From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The next morning, the second aunt and the third aunt had already arrived at Feng Zhengming's house.

When I entered, I saw Feng Zhengming making breakfast with his daughter in the kitchen.

When the great-aunt saw the little girl standing on the stool helping her father, she praised her with a smile.

"Oh my, our Youyou is getting more and more capable now, she can even help her dad!"

Upon hearing the sound, Feng Nuanyou turned her head and immediately got off the small stool.

"Grandma, Third Grandma, you've arrived."

Grandma smiled and said, "Youyou is really amazing, she can even help her dad."

Feng Nuanyou proudly pointed her chin and said, "Last night, my dad and I cooked together. We made lots of delicious food."

Grandma: "Really? Our Youyou is amazing."

Feng Zhengming: "Aunt, Third Aunt, please sit down for a while. I'll be done in a minute."

Feng Shengnan, who came with her third aunt, asked curiously, "Brother, what did you do?"

Before her father could answer, Feng Nuanyou quickly chimed in, "Auntie, Daddy made delicious congee with preserved egg and lean pork. He also made mini pancakes and steamed buns. They're all delicious!"

Feng Shengnan said with envy, "That's so nice, Youyou gets to eat so well every day."

Third Aunt: "Didn't Mom make it well for you?"

Feng Shengnan immediately smiled and coaxed her mother.

"Okay, Mom, you can learn more from my brother when you have time, so you can cook more delicious food for me in the future."

Hearing her daughter's words, the third aunt couldn't help but smile and gently pat her on the shoulder.

"You should eat less, so you don't gain weight and have to lose weight later."

Feng Shengnan: "Oh my god, where am I fat?"

Feng Suying looked at her niece: "No, our Shengnan has a great figure, doesn't she?"

Luo Qing came out from the inner room: "Aunt, Third Aunt, please come and sit down. Let the father and daughter do their work."

Feng Suying: "It seems Qingqing has gotten used to letting the father and daughter do all the work?"

Luo Qing: "These two, father and daughter, are the masters of the kitchen now. We can't get involved. Let them do their work, and we'll just wait to eat."

Feng Nuanyou: "Yes, yes, Mom is right. Hurry up, great-aunt, third great-aunt, aunt, you all go and sit down."

As she spoke, Feng Nuanyou pushed everyone inside to sit down.

Great-aunt, Third Great-aunt, and Aunt could only walk in and sit down.

Seeing that Zhang Hongwei hadn't come, Luo Qing asked curiously, "Auntie, why didn't Brother Hongwei come with you?"

Feng Suying: "He's not going with us. He went to the army with his dad."

Luo Qing: "You went to the army?"

"Yes, he said he wanted to get used to the military environment beforehand. Didn't he say he would wait until graduation to train in the military first?"

Hearing her second aunt say this, Luo Qing couldn't help but admire her.

"My younger brother really has his own ideas. I believe he will become an aircraft designer for our country in the future."

Feng Suying: "His father and I were overjoyed that he could participate in the design; we didn't expect him to become a designer."

Feng Shengnan: "Auntie, maybe Brother Hongwei really can do it? You should encourage him more."

Feng Suying: "I have always encouraged him."

Third Aunt: "Look at your brother, you also need to work hard. You said you want to go to Shanghai for university. When school starts, you'll have to work even harder."

Feng Shengnan responded to her mother: "Mom, don't worry, I believe I can do it."

Just as we were talking about this, Feng Zhengming led his daughter out of the kitchen.

"Here we go, everyone, get ready for breakfast."

The whole family was surprised to see the rather lavish breakfast that Feng Zhengming brought out.

Feng Shengnan: "My brother makes such a lavish breakfast, he's really amazing."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, if you like it, eat more."

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming returned to the kitchen and packed up the food he had specifically set aside.

"Aunt, Third Aunt, you eat first. I'll go and take this to Grandpa and Grandpa Situ."

Second Aunt and Third Aunt agreed.

Feng Nuanyou wanted to go with her father.

However, her mother stopped her, and in the end, the little girl was a little reluctant to stay at home.

Feng Zhengming drove his breakfast to his grandfather's house.

The two grandfathers beamed with smiles when they saw Feng Zhengming arrive.

The two grandfathers really doted on this grandson.

Grandpa Feng: "You even brought it over specially. Didn't the old shop reopen? We can just go there for a bite in the morning."

Grandpa Situ: "Hahaha, don't listen to your grandpa. He's actually very happy that you brought him breakfast."

Feng Zhengming opened the thermos and poured out the porridge he had brought for his two grandfathers.

Then arrange the steamed buns and small pancakes that I prepared in the morning.

"Grandpa Situ, Grandpa, I'm going back to Shanghai with them today. Are you really not coming with us to Shanghai?"

The two grandfathers looked at each other, and then shook their heads almost simultaneously.

Grandpa: "We won't go. It's fine for us to stay at home. We won't cause you any trouble. You'll be quite busy when you go back, so take good care of yourself and also help Luo Qing take care of the house."

Grandpa Situ: "Zhengming, when you go back, don't rush things. Just do what you think is right and don't pay attention to what others say."

Feng Zhengming: "I know Grandpa Situ."

Grandpa: "Don't rush to make a documentary about Shandong cuisine. It's really not easy to do. You'll need a lot of people to help you."

Feng Zhengming: "I'm not in a hurry. Many things can't be rushed. We need to do them step by step."

The two grandfathers agreed wholeheartedly, and they believed that Feng Zhengming would have his own way of dealing with people.

I had breakfast with the two grandfathers and chatted with them for a while.

Feng Zhengming bid farewell to his two grandfathers.

When I got home, my sisters-in-law and their children had already come over.

Upon seeing Feng Zhengming return, his sisters-in-law all stood up to thank him.

The eldest sister-in-law spoke first: "Zhengming, I really want to thank you for your arrangements, which gave us the opportunity to go to Shanghai for a trip."

Second Sister-in-law: "Really, the child hasn't started school yet, and your second senior brother is going back to Dezhou. I was also thinking about where to take the child for a while, but I didn't expect you to have already made arrangements."

Third Sister-in-law: "Zhengming, you've really gone to a lot of trouble."

Fifth Sister-in-law: "Zhengming, your nephew has always wanted to visit your restaurant in Shanghai."

Sixth Sister-in-law: "It's really hard work for you, Zhengming, to arrange so many of us."

Feng Zhengming: "Sisters-in-law, don't be so polite. My fellow apprentices and I are like brothers. They have helped me so much over the years, so it's only right that I arrange for you to go to Shanghai for a few days."

Moreover, my sisters-in-law brought their children to Shanghai with us, and I booked group tickets directly, which was essentially a charter flight, and the price was even cheaper.

There were quite a few people in Feng Zhengming's group going to Shanghai, so when Feng Zhengming contacted the airline, they offered a very favorable price; it was practically a charter flight for them.

The sisters-in-law all smiled and said they would follow Feng Zhengming's arrangements.

A group of children were particularly excited about going to Shanghai.

Around noon, the kitchen staff from Shanghai also came to join them.

A bus arranged by the airport also arrived and picked up Feng Zhengming and his group to take them to the airport.

Because of the large number of people in Feng Zhengming's group, and given Feng Zhengming's status, the airport arranged a special channel for them. Their boarding process didn't take much time.

After boarding the plane, the sisters-in-law all called Feng Zhengming and his fellow students to let them know they had arrived safely.

The group flew together from Jinan to Shanghai.

Upon arriving in Shanghai, Feng Zhengming made arrangements in advance.

A hotel shuttle bus picked up Feng Zhengming and the others from the airport and took them back.

Feng Zhengming first arranged for his sisters-in-law and children to stay at the hotel.

Then Xia Hui and the others led everyone to each shop to tidy up.

Finally, Feng Zhengming, along with his wife, second aunt, and third aunt, took the children back to their home in Shanghai.

The trip went very smoothly, and since it was by plane, everyone wasn't too tired.

After settling his family in, Feng Zhengming drove his daughter to visit his various shops.

Xia Hui and the others had already parted ways and returned to their respective shops with their people.

Feng Zhengming first went to check out the branches of four dry rice shops.

The store had already been cleaned in advance by employees who had returned to Shanghai early.

Therefore, all stores will actually be able to resume business today.

However, Feng Zhengming still arranged for everyone to officially resume business tomorrow.

"I know everyone is very enthusiastic, but let's not rush. Let's arrange and prepare everything properly first, so we can be more at ease when we reopen tomorrow."

Another point is that Feng Zhengming hopes that the staff in each store can get used to things first.

After all, we had a long holiday during the Lunar New Year, and it's a bit of a shock to suddenly return to the store and resume high-intensity work.

However, Feng Zhengming's worries were actually somewhat unnecessary.

With such a long holiday, some people in the store are getting a little bored.

That's why some people came back to the store early. Although the store hasn't reopened, they still clean everything in the store diligently every day.

Even when Feng Zhengming arranged for suppliers to deliver goods, the staff who had returned to the store in advance received them.

Although the Spring Festival holiday is long, everyone is already familiar with the procedures of each store, so they can handle everything in the store without much guidance.

After visiting the four branches of dry rice shops, Feng Zhengming drove his daughter to the shop on the Western restaurant street.

This store is now the size of a large restaurant.

Before Xia Hui and the others returned, the store manager had already made thorough preparations with his team.

It can be said that Xia Hui was able to start work immediately after returning with her team.

Feng Zhengming also reminded everyone: "We will resume business tomorrow. Today, everyone should make more preparations. This store is now positioned as a large restaurant, so the preparations must be thorough."

Xia Hui naturally obeyed her master's arrangement: "I know, Master."

Feng Nuanyou also didn't forget to cheer on her older sister Xia Hui.

"Go, Huihui! You're the best!"

Xia Hui smiled and said, "Thank you, Youyou."

Feng Zhengming finally went to check out the old-style restaurant.

Even when the restaurant is not open for business, it is cleaned by a dedicated person every day.

Fu Jun and Cai Tao led their men back here ahead of time to tidy up.

Then they discovered that everything in the restaurant had been arranged perfectly.

Even the items in the refrigerator and warehouse had been prepared in advance.

All of this surprised the two of them somewhat.

When Feng Zhengming arrived and saw their surprise, he simply smiled.

"Although we have a long holiday during the Spring Festival, there are some things that need to be prepared in advance. I will definitely arrange for someone to prepare them in advance so that we can start work as soon as we come back."

Fu Jun and Cai Tao were quite impressed with their junior uncle's arrangements after hearing them.

"Junior Uncle, you have a complete plan."

"Yes, we thought that even if we came back on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, it would take at least a few days to prepare before we could resume business."

Feng Zhengming: "If you go out and open your own restaurants or hotels in the future, remember one thing: you need to plan ahead and prepare for many things in advance."

The kitchen is like our battlefield; we must be prepared for anything, understand?

Upon hearing this, Fu Jun and Cai Tao immediately nodded seriously to indicate that they had remembered it.

In the old-style restaurant, Feng Zhengming meticulously assigned specific tasks.

Unlike other restaurants, the Old House Restaurant remains Feng Zhengming's most important restaurant.

After a detailed work arrangement, Feng Zhengming watched as everyone took over and started doing their tasks.

Only after confirming that Fu Jun and Cai Tao could command the troops well did he give them a brief explanation and leave with his daughter.

After Feng Zhengming left, everyone in the restaurant couldn't help but sigh.

"The head chef was as dedicated as ever. When he returned to the restaurant's kitchen, he was like a completely different person."

Upon hearing someone's remark, Fu Jun and Cai Tao exchanged a glance.

Cai Tao smiled and said, "The head chef has always considered himself a chef, and his ideas have never changed. Therefore, he does not allow any problems to occur in the restaurant or the kitchen."

Fu Jun: "You all need to pay attention and follow the chef's instructions. Don't be lazy."

Cai Tao added, "The head chef gave us an extra day of rest, which means we can take our time to complete all the preparations."

Everyone readily agreed and worked very diligently.

Feng Zhengming drove his daughter home.

My wife, my second aunt, and my third aunt have already tidied up the house.

Feng Zhengming and his daughter took separate showers.

Then it was already dark outside, so Feng Zhengming made a phone call to contact a few of his sisters-in-law first.

He drove his family to the hotel where his sisters-in-law and their children were staying.

That evening, Feng Zhengming made a special reservation at Jiang Chengzhe's restaurant.

Give a proper welcome to the sisters-in-law and the children of my fellow students.

Jiang Chengzhe had also made preparations in advance, arranging a large private room for Feng Zhengming and his group.

Liu Fangyou, who had already returned to Shanghai, also came to entertain everyone.

After Feng Zhengming introduced Liu Fangyou, the sisters-in-law all expressed their friendliness towards Liu Fangyou.

Liu Fangyou also felt that Feng Zhengming's sisters-in-law were quite similar to herself.

We're all family members of chefs, so we really have a lot in common.

As for the children, led by Feng Nuanyou, they went to the window to look at the night view of the Huangpu River below.

A group of children looked at the river view below and thought that Shanghai, this metropolis, was really beautiful.

Feng Shengnan, the oldest among the children, smiled and encouraged them: "If you think this place is beautiful, then you should all study hard so that you can all come here to study at university in the future."

Feng Shengnan's words led to different reactions from the group of children.

There are still some expectations for the second senior brother's daughter, who has good grades, and the fifth senior brother's son.

The sons of the eldest and third senior brothers probably knew that their grades weren't very good, and they really didn't have much confidence in going to university in Shanghai.

However, the children were indeed encouraged and developed a certain expectation for striving to come to Shanghai. (End of Chapter)