From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Back in the ward, family and friends gathered around the father and daughter.

"Haha, Zhengming, congratulations!"

"Zhengming, you now have both a son and a daughter."

"It's really enviable that you brought two of them this time, Zhengming."

“That’s great. Zhengming, you have so many shops. Your children can inherit and share the business in the future.”

"Yes, the key is that there is a boy who can learn the craft from you, Zhengming, and can also train another young top chef."

"We must raise boys well."

After listening to everyone's comments, Feng Zhengming smiled and shared his thoughts.

"Thank you for your congratulations. I will not force my children to learn to cook. If they don't like it, forcing them to learn will not help them learn well. Besides, I have apprentices to learn my skills, so I don't need my own children to learn them."

As for my shops, I might hand them over to my apprentices in the future. It's better for my children not to get involved in management.

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this surprised the relatives and friends present.

Senior Brother Li Huidong said in surprise, "Zhengming, what kind of talk is that? You have children, don't you think about their future? Those shops are your hard work, they should be passed on to your children."

Feng Zhengming could understand his senior brother's traditional views.

So he smiled and explained to his senior brother.

"Brother, I'm not ignoring the children's future. I'm opening so many stores and working so hard to run them all because I hope that my children can have a better life in the future."

They can learn what they want to learn and do things that allow them to better utilize their strengths.

Everyone should have their own life; children don't have to repeat our lives.

After listening to his junior brother's words, Li Huidong fell into deep thought.

Zhang Minghai, standing to the side, actually thought that his junior brother's words made a lot of sense.

Zhang Minghai also has sons and daughters, and he doesn't actually think that his children will have to learn to cook from him in the future.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Huidong thought of his daughter and gradually came to understand his junior brother's philosophy.

“Okay, Zhengming, you’re right. Children should have their own lives. We parents can create opportunities for them, but we shouldn’t plan their lives.”

Upon hearing his senior brother's words, Feng Zhengming laughed even more heartily.

"Brother, you're right to think this way. We chose to be chefs, so we'll do our jobs well and help the children as much as we can. As for the children's own lives, let them choose for themselves."

As long as they don't do anything illegal, we can actually give them some affirmation and support.

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words, it wasn't just his two senior brothers who were affected.

The other relatives present also agreed with what he said.

Grandpa Situ chuckled, "Zhengming truly lives up to his reputation as the top scholar; his knowledge is indeed exceptional."

Feng Zhengming looked over and said, "Grandpa Situ, I'm embarrassed by your praise. I just don't want the children to suffer like I have."

Grandpa Situ: "Hahaha, all parents in the world are like this. They don't want their children to have a life as hard as their own."

After a brief pause, Grandpa Situ continued, "But some hardships must be endured by children. Only by experiencing hardship can they better face setbacks in life and achieve greater success in the future."

Feng Zhengming: "Grandpa Situ is right, children shouldn't be spoiled too much."

Upon hearing Feng Zhengming's words, his aunt, second aunt, third aunt, and mother-in-law all couldn't help but laugh.

In their view, Feng Zhengming had spoiled his daughter Feng Nuanyou enough.

Fortunately, the little girl is quite well-behaved and sensible; otherwise, she might really be a wild child who climbs onto the roof and tears the tiles.

Everyone talked about children's education.

Then, Feng Zhengming's senior brothers and apprentices, along with his uncle's family, second aunt, and third aunt, all accompanied the two grandfathers and left the hospital first.

Feng Zhengming and his parents-in-law stayed behind to continue accompanying Luo Qing for a while longer.

Before his eldest brother, sixth brother, and disciples left, Feng Zhengming gave them some instructions.

"If you have any news about the menu, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you both for your hard work these past few days, and please take good care of the National Day banquet arrangements."

The two senior brothers naturally smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, just take good care of yourself at the hospital."

"Yes, yes, we'll let you know as soon as possible if there are any problems."

Xia Hui and the others also said that they would manage the restaurant and branches well.

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "I trust you all very much. By the way, don't mention the birth of the baby here to the people in the other shops for now, so they don't have to keep going to the hospital one by one."

Xia Hui nodded: "I understand, Master. We won't tell anyone else when we get back."

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, you all go back first, and take care to rest. There's no need to rush to do things at the shop."

After seeing most of the patients off, Feng Zhengming led his daughter back to the ward.

Grandma noticed that Feng Nuanyou didn't follow along.

She smiled and moved closer to her granddaughter.

"Is our Youyou not leaving either? Does she want to stay with her dad and keep her mom company?"

Feng Nuanyou looked at her grandmother and said, "Yes, Youyou should stay with Mom and Dad too."

Grandma: "Youyou is such a good girl, she knows how to care for her mother."

Feng Nuanyou: "Grandma, Grandpa, please sit down. Don't stand for so long, it's tiring."

She was pulled by her granddaughter to sit down in the outer room.

Grandma and Grandpa were very happy.

The two elderly people initially thought that since they hadn't spent much time with Feng Nuanyou, the little girl might not be very close to them.

It seems that the little girl is quite close to them now.

The elderly couple couldn't help but feel that their daughter and son-in-law had indeed raised their child very well.

It is only at this point that they should reflect on themselves.

Especially when they think about their son at home, it seems that they really haven't done a good job in educating their child.

Fortunately, my daughter found a good son-in-law.

Now even his son's business is thriving.

Feng Zhengming asked with a smile, "Mom and Dad, how's my older brother doing? How's his internet cafe business?"

Mother-in-law: "That's great. His internet cafe business is really good. He's preparing to open a second one."

Father-in-law: "I told him to be more cautious and not to rush into opening a new one."

Feng Zhengming: "Dad, my brother's idea is right. Internet cafes are quite popular now, and there are many internet cafes in various places. Since my brother has made money from one, he should open a new one as soon as possible."

By establishing your internet cafe's brand this way, you can gain a competitive edge and capture the market before others.

After listening, the mother-in-law looked at the father-in-law and said, "Look, Zhengming really knows how to do business. He's focused on opening new stores as quickly as possible to seize the market." The father-in-law was still a little worried: "Won't opening so many stores lead to competition among them?"

Feng Zhengming: "Dad, there will definitely be competition, but the two shops don't need to be located together. For example, my brother can open his second shop near the old Feng Family Rice Shop. That way, the two shops will be far apart, and there won't be any competition."

Mother-in-law: "Zhengming, your idea is exactly the same as my brother's. Your brother also said that he wants to open a new internet cafe in the old shop area."

Feng Zhengming: "If you need funds, you can tell me, and I will definitely support you."

Mother-in-law: "We don't need that now. He still made a lot of money running an internet cafe."

The father-in-law nodded: "Yes, his internet cafe is doing very well. It's probably because he opened it early. Now many people recognize his internet cafe. It's just that all sorts of random people come and go in the internet cafe all day long."

Feng Zhengming: "Mom and Dad, when you go back, tell my brother to be careful and not let any minors in."

Father-in-law: "We've talked to him about this, and he knows it himself. He's very strict with minors now and doesn't allow them into internet cafes."

Mother-in-law: "Yes, he would stop those kids from going into the internet cafe. He warned them many times not to accept those kids."

Feng Zhengming: That's good. Also, please cooperate well with the inspections and make sure there are no problems.

The father-in-law and mother-in-law both nodded in agreement, saying they would definitely tell Luo Wenhan to keep an eye on things when they got back.

Feng Nuanyou obediently cooperated with her father and grandparents for a while, and then she couldn't help but start to care about her mother inside.

Feng Zhengming knew that his daughter wanted to go in and see her mother, so he led her into the room.

Upon entering the room, Luo Qing was already asleep on the bed.

The father and daughter almost simultaneously raised their fingers to each other's lips, signaling each other to be quiet.

As a result, the father and daughter looked at each other and made a shushing gesture, and then they both looked at each other again.

Then the father and daughter quietly slipped out of the inner room.

Feng Nuanyou turned to look at her grandparents: "Hehehe, Mom is asleep."

Feng Zhengming: "Mom and Dad, have you eaten yet? Why don't you go eat first? Youyou and I can stay here and keep watch."

The father-in-law and mother-in-law exchanged a glance, and the mother-in-law said, "How about we take Youyou out to eat with us, and bring some back for you later?"

Feng Zhengming looked down at his daughter: "Why don't you go eat with your grandpa and grandma?"

Feng Nuanyou thought for a moment, then pouted and shook her head.

"I want to stay with Mommy and Daddy."

Seeing this, Grandma said, "This girl, we're not taking you away. Why don't you come with us to eat, and bring food back for your parents when you come back? Isn't that better?"

Grandpa also advised, "Yes, go eat with Grandma and Grandpa first, and then come back."

Feng Nuanyou fell silent again; the little girl was clearly hesitant.

At that moment, Feng Zhengming's phone rang.

When I answered the phone, it was my second aunt's voice on the other end.

Second Aunt asked Feng Zhengming if he needed her to bring them some food.

Or perhaps we could have Feng Zhengming's parents-in-law come downstairs and have dinner with them first?
Feng Zhengming asked his second aunt in a moment, then he asked his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

He also asked his daughter, "Why don't you go downstairs with your grandparents and have dinner with your two great-grandfathers?"

This time, the little girl thought about it for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll go eat with Grandpa and Grandma and bring back some delicious food for Mom and Dad."

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, Dad will wait."

He then spoke to his second aunt on the other end of the phone.

Then, the father-in-law and mother-in-law held their daughter's little hand and left the ward first to go downstairs to meet up with the others for dinner.

After his parents-in-law took his daughter away, Feng Zhengming gently pushed open the door again and went into the inner room.

He walked to his wife's bedside and sat down, gazing at her quietly with love.

Luo Qing opened her eyes and saw her husband sitting by the bed.

The couple smiled almost simultaneously.

The moment his wife reached out her hand, Feng Zhengming grasped it.

"Want to sleep a little longer?"

Luo Qing: "I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me so much."

Feng Zhengming: "As your husband, how could I not worry? I can't truly understand your pain, but I know that childbirth is very dangerous for every woman."

Luo Qing: "But aren't our children healthy and safe? In the future, Youyou will have a younger sister and brother to accompany her, so she won't feel lonely."

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but sigh: "If they start fighting over the wealth I left behind in the future, I'm afraid Youyou might not think that having a younger sister and brother is a good thing."

Upon hearing this, Luo Qing glared at her husband.

How could you say that? You actually want your children to fight over that wealth?

Feng Zhengming: "Don't get agitated. This is just human nature. We can't know what will happen to the children in the future."

After her husband said that, Luo Qing fell into deep thought.

In fact, she had witnessed some disputes over family property.

Some siblings even fought each other over the inheritance left by their parents, and in the end, they never spoke to each other again.

So, thinking about it this way, Luo Qing realized that her husband wasn't exaggerating.

Feng Zhengming held his wife's hand and said, "We must educate our children well in the future. We cannot be biased towards any of our three children. We should give them equal love as much as possible and also teach them to love one another."

Her husband's words calmed Luo Qing down.

"Yes, we should teach our children well, to be united and friendly, to help each other in the future, and not to fight with each other. If all else fails, we can make a will and let them divide the wealth you have accumulated equally."

Feng Zhengming: "That's right, let's work together to raise the child well."

With her husband's comforting words, Luo Qing gradually relaxed.

After relaxing, Luo Qing thought about it and realized that her eldest daughter probably wouldn't be too competitive. The rest was to teach the two younger ones well so that they would listen to their older sister and be united and loving with her.

Feng Zhengming shared some of his future plans with his wife.

"I think that in the future, we should hand over these stores to capable people to run, let the children do the work they like, and finally use the profits from these stores as a guarantee for them."

It's about ensuring they have enough to eat and wear and can live a comfortable life, even when they've truly accomplished nothing.

After listening to her husband's plans, Luo Qing couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, so you're planning to write your will in advance, right?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Yes, I do have that plan. But don't worry, I will try my best to live a very long time and protect you and the children so that you can live in peace."

Luo Qing stared at her husband, her eyes filled with deep love and trust for him.

For Luo Qing, the greatest fortune of her life was meeting her husband. (End of Chapter)