From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After renting the shop, Yang Bin called his junior apprentice again.

This time, he also asked Zhou Feng to say a few words to his junior brother.

When Zhou Feng heard Feng Zhengming's voice on the other end of the phone, he became extremely excited.

"Scholar Feng, is it really you? Scholar Feng?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "You don't need to call me that. You should already be my third senior brother's apprentice, right? Then you can call me 'Junior Uncle' or 'Junior Junior Uncle' from now on."

Zhou Feng felt a little dizzy when he heard this address.

Since he took over the family's noodle shop, he initially learned and worked alongside his father every day.

Later, I saw a report about Feng Zhengming on TV. In particular, the report mentioned that Feng Zhengming started by selling braised pork and boxed lunches at the Quancheng Railway Station.

With the skills he learned from his apprentice and his own dedication, he eventually became the champion of the national culinary competition.

This really motivated Zhou Feng.

He also fantasized that perhaps in the future he could make a name for himself by making braised noodles.

I never thought of becoming a national champion like Feng Zhengming.

He felt that he could at least become a decent, good chef.

But he never imagined that one day he could call Feng Zhengming "Junior Uncle".

After a brief moment of surprise, Zhou Feng tried calling out.

"Then, shall I call you Junior Uncle?"

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, just like Sun Hai, you'll call me Junior Uncle from now on."

Zhou Feng was very excited: "Okay, Junior Uncle."

Seeing his son's excited expression, Old Zhou couldn't help but reach out and pat him on the shoulder.

"You brat, look at yourself, what's all the excitement about? Learn the trade properly from me from now on, don't embarrass me."

Zhou Feng smiled at his father and said, "Dad, don't worry, I will learn the craft well."

Then Feng Zhengming gave some instructions to his third senior brother over the phone.

“Your three branches in Zhengzhou need to have braised pork belly, pig's trotters, pork hock, and four-happiness meatballs. But besides these, you also need to make some other things.”

For example, if you want to make some beef and lamb, remember to have them prepared separately at the restaurant.

Also, you need to make sesame seed cakes and Zhou Feng's family's braised noodles; these should be your main offerings in Zhengcheng.

Because Yang Bin was holding the phone on speakerphone, Lao Zhou, who was standing next to him, also heard Feng Zhengming's words.

"Wow, Scholar Feng, you're amazing! You really know our local tastes so well!"

Zhou Feng added, "We do eat more beef and mutton here, and we also really like noodles. We don't eat rice very often here."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Haha, Uncle Zhou, hello. I didn't get to visit you in person this time, but I will definitely visit you in person when I have time in the future."

"I'm so sorry to have taken your son away from you. Your family's braised noodle recipe might need to be incorporated into our restaurant."

Old Zhou laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha, Scholar Feng, you are too kind. It is my son's good fortune to be chosen by you. It will definitely be better for him to work in your shop than to continue running the family noodle shop."

Feng Zhengming: "Uncle Zhou, don't worry. Our shop will definitely pay Zhou Feng a good salary. You can continue living your life as usual."

Old Zhou: "It's okay. Zhou Feng will learn the craft from you. It doesn't matter if the salary is high or low. I can support myself by continuing to run the noodle shop on my own."

Feng Zhengming: "That won't do. It's definitely not okay for you to continue running the noodle shop. How about this, we'll arrange for someone to learn the craft from you and help you run the noodle shop."

Old Zhou was somewhat surprised by this: "No, no need. My little restaurant doesn't need your people to run it."

Zhou Feng said, "Dad, then you should quit. Just play chess with your uncles and elders. I'm going to my master's shop. I get a salary, and the family doesn't need the income from the noodle shop."

Old Zhou knew his son was filial, but he was also somewhat helpless.

“You don’t understand. This noodle shop is a place that many long-time residents here are used to eating at. If we close it down all at once, what will these long-time residents eat in the future? They can’t just go to your shop just to have a bowl of noodles, can they?”

Yang Bin also spoke up: "Uncle Zhou, that's why we're listening to you. We'll arrange for apprentices to come and learn from you while working, ensuring that your skills are passed down and your shop continues to thrive."

Old Zhou hesitated for a moment: "But our little noodle shop can't afford to pay wages."

Feng Zhengming laughed on the other end of the phone: "Uncle Zhou, you don't need to be so polite with us. You don't need to pay our wages. The noodle shop will continue to operate, just so that our old neighbors will have a place to eat."

The apprentices are considered part of our Zhengzhou branch, and their salaries are paid by the Zhengzhou branch as well, so you don't need to worry about any of that.

Old Zhou was somewhat surprised: "You can do that?"

Feng Zhengming: "Of course, our apprentices need to learn a lot. Learning how to make braised noodles from you is a good skill."

Old Zhou thought for a moment and said, "I think you, Scholar Feng, are like a master at collecting all kinds of chess scores."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Haha, thank you for the compliment, Uncle Zhou."

Then, Feng Zhengming gave his third senior brother a lot of ideas.

The third brother must pay attention to the local tastes, and before the branch opens, he must contact suitable suppliers, especially to ensure that the ingredients are indeed of good quality.

Most importantly, you need to add some local specialty snacks to the shop and try to make them as authentic as possible.

Yang Bin has done a lot of research these days, and he has also felt that the local eating habits in Zhengzhou are somewhat different from those in his hometown of Jinan.

He was also thinking about how to balance different flavors and how to make the store's products more popular.
Today, after a series of reminders from his junior colleague over the phone, Yang Bin had a better starting point.

Since the beef and mutton here are more famous, the restaurant simply decided to focus on beef and mutton.

Moreover, Shandong also has its own mutton soup, and Yang Bin thought it would be possible to combine Shandong mutton soup with Henan mutton soup.

This will allow the branches to be more down-to-earth and better suit the tastes of the locals.

Furthermore, Yang Bin decided that all the stir-fried meat dishes in this branch would primarily feature beef and mutton.

Feng Zhengming heard some of his third senior brother's thoughts on the phone after being inspired.

He smiled and gave his third senior brother a great deal of encouragement.

"Okay, Third Brother, you can make these decisions yourself. I trust your judgment. Our rice shop doesn't necessarily have to serve pork. We can also serve beef and mutton. And we can use the braising liquid from braised pork belly to make beef and mutton just as well."

Yang Bin was very happy to hear his junior brother on the other end of the phone so supportive of his judgment.

The two brothers then discussed things in more detail, such as how to season the meat and how to cook beef and mutton.
These exchanges surprised both Lao Zhou and Zhou Feng.

The father and son never expected that Feng Zhengming and Yang Bin would reveal so many details over the phone.

However, despite their surprise, the father and son quickly realized what was going on.

Many of the seasoning details seem to be beyond the understanding of anyone other than Feng Zhengming and Yang Bin, the two apprentice brothers.

It's like the use of certain seasonings, and they might even mention specific brands.

The order in which they are placed first and last also varies.

It's hard to say whether someone who hasn't spent years immersed in the kitchen can understand the specific details.

Then Zhou Feng saw that Sun Hai had taken out a notebook at some point.

He leaned on the table next to him, listening to his master and junior uncle chat while taking notes in his notebook.

Old Zhou and his son Zhou Feng really couldn't get involved. So Old Zhou quickly got up and left.

Let Zhou Feng stay and listen first.

Although Zhou Feng was listening very attentively, there were still many specific details that he couldn't quite understand.

Finally, Feng Zhengming and Yang Bin finished their phone conversation, and Feng Zhengming said goodbye and hung up.

Yang Bin glanced at Sun Hai, who was still diligently taking notes, then looked up at Zhou Feng and laughed.

"How was it? Were you a little confused? Did you not understand many things? You may not understand now, but you should be able to understand in the future and be able to apply many things well."

However, in the future, you could learn from your senior brother Sun and prepare a notebook to jot things down as needed.

Sun Hai had finished taking notes and looked up with a smile: "A bad pen is worse than a good memory."

Zhou Feng nodded: "I've remembered, Master and Senior Brother. I'll also buy a notebook to carry with me."

Yang Bin and Sun Hai exchanged a smile.

Sun Hai knew that there was a reason why his master valued Zhou Feng.

My master and my junior uncle are two different kinds of people.

Junior Uncle always has many wildly imaginative ideas, but at the same time he is a very strict person when it comes to basic skills.

A mentor is a good teacher who allows mistakes and is more patient in guiding you again and again.

It's not that Junior Uncle is unwilling to teach again and again.

However, Junior Uncle will not allow you to make the same mistake again and again.

If he corrects you, then you should remember it.

Having spent many years by his junior uncle's side, Sun Hai felt that following his master was much easier than following his junior uncle.

But he is still grateful to his junior uncle for taking him under his wing.

Because of the almost harsh basic requirements of your junior master, you will form a habit.

Sun Hai used to be careless in many ways, but after his junior uncle's strict guidance, many of his bad habits were corrected, and he naturally became more meticulous.

This is perhaps most evident in Xia Hui.

Sun Hai knew very well that Xia Hui had a lot of questions at the beginning.

Her master's repeated and demanding requirements ultimately shaped Xia Hui into the person she is today.

Therefore, in Sun Hai's view, the initial apprenticeship period should be about learning a craft from one's master.

Once you have a solid foundation, then you can study under a master for a period of time.

Finally, if you want to go further and truly become a master chef who can stand on his own, that's the goal.

You must learn from your junior master. Only by learning from your junior master can you gain the vision and skills of a true master.

As the saying goes, details determine success or failure, and Junior Uncle is a true master of details.

At this time in Hangzhou, Feng Zhengming knew that his third senior brother had already taken care of the branch business in Zhengzhou.

He was still quite happy inside.

This joy, of course, should be shared with family.

Luo Qing, her second aunt, and her aunt-in-law were all happy for Feng Zhengming.

Feng Nuanyou even climbed directly into her father's arms.

"Hehehe, Dad, you must be so happy, right? Uncle San is so amazing."

Feng Zhengming kissed his daughter's cheek.

"Yes, Uncle San is very capable."

Luo Qing asked, "Should we also hurry up on our end?"

Feng Zhengming: "There's no rush. Third Brother and his team will open the store in Zhengcheng and then go to Hebei Province, so there's no need for us to rush things here."

My second aunt asked, somewhat puzzled, "You seem to be waiting for something?"

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, I'm waiting, waiting for the person I can cooperate with to appear."

My aunt was also puzzled: "Wait for someone who can cooperate to appear? Aren't people in Hangzhou very supportive of you right now?"

Feng Zhengming: "The people in Hangzhou are very supportive of me, but we need more than just support from Hangzhou. We also need support from Ningcheng and Taicheng by the sea, and we need support from seafood."

Luo Qing thought for a moment: "So you're also going to promote seafood at this restaurant in Hangzhou?"

Feng Zhengming: "It just adds some small seafood, so it should be similar to a restaurant in Yancheng."

His wife was even more puzzled: "Hangzhou isn't near the sea, is it?"

Feng Zhengming: "So we have to wait for a partner to appear, and we need someone who can transport the goods by sea."

Luo Qing, her second aunt, and her aunt-in-law had no idea how long they would have to wait.
Feng Zhengming noticed their confusion.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be too long. I believe someone will come to us soon. We've come all this way to Hangzhou, so we can stay and have some fun for a few more days. If that doesn't work, we can go to the beach."

Feng Nuanyou suddenly shouted happily, "Let's go to the beach! Daddy, let's go play at the beach!"

Hearing his daughter scream, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh and put her down from his arms.

"Then ask your great-aunt, great-uncle, mother, and uncle if they'd like to go together?"

Feng Nuanyou immediately turned around and rushed into the arms of her great-aunt and great-uncle.

Luo Qing almost rolled her eyes at the sight, knowing that her daughter was very good at grasping the main issue.

The daughter clearly knew that as long as she could win over her great-aunt and great-uncle, everything would be fine.

If I were to try to persuade my mother alone, she might not agree.

So the little girl simply skipped over her mother.

Feng Nuanyou even specifically asked her uncle for his opinion.

"Uncle, shall we go to the beach together?"

When asked this question, the uncle didn't know how to answer for a moment.
It was the great-aunt who made the decision: "Alright, your father is just doing this on purpose, so you should listen to him. Since we're going to the beach, let's go and have some fun together."

When Feng Nuanyou heard her great-aunt agree, she immediately cheered with joy.

Of course, while the little girl was happy, she didn't forget to ask her mother about it.

"Hehehe, Mom, let's go to the beach together, okay?"

Luo Qing pouted, pretending to be angry: "You skipped over Mom and went to ask your great-aunt and great-uncle, and you even asked your uncle. Mom is unhappy, and Mom doesn't want to go."

Next, Feng Nuanyou naturally resorted to her persistent and gentle persuasion.

He quickly won over his mother as well.

Feng Zhengming and his group drove directly to the Ningcheng seaside. (End of Chapter)