From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The old-style restaurant brought its regular customers many surprises on its first night of reopening.

Besides the whole roasted lamb, the various seafood and other dishes prepared by Feng Zhengming were also very popular with the guests.

Even some vegetables are processed in a unique way by Feng Zhengming, making them taste delicious.

Even after a Spring Festival break, Feng Zhengming's culinary skills are still amazing.

Moreover, many of the customers come from Shanghai or the surrounding areas.

Feng Zhengming also specially prepared some local Shanghainese dishes for them.

This design really caters to customers with different tastes.

Since it was the first night of reopening, although Feng Zhengming did not require advance reservations, business hours were still not very late.

Around 9 p.m., most of the restaurant's guests for the evening had finished their meals.

Feng Zhengming personally saw each table of customers off and gave each customer a small gift.

As a New Year's greeting gift.

Whether they were regular customers or new customers who came specifically because of its reputation, everyone who came tonight experienced a sense of emotional satisfaction.

When the old man and his two aunts left, Feng Zhengming escorted them all the way to the gate of the old house.

He personally opened the car door for them and helped the three elderly people into the car.

Before leaving, the old man held Feng Zhengming's hand.

“Zhengming, your skills are getting better and better, and your business is growing bigger and bigger. But don’t forget that there are some things you still need to actively participate in.”

Feng Zhengming immediately nodded: "I know, Uncle. I will make the arrangements and participate actively."

The old man said, "It's good that you understand. I believe you can handle it."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said goodbye to the two elderly women.

We watched the car carrying the old man and his family drive away.

Feng Zhengming understood what the old man meant; he wanted him to actively participate in some activities in Shanghai, especially some public welfare projects.

Feng Zhengming also considered these aspects, and he was not opposed to those activities and projects.

And he also has some of his own ideas.

This year marks the first year since China's accession to the WTO, and construction in coastal cities will accelerate.

A large number of outsiders will flood into Shanghai.

Feng Zhengming felt that he might need to open another branch in Pudong.

He also plans to take on part of the boxed meal supply service.

This will allow more migrant workers flocking to Shanghai to have a cheap and delicious meal.

The old-style restaurant will maintain its current low-key yet upscale character.

Because Shanghai attracts a large influx of migrant workers, it also attracts a large number of wealthy people to invest.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant never had to worry about customers.

The fact that some business owners, including Bao Guofeng, came to support the restaurant tonight demonstrates their approval of the old-style house restaurant.

Feng Zhengming also plans to resume taking reservations for the old villa restaurant in the evenings.

He needed to maintain the privacy of the old-style restaurant.

This is how you attract enough business owners.

Furthermore, judging from the customers who came tonight, Feng Zhengming realized that his restaurant may need to cater to more overseas investors coming to Shanghai.

Therefore, some of his dishes may need to be adjusted.

It's not about pandering to overseas audiences and making it more Westernized.

Instead, it must be flavorful enough to be acceptable to most overseas people.

After pondering these thoughts, Feng Zhengming turned and went back into the old-style restaurant.

Having already eaten her fill, Feng Nuanyou led her aunt Feng Shengnan and a group of older brothers and sisters to play downstairs.

Upon seeing Feng Zhengming walk in from outside the courtyard gate, Feng Nuanyou immediately flew to her father like a little swallow.

"Dad, why did you come in from outside?"

Feng Zhengming replied with a smile, "Dad went to the door to see someone off."

Feng Nuanyou thought for a moment and said, "I know, I know, Dad is going to see the old man and the two old ladies off."

Feng Zhengming: "Youyou is so smart. Did you eat your fill tonight?"

Feng Nuanyou: "I'm full. I ate so much meat today."

At this moment, the other children also gathered around.

Li Xiaogang spoke first: "Uncle, can I work for you sometime?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhengming looked up at Li Xiaogang.

"What? You want to work at your uncle's restaurant? Have you thought it through? You want to be a chef in the future?"

Li Xiaogang said earnestly, "I've thought it through, Uncle. My grades aren't very good right now, and if I don't get into university, I'll go to a vocational school to learn cooking, and then I'll come and become your apprentice."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "You haven't even taken the exam yet, and you already think you won't get into university?"

Li Xiaogang: "I really think I might not pass the exam."

At this moment, Yang Zhiyu, the son of the third senior brother, also spoke up.

"Uncle, I want to learn cooking from you in the future and become your apprentice."

Hearing Yang Zhiyu say the same thing, Feng Zhengming looked at him and Li Xiaogang.

"If you want to learn cooking from me, your uncle will definitely teach you well. However, your uncle believes that learning to cook and going to university are not mutually exclusive. To become a good chef, you must also have a certain level of education."

To help the children understand, Feng Zhengming used his old-style restaurant as an example.

"Look at this restaurant your uncle has, don't you all think it's great?"

The group of children immediately nodded, all saying that the restaurant was very good.

"This place is great, but to make money, we need to attract enough customers. With so many restaurants and eateries in Shanghai, why would anyone choose to come here?"

On the one hand, my cooking skills are good, and on the other hand, the environment here is also good.

Another important point is that it gives them a great dining experience.

The comfort of this dining experience requires a certain level of cultural sophistication to design.

For example, there are quite a few foreigners here tonight. If you don't understand a foreign language, how will you communicate with them?

Feng Zhengming's lecture surprised Li Xiaogang, Yang Zhiyu, and the other children.

At the same time, the children all fell into a period of thought.

They probably didn't think that much about it in the past.

Now, Feng Zhengming's reminder has inspired them, making them realize some problems.

Feng Zhengming then used Jiang Chengzhe as an example.

"Do you remember the restaurant we went to in that high-rise building? The head chef there was Jiang Chengzhe. Before he became a chef, your Uncle Jiang was a college student. After graduating from college, he went on to learn cooking."

Therefore, many of his ideas are very advanced. He can see things that other chefs cannot, and he can come up with more innovative dish designs.

Most importantly, he possesses cultural refinement, enabling him to communicate more effectively with guests from all over the world.

The children gradually realized that being a chef wasn't just about making good food. As Feng Zhengming said, it required interacting with guests from different countries.

So you need to know at least one foreign language.

So, no matter how far you go, if you want to become a great chef, you still need to master the basics of culture.

Seeing that the children had almost understood.

Feng Zhengming concluded by encouraging the children: "If you really love cooking, are willing to learn from your uncle, and want to become chefs in the future, your uncle can fulfill your wishes."

Even your uncle's restaurant can be handed over to you to run in the future, as long as you have the skills.

However, I think you should focus on doing well in your current studies first.

It's not about getting into a top university, but at least you should try your best to get in.

Feng Zhengming focused on Li Xiaogang and Yang Zhiyu: "Perhaps you really tried and found that getting into university isn't that difficult. After graduating from university, or learning to cook during university, it might broaden your horizons and lead to better career prospects."

While Feng Zhengming was teaching his mentor's children, his sisters-in-law came downstairs.

Seeing Feng Zhengming teaching the children in the yard, his sisters-in-law did not come out to disturb him.

Listening quietly to Feng Zhengming's words brought smiles to the faces of the women.

While eating upstairs, I overheard Li Xiaogang and Yang Zhiyu saying they wanted to learn cooking from Feng Zhengming and didn't want to continue their studies.

The eldest sister-in-law and the third sister-in-law had some worries.

Now, seeing Feng Zhengming's teachings, the children seem to understand the importance of going to school.

This put my sister-in-law, third sister-in-law, and the other sisters-in-law at ease to some extent.

In fact, both the eldest and third sisters-in-law understood that their son's grades were not very good, and it would be quite difficult for him to get into a good university.

But they hope their children will study hard and go to university if possible.

The two sisters-in-law initially felt they couldn't reason with the child and planned to have the child's father talk to them when he had some free time after they got back.

Seeing Feng Zhengming chatting with the children made the women feel much more at ease.

After all, for this group of kids, Uncle Feng Zhengming is the person they admire most.

So when Feng Zhengming tried to persuade them, these kids actually listened.

After giving the children some pointers, Feng Zhengming led them to the changing room to change their clothes, and then had them wash their hands thoroughly and put temporary chef's hats on them.

Then Feng Zhengming led the children into the kitchen.

The work in the kitchen is finished for today; now it's time to clean up.

After Feng Zhengming brought the children in, he immediately assigned them tasks.

He instructed the apprentices in the kitchen to help their senior apprentices' children with the cleaning.

Feng Zhengming also joined with his daughter and sister Feng Shengnan.

The sisters-in-law stood at the door for a moment, then all returned to the restaurant with smiles on their faces.

They all huddled around Luo Qing and showered her with compliments.

"Oh my, your Zhengming really knows how to do things."

"That's right, your second brother doesn't have that idea."

“Yes, yes, I’ve told your third brother several times to let him take the kids to experience working in the kitchen, but he just won’t.”

"Zhengming's fifth brother is the same. He doesn't say it, but they all feel sorry for the children and don't want them to do these kinds of work."

Sixth Sister-in-law finally smiled: "In this respect, our Minghai is better. He once took the children to the kitchen where he works and let them clean up with him."

As a teacher, the eldest sister-in-law strongly agrees with this approach of letting children experience life.

"Children should be allowed to do some chores. Nowadays, many parents do all the chores at home and don't let their children do any work at all, leaving them to study and take exams. This is really not good."

My aunt chimed in, "We've always emphasized all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor, but unfortunately, now we're increasingly focusing on grades alone."

Sister-in-law: "Thanks to Zhengming today, these children got to experience working in the kitchen."

The sisters-in-law all nodded in agreement, agreeing that it was a great experience.

Luo Qing smiled: "Although Zhengming dotes on his daughter, he has one good point: he doesn't completely forbid her from doing chores. Youyou does some chores at home."

Auntie Er immediately chimed in, "It's true, Youyou can now get up and dress herself, and even fold her own blankets."

The sisters-in-law suddenly realized that they were really lacking in how to educate their children.

Even if the older sister-in-law is a teacher, she may still prefer traditional education when it comes to raising children.

In terms of stimulating children's initiative, they are indeed not as good as Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing.

The sisters-in-law often don't let their children do chores at home.

Even if it's something the children are capable of doing, the sisters-in-law might not let them try.

The sisters-in-law's idea was to do everything they could at home so that the children could concentrate better on their studies.

In fact, this creates a dependency in the child.

In addition, my father is very busy and is not around them for long periods of time.

This undoubtedly fosters a greater dependence on the mother in children from a young age.

This dependence can lead to a lack of initiative in children. At best, they may become bookworms; at worst, they may be misled by certain bad influences at school and go astray.

In fact, if it weren't for Feng Zhengming, the role model in the hearts of the children...

Li Xiaogang and Yang Zhiyu may indeed have gone astray.

The two children had also gotten into fights with classmates at school.

However, after learning about the several fights, Feng Zhengming always asked the young people in the kitchen to help him stand up for the others.

They gave the two children more support, preventing them from being coerced by certain delinquent students at school.

At the same time, the two children truly regard Feng Zhengming as their idol.

This is also why they wanted to become Feng Zhengming's apprentices and learn his skills to become chefs.

It wasn't until the kitchen was cleaned up that a group of children came out of it.

Their faces were still covered in sweat, and they were clearly exhausted.

But their tired faces wore happy smiles.

It's clear that the kids were especially happy to clean the kitchen with Feng Zhengming tonight.

Feng Zhengming was the first to step forward and apologize to his sisters-in-law.

"Sisters, I'm sorry, but tonight the children will come with me to work inside."

Sister-in-law: "Zhengming, don't say that. We still owe you a lot tonight. You gave the children a vivid lesson and let them experience the hard work in the kitchen."

Second sister-in-law: That's right, when Jinjin is at home, your second brother is always willing to let her do chores.

Third sister-in-law: "I've been telling your third brother to let the kids do some work in the kitchen, but he's always unwilling."

Fifth Sister-in-law: "Zhengming, you did the right thing today."

Sixth Sister-in-law: "Yes, you did the right thing. It's good to let the children experience it."

Even Auntie San smiled and stepped forward, saying, "Your sister has experienced the hardships of working in the kitchen, which is not a bad thing for her."

Feng Zhengming: "If my third aunt and sisters-in-law think it's okay, then I'm relieved. We'll go back to rest tonight. If my sisters-in-law want to go somewhere else tomorrow, let my Luo Qing arrange it."

Then the sisters-in-law unanimously agreed that they would rest tomorrow morning and just go shopping in the afternoon. (End of Chapter)