From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming's so-called arrangement was that the old villa restaurant would close for a few days so that he would have time to go to Shicheng in Hebei Province to attend the opening of a new store there.

At the same time, it's also a chance for everyone in my restaurant to have a few days off.

After all, during the time he was preparing for several new stores, no one in the restaurant had a day off; everyone was constantly busy.

Even the team-building activities that he had promised to hold once a month were not continued because he was not in Shanghai.

Therefore, although Feng Zhengming gave everyone a substantial bonus, it would still be better for everyone to have a holiday to rest.

Moreover, this time, in addition to several fast food restaurants, Feng Zhengming also gave the restaurant on the Western restaurant street a few days off.

A full week's gap was given, which also allowed some other stores in Shanghai to give up some market share.

Feng Zhengming's arrangement naturally pleased other restaurants in Shanghai.

The chefs' association and the catering association were also quite satisfied with Feng Zhengming's arrangement.

However, for wealthy gourmets who are used to eating at Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant, and for those who frequently patronize the restaurant on the Western restaurant street, this week-long closure is truly difficult to endure.

Of course, the customers all expressed their understanding after seeing Feng Zhengming's announcement of the break.

After all, not only has Feng Zhuangyuan's culinary skills been consistently excellent, but his service staff has also been consistently very good.

They haven't had a break for almost several months, so it's perfectly reasonable to let their shop take a few days off.

After all, most companies nowadays still have a two-day weekend.

Feng Zhengming ordered the two stores to close and arranged for the other four dry rice shop branches to operate on a shift system.

This allows everyone to have plenty of time to rest.

After all the stores in Shanghai were settled, Feng Zhengming invited Xia Hui, Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui, as well as his three apprentices Hou Dong, Gao Yongfu, and Lu Haisheng, to go to Shicheng with him to attend the opening ceremony there.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming's itinerary included taking them to Beijing.

Take them to see and interact with different places, to see the local customs and culture, and to learn about the different eating habits of people from different regions.

All of these arrangements filled everyone in the entourage with anticipation.

Especially Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui.

Five young chefs came to Feng Zhengming's shop.

They were almost always busy at Feng Zhengming's various stores.

Occasionally, during holidays, I either travel around Shanghai or take some time to go back to my hometown.

Feng Zhengming had previously given them a long leave so they could go back and visit their master and fellow disciples.

The original intention was for the five people to find the feeling of running their own shop.

However, the result was somewhat contrary to expectations.

After the five of them returned, they had a clash of ideas with their master and fellow disciples.

This has led to them having absolutely no confidence in opening their own shops to this day.

This time, Feng Zhengming took them to Shicheng first to see the opening of his new store there.

Then I plan to take them to the capital to see what's going on in those shops there.

Feng Zhengming believes that this trip will help the five young chefs find some goals.

The group took a plane directly from Shanghai to Shicheng.

Feng Zhengming did not bring his daughter on this trip.

The daughter was obedient and agreed to stay home with her mother and great-aunt.

So the group traveled light.

Upon arriving in Shicheng, Feng Zhengming and his group first checked into a hotel.

That evening, Feng Zhengming met with Jing Guanlin.

Jing Guanlin was very pleased with Feng Zhengming's arrival.

He had already heard from others about Feng Zhengming's preparations for the opening of his new store in Zhengcheng.

So when Yang Bin and Sun Hai came to Shicheng to find him, Jing Guanlin offered to help with the preparations without hesitation.

"Haha, Zhengming is here! Our top scholar has finally arrived! Welcome! It's an honor for our Shicheng."

Feng Zhengming smiled and took the initiative to shake hands with Jing Guanlin.

"Senior Brother Jing, you're really too kind. It's not your honor that I'm here. It's my honor to be here. Thank you for your help with the opening of this new store."

Jing Guanlin: "I didn't help much; it was all your senior brother who did the work."

Yang Bin chimed in from the side, "Senior Brother Jing said my junior brother is modest, but you're even more modest than him."

These words immediately amused Jing Guanlin.

"Haha, okay, everyone, don't be shy or modest."

Then Jing Guanlin and Yang Bin each told Feng Zhengming about the preparations for the new store.

After listening to Jing Guanlin's explanation, Feng Zhengming felt the various ways Jing Guanlin was helping his new store in Shicheng.

Jing Guanlin also helped with finding suitable storefronts and suppliers.

Of course, the most important thing is also the selection of local specialty snacks.

Jing Guanlin is really busy as if he owns his own shop.

Feng Zhengming was quite grateful for this.

"We really appreciate it from Senior Brother Jing. He has helped us so much. Without him, our store in Shicheng would not have been able to open so quickly and smoothly."

Jing Guanlin: "Of course I will do my best to help you. Chefs all over the world are one family. Besides, many of us here have been looking forward to your branch opening here."

At this point, Jing Guanlin lowered his voice: "Especially since everyone knows that you already have a branch in Zhengcheng."

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh.

It's clear that people in Shicheng are very competitive about the opening of stores in Zhengcheng.

It seems that since Feng Zhengming has opened a branch in Zhengcheng, he should also open a branch in Shicheng.

This may simply be a superficial issue.

Feng Zhengming knew this, which is why he gave everyone in Shanghai a holiday and made a special trip to preside over the opening ceremony.

Jing Guanlin helped me so much with opening the shop, so I definitely have to give him face.

After chatting with Jing Guanlin for a while, Feng Zhengming led everyone to the new store in Shicheng to take a look.

The new store in Shicheng is located in the bustling downtown area of ​​Shicheng.

Furthermore, the interior and exterior decorations of the shop also reveal the style of some old buildings in Shicheng.

It's clear that Jing Guanlin also contributed a lot of ideas to the renovation.

Stepping into the store, you'll find everything arranged very well, and it's easy to see that a lot of care has been put into it.

The kitchen, in particular, is very well equipped, from the stove to all kinds of cooking tools.

Looking into the kitchen, it's in no way inferior to the kitchens of restaurants.

It is evident that Jing Guanlin provided substantial assistance to the store in Shicheng.

Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui were all somewhat surprised by what they saw.

Even Xia Hui, Gao Yongfu, Hou Dong, and Lu Haisheng were incredulous. Feng Zhengming smiled and bowed to Jing Guanlin again in thanks.

"Thank you so much, Senior Brother Jing, for equipping my shop with such good kitchen utensils. You've really gone to great lengths this time."

Jing Guanlin smiled and said, "Junior brother, don't say that. I didn't spend any money. I just recommended the manufacturers of these tools to you. Junior brother Yang paid for them all."

Feng Zhengming: "That's what we should pay. I also heard from my third senior brother that Senior Brother Jing got us a big discount."

Jing Guanlin: "Haha, they should give you the biggest discount, after all, they are supplying equipment to Feng Zhuangyuan's shop."

Then Jing Guanlin introduced several young apprentices to Feng Zhengming.

"Zhengming and the others are considered the younger generation of Hebei cuisine. I've spoken with Junior Brother Yang about having them come to your restaurant to learn from you. What do you think, Zhengming?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Sure, my third senior brother mentioned to me that our restaurants in various places all need to have some local characteristics. Could there be anyone who understands the characteristics of Hebei cuisine better than them? We naturally welcome their participation."

Having said the welcoming words, Feng Zhengming reiterated this point to the apprentices present.

"My shop will be a bit tougher, and it has higher requirements for individual abilities, so you may need to be mentally prepared, and don't end up not being able to handle the hardship."

Jing Guanlin smiled: "Zhengming, don't worry, they all know that working in the kitchen is hard. If they really couldn't handle the hardship, they wouldn't come to your shop."

Feng Zhengming knew that Jing Guanlin had introduced a total of five young apprentices.

One of them is Jing Guanlin's nephew, the child of Jing Guanlin's elder brother, named Jing Mingyu.

My third senior brother specifically introduced it to me on the phone.

According to the third senior brother, Jing Guanlin lost his parents when he was very young, and he was raised by his eldest brother and sister-in-law.

Later, he became a chef and stood out among Hebei cuisine chefs.

Especially after returning from the National Culinary Competition, he gained more attention in Shicheng and the province.

He also provided a lot of help to his elder brother and sister-in-law's family.

His nephew, Jing Mingyu, just turned 20 this year, and he also arranged for him to attend a vocational school to learn cooking skills for two years.

When he learned that Feng Zhengming was coming to Shicheng to open a shop, he took the initiative to recommend several apprentices to Yang Bin, including his nephew.

Jing Guanlin is a straightforward person, so he directly told Yang Bin the specific details.

Upon learning of the situation, Yang Bin specifically called Feng Zhengming to discuss it.

Feng Zhengming has always been a person who recommends talented people regardless of their relatives or friends. As long as young people can endure the hardships of working in the kitchen and are willing to work hard and learn the skills diligently, they will succeed.

So he doesn't care who recommends him or what his relationship with the recommender is.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had Hao Zongcheng arrange for his youngest son to work at the Zhengcheng store.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming had his third senior brother test Jing Mingyu.

After passing the tests administered by his third senior brother, Jing Mingyu indeed passed all the tests.

Since they could both pass the test, Feng Zhengming was happy to let Jingming Yu into his Shicheng shop.

Besides Jing Mingyu, two of the remaining four apprentices in Hebei cuisine were Jing Mingyu's vocational school classmates. They were selected through a series of assessments to get the opportunity to work in the kitchen of this restaurant in Shicheng.

Two other people were also recommended by the master chef of Hebei cuisine, and of course, they also passed Yang Bin's assessment before entering the store.

The people in charge of running this shop in Shicheng were a pair of apprentices from the second senior brother and the sixth senior brother.

The second senior brother's apprentice is named "Zhang Haobo," who is the grandson of Old Master Zhang, the braised chicken maker in Dezhou.

Feng Zhengming, the second senior apprentice, went to Dezhou to work with the old man to manage the branch there for a short time.

The old man's grandson secretly traveled to Dezhou to find his grandfather, without his parents' knowledge.

Grandpa Zhang originally did not want to accept his grandson into the store.

The old man was worried that if his grandson went into the shop, his son and daughter would cause trouble.

But later, Zhang Haobo really put in a lot of effort and started from doing odd jobs.

Finally, he managed to win over his grandfather, and his second senior brother, Chen Zezhi, also thought the child was very good, so he took Zhang Haobo as his apprentice.

As it turned out, Zhang Haobo's parents actually came to their door.

Zhang Haobo took the initiative to stand up and had a long talk with his parents, eventually persuading them to leave.

From then on, Zhang Haobo also gained his grandfather's approval, and his grandfather passed on some of his skills to him.

After several years of honing his skills, Zhang Haobo, in his second senior brother's opinion, also needed an opportunity to further hone his abilities.

Therefore, this time, the second senior brother recommended Zhang Haobo to Feng Zhengming.

The sixth senior brother's disciple is Lü Zhengyu.

After Lu Zhengyu, Gu Zhicheng, Bao Feng, and Peng Yan went to Shanghai for further studies for a period of time.

He and Gu Zhicheng first returned to Qilu.

Gu Zhicheng returned to Qingdao and opened a restaurant there as Feng Zhengming had requested.

Lu Zhengyu first went back to the branch in Yancheng.

Lu Zhengyu came here on his own initiative to gain experience.

After his sixth senior brother mentioned it to Feng Zhengming, he immediately agreed.

Besides Zhang Haobo and Lü Zhengyu, two other apprentices came along.

It can be said that this restaurant in Shicheng is the first in which the number of local apprentices in the kitchen exceeds the number of staff who came here to manage the restaurant.

However, Feng Zhengming was not worried about this at all.

He believed that Zhang Haobo and Lü Zhengyu were capable of running the store well.

Most importantly, Jing Guanlin's straightforwardness puts Feng Zhengming at ease.

Of course, Feng Zhengming also gave Zhang Haobo and Lü Zhengyu some instructions.

"This restaurant is a test for the two of you. I hope you can cooperate well. Remember one thing: in the kitchen, you are the direct person in charge, regardless of where the other people in the kitchen come from or whether they have local backers."

Remember this: you have your master behind you, and I am your support. Therefore, you are the supervisors in the kitchen.

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words of advice, Zhang Haobo and Lü Zhengyu exchanged a glance and nodded with smiles.

Zhang Haobo: "Don't worry, Uncle-Master, I will cooperate well with Senior Brother Lü."

Lü Zhengyu: "Uncle-Master, actually Junior Brother Zhang is more capable than me. I should be cooperating with him."

Zhang Haobo: "No, no, you're the senior, I should cooperate with you."

Seeing the two men being so courteous to each other, Feng Zhengming smiled as well.

"Alright, you two don't need to be so polite. You two can discuss the kitchen matters. As for the store's operations, you also need to keep an eye on them, especially the service staff. Don't let them ruin the store's reputation."

Zhang Haobo and Lü Zhengyu nodded seriously in agreement.

Yang Bin also stepped forward: "I will ask your senior brother Sun to stay for a while to help you take care of some things at the store."

The two quickly expressed their gratitude to Sun Hai: "Thank you, Senior Brother Sun."

Sun Hai: "No need to be polite. Our masters are fellow disciples, and we are family. It's only right that we help you."

That's how the staff was finalized, and the contents of the new store were inspected.

Feng Zhengming and Jing Guanlin chose an auspicious day together to prepare for the official opening of the Shicheng branch. (End of Chapter)