From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Since the whole family wanted to go to the beach, Feng Zhengming simply led everyone to Putuoshan for a visit.

The ferry ride to Putongshan made both Feng Nuanyou and Lu Jinghao especially excited.

The entire time, I had to stay by the window, looking out at the sea.

This may truly be the first time the two children have ever traveled by ferry at sea.

Feng Nuanyou wanted to run around on the deck, but Feng Zhengming held her back.

"Okay, you can't run around here. Just imagine if you fall in, your mom and dad won't be able to get you out."

Hearing her father say that, Feng Nuanyou was quite obedient.

"Hehehe, then Daddy will hold Youyou all the time."

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, Dad will hold Youyou the whole time."

The large ferry first took Feng Zhengming and his group to the islands of Zhoushan.

Feng Zhengming led his family to play on the island first, and took the children to the beach to watch the fishermen fishing and harvesting seaweed.

They even took everyone to taste the first harvest of seaweed here.

Including Luo Qing, her second aunt, and her aunt-in-law, it was truly the first time for everyone to have tasted the first harvest of seaweed.

This made them realize that the seaweed they had been eating before didn't taste right at all.

The taste of the first harvest of laver is truly unique.

After tasting it, Feng Zhengming made a special contact with the supplier.

After some conversation, we finally secured a supplier for the seaweed.

The other party also knew that Feng Zhengming was the top scorer in the national exam.

Hearing that Feng Zhengming was going to buy goods from them, they all gave him a lot of discounts.

Since the other party had given him a discount, Feng Zhengming decided to hand over some of his supplies to them for several stores in Shanghai.

This made the suppliers here even happier.

Feng Zhengming emphasized this point.

"The seaweed in my old-style restaurant in Shanghai must be the first harvest seaweed, the best of the best. Don't try to fool me with inferior products. If I find out, I won't be polite."

The suppliers readily agreed and even signed agreements with Feng Zhengming.

Besides seaweed, Feng Zhengming also contacted many seafood suppliers here.

Basically, when Feng Zhengming comes across good seafood, he negotiates deals not only with stores in Hangzhou.

They also handed over their seafood supply from Shanghai to this place.

Soon his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law also understood.

The reason Feng Zhengming deliberately lured his daughter here was actually to take the opportunity to contact suppliers.

Moreover, the suppliers that Feng Zhengming was looking for were almost all suppliers who could provide him with top-quality goods.

Over the course of a few days, Feng Zhengming and his family did not miss out on their fun, and Feng Zhengming also managed to reach agreements with most of the suppliers.

The main reason is that Feng Zhengming, the national champion, is indeed too famous.

Many times he was recognized even without introducing himself.

Then, the suppliers generally offered Feng Zhengming very honest prices.

As long as it can be sold, the suppliers here will almost never give Feng Zhengming a price increase.

This situation deeply moved Feng Zhengming.

I feel that if I can't do a good job with such good products, I'll really be letting down the suppliers here.

After spending a few days in the Zhoushan Islands, Feng Zhengming and his family took a ferry to the island where Putuoshan is located.

Even though his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law were not very devout Buddhists, once they arrived here, they found that...

However, attracted by the atmosphere, they all lit incense.

When Luo Qing offered incense, she also prayed for her husband and daughter.

She even prayed for the baby in her womb, hoping it would be a boy.

Hearing his wife's plea, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Look at the way you're praying! Have you forgotten what you went through as a child? Your family favored boys over girls and treated you badly. Why are you still thinking of praying for a son?"

Luo Qing glared at her husband.

“I don’t discriminate against girls. I’m hoping to have a son so he can inherit your craft.”

Feng Zhengming chuckled, "What if my son doesn't want to learn to cook? What if he can't handle the hardship?"

Luo Qing immediately said, "Then I'll kick him out. How dare he not learn his craft properly and not be able to endure hardship? I'll break his legs."

Feng Zhengming couldn't stop laughing when he heard that.

It took Feng Zhengming a long time to recover from laughing.

"You're not just favoring boys over girls, you're favoring girls over boys. You wouldn't be this cruel to your daughter, would you?"

Luo Qing: "Isn't the point of having a son to inherit your craft? If he's unwilling to learn from you and can't endure the hardship, then what's the point of having him as a son?"

Feng Zhengming helplessly tried to comfort his wife.

"Actually, there's no need. I have so many apprentices who will carry on my skills, so don't force your child to learn cooking."

Learning to cook is hard work, and I don't really want Youyou to learn to cook like our second child.

I hope they can be free to learn whatever they want.

At this point, Feng Zhengming smiled and looked at his daughter who was playing with her uncle.

"If I, as a chef, could nurture an artist or a scientist, I would feel truly proud."

After hearing her husband's words, Luo Qing calmed down.

"Okay, you have a point. I don't need it to be a son, nor do I need him to learn cooking from you. I just want my children to be safe, healthy, and happy."

Feng Zhengming hugged his wife and said, "That's right. I hope you and the children can be safe and happy."

I've perfected my culinary skills. It's only right that children have their own dreams. Letting them live their own lives makes us parents happier, doesn't it?

Luo Qing leaned against her husband's chest and nodded, then looked at her daughter and younger cousin.

My second aunt simply offered incense as a sign of respect.

After all, my second aunt was a staunchly religious veteran, so she didn't believe in these religions at all.

My aunt simply offered incense and made no requests, which was also a sign of respect.

Seeing her second aunt and aunt's behavior, Luo Qing couldn't help but laugh at herself: "Why do I seem like I'm outdated and superstitious?"

These words amused the second aunt, the aunt-in-law, and Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming: "It's alright. Your prayer is also a wish for our family's well-being. It's not superstitious, so don't worry."

After being comforted by her husband's words, Luo Qing felt much better.

After descending from Mount Putuo, we returned to the Zhoushan Islands.

After returning, Feng Zhengming contacted the suppliers again and asked them to supply goods to his stores in Shanghai.

He also contacted people in Shanghai and asked them to be ready to receive all kinds of seafood.

After a few days of travel, Feng Zhengming also managed to finalize the supply of seafood.

It was only after understanding the shipping situation that Luo Qing truly realized that her husband's shopping trip here wasn't solely for the store in Hangzhou, but more importantly, for their store in Shanghai. Clearly, with the support of various fresh seafood from here, the supply to their Shanghai store would be much better.

In comparison, many of the seafood products that Feng Zhengming is going to use in his new store in Hangzhou are not suitable.

After spending a few days at the beach, Feng Zhengming and his group returned to Hangzhou.

Not long after returning to Hangzhou, the manpower that Feng Zhengming needed had already arrived from Jinan.

At the same time, he, along with his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law, also began recruiting staff in Hangzhou.

In reality, not many people were actually recruited in Hangzhou.

On the contrary, some of the staff recruited to the new store came from cities in southern Anhui Province, while some of the kitchen staff came from Ningcheng and Taicheng.

This didn't seem too surprising to Feng Zhengming and his team.

After all, locals in Hangzhou probably wouldn't really consider the job opportunities at Feng Zhengming's branch.

Moreover, as an economically developed city, Hangzhou does indeed attract a large influx of people from other places.

For many people from other places who know Feng Zhengming's reputation...

If they went to work in other stores in Hangzhou, the pay might not be as good as what they get at Feng Zhengming's store.

It's relatively easy to explain why many kitchen staff will be coming from Ningcheng and Taicheng.

After all, both Ningcheng and Taicheng have several well-known chefs.

Many chefs in Hangzhou's large restaurants come from Ningcheng and Taicheng.

Of course, Feng Zhengming's restaurant couldn't possibly hire chefs from Ningcheng and Taicheng.

However, Feng Zhengming still selected some apprentices with a good foundation.

These apprentices, now working in the kitchen, may become the backbone of this branch in Hangzhou in the future.

In addition, Feng Zhengming transferred two young chefs from Qingdao to Shanghai to Hangzhou.

The two of them will be in charge of the Hangzhou branch going forward.

Feng Zhengming also had high expectations for the two of them.

"You learned a lot of seafood dishes from your master Gu Zhicheng in Qingdao, and you also learned some things at the Shanghai store in the past six months."

This transfer of you to the store in Hangzhou is a test to see if you can handle things on your own.

This restaurant in Hangzhou will definitely start as a fast food restaurant.

But if you have the ability, I hope you won't stop at the fast-food model.

Feng Zhengming's words brought a look of anticipation to the faces of Du Chenyu and Liu Fanping, Gu Zhicheng's two apprentices from Qingdao.

The two traveled from Qingdao to Shanghai, and then from Shanghai to Hangzhou.

Both of them had the idea of ​​taking things further.

However, in Shanghai, the two also discovered the intensity of the competition.

In particular, meeting the chefs in Shanghai made Du Chenyu and Liu Fanping realize the gap between them and the chefs in Shanghai.

However, the two did not get discouraged and continued to work hard to catch up with the chefs in Shanghai.

Now that they have been transferred to Hangzhou, they know very well that this is a sign of Feng Zhuangyuan's approval of them.

In terms of seniority, the two of them are already considered to be Feng Zhengming's grand-disciple generation.

Therefore, the two of them cherish the opportunity that Feng Zhengming gave them.

Du Chenyu: "Don't worry, Master Feng, we will definitely do a good job."

Liu Fanping: "We will definitely manage these two shops well, as the advisor."

When Feng Zhengming heard the two men address him as "Master," he couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, then do a good job. I hope you can be the first among my grand-disciples to stand on your own and support a branch."

These words truly motivated the two young chefs even more.

Both of them are only in their early twenties.

Therefore, both of them were filled with anticipation for the future.

When they were with Gu Zhicheng, the two of them were very serious about learning the craft from their master.

The reason why Gu Zhicheng recommended them to Feng Zhengming was because the two of them had a solid foundation in their skills.

Both of them have mastered the basic and classic Shandong dishes.

Perhaps the only thing the two of them lack is some experience.

However, Gu Zhicheng probably didn't expect Feng Zhengming to be so bold as to use these two young chefs.

After they had studied in Shanghai, they were directly transferred to Hangzhou to take over the branch.

Of course, the Hangzhou branch is not managed by just two young chefs.

Another person in charge of the Hangzhou branch is Gao Qiang, the owner of the small shop near the residential area where Feng Zhengming took his family to eat.

Feng Zhengming had everyone meet with each other and assigned them tasks.

"From now on, Lao Gao will be the head chef of your branch. He will be in charge of all the seafood dishes at this branch in Hangzhou. You all have to listen to Chef Gao."

Lao Gao, you'll be in charge of Du Chenyu and Liu Fanping for the braised pork belly, four-happiness meatballs, pig's trotters and pork hock, as well as some Shandong-style stir-fries. They're your deputies now.

"I won't be appointing a store manager for this Hangzhou location for now. We'll see how you perform and then nominate someone."

Feng Zhengming's words were very straightforward, making it clear to Du Chenyu and Liu Fanping that they also needed to compete, and at the same time, they needed to maintain a good relationship with Gao Qiang.

After all, Gao Qiang was appointed as the head chef by Feng Zhengming.

When there was no store manager, Gao Qiang was essentially the manager of the store.

Du Chenyu and Liu Fanping led the way, and everyone respectfully greeted Gao Qiang.

Gao Qiang was also a little embarrassed. He really didn't expect to be appointed as the head chef of this branch.

Feng Zhengming used to frequently eat at his restaurant.

After learning about Feng Zhengming's identity, he received a lot of guidance from Feng Zhengming.

Later, Feng Zhengming invited him to work as a chef in his shop.

Gao Qiang thought that coming here to learn from scratch was a great learning opportunity.

Gao Qiang never expected that after he arrived, Feng Zhengming would immediately appoint him as the head chef.

Looking at the people bowing respectfully to him, Gao Qiang really didn't know what to say.

After a while, Gao Qiang finally came to his senses and couldn't help but say something.

"Feng, Scholar Feng, I, I'm afraid I'm not suitable?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "No, Master Gao, no one is more suitable than you. You have been in Hangzhou for so long, and I'm afraid no one understands the local people's tastes better than you, so you are the most suitable person to take charge of cooking."

This arrangement is exactly the same as Feng Zhengming's original one in Hongcheng, Jiangxi Province.

The difference is that Yu Fuxiang is a retired master chef who is quite skilled at making local-style dishes.

Gao Qiang is only middle-aged and still has some room for improvement in his skills, but he has mastered some cooking techniques from Ningcheng and Taicheng and has been running a restaurant in Hangzhou for almost ten years.

As Feng Zhengming said, Gao Qiang really understands the taste preferences of the local people in Hangzhou.

In addition, he incorporated some seafood cooking techniques from Ningcheng and Taicheng.

Feng Zhengming felt that Gao Qiang was the best candidate to be the head chef at this branch in Hangzhou. (End of Chapter)