From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Back in Jinan, Feng Zhengming couldn't get a proper rest before the Lunar New Year.

It mainly consists of television programs and interviews in newspapers and magazines.

In addition, chefs from all over Shandong Province also took the initiative to visit Feng Zhengming.

Everyone wanted to learn something from Feng Zhengming.

I hope to receive guidance from Feng Zhengming.

Even some chefs from small family restaurants wanted to become Feng Zhengming's apprentices.

When asked for advice, Feng Zhengming would provide detailed guidance to the chefs at his family-run restaurant.

He even took his wife and daughter to visit some small family-run restaurants.

Try their cooking skills and give the chefs serious pointers in the kitchen.

As for the matter of becoming an apprentice, Feng Zhengming naturally refused.

Feng Zhengming's attitude is that it's impossible for him to become an apprentice; he has very high standards for his disciples and is unwilling to accept them easily.

However, even without formally becoming an apprentice, Feng Zhengming would still diligently teach his students.

Many chefs in small family restaurants don't have good basic skills, so Feng Zhengming teaches them shortcuts.

Let them learn to use tools flexibly.

Also, avoid dishes that require a lot of basic skills.

Feng Zhengming would generously offer serious guidance to some chefs in small restaurants who had good basic skills.

He even taught some of his own dishes to the chefs at the small restaurant.

Besides giving pointers to small restaurants, Feng Zhengming also participates in some television programs and gives interviews to newspapers and magazines.

He also took some time to visit the soy sauce factory and check on its production.

The preservation of traditional techniques has earned Feng Zhengming's sauce factory a very good reputation after its acquisition.

However, because the traditional techniques are used, the production process is relatively time-consuming, so the factory's output is relatively low.

When the factory manager saw Feng Zhengming come to the factory, he specifically asked if he wanted to modify the production line.

Feng Zhengming shook his head and said, "The factory's products are selling well now, partly because of the brand value I bring to the products, and partly because our products are good enough."

We cannot sacrifice quality for increased production; quality must be our top priority.

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the factory director could only nod in agreement.

"Alright, I'll listen to you, Scholar Feng."

Feng Zhengming then asked, "How is the factory's revenue now?"

Factory manager: "The factory's annual profit is okay, but it can't compare with those big factories. However, our market share in the province is still very stable."

Feng Zhengming: "We just need to stabilize our market in the province. My store in Shanghai has always been using your products, so the quality must be guaranteed and all of them must be the same."

A smile appeared on the factory manager's face, because he knew that Feng Zhengming could win one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year by using the factory's seasonings, which made the factory manager very proud.

"Don't worry, Mr. Feng, everything in the factory is made according to traditional techniques, and the quality will be absolutely guaranteed."

After inspecting the soy sauce factory, Feng Zhengming even worked alongside the factory's workers.

Then, at the canteen of the soy sauce factory, he personally cooked a large pot of food for the entire factory.

He also personally gave some pointers to the chefs in the soy sauce factory's canteen.

"Don't you dare slack off just because you're in the factory canteen. You must cook properly. If I find out you're being lazy and the food isn't good, I won't be lenient with you."

Feng Zhengming also took the opportunity to give a warning to everyone in the soy sauce factory canteen.

These chefs were all selected from apprentices at the dry rice shop.

This is to ensure that the food in the canteen tastes good and that the chefs at the sauce factory eat well.

I had a meal with everyone at the soy sauce factory canteen.

During the meal, many people in the soy sauce factory were quite happy.

You can eat dishes cooked by Feng Zhuangyuan himself, and you can also eat and chat with Feng Zhuangyuan.

This might make the people in the factory brag about it to their families for a long time after they go home.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said to everyone's excitement, "There's no need to be so excited. I'm just like everyone else. When Yanxilou went bankrupt, I worked in the brewery canteen with my senior brother for several years."

Later, I set up a stall at the train station to sell boxed lunches. At that time, I was probably not as well off as any of you.

So please don't think of me as some top student or some boss. I'm just an ordinary person like you all.

Feng Zhengming's approachable nature has indeed earned him the respect and affection of many.

One meal was all it took for him to quickly become friends with the people at the soy sauce factory.

Feng Zhengming could even chat with the older women in charge of sanitation at the factory.

When older women ask him for cooking tips, he is always willing to teach them some tricks and techniques.

"Auntie, eldest sister, when you go home to cook, you can refine the oil in advance by frying scallions and ginger in the oil until they turn golden brown. You can also add a little bit of Sichuan peppercorns while frying."

After frying, remove the scallions and ginger from the oil, let it cool, and then you can put it back in a bottle or just put it in a small bowl.

That way, when you cook, you can use that rendered oil, and I guarantee it will taste amazing.

And with the Lunar New Year just around the corner, the scallions and ginger used for rendering oil can be used to braise dishes during the holiday; the flavor is excellent.

Feng Zhengming's little tricks amazed the older women.

He also suggested that if you're worried about wasting too much oil, you can refine a smaller amount of oil at a time.

The older women and women nodded in agreement.

Feng Zhengming even suggested that they eat in the cafeteria if they couldn't cook certain dishes at home.

"It's okay to bring your family to eat, but you can't bring all your relatives and friends to eat, the factory can't afford that."

Nobody wants the factory to go bankrupt like this, right?

As he said this, Feng Zhengming laughed.

And then added: "Sister, auntie, just kidding. If you have children at home and nowhere to eat lunch, you can bring them to the factory canteen. Elderly people can also bring food."

The older women laughed and said they would never bring just anyone to the factory canteen for a meal.

In fact, Feng Zhengming didn't care about the cost of the factory canteen; to him, that little bit of money was nothing.

However, some loopholes cannot be opened casually, otherwise things may gradually become unruly.

Once rules are lost, a factory will eventually decline.

Actually, a similar thing happened once before at a soy sauce factory.

Nowadays, everyone in the soy sauce factory cherishes the opportunity to start over.

The factory manager and the veteran workers especially cherish the hard-won revival of the soy sauce factory.

When leaving the soy sauce factory, Feng Zhengming took some of the factory's pickled vegetables with him, but he paid for them himself.

He took the initiative to set an example so that the factory could maintain a good atmosphere. Besides visiting soy sauce factories and various small restaurants to provide guidance, what kept Feng Zhengming the busiest was the television programs.

The provincial television station specially arranged a television program because of Feng Zhengming's return.

Hopefully, Feng Zhengming can appear on a program and have a good chat with some guests about Shandong cuisine.

Furthermore, the provincial television station also hoped that Feng Zhengming would take the lead in producing a documentary about Shandong cuisine.

So even on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the day before the Lunar New Year, he was having a meeting at the TV station.

Regarding documentaries about Shandong cuisine, Feng Zhengming offered his suggestions very frankly.

"Since we're making a documentary, we first need to decide whether to focus solely on Shandong cuisine or to introduce the local customs and culture of various regions in Shandong while also introducing Shandong cuisine."

We need to define a theme, otherwise, when the documentary is made, people might not be able to figure out what the theme is.

Feng Zhengming's direct words left everyone at the TV station somewhat bewildered.

The deputy director in charge of this meeting, who also hoped to lead this documentary, hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, wouldn't it be better if our documentary, while introducing Shandong cuisine, also introduced the local customs and traditions of various regions in Shandong, and then used the introduction of local customs and traditions to introduce the different delicacies of each region?"

Feng Zhengming: "No, because it's easy to stray from the topic."

The deputy director was clearly displeased by Feng Zhengming's directness.

According to the deputy director, Feng Zhengming, the top scorer, is indeed impressive, but they invited him to be an advisor, and this advisor actually interfered with their filming plans.

Moreover, the deputy director felt that Feng Zhengming's words seemed to imply that they did not understand the topic.

“Feng Zhuangyuan, we invited you to be our consultant. We already have plans for the theme and filming, and our station has a mature filming and production team.”

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhengming immediately realized that his words had offended the deputy director.

He smiled slightly: "There's really no need to ask me to be a consultant. I'm just an ordinary chef. Maybe in your eyes I don't understand art."

With that, Feng Zhengming stood up and said, "Then I'll take my leave now, so as not to disturb your discussion."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Feng Zhengming didn't linger for a moment. He got up, walked out of the conference room, left the TV station, and drove away.

Feng Zhengming's sudden departure left everyone at the TV station completely bewildered.

The TV station certainly didn't expect Feng Zhengming to leave so abruptly.

The deputy director in charge of the program was furious.

"What kind of attitude is this? Does he really think that just because he's the head chef of one of the top ten restaurants of the year, he's some big shot? And he's putting on airs in front of us?"

The other TV station staff looked at each other, none of them daring to say anything.

Then the deputy director got up and left the meeting room, returned to his office, and dialed the provincial government's number.

The provincial authorities received a call from this deputy director, even though they had only heard his side of the story.

The provincial officials were quite rude on the phone.

"What's wrong with you guys? Your TV station is making a documentary about Shandong cuisine. If you don't listen to Feng Zhengming, who else do you plan to listen to? In terms of understanding Shandong cuisine, cooking Shandong cuisine, and the ability to promote Shandong cuisine, can any of you compare with him?"

Don't give me any objective reasons. Your TV station drove them away in anger, so what other reasons do you have?
"Alright, let's put this matter on hold for now. The Lunar New Year is almost here, so your TV station should focus on preparing your New Year's programs."

The deputy director never expected that his original intention was to report Feng Zhengming to the provincial authorities.

Surprisingly, the province protected Feng Zhengming in this way.

Without even asking Feng Zhengming about the situation, he immediately started scolding himself over the phone.

The deputy director wanted to argue a bit more, but the person on the other end of the phone was quite adamant.

"Alright, stop talking. We shouldn't interfere with your station's program production, but Shandong cuisine is a signature dish of Shandong, and we can't let you make documentaries about it."

Therefore, this program will be put on hold for now. After the Chinese New Year, the province will organize a meeting between Feng Zhengming and the master chefs of Shandong cuisine.

Finally, we'll determine how to produce this documentary promoting Shandong cuisine.

Even after hanging up the phone, the deputy director was still a little dazed.

What I thought was a sure thing turned out to be like this.

The deputy director also sensed the province's attitude towards Feng Zhengming.

That is, on matters related to Shandong cuisine, Feng Zhengming is always right.

Feng Zhengming drove directly back to his grandfather's house.

My wife and children are all at my grandfather's house.

Before entering the house, he composed himself and put on a smile before stepping inside.

When she saw her father return, Feng Nuanyou was the first to rush out to greet him.

Seeing his daughter made Feng Zhengming instantly happy.

Picking up his daughter, Feng Zhengming asked, "Have you been a good girl at home? Have you made Mommy angry?"

Feng Nuanyou: "No, Youyou is a very good girl."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, our Youyou is such a good baby."

Feng Zhengming carried his daughter into the house.

When his two grandfathers saw him return so early, they realized that something was wrong.

Luo Qing asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you back so soon?"

He didn't hide it from his family member, Feng Zhengming.

"Hey, the TV station didn't think my suggestion was good, so I came back first. Anyway, it's their program, if they don't think my suggestion is good, they can do it their own way."

After listening to Feng Zhengming's account of what happened, listen to his last words.

Grandpa Situ spoke first: "That's good too. If you participate in the creation, and it doesn't turn out well in the end, all the responsibility will fall on you. Making a documentary is indeed not that easy."

Grandpa also agreed that Feng Zhengming should not get too involved.

"Yes, Shandong cuisine is a cuisine with a long history. Your master and others are still alive. We should listen to their opinions more when making this kind of documentary. Although you are the most famous now, you are still a junior after all."

It was clear that both grandfathers were not optimistic about Feng Zhengming's involvement in the documentary production.

Perhaps the two grandfathers didn't want Feng Zhengming to get involved in too many things and distract themselves.

But often, even if you don't go looking for it, it will come to you on its own.

Just as Feng Zhengming sat down with his daughter in his arms, and was playing with the two younger children with his eldest daughter, Chen Zhiheng had already come looking for him.

When Chen Zhiheng came to visit, Feng Zhengming was both amused and exasperated.

"Brother Chen, why did you make a special trip over here? You could have given me a call, and I would have come to find you."

Chen Zhiheng: "The province knows about this. The province has already asked the TV station to temporarily suspend the documentary production. They will wait for you to provide a plan before letting the TV station implement it."

Feng Zhengming: "Isn't this inappropriate? When I came back just now, my grandfather and Grandpa Situ both scolded me."

They said I shouldn't have taken the lead, because my masters are still alive, and filming a documentary about Shandong cuisine definitely requires my masters to be involved; I'm just a junior.

Chen Zhiheng was stunned by Feng Zhengming's words. (End of Chapter)