From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The stage and venue for the awards ceremony were already prepared, but the International Chefs Association still needed to do some on-site setup.

Another important thing is to invite food critics and award-winning chefs from all over the world to gather in Shanghai.

This delayed things by a few days, allowing renowned master craftsmen from across the country to arrive in Shanghai.

Everyone gathered in Shanghai, and naturally, they all wanted to pay a visit to Feng Zhengming.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming receives many visitors every day.

Many of them are experienced and master craftsmen from all over the country.

Now they are completely convinced of Feng Zhengming's abilities, and some master chefs also hope to learn more from him.

Of course, many experienced chefs and master chefs also wanted to recommend some young chefs to Feng Zhengming.

The people they recommended were almost all their own juniors.

Some master chefs recommended their own grandsons, while others recommended their own nephews or nieces.

They all knew very well the significance of Feng Zhengming's Old House Restaurant's honor as one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

Therefore, they hope that some of their younger relatives can have the opportunity to work in the kitchen of this restaurant.

To be able to work in the kitchen of one of the world's top ten restaurants, even if it's just doing odd jobs in the kitchen.

Then when they leave, they will gain a very high reputation outside.

At that time, whether they open their own restaurant or go back to work for the elders who recommended them, they will definitely gain a great deal of prestige.

Unfortunately, their ulterior motives were far too obvious.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming treated them to good food and drink, and always greeted them with a smile.

When it came to recommending someone for a position in the kitchen, Feng Zhengming would always be very straightforward with the person.

"I'm sorry, but to get into the kitchen of my restaurant, you have to go through a lot of training. According to my procedures, it will take at least three to five years before you have the opportunity to enter the kitchen of my restaurant."

Moreover, in order to dispel those people's ideas, Feng Zhengming exaggeratedly stated.

“Now, it would probably take a long time to become an apprentice in the kitchen of the old-style restaurant, so I’m really worried that it will delay the opportunities for you outstanding younger generations.”

Feng Zhengming didn't completely rule out the possibility of a definitive answer.

In short, his statement was very clear: you can get into his old-style restaurant, but you need to go through a rigorous selection process and work in one of his other restaurants for a certain amount of time before you have a chance to get in.

Feng Zhengming's attitude left the experienced craftsmen and master craftsmen who had come specifically to see him with little room to say anything.

Of course, almost none of the master craftsmen and senior chefs who had close relationships with Feng Zhengming took the initiative to ask for anything.

Even when they wanted to make arrangements for their nephews and nieces, they basically followed Feng Zhengming's rules.

It's like Master Su sending his grandson to the old Feng family's dry rice shop.

This time, the only ones who might feel somewhat uncomfortable about Feng Zhengming's award are some of the famous chefs in the port city.

Several renowned chefs from Hong Kong made a special trip to Shanghai to dine at Feng Zhengming's restaurant.

Several people in the restaurant began to bluntly express their dissatisfaction with Feng Zhengming's restaurant being named one of the top ten restaurants in the world that year.

"Feng Zhengming's restaurant is nothing special, and his cooking skills are just so-so. Why is he one of this year's top ten?"

"Yeah, I even wonder if those foreigners just don't understand Chinese food at all?"

“They don’t understand anything. It’s obvious that Feng Zhengming has someone supporting him behind the scenes.”

"Hmph, we've worked so hard to promote Chinese food to the world, only to have Feng Zhengming steal the credit."

"I'm really not convinced. In terms of strength, why should Feng Zhengming be stronger than Mr. Li, Mr. Dai, or even Master Long?"

Long Kunbao and Dai Long were also with these famous chefs from the port city.

Upon hearing their words, Long Kunbao and Dai Long exchanged a glance.

Dai Long chuckled: "He's the national culinary champion. We participated in the national culinary competition that year, and we were indeed outmatched. We lost to him back then."

Upon hearing Dai Long's words, Long Kunbao turned to look at Dai Long.

It was quite obvious that Dai Long seemed to be implying that Feng Zhengming was qualified.

But his tone, expression, and manner of speaking all gave the impression that he was not convinced.

In fact, Long Kunbao knew very well that Dai Long was indeed somewhat unconvinced.

It's worth noting that Dai Long is arguably the best chef in Hong Kong at managing his business.

He spent an extremely high price to cook a golden fried rice with very luxurious ingredients and invited Mr. He from Macau to his restaurant.

Later, by using one of Mr. He's words, he immediately started hyping it up, making his store extremely famous and increasing his own net worth considerably.

To be honest, Feng Zhengming's self-promotion methods are far inferior to Dai Long's.

Moreover, no matter what, Long Kunbao believed that Feng Zhengming was truly skilled.

Dai Long has over-marketed himself to some extent.

However, Dai Long himself certainly wouldn't think that way.

That's why he deliberately praised Feng Zhengming in a veiled way.

In fact, almost everyone could tell that Dai Long was dissatisfied with Feng Zhengming.

Seeing this situation, Long Kunbao was too lazy to say anything more.

What he says is no longer important.

Even if the renowned chefs from Hong Kong present could verbally agree, they could not truly accept it in their hearts.

Long Kunbao felt that the facts should speak for themselves.

Moreover, after Long Kunbao arrived in Shanghai, he met with Jiang Chengzhe.

The two talked about many things in detail.

Long Kunbao could clearly sense that Jiang Chengzhe had become more mature.

Most importantly, Long Kunbao could tell that Jiang Chengzhe was absolutely convinced of Feng Zhengming's authority.

Therefore, when Jiang Chengzhe met Long Kunbao, he made it very clear.

"I believe that Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant is absolutely qualified to be named one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year."

After Long Kunbao and the renowned chef from Gangcheng visited the restaurant, he also felt the same way.

Jiang Chengzhe was right. The Old House Restaurant absolutely deserves to be among the top ten restaurants of the year, in terms of its environment, atmosphere, service, and dishes.

This is something that not only Long Kunbao, but also other famous chefs in Hong Kong, including Dai Long, are aware of.

However, because of their jealousy, they were unwilling to admit it.

This is actually a common mentality among many people in the port city.

Before the port city returned to China, they always had a natural sense of superiority over people from other cities.

In fact, other cities were indeed far behind the port city at that time.

Many people from other cities go to the port city to do very low-level jobs just to earn money.

Later, when many Hong Kong business owners invested in other cities, they were usually treated with extremely high standards of hospitality, and people in many cities even showed a kind of obsequiousness towards the Hong Kong business owners. However, after the handover, the sense of superiority that Hong Kong had enjoyed gradually dissipated.

Because other cities are developing better and better.

Many people in other cities no longer hold the same reverence for the port city as they once did.

This year, in particular, Beijing successfully won the bid to host the Olympics, and the country finally joined the WTO at the end of the year.

All of this plunged the entire country into a state of uproar.

It can be said that other cities are making great efforts to catch up.

But what they are catching up with is no longer Hong Kong, but those countries abroad with better economies.

Like several economically developed countries in Asia.

Cities across the country are all striving to catch up with their economic size.

This is undoubtedly something that the port city cannot accept psychologically.

Just like Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant in Shanghai, which won this year's Top Ten Restaurants in the World.

In the eyes of renowned chefs in the port city, this should not be the case.

Because they always look down on other cities with a superior attitude.

Even major cities in China that are catching up with the world are considered far behind Hong Kong in the eyes of many people in the city.

So they can't accept it. How can a restaurant in Shanghai be among the top ten in the world?
In Long Kunbao's heart, he was actually very happy for Feng Zhengming and the country's prosperity.

That year, the country successfully bid for the Olympics and also joined the WTO.

In addition, Feng Zhengming's old villa restaurant was named one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

All of this demonstrates that the country, every city, and every individual are making efforts.

Through their hard work, their creativity, and their unwavering pursuit of a better life, they have achieved their goals.

Ultimately, this earned them worldwide recognition.

In Long Kunbao's view, this is something to be very proud of.

Dai Long found it strange that Long Kunbao actually said nothing.

However, since there were other famous chefs from Hong Kong present, Dai Long did not say anything to Long Kunbao.

In the following period, a group of famous chefs in Hong Kong expressed their dissatisfaction and contempt for Feng Zhengming.

Long Kunbao couldn't stand it anymore, so he got up and left.

The departure of Long Kunbao surprised many of Hong Kong's renowned chefs.

I didn't expect Long Kunbao to leave so abruptly.

Dai Long frowned slightly; he could already sense that Long Kunbao and other famous chefs in Hong Kong had different opinions.

So he simply smiled and said, "It's getting late, and everyone has had a long journey to Shanghai. Let's call it a night and go back to rest. We'll go and watch the awards ceremony when it starts."

After Dai Long spoke, the renowned chefs from Hong Kong all stood up, said their goodbyes, and dispersed.

After everyone else left, Dai Long went to Long Kunbao's room to find him.

Long Kunbao let Dai Long enter the door.

Upon entering, Dai Long was quite direct.

"Abao, it seems you have a different opinion about Feng Zhengming?"

Before Long Kunbao could speak, Dai Long chuckled and said, "I really admire him. To be able to run a restaurant in Shanghai so well and to receive such high praise from the International Gastronomy Association, Feng Zhengming is truly amazing."

Long Kunbao looked at Dai Long and responded calmly.

"We shouldn't continue to have that sense of superiority. Other cities are catching up with us, and we should also look to them more closely and learn from their strengths in food."

Upon hearing this, Dai Long's expression changed slightly.

"Does Abao think we should learn more from Feng Zhengming?"

Long Kunbao: "Isn't it right? Ask yourself honestly, isn't it well-deserved that his restaurant was named one of the top ten restaurants of the year?"

This question really stumped Dai Long.

Even though Dai Long was somewhat resentful.

But he had to admit that Feng Zhengming's restaurant truly deserved to be named one of the top ten restaurants of the year.

The key is that his restaurant doesn't serve flashy but impractical dishes; it truly focuses on making solid, high-quality food.

Dai Long ate a meal there, and even now, he can still recall the unforgettable taste.

After reflecting on it for a moment, Dai Long nodded: "I admit that Feng Zhengming's skills are indeed very good, but does that mean our skills are necessarily worse than his?"
We, his colleagues from Hong Kong and Kowloon, were we feeling resentful about his skills? We simply felt that while his skills were excellent, they weren't necessarily superior to all his peers.

Long Kunbao remained calm after hearing this.

“You are still unwilling to let go of the sense of superiority of Hong Kong City.”

Dai Long: "Why should we give up? Does that mean we haven't contributed to the development of other cities?"

He simply stopped pretending and directly expressed what most people in the city thought.

Many people in the port city have always felt that they have consistently outperformed other cities in terms of economic development.

Furthermore, their port city has contributed funds and efforts to the development and construction of other cities in the country.

Even in many impoverished cities in China, many schools were built with their donations.

Not to mention the construction of some scenic spots in China, such as the construction of cities like Shanghai, where many tycoons from the port city have invested in the projects.

Therefore, in the eyes of Dai Long and other famous chefs in Hong Kong, other cities in China should be grateful to Hong Kong.

Long Kunbao also understood Dai Long and his group's mindset.

"We are a country and a nation. Do we need to ask our country for credit for building our own country?"

Besides, in recent years, haven't we always received extremely high-level treatment in every city we've visited? Didn't you feel the importance placed on us during our visit to Shanghai this time?

Long Kunbao's expression turned serious, and his words became somewhat impolite.

"Since we are one country and one nation, and Feng Zhengming is the national culinary champion, his restaurant has gained international recognition, isn't that also a sign that Chinese cuisine has gained high recognition internationally?"

This is something that's very good for us too, so why do you insist on distinguishing between "you" and "me"?

Dai Long's expression also changed: "That's right, you also came to Hong Kong from the mainland, so your sense of belonging to Hong Kong may not be as strong as your sense of belonging to the mainland."

Long Kunbao's expression also changed: "Dai Long, what do you mean by that? We are all from the same country. Hong Kong has returned to China. Our sense of belonging should be towards our motherland. Don't say such things in the future."

Dai Long looked at Long Kunbao, but in the end he restrained himself and didn't say what was on the tip of his tongue.

He knew in his heart that there were some things he really couldn't say.

In the end, Dai Long could only turn around and leave. When he reached the door of Long Kunbao's room, he left only one last sentence.

“I believe we have a chance to reclaim the honor that rightfully belongs to us. If you, Long Kunbao, don’t care about that honor, we won’t force you. Just watch us defeat Feng Zhengming.”

Long Kunbao calmly replied, "I'll wait and see." (End of Chapter)