From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Hao Zongcheng took some time today to have a long talk with his youngest son at home.

At first, Hao Rongzhi was quite resistant to his father's arrangements.

"I'm sixteen years old, Dad. Can you please stop trying to arrange everything for me? I have my own ideas. Can't you let me do things my own way?"

Hearing his son's words, Hao Zongcheng looked helpless. He was indeed a little annoyed and even wanted to teach his son a lesson.

But then I thought about it again, and just like my son said, he's already sixteen.

Hao Zongcheng felt that even if he used force, his son would probably still be dissatisfied.

In the end, if he is not convinced, he will definitely not be willing to study or work hard.

Hao Zongcheng felt that if he forced his son to Feng Zhengming in that way...

The son won't learn any skills, and it might even damage Feng Zhengming's reputation.

After careful consideration, Hao Zongcheng decided to be more patient.

"I'm not trying to arrange everything for you. So tell me, now that you haven't gotten into high school, what are you going to do next?"

When asked this question by his father, Hao Rongzhi was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing that his son remained silent, Hao Zongcheng stopped worrying.

Hao Zongcheng has been quite busy these past few years, and his wife has been the one to take care of educating their son.

Hao Zongcheng was well aware of his wife's hardships.

Moreover, they have two sons, and his wife has already raised the eldest son to adulthood.

Hao Zongcheng's eldest son has now been admitted to high school and has consistently achieved top grades. To be honest, he has a chance to get into a good university.

Hao Zongcheng felt that his wife had raised their eldest son very well, so now that he, as the father, should take responsibility for their younger son.

After waiting for a while, Hao Zongcheng finally spoke up.

"Well then, you probably haven't thought it through yet, so let Dad talk to you first."

Hao Rongzhi looked at his father and this time nodded, willing to listen to what his father had to say.

He really hadn't figured out what he was going to do next.
So why not just listen to your father and see what he has to say to you?
Instead of directly mentioning the benefits of learning to cook, Hao Zongcheng started by talking about his childhood.

He talked about some of his experiences working in the countryside when he was young.

When he returned from the countryside, there were no suitable jobs available. In his early days, he swept the streets and even carried manure.

"My dad thought that wouldn't work. Then, there was a factory canteen that was short of people to do odd jobs."

The so-called "odd jobs" at that time actually meant doing hard labor in the kitchen, doing all kinds of physically demanding work, and being responsible for washing dishes and pots, cleaning and everything else.

But Dad went anyway, because he figured even doing odd jobs in the cafeteria was better than carrying manure, right?

Hao Zongcheng finally got to the point.

In the cafeteria, Hao Zongcheng, through his own efforts, successfully won the favor of an old chef.

Or rather, Hao Zongcheng was chosen by the old chef simply because he was hardworking and willing to put in the effort.

"That old chef was your grandmaster, Dad's first master. Later, Dad started learning the craft from him in his spare time, from the most basic cutting and preparation to being able to cook on the stove."

Later, your master recommended my father to work in a big restaurant in Zhengzhou. He started as an apprentice there.

In the kitchen of that grand restaurant, Dad met his second master, and it was you, his grandmaster, who enabled Dad to achieve what he has today.

Hao Zongcheng's second master was a genuine inheritor of Henan cuisine.

She was also the team leader when they went to participate in the first National Culinary Competition.

The second master was older and in poor health.

“Your father studied under your second master for a period of time, and not long after he was able to cook on his own, your second master passed away.”

At this point, Hao Zongcheng's expression also revealed deep sadness.

It's clear that he truly respects his master.

"You'll find out later that Dad worked his way up from an apprentice in the kitchen to a kitchen helper, then from a kitchen helper to the second cook, and finally became the head chef in the kitchen, where he also met your mother."

Hao Rongzhi was truly astonished when his father recounted these experiences.

This might be the first time he's heard his father tell him about these experiences in person.

Hao Rongzhi was the second child in his family. His father was always busy, and his mother focused most of her attention on his older brother.

This led to his rebellious personality from a young age. In fact, many of the wrong things he did from childhood to adulthood were to get more attention from his parents.

Now, my father can have a heart-to-heart talk with me, and he can tell me about his past experiences.

This is a scene that Hao Rongzhi has always hoped to see.

For the first time, Hao Rongzhi felt as if he had gained his father's attention.

"Dad, I... I really don't know what else I can do. My grades aren't as good as my brother's, so I definitely have no chance of passing the high school entrance exam. I don't want to go to a vocational school either, but I don't know what else I can do besides studying?"

Hao Zongcheng reached out and placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"It's good that you can recognize your shortcomings. Over the years, your father has been too busy to spend enough time with you and your brother. Your mother has also neglected you because she has been too busy taking care of your brother's studies."

On behalf of Mom, Dad wants to say sorry to you, son.

Hao Rongzhi never expected that his father would say "I'm sorry" to him.

In fact, if Hao Zongcheng had met Feng Zhengming before, he probably wouldn't have apologized to his son.

He probably doesn't have the patience to set aside a whole day for such a long, heart-to-heart talk with himself.

Feng Zhengming called him specifically to talk about his son.

Feng Zhengming was quite direct. If Hao Zongcheng wanted his son to get better in the future, he should have a good talk with his son instead of acting like a father and ordering his son around.
If there is anyone in this world who can change Hao Zongcheng's way of doing things.
So one of them was Hao Zongcheng's first master.

The other one is Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming is arguably the only person Hao Zongcheng has ever truly respected in all his years as a chef.

In recent years, Hao Zongcheng has been paying close attention to news about Feng Zhengming.

After learning about what Feng Zhengming had done over the years, Hao Zongcheng admired him even more.

Hao Zongcheng felt that Feng Zhengming truly deserved his status as the top scholar.

He not only runs his own store very well, but also drives the entire industry to develop better.

So after Feng Zhengming called him, Hao Zongcheng finally put aside his fatherly airs and had a heart-to-heart talk with his son.

After talking, Hao Zongcheng realized that Feng Zhengming was right.

My youngest son is at an age where he doesn't want to be controlled by others, but at the same time, he craves his parents' attention.

This clash of contradictions may lead Hao Rongzhi to do some contradictory things.

Feng Zhengming felt that it was precisely at times like these that his father needed to guide him.

Hao Zongcheng: "Dad wants you to work at your Uncle Feng's shop first so you can learn on the job. You know Uncle Feng, he's the national culinary champion. If you join his shop as an apprentice, you'll receive very professional instruction."

It might not be worse than what you learned in culinary school, and what your Uncle Feng and Uncle Yang taught you might even be better than what those culinary schools taught.

That's why Dad wants you to go to your Uncle Feng's shop and learn the basics from your Uncle Yang first.

After saying all that, Hao Zongcheng looked at his son and said, "Of course, it's entirely up to you. If you don't want to go, Dad won't force you to."

Hao Zongcheng then clearly explained to his son: "I've told you before that learning to cook is hard work, and being a chef is an extremely tough profession. So if you don't want to learn, I won't force you."

After hearing his father's words, Hao Rongzhi still felt somewhat hesitant.

After thinking for a while, Hao Rongzhi asked, "Dad, can I go take a look first? I want to see Uncle Feng's shop, and I also want to go with you to see the kitchen of your restaurant."

Hao Zongcheng smiled and said, "Okay, you go to the restaurant with Dad first, and we'll go to your Uncle Feng's place tonight. When his shop opens, I'll ask him if I can let you go into the kitchen first."

Hao Rongzhi nodded: "Thank you, Dad."

Hao Zongcheng patted his youngest son's head: "We don't need to be so polite. Go and pack your things, we'll be leaving in a bit. Tonight we'll take you to see the restaurant's kitchen."

Hao Zongcheng has never let his sons work in the kitchen over the years.

Perhaps in his heart, he felt that being a chef was too hard, so he never really wanted his sons to learn to cook.

So neither of his sons has ever worked in the kitchen where he works.

Tonight, Hao Zongcheng felt that he should indeed listen to Feng Zhengming and let his sons go into the kitchen to take a look.

So Hao Zongcheng waited specifically for his eldest son to come home from school.

He announced directly to his family: "Tonight I'm treating you all to dinner at the restaurant where I work, and then I'll let the eldest and second eldest sons go into the kitchen for a look."

His wife was shocked by Hao Zongcheng's words.

She never imagined that her husband would one day want to take their sons into the kitchen to have a look.

His wife recalled that Hao Zongcheng once said he didn't want his sons to suffer like he did, so he didn't want them to learn to cook or become chefs.

However, now that the youngest son has not been admitted to high school, there is really no other choice.

Hao Zongcheng told his wife that he wanted to arrange for his son to learn to cook.

At first, the wife hesitated, but after some thought, she felt that there seemed to be no better choice.

Just then, Yang Bin found Hao Zongcheng and told him about opening a branch in Zhengcheng.

His wife still remembers that when Hao Zongcheng came home that night, he excitedly told her that he had found a good future for their son.

Seeing the changes in her husband now makes the wife feel quite happy.

The family of four got ready and went out. Even the eldest son, Hao Rongchao, was very happy tonight.

The father and his two sons chatted the whole way.

His wife followed behind, her face beaming with smiles.

His wife could see the changes in Hao Zongcheng and thought they were good.

Coincidentally, when the family of three arrived at the restaurant, they ran into Feng Zhengming, who was also having dinner with people who had just arrived in Zhengzhou.

When everyone met at the entrance, they naturally introduced themselves to each other.

Hao Rongzhi stared at Feng Zhengming very carefully for a long time.

Although he had seen him on TV, Hao Rongzhi could feel Feng Zhengming's oppressive presence more directly when he met him in person.

His imposing and majestic presence forced Hao Rongzhi to look up at him.

However, Feng Zhengming always had a smile on his face, and seemed to treat people very kindly.

Therefore, Hao Rongzhi would want to get closer to Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming chatted with Hao Zongcheng for a few minutes, and then looked at Hao Rongzhi.

“Young man, your father must have told you how hard it is to learn to cook. I still want to emphasize it to you again: if you want to become an apprentice in the kitchen of my restaurant, it may be even harder than working in the kitchen of any other restaurant.”

Every apprentice in my kitchen is subject to very strict requirements, even if your father and I are very good friends.

We'll address each other as fellow disciples, and I won't give you any special treatment.

Hao Rongzhi was stunned after hearing Feng Zhengming's words.

On the contrary, it was the older brother, Hao Rongchao, who was more curious and bolder to speak first.

"Uncle Feng, I'm very curious, between you and my dad, whose cooking skills are better?"

Upon hearing this question, almost everyone present burst into laughter.

The answer is clear to everyone.

Even Hao Zongcheng himself wouldn't dare say he was better than Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "My answer is that we each have our strengths. Your father is a very skilled and excellent master chef of Henan cuisine. Although I am the national culinary champion, I dare not say that I can cook Henan cuisine better than your father."

Feng Zhengming's words made Hao Rongchao immediately understand.

Despite being an excellent student with good grades, Hao Rongchao is not entirely a bookworm.

He observed everyone's reaction when they asked the question, and combined this with what Feng Zhengming had said.

He quickly realized that his father's cooking skills were probably inferior to those of this Scholar Feng.

Hao Rongchao then understood why his father wanted his younger brother to learn cooking from Feng Zhuangyuan.

At this moment, Hao Rongchao even felt a little jealous of his younger brother.

Because his younger brother received more attention from their father, the father was even willing to ask others to take him as an apprentice.

However, Hao Rongchao felt better after only a moment of jealousy.

As the older brother, he was more sensible and understood that his parents loved all their brothers equally.

Otherwise, my father wouldn't have had to wait for me to get out of school tonight and would have called the whole family to come to the restaurant together.

He even let himself and his younger brother go into the kitchen for a tour.

Hao Rongchao: "Thank you, Uncle Feng."

Feng Zhengming could tell that this high school boy was very smart and had already understood the meaning behind his words.

"You're welcome." Feng Zhengming replied, then looked at everyone and said, "Let's go inside. Tonight, I'll take you to try some authentic Henan cuisine."

Then he asked Hao Zongcheng, "Brother Hao, sister-in-law, shall we sit together?"

Hao Zongcheng nodded: "Okay, I'll go in and arrange a large private room."

Hao Zongcheng's wife was naturally willing to sit with them, and she was also very curious about Feng Zhengming, the national culinary champion.

Everyone entered the restaurant together, and under Hao Zongcheng's arrangement, they quickly went into a large private room.

After sitting down, Hao Zongcheng called his two sons to come with him to the kitchen. (End of Chapter)