From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming's success in multiple areas quickly became known to many people.

To the surprise of many, Feng Zhengming's opening of a branch in Hangzhou went exceptionally smoothly this time.

Even the third senior brother and Sun Hai's opening of branches in Henan and Hebei provinces went very smoothly.

The reason why Hangzhou was able to do so smoothly was that the local government had been trying to invite Feng Zhengming to open a branch there.

Therefore, after Feng Zhengming went to Hangzhou in person, he was welcomed by the people of Hangzhou.

They even arranged several nice shops for Feng Zhengming near famous tourist attractions in Hangzhou, giving him some options.

Feng Zhengming did not rush to choose a shop, but waited in Hangzhou for his wife to come with their two children, accompanied by his second aunt and aunt-in-law.

I picked up my wife, daughter, second aunt, aunt-in-law, and my uncle's wife's younger cousin.

Feng Nuanyou was happiest when she saw her father; the little girl ran out and jumped straight into her father's arms.

Then she wanted her dad to hold her the whole time; the little girl didn't want to let go at all.

Seeing this, Luo Qing smiled and said to her second aunt and aunt-in-law.

"See? What did I tell you? This girl forgets all about us when she sees her father. Only her father is her closest relative."

Feng Zhengming greeted his second aunt and aunt-in-law while holding his daughter, and also picked up his aunt-in-law's little cousin.

When Feng Nuanyou saw her father pick up her uncle, she didn't mind.

"Hehehe, Uncle, look at my dad, isn't he amazing? He can carry both of us in one go."

My younger cousin was also very surprised: "Brother-in-law, you're amazing! Your arms are thicker and harder than my dad's!"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Really? When we go back for the New Year, your brother-in-law will have a competition with your father."

Aunt laughed when she heard this: "Your uncle is not as good as you now. He hasn't gone out much in the past few years, nor has he done much heavy work. He has started sitting in an office. His health is definitely not as good as yours, Zhengming."

Feng Zhengming: "It's good that my uncle is sitting in an office. He's been busy for so many years, it's time for him to take a break."

Aunt: "Who says otherwise? He just can't stay idle and always wants to meddle in a lot of things."

Second Aunt: "It's true that I was suddenly moved from the front line to the second line. I also felt uncomfortable at first, but I've gradually adapted."

Aunt: "Second sister, you are older, while we are still young, so Qingqing's uncle doesn't want to work in an office."

Second Aunt: "Get used to it slowly. When you get back, find some time to have Zhengming's uncle go and have a heart-to-heart talk with your husband."

Auntie was naturally delighted: "Great! Go back and have my second brother-in-law give him a lesson."

Feng Nuanyou hugged her father's neck and asked, "Daddy, where are we going to play?"

Feng Zhengming: "Let's go to the hotel first, put our things down, and then Dad will take you to West Lake, okay?"

Feng Nuanyou: "Is West Lake fun?"

Feng Zhengming: "West Lake is the place where your mother really liked the TV series, where Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian met."

Before Feng Nuanyou could speak, her uncle immediately spoke up.

"I know that Lady White Snake was imprisoned in Leifeng Pagoda by West Lake."

Feng Nuanyou immediately shouted, "Dad, let's go save Lady White Snake!"

The little girl's shout startled many people in the airport.

Everyone turned to look at the little girl, and they all smiled.

Feng Zhengming: "Hahaha, we don't need to rescue Lady White Snake. She has already left and achieved enlightenment, and has gone to heaven to become an immortal."

Feng Nuanyou asked curiously, "Did Lady Bai go to heaven to become a goddess? What about Xu Xianxian? Did she abandon him?"

Before Feng Zhengming could answer, the little boy on the other side of his arms answered first.

"Xu Xian also went to heaven to become an immortal."

Feng Nuanyou asked in surprise, "Xu Xianxian is a human, how can he be a god?"

This question stumped the uncle.

Feng Zhengming chuckled and helped explain: "In the story, after Bai Suzhen was imprisoned under Leifeng Pagoda, Xu Xian also became a monk at Jinshan Temple, and later they both became immortals."

Feng Nuanyou immediately pressed on, "And what about Fahai? That wicked bald guy?"

Feng Zhengming: "In the most traditional story, it is said that Fahai was punished for ruining the marriage between Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian. He hid to escape punishment and hid inside a crab shell."

This statement surprised not only Feng Nuanyou, but also the little boy.

"How could that be? That wicked bald Fahai is hiding inside a crab shell? How come we can't see him when we're eating crabs?"

The uncle then offered another explanation: "The crabs we eat are very small, so Fahai must have been hiding inside a large crab."

Feng Zhengming carried the two children and chatted with them as they walked.

The second aunt, who was following behind, saw this and whispered to Luo Qing.

“Look, why does my daughter like Zhengming? He’s so good at coaxing kids. Look how well he’s got both kids. I think Haohao will really like his cousin-in-law now.”

Auntie nodded with a smile: "I think so too. Hao Hao doesn't usually talk this much at home. Before, when we were in Beijing, the two kids would get together and most of the time it was Youyou who was talking."

But once we got here, Zhengming brought two children with him, and that's how our Hao Hao started to enjoy talking too.

Second Aunt: "That shows that Zhengming is indeed very good at taking care of children; he's like a king of kids."

Luo Qing nodded with a smile: "He really is like a king of children. When we were in Shanghai, he would take his daughter out to play and he could lead a group of children to play together."

Aunt: "That's good too. It shows that he can always keep a childlike heart. Isn't that wonderful?"

Luo Qing: "He is often like a big kid, and he likes to compete with others."

These words puzzled both the second aunt and the aunt-in-law.

"No?"

"Yeah, I think Zhengming doesn't really like to compete with others, does he?"

Luo Qing: "Aunt and Aunt, think about it. He just opened two branches in Beijing, then opened a new store in Shanghai, and now he's rushing to Hangzhou to open a branch. He even asked Third Brother to take Sun Hai to Henan and Hebei provinces to open branches."

He's opened so many branches, he's almost overwhelmed with work, isn't that just being competitive?

Hearing Luo Qing say this, her second aunt and aunt-in-law both laughed.

"This isn't really about being competitive. He opened so many branches, firstly to expand his influence, and secondly to solve the employment problem for new apprentices in Jinan."

After my second aunt said that, my aunt-in-law also chimed in.

"Yes, he clearly wants to solve the employment problem for the new apprentices and chefs trained in Jinan."

Luo Qing nodded: "I know he's in such a hurry to open a new store to solve the employment problem, but I just think he's rushing things too much?"

My aunt comforted me, saying, "We should trust him. Zhengming has his own plans. He's been doing a good job all these years. He must be experienced and know what to do."

Auntie agreed: "Yes, look at Zhengming, he's still so cheerful, playing with the children, which means he's already very confident."

With the comforting words of her second aunt and aunt-in-law, Luo Qing temporarily suppressed some of her worries.

After leaving the airport, Feng Zhengming led everyone to his car.

Seeing her father's car arrive to pick her up made Feng Nuanyou feel very happy.

"Wow, Dad, this car is so big!"

Auntie was also a little curious: "Zhengming, did you buy a new car again?" Feng Zhengming: "No, I borrowed this car. How could I buy a new car every time I go to a new place?"

Luo Qing asked curiously, "Who did you borrow this car from? It's quite big."

Feng Zhengming: "This car was lent to me by people in Hangzhou. They asked me to come here to open a new store, and they knew I was going to pick you up, so they helped me borrow this car."

Auntie said, "That's not surprising. The economic environment in Hangzhou is better, and people here are quite wealthy, so it's probably possible to borrow a car like that."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Alright, everyone, get in the car. Let's go to the hotel and check in first."

My aunt joked, "You're staying in a hotel in Hangzhou this time? I thought you bought some big house here again."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, Second Aunt, I did want to buy it, but this place is close to where we are going to open a shop, and there is no suitable place to buy it nearby, so I will wait and see for the time being."

My aunt was puzzled: "Why do you need to buy a house in Hangzhou? Zhengming, why do you want to buy so many houses?"

In my aunt's opinion, having one house to live in is enough; there's no need to buy a house in every city.

Feng Zhengming: "Auntie, maybe these houses will go up in price in the future. Houses are already going up in price now. If you have some money on hand, you can buy some suitable houses."

Feng Zhengming then explained, "Moreover, the houses I bought were all because I had a shop in the area, so it would be convenient for me to go there and observe the situation of the shop."

My aunt thought there was some truth to that.

“Okay, you’re right. With branches all over the country, it’s definitely more convenient to have a place to stay locally.”

In fact, Feng Zhengming did not reveal his true thoughts.

The houses he buys now are basically only those in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.

Even though he has shops in Henan and Hebei provinces, he doesn't plan to buy houses there.

As Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou enter a period of rapid development, the value of houses will rise accordingly and be quickly boosted.

At that time, if Feng Zhengming needs a large amount of funds, he can mortgage the house or simply liquidate it to solve the funding problem.

However, Feng Zhengming couldn't explain things too clearly to his family for the time being.

After all, at this stage, China has not yet started large-scale infrastructure construction, and many things have not yet become apparent.

However, Feng Zhengming knew very well that after the news of the successful bid for the Olympics came back...

Everything in China will be accelerated.

That's why Feng Zhengming went to Beijing in advance and bought up all the old shops in the city's tourist attractions.

And they opened two branches in Beijing ahead of time.

As for the courtyard house where his wife and the others lived in Beijing, Feng Zhengming also asked someone to make some negotiations, hoping to take over that courtyard house directly.

In addition, Feng Zhengming also collaborated with Tao Mengran and her husband in Beijing.

They invested a portion of the capital in Tao Mengran's husband's company.

Support some of Tao Mengran's husband's development projects.

These are all part of Feng Zhengming's strategy behind the scenes, as he continues to open branches in various places.

The tide of the times is approaching; whether we can ride the waves depends on whether we can catch the splashes.

Feng Zhengming drove everyone away from the airport to the hotel where he was staying.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the lobby manager was very polite to him.

They also proactively arranged for people to help Feng Zhengming and his group move their luggage.

Feng Zhengming also booked a room for his second aunt and his aunt-in-law, both of whom were next to his room.

Then he led everyone upstairs.

After putting the things into the room, the second aunt and the aunt-in-law went together to Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing's room.

Feng Zhengming requested a suite at the hotel as before.

Lu Jinghao, the son of his uncle, was quite surprised to see such a hotel room for the first time.

When he saw his mother come in, he quickly went to her side and asked her.

The aunt squatted down to explain to her son.

"This kind of room is what my cousin-in-law needs. You see, it looks like the living room outside. This way, my cousin-in-law can work outside and receive some guests, while my cousin and Youyou can close the door and rest inside."

Although Lu Jinghao is not as knowledgeable as Feng Nuanyou, he is quite intelligent.

After all, his parents are both very intelligent.

So Lu Jinghao quickly understood what his mother meant.

"Oh, I see. My cousin-in-law's room isn't just for living; it can also be used as an office."

Aunt nodded: "That's right."

Feng Zhengming also came over and said with a smile, "You can play here with Youyou, and when you're done playing, you can sleep here with Youyou."

The little boy looked at Feng Zhengming.

"I can't disturb my cousin-in-law's work, so I'll go back and sleep with my mom."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Okay, you have to be more obedient than Youyou."

Feng Nuanyou changed her clothes inside the house and came out.

Hearing her father praise her uncle for being more well-behaved than her made the little girl unhappy.

"Dad, how come I'm not as well-behaved as my little uncle?"

When Feng Zhengming saw his daughter come out, he smiled and reached out to pull her to his side.

“Our Youyou is also very well-behaved. It’s just that Youyou is a girl, and girls need to be a little stronger so they won’t be bullied. Your uncle is a boy, and boys need to be gentle with their family.”

Auntie couldn't help but laugh when she heard this: "Hahaha, Zhengming, you really know how to coax children."

Feng Zhengming looked at his second aunt and said, "I'm telling you the truth, not just trying to coax you. I think boys can be tough and competitive outside, but they should be gentle with their family members at home."

Second Aunt: "So girls can be fierce with their family members?"

Feng Zhengming: "Girls can be a little coquettish with their family members, which shouldn't be considered fierce. But girls should show a prickly side to outsiders, so they won't be easily taken advantage of."

Aunt Feng’s words made a lot of sense to her.

After all, my second aunt has always been like this for so many years.

The sternness shown towards my second aunt stemmed from my desire for a better future for the family.

When dealing with outsiders, my second aunt always showed a prickly side, which is why she was able to avoid a lot of losses and trouble.

Especially considering the era my second aunt experienced in her youth, showing a prickly side was a better way to protect herself.

Luo Qing walked out of the house with a smile: "Aunt, don't listen to Zhengming's nonsense. He just wants to spoil his daughter, so he's making up an excuse for himself."

These words amused both my second aunt and my aunt-in-law.

Luo Qing asked, "Shall we go to West Lake first? And have some local specialties while we're there?"

Feng Zhengming: "Local specialties? I think there's probably no one in all of Hangzhou who can make them better than me." (End of Chapter)