From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Starting in the evening, the number of people at the shop that Fifth Brother was in charge of began to increase.

Although there are quite a few tourists queuing in the afternoon, it's nothing compared to the dinner rush that starts in the evening.

The line of people at the entrance could stretch for almost two streets.

Feng Zhengming and his third senior brother also changed into chef's uniforms and went into the kitchen.

Then the three brothers worked together in the kitchen to quickly deal with the peak flow of people that began in the evening.

At this moment, everyone in Cao Zhiguo's kitchen truly felt for the first time the combined strength of the three state banquet chefs.

Feng Zhengming completely entrusted the task of cooking to his two senior apprentices, while he personally led the others to prepare the dishes for them.

Feng Zhengming's leadership in the kitchen team truly demonstrated to everyone in the kitchen what it means to prioritize efficiency.

Previously, everyone may have had their own rhythm, and after working with Cao Zhiguo for so long, everyone has adapted to the original rhythm.

Everyone felt that their pace was perfectly coordinated with Cao Zhiguo's, and it couldn't be any faster.

But Feng Zhengming took the lead and guided them, making them realize that their rhythm could be further optimized.

The speed can actually be even faster, and no one would feel that going faster would be more strenuous.

It even gives people the impression that following Feng Zhengming's pace makes things easier.

Of course, "relaxed" is relative; in reality, it's hard to relax in the restaurant once dinner time starts.

The shop is too close to the tourist attractions, and at this time of day, it's almost always packed with tourists.

After all, for many tourists visiting Beijing...

If you don't know what to eat in Beijing?
Therefore, choosing to eat at Feng Zhengming's chain stores will definitely prevent you from getting ripped off.

So when it's mealtime, a large number of tourists flock to the restaurant one after another.

This was just one part of a tour group; after being contacted by the Beijing Catering Association, they were taken to other restaurants to eat.

If the catering association doesn't take the initiative to cooperate with tour groups and have some of the tourists take them to eat at their restaurants...

I'm afraid Cao Zhiguo would be completely overwhelmed if he were in charge of this store.

Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers worked together, and their efficiency in preparing meals was significantly faster.

There were just too many people queuing at the door, so almost everyone in the kitchen was working non-stop.

Xia Hui strolled around and arrived at the store. She was stunned when she saw the line of people waiting in front of the store.

"Is it really that exaggerated? That many more people than our stores in Shanghai?"

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong also followed them to the store entrance.

Seeing such a queue, the two of them looked on incredulously.

However, upon closer reflection, Xia Hui and the others could understand.

This restaurant is quite close to the tourist attractions, and it's dinner time now.

In addition, this shop has the added prestige of the master, so the prices are much cheaper than some other shops in Beijing.

Therefore, it is not surprising that it has become the first choice for most tourists visiting Beijing.

When Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong saw Xia Hui, the two of them went up to her.

"Senior Sister, should we go in and help?"

"Yeah, Senior Sister, with so many people, the shop will definitely be very busy and might need more staff."

Xia Hui shook her head: "We can't get involved if we go in now. Master and Third Uncle are definitely inside. With Master inside arranging people, it would be redundant for us to go in."

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong were taken aback.

Hou Dong asked, "So what do we do now?"

Xia Hui: "Let's find another restaurant to eat at first, and come back later."

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong thought about it and agreed that it made sense. They nodded and followed Xia Hui as they turned to find another restaurant to eat at.

As the three of them turned around, they ran into Lu Haisheng, who was walking in front of the shop.

Then we called Lu Haisheng along, and the group went to eat together.

After they left, Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui also arrived at the store.

I was also shocked by the sight of the queue outside the store.

The five of them went to some relatively far places.

I even went to look at some well-known restaurants and eateries in Beijing.

But when they returned to the store that Cao Zhiguo was in charge of and saw the long queue, the five of them felt that no other store was qualified to compete with Feng Zhengming.

Deng Huaichuan: "Should we go in?"

Huang Yunliang: "Let's not go in, shall we? It must be very busy inside in this situation."

"Yes, the head chef and Chef Yang must both be helping out in the kitchen," Wang Hanwen guessed.

Li Yao: "Then why don't we find a small shop and get something to eat?"

Han Rui: "Let's go grab a couple of drinks."

The five people also turned around, but went in a different direction than Xia Hui and the others.

Cao Zhiguo was in charge of the restaurant's kitchen, while Feng Zhengming was busy directing everyone in the kitchen.

The third and fifth senior brothers almost only needed to be busy in front of the stove.

Each dish was prepared and cut by Feng Zhengming and his men.

Once it's handed to them, all they need to do is cook it.

Feng Zhengming was very familiar with some of his two senior brothers' habits.

So he would arrange all the main and auxiliary ingredients and, following his two senior brothers' habits, hand them to them.

Even the sauce that needed to be prepared was made by Feng Zhengming's apprentices in the kitchen for his two senior brothers.

While preparing the sauce, he also gave his apprentices some pointers.

Tell them how to better control the amount of sauce used in the bowl.

"If you can't get the amount of sauce right when you're mixing it, then prepare more. That way, when your head chef is cooking, he'll know how much sauce to add. If you prepare too little sauce, it will only cause them more trouble."

With Feng Zhengming's instruction, the apprentice in charge of the sauce could quickly prepare a large bowlful.

As expected, when they set it aside, Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo would add it as needed, instead of putting it all into the pot at once.

Making sauces and thickening them requires a lot of experience from a chef.

It also reflects the true skill of a good Shandong cuisine chef.

Just like a dish, when the sauce is clear and glossy, the sauce will coat the food well without spilling into the plate.

Many dishes, at the end, only had some oil left at the bottom of the plate, with no soup seeping out at all.

This is the truly perfect thickening technique.

If the cooking skills are lacking, there will be a lot of soup or oil seeping out of the plate.

Perhaps some tourists who come to the restaurant won't care about these things at all.

Many people may not even understand these things.

But in all of Feng Zhengming's shops, regardless of whether customers understand the standards or not, they are required to strictly adhere to them. It is because of this that the food served in all of Feng Zhengming's shops is almost flawless.

Xia Hui, Gao Yongfu, Hou Dong, and Lu Haisheng found a small restaurant to eat at.

This small shop was not acquired by Feng Zhengming.

The location is also quite far from the tourist attractions.

However, because there are so many tourists in Beijing now, this small shop still has quite a few customers, even though it is quite far from the attractions.

The four of them sat down and ordered several common home-style dishes found in the small restaurant.

Gao Yongfu asked with a smile, "Would you like some wine?"

Xia Hui: "You guys can drink if you want, it's okay, I won't drink."

Hearing Xia Hui say this, Lu Haisheng shook his head: "Why don't we just stop drinking?"

Xia Hui: "It's really okay. I don't drink much. You guys can drink whatever you want."

In the end, the three of them each ordered a bottle of beer.

Once the dishes were served, the four of them could tell from the first bite that the food was indeed very home-style.

It's even a bit too salty.

However, given that this restaurant is not far from the tourist attractions, the fact that the food is on the salty side might actually suit the tastes of some tourists.

Moreover, in terms of the quality of the dishes, every dish uses very fresh ingredients.

After the four of them ate and drank for a while, Lu Haisheng spoke first: "You guys did find anything interesting today after your stroll around."

These words left the group looking at each other, unsure of what to say next.
Xia Hui was the first to speak, sharing some of her feelings.

"Many things in Beijing are different from those in Shanghai. In fact, Beijing's taste preferences may be closer to Shandong cuisine. However, the area around these tourist attractions is mostly populated by people from other places, so the taste of the restaurants nearby cannot be used as a reference."

Gao Yongfu: "What the senior sister said is right, but that's just how it is in Beijing. Many dishes are indeed too close to Shandong cuisine."

Hou Dong: "Some of the pastries in Beijing are really quite good."

Lu Haisheng: "Perhaps to truly understand Beijing, one needs to visit some shops that are not near tourist attractions?"

Xia Hui: "Actually, there's no need to go. We came here with our master to open a shop, and we can't open it in those remote places. We still need to be able to cater to the tastes of tourists from all over the country."

Xia Hui's words prompted the other three to nod in agreement.

Gao Yongfu: "Do you think that the five of them, including Deng Huaichuan and Wang Hanwen, will be inspired to open their own shops after Master brings them here this time?"

Hou Dong: "They probably don't have that ability, right?"

Lu Haisheng: "If they could open a store, they probably would have done so long ago."

Xia Hui: "They should be inspired and may actually open their own stores."

Lu Haisheng then muttered to himself, "And Jiang Chengzhe, I wonder what kind of shop he'll open in Shanghai?"

When Jiang Chengzhe was mentioned, everyone's eyes instinctively turned to Xia Hui.

After Jiang Chengzhe left, Xia Hui took over the Western restaurant on the street that he had previously managed.

At the beginning, Xia Hui's management of the kitchen was somewhat different from Jiang Chengzhe's.

This led to some minor problems in the kitchen.

The three of them wondered if mentioning Jiang Chengzhe in front of their senior sister would upset her.

Xia Hui remained calm in the face of the three men's gazes.

"Jiang Chengzhe is probably the person who is closest to his master in terms of skill and ability, but there is still a huge gap between him and his master. He may need to ask his master for help before he opens his shop."

Xia Hui's words piqued the curiosity of her three junior brothers.

Lu Haisheng: "Senior Sister, will Jiang Chengzhe really ask Master for help again?"

Kao Yung-fu: "I feel that someone as proud as Chiang Cheng-che is probably unlikely to speak up, right?"

Hou Dong: "That's not necessarily true. After all, my master still has more influence in Shanghai."

Xia Hui: "He was indeed very proud, but back then, he always put on a humble attitude in front of our master. He respected our master very much."

At this point, Xia Hui couldn't help but smile: "If he hadn't participated in the National Culinary Competition with his master, he probably would have already taken the initiative to become his apprentice."

Xia Hui's words startled her three junior brothers, and then they all burst into laughter.

The thought of Jiang Chengzhe becoming Feng Zhengming's apprentice was enough to make them laugh.

Of course, laughing doesn't mean you think something is impossible.

On the contrary, all three of them knew very well that what Xia Hui said was actually possible.

After all, their master was indeed an extraordinary person.

It cannot be said that there are no chefs in China whose skills are better than their master's.

But when it comes to chefs who are both skilled and know how to run a business, the master chef is probably one of a kind.

The fact that so many people were queuing in front of the shop that Fifth Uncle was in charge of today speaks volumes.

If someone else were to open a similar store, it probably wouldn't have the same effect.

Similarly, Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui went into a restaurant and discussed the shop that Cao Zhiguo was in charge of.

Meanwhile, the five of them were also discussing Jiang Chengzhe's plan to open his own shop.

The five of them were fairly familiar with Jiang Chengzhe.

However, after discussing it among themselves, the five of them all felt that Jiang Chengzhe would probably have to go back to Feng Zhengming to discuss it in the end.

Wang Hanwen: "Opening your own shop and running a chef's shop are two different things. To run a chef's shop well, you only need to rely on your own skills."

Deng Huaichuan: "Yes, if you want to open your own shop, it's not just a matter of how good your skills are."

Huang Yunliang: "So we went back to our hometowns and opened the chef's restaurant there. I think it's a really good idea."

Deng Huaichuan nodded: "It can give us better training."

Wang Hanwen: "With enough experience, we can learn to open our own shops like Jiang Chengzhe in the future."

Li Yao and Han Rui exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit amused and exasperated.

Li Yao: "What are we going to do? We can't exactly open another new store in Shanghai, can we?"

Han Rui: "I'm thinking, should I go back to my hometown? I could open the chef's restaurant there."

In fact, neither Li Yao nor Han Rui were locals in Shanghai.

One of them was from Anhui Province, and the other was from Jiangsu Province, a fellow townsman of Deng Huaichuan.

Of course, although they are both from Jiangsu Province, they don't actually consider each other to be fellow townsmen.

When Li Yao heard Han Rui say that, he looked at him and asked, "Are you really planning to go back to Anhui Province?"

Han Rui nodded: "I think we should go back and open a branch of the chef's restaurant, right in our provincial capital."

Upon hearing this, Deng Huaichuan chuckled and joked, "You're going to open it in the provincial capital? So, are you going to open it in Nanjing? Or in Lucheng?"

These words startled the group at first, but then they all understood and burst into laughter.

Li Yao laughed as he said, "He can't stay in Jinling. If he goes to Jinling, won't I have nowhere to go? He can't go to Jinling and I have to go to Lucheng, can he?"

These words made everyone burst into laughter, and the five young chefs actually relaxed completely as they laughed. (End of Chapter)