From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the onlookers in front of the store all smiled and expressed their understanding.

Many young people even proactively asked Feng Zhengming if his shop was still hiring.
"You may be late. The store has been hiring for a while, and we've almost finished hiring now."

Upon hearing this, some of the young people looked annoyed.

"Oh dear, I should have come to apply earlier."

“I passed by here before and thought this store might be a fake, so I didn’t apply for the job.”

"What a missed opportunity! We missed the chance to go into Feng Zhuangyuan's shop."

"Feng Zhuangyuan, will you be hiring for your shop in the future?"

When asked about this, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "This will probably be decided by the store manager and the head chef who will be in charge of the store. I can't interfere too much with their decision-making."

Some young people seemed not to understand, thinking that Feng Zhengming was the boss and could make decisions.

Feng Zhengming explained: "Although I am the boss, since this store has been handed over to the store manager and the head chef, I should choose to trust them. This is what is meant by 'trusting people without doubt'."

Some of the older onlookers agreed with Feng Zhengming's statement.

“That’s right, Scholar Feng is right. If you let others take responsibility, you should let them make the decisions and not interfere.”

"Scholar Feng is indeed capable, and he is very confident in his ability to employ people."

"No wonder Feng Zhuangyuan was able to open so many stores all over the country."

"It's because they have too many trustworthy people under their command."

"Yeah, who can usually open so many stores?"

Feng Zhengming once again expressed his gratitude to everyone and invited them to visit his store the day after tomorrow when it opens.

The crowd readily agreed, and then gradually dispersed.

Seeing the crowd disperse, Feng Zhengming turned around and went back into the shop.

When Feng Nuanyou saw her father return, she immediately ran to him.

"Hehehe, Dad, why won't you let everyone in?"

Feng Zhengming bent down and picked up his daughter: "We're not open yet. The uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters in the store aren't ready."

Feng Nuanyou: "I know, I know, it won't open until the day after tomorrow."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, our Youyou is really smart. We will officially open the day after tomorrow."

He carried his daughter to the counter in front of the kitchen, where his uncle, aunt, and He Xiaona were also with their children.

The third senior brother was in the kitchen, leading everyone in preparing the meal.

During the preparation of materials, Zhou Feng, Hao Rongzhi, and the few people recruited by Zheng Cheng found that they couldn't get involved for the time being.

Not to mention them, even the apprentices selected from various shops in Shandong Province were somewhat unable to get involved.

All he could do was stand by and watch Yang Bin lead Sun Hai and Yang Peng as they worked.

When Feng Zhengming saw the scene in the kitchen, he smiled and said, "You should learn to take the initiative to find things to do instead of waiting to be reminded. For example, you can help prepare some tableware, or take the initiative to wash and cut the food."

Feng Zhengming's reminder made the apprentices in the kitchen understand immediately.

The kitchen apprentices immediately got to work.

They would find some work to help out themselves.

With the apprentices involved, the efficiency of the kitchen naturally improved.

Before long, Yang Bin, along with Sun Hai and Yang Peng, finished cooking one dish after another.

Zhou Feng and Hao Rongzhi also witnessed another side of the kitchen.

Unlike the kitchen of Hao Zongcheng Restaurant, the kitchen of Ganfanpu branch does not have much command and dispatch, and the steps of each dish are broken down here.

After the split, most of the time Yang Bin, Sun Hai, and Yang Peng just stood in front of the stove cooking.

Other tasks can be left to the apprentices.

Of course, there will also be some directives. The sous chef who comes to work with Yang Peng will give instructions from time to time.

Zhou Feng and Hao Rongzhi felt that the kitchen of the dry rice shop branch was like a machine in operation.

Therefore, the efficiency of serving dishes here is quite high.

Under Yang Bin's leadership, most of the stir-fried dishes were completed in no time.

Even dishes that require stewing or braising are cooked in a pressure cooker to shorten the cooking time.

The only dish that might take a relatively long time to prepare is a fish dish.

After the dishes were finished, Yang Bin and the others brought them out together.

Feng Zhengming invited everyone to sit down.

"Sit down, everyone. Let's eat and talk."

Everyone found a place to sit down.

Feng Zhengming looked at the dishes on the table: "Third Brother's cooking skills are still so good."

Yang Bin laughed: "Stop praising me, comment on the others instead."

Feng Zhengming: "Let's eat first. Everyone, get your food ready and have a taste."

Everyone was asked to serve themselves rice and dishes, and Feng Zhengming also served his daughter.

He was about to feed his daughter when she stopped him.

"Dad, can you mix it for me? I can eat it by myself."

Hearing his daughter say this, Feng Zhengming carefully mixed the rice and vegetables together for her.

After mixing it, Feng Zhengming put a small apron around his daughter's neck to eat, and also made sure she put on protective sleeves.

Then I handed the small spoon to my daughter and watched as she started using it to scoop up food from her bowl.

It has to be said that watching this little girl, Feng Nuanyou, eat makes everyone feel that the food is really delicious.

The little girl didn't eat quickly, but she ate in big mouthfuls each time.

That kind of appearance is very pleasing to the eye.

He Xiaona looked at her son and said, "Look at your little sister, isn't she amazing?"

Yang Jundong glanced at his sister, and then he began to eat obediently.

As for Feng Nuanyou's uncle, he has long been taught by his niece and can now eat independently without his mother chasing after him to feed him.

Seeing that all three children were eating obediently made the aunt very happy.

"Our Youyou is so good. She's set a good example for her brother and uncle, making them eat their meals properly too."

Upon hearing her great-aunt's words, Feng Nuanyou looked up at her and ate the food in her mouth first.

"Grandma and Auntie, you should eat well too. We children should eat well so we can grow tall."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh after hearing Feng Nuanyou's words.

Everyone thought the little girl was both cute and sensible.

After letting everyone eat for a while, Feng Zhengming asked, "How did everyone think of this lunch?"

The group stopped and thought about it.

Hao Rongzhi was the first to speak: "Delicious, very delicious." Feng Zhengming looked at Hao Rongzhi: "Do you think the flavors of these dishes suit your local taste?"

Hao Rongzhi: "Yes, this flavor is very suitable for our local area."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "That's fine then."

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming looked at Sun Hai and Yang Peng, and then at Yang Peng's deputy, Hong Zhenshan.

"You need to pay more attention to this point in the future. Try your best to adapt the taste to the locals' preferences. Only when you make the taste that the locals like will the business be good."

Sun Hai, Yang Peng, and Hong Zhenshan all nodded in agreement.

Feng Zhengming then looked at He Xiaona: "Xiaona, I've decided to make you the temporary manager of this store. What do you think?"

He Xiaona was taken aback: "Me, me, the store manager?"

Seeing Feng Zhengming nod, He Xiaona quickly refused: "No, no, no, Junior Uncle, I can't, I really can't."

Yang Peng also spoke up: "Uncle-Master, Xiaona has never done this before, so I'm afraid she really can't do it."

Feng Zhengming: "Don't be nervous. The store manager doesn't need to do a lot of things. You just need to manage the service staff in the store, supervise them to do their work, and make sure they don't get into conflicts with customers."

I believe you are capable of handling this. Besides, no one is born knowing everything. If you want to work, you definitely need to learn step by step from scratch. If you're always hesitant and afraid, when will you ever become competent?

Feng Zhengming's words made He Xiaona fall into deep thought.

At the same time, Yang Peng also felt that what his junior uncle said seemed to be right.

Since marrying Yang Peng and having a child, He Xiaona has been taking care of the child and has hardly worked.

This actually goes against He Xiaona's original intention when she left her hometown to work with Yang Peng.

But He Xiaona really didn't know what to do.
She didn't even know what she could do?
In this situation, He Xiaona was at home with her child and felt somewhat panicked.

She always felt like she had been left behind by society.

If someone is older, they might not think about it too much.

However, He Xiaona is still very young, and it's inevitable that she would have all sorts of worries while taking care of the child alone at home.

She came to the Zhengzhou store with her husband this time, hoping to find something to help out at the store.

However, to everyone's surprise, Feng Zhengming directly appointed her as the store manager.

Seeing He Xiaona's hesitation, he said, "Your child is older now. You can send him to the kindergarten here. I can help you with the enrollment."

Xiaona, if you'd like, you can temporarily work as the store manager here.

He Xiaona looked at Yang Peng, seemingly wanting him to help her make a decision.

After thinking for a long time, Yang Peng finally nodded in agreement.

"As Junior Uncle said, then you should listen to Junior Uncle. Anyway, we'll take care of things at the shop, so you won't be too busy. Just send your son to kindergarten in the morning and pick him up before dinner in the afternoon."

He Xiaona did indeed listen to Yang Peng, and when she heard her husband say that, she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Junior Uncle, I will definitely study hard and do a good job as the store manager."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, you can definitely do it, I believe in you."

After arranging He Xiaona's affairs, Feng Zhengming looked at Hong Zhenshan.

“Zhenshan, my elder brother asked you and Yang Peng to come together, which shows that he trusts you and believes that you two can work together well. Your third uncle and Sun Hai can't stay here forever. They will be going to Hebei Province later, so I'm entrusting this shop to you.”

If anything goes wrong, your master will probably come and discipline you personally.

Hong Zhenshan smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, Junior Uncle, I will definitely cooperate well with Brother Peng."

After giving instructions to Hong Zhenshan, he also gave instructions to the other apprentices in the kitchen.

“You are all kitchen apprentices. I don’t want you to form factions or divide yourselves into those from Shandong and those from the locals. I want you all to be one family and to work well together in the kitchen, understand?”

The apprentices looked at each other, then all nodded in agreement.

Zhou Feng and Hao Rongzhi both seriously agreed.

That's it. Everything in the shop here is all set up.

Feng Zhengming also started eating.

As Feng Zhengming also joined in the meal, the atmosphere shifted from serious to lively.

Everyone chatted and laughed while eating, and the atmosphere quickly became very harmonious.

Feng Zhengming was very happy to see the atmosphere become harmonious.

For a store to be run well, the most important thing is that the atmosphere among the employees is harmonious.

With a harmonious atmosphere, everyone can understand each other better, and when problems arise, they can work together to find solutions.

They won't sabotage each other when problems arise.

After the meal, even Yang Bin and Sun Hai sat outside.

Instead, they sent Yang Peng and Hong Zhenshan with their men into the kitchen.

Let them start cleaning and tidying up the kitchen themselves.

Yang Bin nodded in satisfaction upon seeing the atmosphere in the kitchen.

"That's right. It's easy for these young people to get along well. As long as they can stick together, they will definitely run this store very well."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, Third Brother, you should trust the abilities of young people. For example, Sun Hai in Shanghai helped me manage a store very well."

Sun Hai felt a little embarrassed by what was said: "Junior Uncle, that's what I should do."

Feng Zhengming: "No, nothing is a given. Don't worry, even though you're no longer in charge of cooking at that shop, you'll still get your share of the profits."

These words surprised Sun Hai, and after a moment of stunned silence, he quickly spoke.

"No, no, Junior Uncle, I have already left that shop. I can no longer accept the profits from that shop."

Feng Zhengming: "Just take it. Aren't you and Xia Hui getting married soon? If you don't have money, how are you going to marry Xia Hui?"

Sun Hai was taken aback by what he was told. After hesitating for a moment, he explained, "I... I actually have some savings."

Feng Zhengming: "Is your savings enough for a wedding?"

This question stumped Sun Hai.

Yang Bin laughed from the side: "Listen to your junior uncle. The profit sharing you get is what you deserve. You've been running that store for a long time, and you're the one who built its reputation, so the profit sharing is yours."

Hearing his master say the same thing, Sun Hai could only nod and agree to accept the dividends.

Feng Zhengming then looked at He Xiaona: "Xiaona, you and Yang Peng are the same. If you manage this store well, you can also share in the profits."

He Xiaona also looked surprised: "Junior Uncle, we, we don't actually need to."

Feng Zhengming stated unequivocally: "This is the rule, and it's also an incentive for you."

Yang Bin said, "That's right, we'll follow your junior uncle's arrangements."

Feng Zhengming simply stood up and walked to the bar outside the kitchen: "Yang Peng and Hong Zhenshan, you two remember, you are responsible for this store. If this store is profitable, you two will receive a share of the profits."

So from now on, this shop belongs to both of you. You need to use the skills you've learned to make this shop a success, understand?

Upon hearing this, Yang Peng and Hong Zhenshan turned to look at Feng Zhengming, and then the two exchanged a glance.

Then the two of them responded almost in unison: "Understood, Junior Uncle."

Seeing the determination and enthusiasm in their eyes, Feng Zhengming believed they would run the branch store well. (End of Chapter)