From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming took a shower and went into the kitchen. His daughter was also taken to take a shower by her aunt and uncle.

While he was at it, Feng Zhengming prepared some afternoon snacks for his wife in the kitchen.

One of them is red date and peanut soy milk.

Feng Zhengming had already soaked the soybeans in advance and put them into the machine at home to grind them into soy milk.

After peeling the peanuts, some were crushed, while most were ground into peanut paste.

Finally, the red dates, which had already been cooked by Feng Zhengming, were sieved.

This way, you can remove all the date skins, leaving only the date paste.

Next, I started cooking soy milk in a small aluminum pot.

First, boil the soy milk. After boiling for a while, slowly add the red date paste and peanut paste into it, adding them little by little until they dissolve into the soy milk.

After taking a shower, Feng Nuanyou quickly smelled the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen.

The little girl, with water droplets still clinging to her hair, ran all the way to the kitchen.

Grandma San chased after him, saying, "Oh dear, little one, dry your hair! Look at you, your hair is still dripping wet, that's not good."

Feng Nuanyou stood at the kitchen door, smelling the delicious aroma wafting from inside.

"Hehehe, Daddy, are you making something delicious for Mommy?"

Feng Zhengming turned his head and saw his daughter, and heard his third aunt calling out.

"Go and tell Third Grandma to dry her hair, otherwise Dad won't let you eat it later."

Hearing her father's words, Feng Nuanyou quickly and obediently turned around and went back.

The third aunt, who had followed, also smelled the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen.

It smells like boiled soy milk, but it also has a sweet aroma like red dates, mixed with the fragrance of peanuts.

The combined fragrance is truly delightful.

After taking Feng Nuanyou back to have her hair dried, her third aunt muttered, "It smells so good, I wonder what she's doing?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Nuanyou turned to look at her third grandmother and said, "Hehehe, Dad is making something delicious for Mom."

Third Grandma: "I know, Dad must have made it for Mom. Mom gave birth to the baby and needs to eat something good to nourish herself."

Feng Nuanyou: "Yes, so Dad must have made something really delicious for Mom."

My great-aunt also came out of the bathroom: "It smells so good, what is it?"

Feng Nuanyou: "It's delicious. Daddy made something delicious for Mommy."

The great-aunt reached out and gently pinched the little girl: "It smells so good, it must be delicious. I'm just curious what it is?"

Soon, Feng Nuanyou's uncle was also attracted by the aroma and came out of the kitchen.

"Brother-in-law, what are you doing?"

Feng Zhengming turned his head and saw the boy standing at the door.

"This is for your cousin, it's red date, peanut and soy milk."

Seeing that it was almost done cooking, with the red date paste and peanut paste almost completely incorporated into the soy milk, and the soy milk becoming somewhat thick, Feng Zhengming turned off the heat, ladled out a few small bowls, and gave them to his family to try.

The rest of the food is intended to be taken to the hospital to give my wife a good boost.

Feng Nuanyou dried her hair and couldn't wait to run to the kitchen door.

"Hehehe, Uncle, let's try it together."

Lu Jinghao: "This was made for your mother, shouldn't we be able to eat it?"

Feng Zhengming brought out the food that had been served in small bowls: "It's okay, I made more, so everyone can try it together. Let's go to the restaurant."

Then Feng Nuanyou pulled her uncle along, like two little tails following behind her father.

Feng Zhengming carried a small bowl containing red date, peanut, and soy milk into the restaurant.

Not only did they let the two children drink it, but they also let their aunt and third aunt try it.

After drinking it, my aunt and third aunt both liked it very much.

"It tastes really good, it's very rich."

"Yes, it tastes like red dates and peanuts, and there's hardly any beany smell left."

Feng Nuanyou also liked it very much: "It's delicious, Daddy, I want more."

Lu Jinghao also thought it tasted great, but he was too embarrassed to ask for more.

Feng Zhengming served the two children another bowl, and put the rest into a thermos.

"Alright, each of you drink another bowl, and take the rest to your mother."

Feng Nuanyou nodded: "Okay, I understand."

Lu Jinghao: "Thank you, brother-in-law."

After finishing their drinks, Feng Zhengming drove his father-in-law, third aunt, and aunt-in-law to the hospital, while the two grandfathers stayed home to rest.

Upon entering the ward, Feng Nuanyou immediately ran to the bedside and told her mother that her father had brought her something delicious.

Luo Qing smiled and gently pinched her daughter's cheek.

How do you know it's delicious? Have you already eaten it at home?

Feng Nuanyou: "Hehehe, I'll taste it for my mom."

Feng Zhengming put down the thermos and poured a bowl of red date and peanut soy milk for his wife.

The aroma almost immediately whetted Luo Qing's appetite.

"It smells so good. I didn't eat much at noon, but the aroma is making me a little hungry."

Feng Zhengming: "This is red date and peanut soy milk. I also brought you some fruit. Please have some fruit."

Seeing how attentive Feng Zhengming was, everyone felt that they couldn't get involved.

Luo Qing took a sip: "Alright, look how many people are at the hospital with you. You should hurry up and get back to your work. Your restaurant is still open tonight, right? You still need to discuss the menu with your senior brothers."

Before Feng Zhengming could speak, his family members all chimed in, urging him to get back to work.

"Yes, yes, Zhengming, you go ahead and do your work. We'll take care of things here."

"We're all here, don't worry."

"The restaurant's business is more important. If you don't make money, how will you support so many children in the future?"

"Haha, right, right, and you should also do a good job at the National Day banquet you participated in."

Hearing everyone say this, Feng Zhengming had no choice but to agree, and said that he would have someone deliver dinner that evening.

The mother-in-law immediately said, "Don't send it tonight. Let's just eat at your restaurant nearby, like we did at noon. We can bring it back to Qingqing after we've eaten."

Luo Qing nodded: "Yes, yes, I'll listen to Mom."

Everyone else also thought it was a good idea.

Moreover, they all seem to have a high level of appreciation for Peng Yan's craftsmanship.

Feng Zhengming had no choice but to agree.

However, after leaving the hospital, he went to the store that Peng Yan was in charge of first.

Peng Yan was a little nervous when he saw Feng Zhengming come to the store.

"Uncle-Master, did you prepare lunch? Is there a problem?" Feng Zhengming: "No problem, don't be nervous. You cooked very well at noon. They all enjoyed it. They might come over for dinner again tonight. When cooking for your aunt tonight, remember to use less oil and prepare a clear broth specifically for her to remove the oil."

Peng Yan nodded seriously, and even took out his notebook to write it down.

Feng Zhengming laughed when he saw this: "Actually, you don't need to write it down. You can do it well if you just pay attention."

Peng Yan smiled and said, "I'll remember that, Junior Uncle. I'll definitely cook dinner for Aunt tonight."

Feng Zhengming: "You don't need to arrange for someone to take them to the hospital. They will come to your place for dinner tonight. Just wait until they finish eating and then take the food back to your aunt."

Peng Yan nodded earnestly and took note of his junior uncle's instructions.

After giving Peng Yan his instructions, Feng Zhengming said goodbye and drove directly back to the old villa restaurant.

When they arrived at the old-style restaurant, the eldest brother and the sixth brother were in the kitchen.

The two senior brothers were somewhat surprised to see Feng Zhengming arrive.

Sixth Senior Brother: "Zhengming, why aren't you at the hospital? What brings you here?"

Senior Brother: "What? You don't believe in my and your sixth senior brother's cooking skills?"

Feng Zhengming: "No, there are too many people in the hospital, and I can't help with anything. They told me to come back quickly and make money honestly so I can support my wife and children in the future."

These words startled the two senior brothers at first, and then they both burst into laughter.

Senior Brother: "Okay, what your family said is right. Now that you have three children, you really need to work harder and earn more money, otherwise how will you support three children in the future?"

Sixth Senior Brother: "My family has two members. Before, your sister-in-law and I both felt it was quite tough."

At this point, the sixth senior brother paused slightly, then said with a serious expression: "We still have to thank you, Zhengming. If you had gone to Yancheng, you could have helped us solve the household registration problem so that our child could go to school in Yancheng smoothly."

And you helped me deal with those people from the Yancheng Chefs Association; I really don't know how to explain this to your sister-in-law."

Feng Zhengming: "Sixth Brother, there's no need for formalities between us brothers."

Zhang Minghai: "No, and there's also your branch in Yancheng. To be honest, if it weren't for the profit sharing from your Yancheng branch, I really wouldn't earn much money in a year."

Li Huidong: "Zhengming, we senior brothers really owe a lot to you, because you helped us escape the fate of only being able to work for others."

Feng Zhengming: "Brother, how can you say that?"

Before Feng Zhengming could continue, his senior brother stopped him.

"No, no matter how you explain it, no matter how you try to distance yourself, there is one thing you can't avoid: without you, we senior brothers would have to work for others; we couldn't possibly open our own shop."

This time, Feng Zhengming also fell silent.

Sixth Senior Brother: "Eldest Senior Brother is right. It's not that just because you went to Yancheng, I'm only able to work for others. Now? We are nominally working for you, but others don't know, but how could we not know?"
You gave us shares in each of our stores, and you also gave us such high monthly salaries. Moreover, we are basically the ones who run the stores we own.

We don't look like we're working for you at all. To be honest, it's more like you're working for us.

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Where did I work for you?"

Senior Brother: "You go out and open stores in various places, expand your influence, build your own brand, and make each of your stores attract more customers."

Then we will not only receive a head chef's salary, but also dividends from your store shares at the end of the year.

So you're not considered working for us?

Zhengming, you also need to get some rest and don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Sixth Senior Brother: "Yes, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Now you have so many stores, and your reputation and influence in the culinary industry are already very high. You can just run your restaurant in Shanghai steadily."

The eldest brother agreed: "Minghai is right. You don't need to travel to so many places anymore. Just take some time to visit the branches and manage your restaurant in Shanghai well, and further improve the food and drinks there."

As long as your restaurant consistently holds the top spot, all your other restaurants will do well, and you won't need to promote yourself excessively.

After listening to his two senior brothers, Feng Zhengming understood that they didn't want him to continue working so hard.

Feng Zhengming had the same idea in mind.

He also feels that he is already famous enough.

The focus now remains on the old-style house restaurant; we must maintain the quality of its dishes.

At the same time, and most importantly, we need to promote the recommended guidelines more effectively.

The first thing to promote is the snacks and small restaurants.

Avoid those upscale restaurants and hotels.

Feng Zhengming did this to avoid some controversy and trouble with the catering industry.

When making recommendations, don't worry too much about the environment; the only criterion is whether locals find the food delicious and would recommend it to friends from other places.

By adhering to this principle, you can avoid a lot of controversy and prevent your fellow chefs from attacking you.

Once everyone agrees with the street food stalls and restaurants on your recommendation guide.

Next, Feng Zhengming will rate the high-end restaurants and hotels.

At that time, even if chefs from different regions want to say something, as long as there is support from ordinary diners in various regions, there is no need to pay too much attention to the opinions of those chefs.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming believes that his old-style restaurant in Shanghai will become the best Chinese restaurant in the city.

With the reputation of the old-style restaurant in hand, when you rate other restaurants and eateries, others have no choice but to accept it.

If you're not satisfied, then just open a restaurant of the same size and quality.

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded to his two senior brothers.

"Big brother, sixth brother, don't worry. I know what I should do next. I do plan to stay in Shanghai for most of the time to run this restaurant well."

I also plan to import some unique ingredients from all over the country and launch some innovative specialty dishes in my restaurant.

In the future, I want my restaurant's customers to not only be able to enjoy Shandong cuisine, but also to experience flavors from all over the country.

Li Huidong and Zhang Minghai exchanged a glance and both laughed.

They were happy that their junior colleague had plans for the future.

I've been in Shanghai for the past few days, and at my junior brother's old-style restaurant.

The two senior brothers did indeed see many new and interesting things.

It's not just some of the novel cooking utensils in the kitchen.

There are also some very unique dishes that my junior apprentice makes at this restaurant.

Many of the dishes were ones that the two senior brothers had never seen or even imagined before they arrived.

After tasting it themselves, the unique and delicious flavor amazed the two senior brothers.

Li Huidong knew very well that his junior apprentice had taken the concept of "harmony" in Shandong cuisine to its extreme.

The so-called harmony refers to a harmony in flavor, a harmony in technique, and more importantly, a harmonious whole that complements each other.

This is a unique feeling that many chefs may find difficult to achieve.

Li Huidong has actually been trying his best all along.

But he always felt he was lacking.

It was only when he arrived at his junior brother's restaurant that he truly witnessed his junior brother's prowess.

Feng Zhengming perfectly embodies the concept of "harmony," and even the cooperation among everyone in his kitchen reflects this harmony.

It was precisely because everyone cooperated so harmoniously that the dishes were cooked so well.

As the senior apprentice, Li Huidong was truly impressed by his junior apprentice. (End of Chapter)