From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

On New Year's Eve, Feng Zhengming and his wife took their children back to his grandfather's house in the morning.

This year, my fellow students all went home to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Feng Zhengming did not organize his master and fellow disciples to celebrate the New Year together.

This was mainly because Feng Zhengming knew that his fellow students also needed to return home in glory.

After all these years, the senior brothers have finally made something of themselves.

Several of my senior classmates have successfully participated in state banquets with me.

It's time for my senior brothers to show off in front of their fellow villagers back home.

Feng Zhengming and his wife Luo Qing, accompanied by their second aunt and third aunt, took their children back to their grandfather's house.

Then, Feng Zhengming began to busy himself at his grandfather's house.

We didn't manage to organize a Spring Festival celebration with our fellow students.

That year, Feng Zhengming could only prepare the New Year's Eve dinner at his grandfather's house.

Fortunately, my eldest aunt, second aunt, and third aunt will also help out, and even Luo Qing will come to help.

Moreover, most of the dishes were prepared in advance in the kitchen of the old shop.

Apart from a few dishes that need to be stir-fried on the spot, most dishes can actually be simply reheated.

The two grandfathers were very happy to see the whole family together.

My eldest uncle and second aunt's husband also came back to celebrate the New Year together this year.

Grandpa's house was bustling with activity.

Even Feng Zhengming's two little ones were very happy to be wearing new clothes.

Feng Shengnan replaced Feng Zhengming in leading the group in playing games.

She started playing with her younger brother Feng Yucheng and her niece Feng Nuanyou.

When Zhang Hongwei went to university, he couldn't play with the younger kids as much, but he would still go with them and keep an eye on their safety when they went out to play.

At home, the two grandfathers were also chatting about their careers with Feng Zhengming's eldest uncle, second aunt's husband, and third uncle.

My uncle is now in charge of some foreign affairs activities in Shanghai, so we often talk about the international situation.

My second aunt's husband then added some of the changes in the military to his words, which can be considered as supplementing my eldest uncle's remarks.

Uncle San clearly also gleaned some opportunities from the conversation.

After joining the WTO, more emerging industries will enter China.

Uncle San thought this was definitely a great opportunity.

He also wants to get involved; his company in Qingdao might be able to take on some overseas projects.

My uncle's advice in this regard is to be as cautious as possible. If we can't take the high-end route, then we should take a more practical and technologically mature civilian route.

Third Uncle listened to his eldest uncle's advice and decided to go abroad to do some research.

When the topic of overseas inspections came up, my uncle steered the conversation toward Feng Zhengming.

"Speaking of going abroad for research, I've heard that foreign countries have been in contact with China, hoping that Zhengming can go abroad for some exchanges, and even hoping that he can open a restaurant abroad."

Uncle San was somewhat surprised: "You're actively inviting Zhengming to open a restaurant abroad?"

The uncle nodded: "That's right, I'm also planning to talk to Zhengming later."

Second Uncle: "Foreigners' tastes must be different from ours, right? If we ask Zhengming to open a restaurant, will foreigners be able to get used to the food?"

Uncle: "Other chefs might have to worry about this, but Zhengming shouldn't have to worry about him. Zhengming's restaurant in Shanghai has always attracted many foreigners in China."

Third Uncle: "Yes, Zhengming's restaurant is on a street full of Western restaurants. It's incredibly popular. Last time I went there, I saw a lot of foreigners eating there."

Second Uncle: "It's really amazing that foreigners like Zhengming's cooking skills."

Grandpa Situ: "In this respect, Zhengming is more flexible. He doesn't just do traditional things. He has always been innovative."

Grandpa Feng: "The key is that he knows how to serve different customers."

Uncle: "This is a aspect that many people really like about Zhengming."

At this point, the uncle couldn't help but laugh.

"I've also heard that the capital has always hoped that Zhengming could stay in the capital to be in charge of state banquets, but the Shanghai side has never wanted Zhengming to stay in the capital."

Hearing this, everyone in the family couldn't help but laugh.

Everyone felt quite proud of Feng Zhengming's popularity, as he was sought after by both Beijing and Shanghai.

Grandpa Situ said with a smile, "Zhengming's skills are beyond doubt, but the key is that he has his own set of methods. His set of methods is the magic weapon for running all his shops."

Many dishes that would be difficult to prepare in other restaurants become simple in his hands.

Grandpa Feng said with some pride, "He has a very thorough understanding of cooking."

Third Uncle: "I heard that he wants to open Yanxilou in the capital?"

Grandpa Feng: "Yes, he did have that idea."

Second Uncle: "Open a Yanxilou restaurant in the capital? That's probably something that generations of Yanxilou's master chefs have always dreamed of."

Grandpa Situ: "It should be accomplished under Zhengming's leadership."

Grandpa Feng: "The old plaque of Yanxilou is in Zhengming's hands. He went to the capital to reopen Yanxilou, which is the most authentic way."

The uncle asked curiously, "In that case, won't he have to travel between Beijing and Shanghai? Isn't that too tiring?"

Third Uncle laughed and explained, "No, Big Brother, have you forgotten Zhengming's senior brothers?"

These words startled the uncle at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he said, "Oh, it's clear that he's planning to send his senior brothers to the capital to oversee the reopening of Yanxi Restaurant there."

Just then, Feng Zhengming brought the dishes into the house, ready to invite everyone to sit down and eat.

Hearing his uncle's words, he couldn't help but chime in.

"Yes, I plan to have all my senior brothers go to the capital to take charge of Yanxi Tower."

The uncle looked at him and asked, "What about your shop in Jinan? Are you planning to abandon Huiquanlou?"

Feng Zhengming: "Huiquanlou will be handed over to the apprentices of my senior brothers. They should also learn how to run a restaurant. People need to grow and improve, and we should give them enough space."

These words made the family members think about it carefully.

Second Uncle quickly understood: "So that's how it is. It turns out you're planning to train a group of people."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Yes, the inheritance of Shandong cuisine requires people, so I want to train a group of good Shandong cuisine chefs and build a path for them to advance."

Uncle: "Your idea is excellent. This way, Shandong cuisine chefs can better pass on their skills from generation to generation."

Feng Zhengming: "Let's take it one step at a time. While my master and his family are still capable, we should train a group of young people so that they can inherit and carry forward our Shandong cuisine in the future."

The family members almost unanimously asked, "And what about you?"

Feng Zhengming: "I am the one who paved the way for them and helped them to the front of the stage."

Upon hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the whole family was taken aback.

Then the eldest uncle laughed first: "Zhengming's awareness has become so high now."

Second Uncle: "I think Zhengming should go to our army and give them a lesson."

Third Uncle: "Zhengming, are you planning to retire at forty?"

Grandpa Situ and Grandpa Situ chuckled, finding Feng Zhengming's words rather strange. Feng Zhengming replied seriously, "I'm not joking, nor am I particularly enlightened. I simply believe that it's impossible for me to do everything well on my own."

Whether it's Shandong cuisine or any other industry, to achieve better development, a continuous stream of new talents is needed.

I've done the best I can; now someone has to take over.

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this, the whole family gradually stopped smiling.

Grandpa: "Zhengming, is your idea to train successors to take over your legacy?"

Grandpa Situ: "I'm afraid it's not just that. Zhengming probably hopes that while he is in his prime, more outstanding young chefs will emerge."

Only with the emergence of more young chefs possessing creativity and solid basic skills can Shandong cuisine have a better future.

Feng Zhengming nodded: "What Grandpa Situ said is exactly what I was thinking."

Then Feng Zhengming told his family about his thoughts.

"I have already set the standards. What I need to do next is to supervise those who come after me to implement those standards properly."

Rather than waiting until I reach the age of my mentors to think about having the younger generation take over my restaurant, I think it's better to guide them now, so they can gradually become independent of my leadership and still run the restaurant well.

After listening to Feng Zhengming's words, the whole family thought about it carefully and realized that it really made sense.

Things are different now than in the past. In the past, many master craftsmen liked to hold back some of their skills when training apprentices.

Many skills are not passed on to apprentices until the master craftsman is too old to continue.

This practice only began to change with the arrival of Master Cui and Master Yan.

When these master craftsmen take on apprentices, they teach them their skills diligently and even demand that the apprentices do exactly as they are taught.

If an apprentice does something wrong, these master craftsmen will really get angry.

Therefore, chefs of Feng Zhengming's generation generally had very solid basic skills and techniques.

This is why Feng Zhengming could confidently entrust the Huiquanlou and Qilu stores to his fellow apprentices.

It's because his fellow disciples all learned step by step from their master.

Their skills can be said to have reached the level of master chefs.

But what next?
The times are developing too rapidly, and too many people like to take shortcuts and engage in opportunism.

The influx of foreign restaurants has led many young chefs to believe that learning the basics of Chinese cooking is completely useless.

It's not as good as those Western restaurants, which have beautifully plated dishes and pile up all kinds of imported ingredients, so they can sell them to customers at higher prices.

This is why Feng Zhengming once faced a shortage of manpower due to opening too many stores.

It's true that many young people, after graduating from vocational school, mistake the little bit they've learned for a real skill.

When they actually went into the kitchen, they often made the dishes look terrible.

In recent years, as Feng Zhengming's reputation has grown, many people have come to his various stores for internships.

However, almost none of them can stay.

It's not because Feng Zhengming's shop doesn't need manpower.

The main reason is that many trainees are not serious enough in their attitude.

Secondly, many of them are unwilling to put in the effort to improve their basic skills.

I don't want to practice knife skills; I just want to be able to start cooking as soon as possible.

Therefore, many trainees quit their jobs after only a few days of internship, unwilling to continue their internship at the store.

According to Feng Zhengming's standards, they could only practice their knife skills on one side almost every day.

This made them feel that they weren't learning anything at all during their internships.

Most people worked there for a few days, but felt it was too hard and offered no future, so they left on their own.

Of the apprentices who ultimately stay and complete their internships, some will not be able to remain in the store due to various issues.

In the end, only about one in ten of the apprentices recruited into the kitchen each year actually make it into the restaurant.

Although Feng Zhengming was the national culinary champion, he had not yet gained enough fame or prestige.

His restaurant has now been named one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

In addition, his frequent participation in state banquets in recent years has earned him considerable prestige.

Now Feng Zhengming can finally establish a set of standards so that the younger chefs can follow them.

This may make it more difficult for young chefs to become chefs in the future.

But this is definitely good for the future development of Shandong cuisine.

Feng Zhengming had almost finished preparing the New Year's Eve dinner when his aunt, second aunt, and third aunt went to call the children back.

The whole family sat together in Grandpa's living room.

Grandpa and Grandpa Situ exchanged a glance and first raised their glasses together.

"Okay, now that everyone in our family is here, let's raise a toast to wish us all a happy new year, and also wish our motherland prosperity and strength, and our family a prosperous future."

Everyone raised their glasses together and shouted, "Happy New Year!"

After clinking glasses, the two grandfathers started eating first, and then invited everyone else to eat as well.

"Eat more vegetables. These are dishes made by our family's top scholar. You don't usually get to eat them."

"Yes, yes, everyone should eat more."

Feng Nuanyou smiled and said, "I can eat it every day."

This made everyone laugh.

Zhang Hongwei: "Of course you can eat this every day. You're probably tired of it, aren't you?"

Feng Nuanyou: "No, I like my dad's cooking. I've always liked it."

The whole family laughed again; the little girl was just too adorable.

Then the whole family started eating.

The family still finds Feng Zhengming's cooking delicious and tasty.

This isn't just because of family members' bias; it's also because family members don't often get to eat Feng Zhengming's cooking.

In addition, when Feng Zhengming cooks home-style dishes, he also makes corresponding adjustments to some dishes according to the conditions and the tastes of his family, so that his family always feels that the food is palatable.

So every time my family eats it, they feel that Feng Zhengming's cooking skills are really good.

After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, the whole family started chatting happily.

As they chatted, the topic naturally veered back to Feng Zhengming.

The main reason is that Feng Zhengming has done so many things that make the whole family proud.

When talking about Feng Zhengming's restaurant winning one of the top ten restaurants of the year.

Zhang Hongwei suddenly asked, "Brother, is this 'Top Ten Restaurants' selection held annually? If your restaurant was on the top ten last year, won't it be selected again this year?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, there will be a re-evaluation this year, but you should trust my skills."

Zhang Hongwei laughed: "Haha, that's right. I trust your skills, brother. You'll definitely be in the top ten again this year."

The whole family immediately raised their glasses, wishing Feng Zhengming's restaurant would continue to be among the top ten this year. (End of Chapter)