From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After talking to my eldest brother on the phone, I talked to my third brother on the phone, and he was even more direct.

"Zhengming, just let me know if you need any manpower. I have quite a few new apprentices here, so I can send a batch over to you. I might still have some manpower to spare."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Third Brother, you should also take more rest. Let your apprentices do what they can, and don't try to do everything yourself."

Yang Bin immediately objected: "If they were so capable, wouldn't I have already retired?"

Feng Zhengming knew that his fellow disciples, like their master, would rather die in front of the stove.

So having them direct others in the kitchen while they stand by and watch is probably not as effective as letting them personally lead the work as they are.

But Feng Zhengming still earnestly emphasized it to his third senior brother.

"Third Brother, this is what I said. When I was on the phone with my eldest brother just now, I also mentioned it to him. I know your skills are unparalleled, but we also need to give our apprentices a chance to work in the kitchen."

Just like in the past, my master would often send us to work in the kitchen, and even if we made mistakes, he would still let us continue.

You should do the same. Let your apprentices do more work and practice. Don't prevent them from cooking just because you're worried about affecting my reputation. You must do it yourself.

After hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the third senior brother on the other end of the phone fell silent for a while.

However, after a short while, the third senior brother immediately spoke up.

"Alright, so you're starting to discipline us now, aren't you? I know we need to rest when it's time to rest. My senior brother and I won't do everything ourselves. We also have our own arrangements for the kitchen."

Since his third senior brother had said that, Feng Zhengming knew he couldn't say more. He could only tell his third senior brother to make sure he got some rest.

"Alright, Third Brother, just remember to get some rest. When I reopen Yanxi Restaurant in the capital, you'll all have to go there."

Upon hearing this, Yang Bin couldn't help but ask, "Zhengming, do you really think you can open Yanxilou in the capital?"

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, definitely. I'm already making arrangements. Give me some more time, and I'll definitely be able to reopen Yanxilou in the capital."

Yang Bin: "I spoke with Lao Wu on the phone before, and he told me that the competition in Beijing is very fierce."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, it is indeed very competitive. There are many veteran craftsmen and famous chefs in Beijing. Shandong cuisine used to be dominant in Beijing, but now it is declining."

Hearing his junior brother say that, Yang Bin sighed on the other end of the phone.

"It seems that many things are indeed not so easy to do."

Feng Zhengming: "Third Brother, it's not easy to do, which is why we have to work hard at it. We'll feel a greater sense of accomplishment when we succeed."

Yang Bin laughed immediately on the other end of the phone: "Hahaha, Zhengming, you really have guts. No wonder you became the champion of the National Culinary Competition, no wonder you can showcase your skills so well and run such a big catering company."

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and said, "Third Brother, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today without you all."

Yang Bin: "Haha, no need for such formalities between fellow apprentices. How many people do you need to send over this time? Just apprentices? Do you need to send a few more young chefs?"

Feng Zhengming: "I told my elder brother this time that we should transfer half of the apprentices you selected in Jinan over here. If there are any young chefs, we can also arrange for two or three to come over."

Yang Bin was somewhat surprised: "Are you planning to make a big splash in Shanghai?"

Feng Zhengming: "It's not a big project, but we need to quickly train a group of people. If Deng Huaichuan and the other four want to open a shop in Shanghai, they will also need manpower."

Yang Bin thought for a moment and said, "No, you must have something else going on, otherwise you wouldn't need so many people."

Feng Zhengming knew he couldn't hide it from his third senior brother.

Among his fellow disciples, the third senior brother was also a very intelligent person.

However, most of the time, the third senior brother was unwilling to appear too clever.

"There is indeed another plan, which is to open another branch of the dry rice shop in a provincial capital city outside the city."

Yang Bin asked, "Where are we going this time?"

Feng Zhengming replied, "In Hangzhou, it might be arranged by West Lake."

Yang Bin laughed: "Hahaha, you really have taken over all the important tourist attractions, haven't you?"

Feng Zhengming: "The development of Hangzhou in recent years has attracted many people to go there. I think this is a good opportunity to open a rice shop there first as an experiment. If it works out, I can open a restaurant there later."

Yang Bin: "In Shanghai, if you want your restaurant to differentiate itself from other cuisines, it's not good to just open another Shandong cuisine restaurant. So you have to open Shandong cuisine restaurants in other places?"

Feng Zhengming had to admit that his third senior brother really understood his thinking.

"Yes, Third Brother, I do have such plans to open Shandong cuisine restaurants in other places."

Yang Bin: "Then we could try opening a Shandong cuisine restaurant in Suzhou, and in the capital cities of the two neighboring provinces."

Feng Zhengming: "There will be arrangements for this later. We will open a dry rice shop first, as the cost will be lower, and the dry rice shop will be more representative. We can test the local people's acceptance first."

Yang Bin agreed with his junior apprentice's statement that tastes vary from place to place.

It is indeed necessary to first try out local cuisine at a dry rice shop.

Only then can we determine how to arrange the flavors for the Shandong cuisine restaurant.

Another important point is to use the dry rice shop to test the spending power of some locals.

Then decide on the standard and level of the restaurant.
Yang Bin gave Feng Zhengming an analysis, suggesting that they could proceed simultaneously, taking into account the provinces of Henan and Hebei as well.

"Our Shandong cuisine has a larger market in the north, so I think that if Ganfanpu (a type of rice noodle shop) were to enter Henan and Hebei provinces, it would also have a good market. In addition, with their local specialty snacks, the business is sure to be good."

After listening to his third senior brother's words, Feng Zhengming gave him a reply that surprised him.

“Okay, then I’ll leave those two provincial branches to you, Third Brother. If you need any manpower or funds, just use them. I will fully support you.”

"What? Me? I'm going to open a branch?" Yang Bin was genuinely startled.

Yang Bin did offer advice to his junior apprentice, but he never intended to do those things himself.

He always felt that he was just a mentor to his junior apprentice, and his job was to train the kitchen staff.

Now my junior colleague says he wants me to be in charge of branches in two provinces.

Yang Bin instantly felt the pressure mounting.

Feng Zhengming guessed that his third senior brother would feel pressured, but he still trusted his encouragement.

"Third Brother, I believe in you. I know that in the past few years, you have personally inspected many of the branches in various parts of Shandong and ensured that there have been no more problems. I believe in your ability, Third Brother, and I am confident that you can manage both branches well."

Hearing his junior brother say this, Yang Bin was a little helpless: "This is like praising your third senior brother to death."

Feng Zhengming laughed on the phone: "How could it be a case of flattery to kill? I'm just trusting your abilities, Third Brother."

Yang Bin still made up an excuse: "If I open branches in those two provinces, what will happen to the branches in various parts of Shandong?"

Feng Zhengming was very straightforward: "Let Sixth Brother and Gu Zhicheng each be responsible for supervising half of the branch stores."

Yang Bin continued to ask, "What about the shops in Quancheng?" Feng Zhengming replied, "Zhang Lei went back. Tell him to keep an eye on things. Besides, there's Yao Zhenhui too."

Yang Bin was completely speechless.

In order to persuade his third senior brother to go, Feng Zhengming arranged for someone else to accompany him.

"Third Brother, how about I have Sun Hai help you?"

Yang Bin was quite surprised to hear that his junior brother had arranged for Sun Hai to come to his side.

"No, wasn't Sun Hai in the kitchen of the old-style restaurant with you?"

Feng Zhengming: "Third Brother, aren't you worried about me being in the kitchen?"

Yang Bin thought it made sense. With Feng Zhengming personally overseeing the old-style restaurant, losing Sun Hai wouldn't be a big deal.

Feng Zhengming continued, "Third Brother, you just need to open the shop. The rest can be handled by the shop manager and head chef who are stationed there. You don't need to stay there all the time."

Hearing his junior brother say that, Yang Bin felt that going there might not be a bad idea.

Anyway, it's about helping my junior brother expand his branch.

Moreover, this way, the junior apprentice can open branches in multiple locations across the north and south.

If we can successfully open rice shops in other provinces.

In the future, just by relying on his rice shop, my junior apprentice will be able to dominate half of the national culinary scene.

After much deliberation, Yang Bin finally agreed.

"Alright, Third Brother will help you with this trip."

Feng Zhengming was very happy to see that his third senior brother had agreed.

"Third Brother Xing, don't rush to go by yourself. Wait until Sun Hai goes back, then you can go together. Also, be careful over there. Even if the shop doesn't open in the end, you must ensure your safety."

Yang Bin laughed: "Isn't Zhengming being a little too cautious?"

Feng Zhengming became serious: "Third Brother, there's nothing wrong with being cautious. You know what happened to Luo Qing in Hongcheng last time, so you all need to be careful too."

Reminded by his junior brother, Yang Bin agreed, "Okay, I will be careful."

After arranging a time with his third senior brother to deliver the new batch of apprentices and young chefs, Feng Zhengming ended the phone call with his third senior brother.

After the call ended, Feng Zhengming spoke with Xia Hui and Sun Hai in the kitchen of the old-style restaurant that evening.

“Sun Hai, I think you should go with your master to the provincial capitals of Henan and Hebei provinces this time, find suitable locations, and open a branch store in each province. When you get there, you must listen to your master and also pay attention to ensuring your safety.”

Upon hearing that he was going with his master, Sun Hai immediately agreed.

In recent years, Sun Hai has not had many opportunities to stay by his master's side.

Although he gained more opportunities and learned more from his junior uncle Feng Zhengming.

But Sun Hai still hoped to stay with his master and repay his master for the kindness and guidance he had received back then.

If it weren't for Yang Bin correcting some of his bad habits and strictly teaching him some skills, Sun Hai wouldn't have gained his junior uncle's trust for so many years.

Since he had the opportunity to go with his master and help his junior uncle expand the market, Sun Hai was naturally very happy.

Xia Hui was also very happy for Sun Hai. The fact that her master arranged for Sun Hai to go there clearly showed his trust in him.

“When you go there, listen to your third master. Don’t make decisions on your own. Don’t think that just because you can manage a shop here, you can ignore your master over there.”

Sun Hai smiled innocently: "Don't worry, Master will always be my Master, and I will definitely listen to Master."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "You can't just listen to your master all the time. I sent you there so that you could also tell your master about some of the things you learned and experienced in Shanghai, so that he can absorb useful experience."

Hearing his junior uncle say that, Sun Hai nodded seriously: "I understand, I will tell Master."

Xia Hui was a little worried when she saw Sun Hai's honest and simple appearance.

"Master, do you think Sun Hai would be speaking frankly with Third Master Uncle?"

Feng Zhengming smiled: "Don't worry, his master is more likely to accept it if we speak frankly."

Before Xia Hui could speak, Feng Zhengming added, "Besides, he wouldn't know how to beat around the bush."

Xia Hui thought about it and realized that Sun Hai's temper was indeed straightforward and he didn't mince words.

So it's better to let Sun Hai be straightforward.

Feng Zhengming arranged for Sun Hai to accompany his third senior brother in opening a branch store. He genuinely valued Sun Hai's straightforwardness, which allowed him to directly share information about Shanghai with his third senior brother.

Yang Bin is also a straightforward person, so it's a bit difficult to get him to beat around the bush.

Sun Hai directly told Yang Bin some things about the Shanghai branch, and Yang Bin would naturally understand how to open branches in other provinces based on the experience of the Shanghai branch.

Then Feng Zhengming said to the two of them, "Sun Hai, don't rush back. Wait a few days for some young chefs and apprentices from Quancheng to come over. Go pick them up, assign the staff, and then you can go back."

Sun Hai nodded in agreement; "I understand, Uncle-Master."

Xia Hui asked, "Didn't Master just transfer a batch of people over? Why are you transferring more people?"

Sun Hai helped explain: "Isn't Uncle-Master planning to open a branch in Hangzhou? They've been looking for you in Hangzhou for a long time."

Xia Hui: "Oh, this group of people is being sent to Hangzhou?"

Hearing this, Xia Hui quickly came to her senses.

"No, it's about sending people from Shanghai to the Hangzhou branch, so each store in Shanghai needs to be staffed."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, we have some experienced staff in our Shanghai store. If we send them to Hangzhou, they should be able to quickly get the Hangzhou store up and running."

Xia Hui: "Then won't we have to train new people again?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "What? You're already giving up on mentoring newcomers? Haven't you always wanted to be the mentor yourself?"

Xia Hui immediately denied it: "No way, Master, I haven't even graduated myself yet, how can I be your master?"

Feng Zhengming: "Don't worry, this time you won't be the only one training the new recruits. They will be assigned to different stores and each store will train some new recruits. This combination of new and experienced staff should help the new recruits get started quickly."

Sun Hai quickly picked up on the information: "Uncle-Master, my master and I are going to Henan and Hebei provinces. Are you going to send someone to Hangzhou? Are you going to open three branches at once this time?"

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, it's like opening up multiple locations and speeding up the pace. It also makes it easier to understand the specific taste preferences and market conditions in different places. If it's suitable, we can open restaurants in those places as well."

Xia Hui and Sun Hai were quite surprised after hearing this line of thought.

However, upon further reflection, the two felt that this made perfect sense. (End of Chapter)