energy is limited. I think it's already pretty good if I can manage our stores in Shandong, Beijing, and Shanghai well."

Luo Qing thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I think we could open branches of our dry rice shop in places like northern Anhui, Hebei, Henan, and even the three northeastern provinces."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, everyone's tastes are indeed not that different, but it's not appropriate to open a store in someone else's place directly. For now, we should focus on managing the store we have right now."

Luo Qing understood what her husband meant; they still had limited energy, and if they opened too many stores, it would be really difficult to take care of them all.

Moreover, for Feng Zhengming, Beijing and Shanghai remain the two places he most wants to control.

We've pretty much taken over the discourse power over the food in these two places.

Feng Zhengming thus gained sufficient prestige and qualifications.

Opening stores in other provinces also requires a suitable opportunity.

Before leaving Beijing, Feng Zhengming spent two more days enjoying the city with his wife and daughter.

He didn't hide anything from his daughter, Feng Zhengming, who is now very sensible.

If I keep my departure a secret from the little girl, she will definitely make a huge fuss about it afterwards.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming also explained things to his daughter seriously, just like an adult.

Feng Nuanyou was naturally reluctant to see her father leave.

"Daddy, please don't go, okay? Youyou wants to stay with Daddy."

Feng Zhengming hugged his daughter, who was huddled in his arms looking aggrieved, and spoke to her softly.

“Dad is going to Shanghai to help Sister Xia Hui and the others. Dad hasn’t been back for so long. Sister Xia Hui and the others have worked very hard. Dad is going back to relieve them and let them rest.”

Mentioning Xia Hui made Feng Nuanyou feel less aggrieved.

"Then, Daddy, can you let Xia Hui come and play with Youyou?"

Feng Zhengming agreed: "Sure, after Dad goes to Shanghai, he'll make arrangements for Sister Xia Hui and the others to come and play with Youyou, okay?"

Feng Nuanyou nodded: "Okay, then Daddy will call Youyou."

Feng Zhengming earnestly promised, "Dad will definitely call every day."

After spending two days with his wife and daughter, Feng Zhengming flew south to Shanghai alone.

Meanwhile, my second aunt and maternal aunt also took my two grandfathers north to Beijing. (End of this chapter)