From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After the New Year's Eve dinner at noon, Feng Zhengming and his friends played mahjong together at his grandfather's house.

Actually, the main purpose was to keep the two grandfathers company and have some fun.

So nobody wins or loses money.

First, Feng Zhengming and his uncle accompanied the two grandfathers for a while.

As a result, because his daughter kept interrupting him, Feng Zhengming played mahjong terribly.

He was soon replaced, and his third uncle and eldest uncle joined the two grandfathers in the fight.

Then Luo Qing played mahjong with her aunt, uncle, and third aunt.

Only Feng Zhengming and his second uncle were left with nothing to do.

So, the two of them could only play with a group of children.

After playing at home for a while, Feng Zhengming and his second uncle seemed to find it boring, so they each carried a little one who was wrapped up tightly and took the other children out to play.

On the way, the second aunt's husband asked Zhang Hongwei and Feng Shengnan to take care of the two younger children, Feng Yucheng and Feng Nuanyou.

Then he and Feng Zhengming followed slowly behind, each carrying one of the two infants in swaddling clothes.

With Zhang Hongwei and Feng Shengnan, two older children, looking after them, there was no need to worry about the kids running around.

Moreover, Zhang Hongwei and Feng Shengnan were given a lot of money, and they were also allowed to take their younger brother and niece shopping.

The second uncle held Feng Zhengming's son and couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the little guy.

"Zhengming, you don't know, when I was holding your little boy, I was reminded of when your brother was born. I was away on a military training exercise, and when I came back, your aunt had already taken the child home from the hospital."

When I got home and held your brother in my arms, I was so excited. It felt unbelievable; I had suddenly become a father.

Feng Zhengming: "I understand my uncle. When I first had Youyou, I felt the same way. It was a wonderful feeling."

Second Uncle: "Yes, it's a really strange feeling."

The little one in the swaddling clothes was sleeping very peacefully.

"Haha, it seems my skills in holding a baby haven't gotten rusty yet. Your son can still sleep so soundly in my arms."

Feng Zhengming: "It's probably because he knew that his great-uncle was a soldier, and he felt very safe."

The second aunt's husband was even happier after being told this.

After laughing, the second uncle continued to chat with Feng Zhengming about some of his affairs.

“Zhengming, perhaps because my second uncle has always been in the military and received military education, my thinking is a bit rigid. I feel that since you are already doing so well, you should do more projects that are beneficial to society.”

Also, you can't always turn down opportunities to attend state banquets; the more you participate, the more you can increase your visibility.

Moreover, by participating in more state banquets, you can demonstrate that your culinary skills are recognized by everyone.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Uncle, I understand. That's why I've never stopped participating in state banquets. Whenever I'm needed, I immediately arrange my work and go to a state banquet."

Second Uncle: "That's right. Having experience participating in state banquets, or even being the head chef at a state banquet, will be very beneficial to your future development."

Feng Zhengming: "I know that I have been able to develop so well over the years and open so many branches all over the country."

"Many times, it's because I participated in state banquets and received various conveniences from different regions that I was able to open so many branches so smoothly."

Second Uncle: "So you should do more things that are beneficial to society. Everything you have now is given to you by society and the country, and you should give back to the country."

Feng Zhengming: "Uncle, do you know? When I received the Top Ten Restaurants of the Year award last year, I truly realized that a prosperous and strong country is my strongest support."

My second uncle smiled and said, "Yes, only when the country is strong can you stand in front of others, talk about your things, and export your culture."

Otherwise, Chinese cuisine will always be overshadowed by Western cuisine overseas, which they will always consider superior.

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, Western food is much simpler for me than Chinese food."

Second Uncle: "Really?"

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, Uncle, you may not know, but my earliest and most popular shop in Shanghai was on a street full of Western restaurants, and I did a lot of business with foreigners there."

My second aunt's husband was somewhat surprised: "There's such a saying? How do you manage to attract those foreigners?"

Feng Zhengming: "It's about using Western cooking methods to cook Chinese food. In fact, we often have some filters on our minds, thinking that Western food must be very high-class."

In reality, it was Western food that first popularized fast food, and foreigners don't usually eat those high-end Western dishes.

Therefore, as long as their tastes suit them, cooking Chinese food in a Western fast-food style will also be well-received by them.

Second Uncle laughed: "Hahaha, interesting, really interesting."

Feng Zhengming: "My restaurant in Shanghai, which won one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year, doesn't use Western cooking methods to cook Chinese food. I cook it in the most traditional Chinese way."

At that time, I felt that I wanted to create a Chinese restaurant that met certain standards, or what some people would consider high-end.

Our Chinese food is so beautiful and delicious, why can't we present it to more people?

Second Uncle: "Your idea is right. We don't need to learn from others. We can do everything very well using our own things."

When we got to this point in our conversation, my second uncle suddenly smiled again.

"Zhengming, before we talk, I always wonder if all you've done in business all these years is make money? Do you no longer care about many things?"

After talking with you, I realized I was overthinking things; you still cherish our motherland in your heart.

Feng Zhengming knew that his second aunt's husband, as a soldier, always firmly supported the motherland.

Therefore, he hopes that everyone will keep their motherland in their hearts, just like him.

Feng Zhengming did indeed do just that.

Whether in his past life or this one, his motherland holds a significant place in his heart.

Just like his insistence on not using Western cooking methods.

Always remember that Chinese food is Chinese food.

Feng Zhengming felt that Chinese cuisine has its own aesthetics and characteristics, so why should we learn from other people's styles?

That's why Feng Zhengming created a system where the entire dish is served first, and then the waiter divides the food into portions.

This way, foreigners can also see the complete dish.

Do you know how a complete Chinese dish is plated?

In Feng Zhengming's mind, the most important thing is to let others see the beauty of his family's food.

It was because of this persistence that Feng Zhengming successfully gained recognition from the International Gastronomic Association.

Kaufman once told Feng Zhengming this privately.

The judges from the International Gastronomy Association were impressed by Feng Zhengming's insistence on unique Chinese-style plating, which allowed them to appreciate a certain beauty in Chinese cuisine.

Holding the child, I followed behind several other children for a while.

Because it was Chinese New Year and the weather was quite cold, most shops outside were not open.

The four children searched for a long time before finally finding a shop that sold fireworks and firecrackers.

The four children went in and bought a bunch of things.

My second aunt's husband laughed when he saw it: "So you came all this way just to buy these things?"

Although Feng Nuanyou is the youngest and has the lowest seniority, she is the boldest among the children and dares to say a few words to anyone she meets.

So she was the first to stand up and speak. "Uncle, it's Chinese New Year now. Chinese New Year is about setting off firecrackers and beautiful fireworks."

Looking at the little girl, the second uncle really couldn't quite put his finger on what to say about this little girl.

"Okay, okay, you're right."

Zhang Hongwei immediately laughed: "Dad, look at you, you can't argue with our Youyou anymore, can you?"

Looking at his son, Zhang Zhigang couldn't help but say, "Get out of here! Look at Youyou, she's younger than you in age and seniority, yet she speaks so logically and clearly. And look at you, you just can't speak properly."

Feng Shengnan is the type of person who feels happy when she sees her cousin being scolded.

So she immediately started to chuckle to herself.

Zhang Hongwei also felt somewhat helpless. He realized that after returning home, he was not as good as the other children in his parents' eyes.

Especially now, everyone in the family really likes Feng Nuanyou, their little niece.

But Zhang Hongwei really couldn't get angry, because he also liked his little niece.

Zhang Hongwei had a private conversation with Feng Shengnan.

Both siblings thought that Feng Nuanyou was a particularly smart little girl.

Her intelligence isn't about intellectually overwhelming you, but rather about making you feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Feng Nuanyou's intelligence stems from her high emotional intelligence, and she is always cheerful.

She's like a ray of sunshine; there are always many things that make her happy.

When you're in her presence, if you say a few words to her, you'll naturally be influenced by her and gradually become happier.

This feeling is truly wonderful, making it hard not to like Feng Nuanyou.

So Zhang Hongwei wasn't angry when his father used Feng Nuanyou to talk about him.

"Okay, okay, Dad, you're right. I'm not as articulate as Youyou."

Zhang Zhigang was somewhat embarrassed by his son's direct admission.

Feng Zhengming laughed and said, "Alright, alright, let's go back and set off fireworks. It's almost dark. Let's set off fireworks properly after it gets dark, and then we can watch the Spring Festival Gala together."

Feng Nuanyou clapped her hands happily and urged her father to go back quickly.

Then Feng Shengnan grabbed her little niece and said, "Youyou, let's run first and let them chase us."

Feng Nuanyou immediately agreed: "Okay, okay, let them go after you."

Zhang Hongwei and Feng Yucheng followed the two girls closely, slowly chasing after them.

This obviously fake chase, however, amused Feng Nuanyou, and the little girl's laughter echoed incessantly.

Feng Zhengming looked at his second uncle: "Uncle, do you think it's quite enjoyable to occasionally take some time off from the military and enjoy a normal life?"

Second Uncle nodded: "That's absolutely right, this feeling is really interesting."

Then my second uncle added, "But the more this is the case, the heavier the burden on my shoulders feels. I must protect you and let you enjoy this happy life."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle."

The two of them laughed as they quickly caught up with the children ahead.

When they got home, a group of children immediately burst in and disrupted the card game.

The main credit goes to Feng Nuanyou.

At this moment, Feng Zhengming asked his second uncle with a smile, "Did you see the mischievous side of our Youyou?"

Second Uncle laughed: "I can see that now, this girl can be quite mischievous."

Feng Nuanyou's interruption made the people playing mahjong at both tables feel somewhat uncomfortable.

The key point is that seeing that Feng Nuanyou was the one who started it made it impossible for the mahjong players to get angry.

Only Luo Qing stepped forward: "Feng Zhengming, control your daughter. Look at how outrageous she is!"

Feng Nuanyou: "Mom, you're not allowed to yell at Dad. This isn't something Dad made me do; I did it myself."

Luo Qing was both amused and exasperated: "You've gotten bold, haven't you? You think I wouldn't dare hit you, right?"

Feng Nuanyou smiled and said, "Mom, you can't hit me. I didn't do anything wrong."

Luo Qing reached out and pulled her daughter over, making a gesture as if she was about to hit her.

"You haven't made a mistake? Look, you've messed up the mahjong tiles. Isn't this just being unreasonable? You're a girl, isn't this inappropriate? This is making a mistake."

At this moment, the whole family was quite interested, sitting there watching the mother and daughter talk.

Feng Nuanyou's various sophistry and unreasonable arguments are really interesting.

"Mom, you've been playing for so long. When I came back to call you, you didn't answer me. I want you to take a break, so I'll mess up the cards for you so you can finish and rest."

The little girl's sophistry made everyone burst into laughter.

Grandma spoke up: "Oh dear, hearing what our little Youyou said, she's actually doing it for our own good."

Grandma: "That's right, we should thank Youyou for letting us stop playing cards and get some exercise."

Third Grandma: "Yes, yes, we can't blame Youyou, we should thank Youyou."

Luo Qing was both amused and exasperated: "Aunt, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, you're just spoiling her."

The three grandmothers just smiled and said there was nothing they could do.

"Who can blame us when she's our only little darling in the family?"

"Those two little ones are too small, the others are a bit too big."

“Your Youyou is the most interesting one at this age.”

The two grandfathers over there also spoke up.

"Alright, we were just killing time anyway. It's getting late, so let's stop playing today. If you really want to play again, we can play again tomorrow."

Grandpa Situ: "We still need to make our little Youyou happy."

Feng Nuanyou smiled and said, "Yes, yes, Youyou is very happy. Let's set off fireworks together."

The two great-grandfathers stood up and decided to go out and set off fireworks together.

Luo Qing also took the child from her uncle's arms.

Just then, the two little ones woke up.

Luo Qing was both amused and exasperated: "These two little ones, they actually slept all afternoon just being held and rocked by you guys?"

Feng Zhengming: "Perhaps because my uncle is a soldier, his hands are indeed quite steady, so the boy didn't feel the swaying at all. On the contrary, he slept very soundly, while the girl I was holding woke up a few times."

The second uncle was also very happy: "Not bad, such a well-behaved child is easy to take care of."

Auntie pursed her lips: "Then you don't take care of him often. If you take care of him occasionally, you'll definitely find him easy to take care of."

Second Aunt's husband hugged Second Aunt: "Wife, you've worked so hard all these years. You've raised our son and made him so outstanding that he was able to get into an aerospace university. I really thank you, wife."

The whole family laughed. By then it was already dark outside, and some people were setting off fireworks.

Feng Zhengming and the others also went out together, setting off the various fireworks the children had bought. (End of Chapter)