From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Yang Bin was initially taken aback when the call was abruptly disconnected.

He wanted to say a few more sarcastic remarks to his junior brother.

Then I heard a "beep beep beep" sound in my ear.

When Yang Bin looked at his phone, he realized that Feng Zhengming had hung up on him.

"Hey, this kid's got guts now, not giving me a chance to talk back, huh? Fine, you just wait."

Seeing her husband's expression, Luo Qing couldn't help but laugh and gently pat him again.

"You're really something. It's only because Third Brother has a good temper that he would definitely turn against you."

Feng Zhengming: "So I didn't give him a chance to turn back; I just hung up the phone."

Feng Nuanyou tugged at her father's hand forcefully.

"Oh, Dad, why don't you say a few words to me? I want to talk to Uncle San too."

Feng Zhengming chuckled and squatted down: "Alright, Dad was just disciplining Uncle San. Youyou, wait until next time. Next time you can talk to Uncle San, okay?"

Feng Nuanyou asked curiously, "Why is Dad lecturing Uncle San? Did Uncle San do something wrong?"

Feng Zhengming explained to his daughter with a smile, "Third Uncle doesn't like Third Aunt's way of dressing, so Dad has to teach him a lesson."

Feng Nuanyou was even more puzzled: "Why doesn't Third Uncle like Third Aunt's way of dressing?"

Luo Qing also squatted down to explain to her daughter: "Third Uncle thinks that Third Aunt's clothes and outfit are like a peacock, too flashy."

Feng Nuanyou immediately became unhappy: "It looks like a peacock, how beautiful! Third Aunt is beautiful."

Feng Zhengming: "That's right, even Youyou said it's pretty, so Auntie is pretty, so Dad needs to educate Uncle."

Feng Nuanyou said earnestly, "Yes, yes, Dad is right. Uncle San is not allowed to bully Aunt San."

Luo Qing laughed and asked, "If Daddy bullies Mommy, will Youyou help Mommy?"

Feng Nuanyou looked at her mother and said, "No, Dad would never bully Mom."

Luo Qing: "Mom said 'if,' what if?"

Feng Nuanyou: "If you don't know, you don't know. Mom, when have you ever seen Dad bully you?"

Upon hearing his daughter's words, Feng Zhengming deliberately raised an eyebrow at his wife.

It seemed like he was showing off to his wife, indicating that his daughter was still on his side.

Luo Qing was a little unconvinced and reached out to gently pat Feng Zhengming a few more times.

Upon seeing this, Feng Nuanyou immediately said, "Mom, look! It's all because you bullied Dad."

Luo Qing was even more helpless after her daughter said that.

Feng Zhengming smiled and hugged his wife: "No, Mom didn't bully Dad. Actually, Dad made a face at Mom just now, and Mom got scared, so she hit Dad."

Actually, it didn't hurt at all when Mommy hit you, Youyou, don't blame Mommy.

Feng Nuanyou laughed: "Hehehe, I know, Mom and Dad are playing games."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, my parents are playing games."

Luo Qing looked at the father and daughter, but she didn't say much.

She felt happy that her daughter and husband were so close.

At the same time, she was also a little worried. If her husband liked his eldest daughter too much, would his son and younger daughter think that their father always favored his older sister?
After playing around for a while, Feng Nuanyou was taken upstairs by her mother to take a bath.

Feng Zhengming sat in the living room and chatted with his second aunt for a few minutes after she came downstairs.

"Tonight, someone else wants to invest in my restaurant company. It seems that since China's accession to the WTO, many foreign investors have started to want to invest in China."

Second Aunt: "You were right to refuse. Who knows if they'll impose any additional conditions after they invest?"

Feng Zhengming: "Actually, I think I should be a judge now, and I can't go down on stage and keep struggling with them."

Auntie was a little surprised: "You want to be a judge?"

Seeing that his second aunt didn't understand at first, Feng Zhengming smiled and explained.

"That's right, Auntie. Since all those big foreign catering companies want to enter the domestic market, why don't we set some of our own rules and make them follow them?"

My second aunt paused for a moment, then thought about it seriously.

"You mean, let them in first, and then use your standards to evaluate their restaurant?"

Feng Zhengming laughed; "Auntie, you're so smart, you figured it out right away."

My second aunt was a little proud when she was praised.

Actually, it wasn't difficult for my second aunt to guess these things.

After all, over the years, in addition to running his own shop well, Feng Zhengming has been spreading his food recommendation guides throughout Shanghai and Shandong.

During her trip to Shanghai, Feng Suying spent time with the wives of her senior fellow apprentice, Feng Zhengming.

She also noticed that almost every newsstand in Shanghai was selling Feng Zhengming's food guide.

Moreover, they are all placed in very conspicuous locations, and many people passing by can't help but pick them up and take a look.

This shows that people have become accustomed to the existence of recommendation guidelines.

Many people will likely go to eat at the snacks, shops, restaurants, and eateries recommended in the guide.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming wanted to first attract overseas restaurants to China.

Then he uses his food recommendation guide to evaluate those overseas restaurants.

No matter what country your food comes from.

No matter how big your restaurant group is overseas.

However, now that you've entered the country and opened a shop in Shanghai, you must abide by the rules of the country.

We cannot simply follow your standards; we must follow our own domestic standards.

At that time, Feng Zhengming will become a judge, just as he said.

We should evaluate overseas restaurants from the perspective of the tastes of people in China.

Finally, Feng Zhengming published all his reviews of those Western restaurants in the food recommendation guide.

In this way, when foreign restaurants come to China, they will have to be mindful of his attitude.

Auntie laughed: "Zhengming, have you been thinking about this all these years? I feel like you've been pondering this ever since you became the national culinary champion, haven't you? Otherwise, why did you insist on going south to Shanghai instead of going to Beijing?"

Feng Zhengming chuckled: "Auntie, you guessed right. I've been thinking about this for a long time. Just like my master said, many people abroad don't understand our cuisine and always judge us by their own standards."

Now we finally have an opportunity. After we join the WTO, they will definitely be envious of our market.

If they're eager to come in, then we can add our own standards to theirs.

Hearing her nephew's words made Feng Suying feel much better.

"That's right. We've always been using other people's standards, trying to gain more international recognition, but what's the result? They've always been unwilling to accept us."

Since they're unwilling to lower themselves to accept us, we might as well forge our own standards.

Feng Zhengming: "Auntie, actually, if it weren't for the International Gastronomy Association presenting me with the award for the top ten restaurants of the year last year, I might have had to wait a few more years to make that decision."

In fact, according to Feng Zhengming's original plan, he felt that it would take a few more years for his food recommendation guide to fully mature.

He even planned to wait until the full arrival of the Internet age.

He planned to leverage his extensive network of stores across the country to gradually establish a set of standards through a food recommendation guide. However, what surprised Feng Zhengming, or rather, what he hadn't anticipated at all, was...

The International Gastronomy Association actually awarded him the title of one of the top ten restaurants of the year first.

This gave Feng Zhengming international influence ahead of time.

Since the International Gastronomy Association recognizes him, Feng Zhengming feels he has no reason not to make good use of it.

Although this list of the top ten restaurants of the year is re-selected every year.

But Feng Zhengming felt that as long as he was selected once, even if his restaurant was not selected again, he could still rely on the fact that he had been on the annual top ten restaurants list to better promote the food recommendation guide.

Based on feedback from my junior apprentice Huang Tao, the food recommendation guide is indeed being distributed in large quantities.

And it has indeed gained a large following among foodies.

Many people who come to Shanghai looking for food will first find a newsstand and buy a food recommendation guide.

Following the recommendations in the food guide can indeed help you find delicious food in Shanghai.

No matter what your taste preferences are, you can always find food that suits you.

In this respect, it has indeed made many people more convinced of Feng Zhengming's abilities.

Most people on the street called Feng Zhengming a truly fair national champion.

He possesses the spirit and composure expected of a top-scoring student in the nation.

Whether it's street food or fancy restaurants, Feng Zhengming's food recommendation guide will provide detailed feedback on whether the food is delicious or not, and what kind of evaluation it should be given.

In fact, countless people have sought out Feng Zhengming and Huang Tao for food recommendation guides.

They all wanted to use connections to see if they could get into the food recommendation guide.

Some people are even willing to pay a high price just to buy a spot.

But Feng Zhengming and Huang Tao rejected them all.

Feng Zhengming publicly stated that he would cover all the expenses for the food recommendation guide himself, without needing any other funding, and that he would absolutely uphold fairness and impartiality.

This public statement earned Feng Zhengming even more prestige.

In recent years, Feng Zhengming's food recommendation guides for Shandong and Shanghai have become increasingly popular.

After giving her daughter a bath, Luo Qing and her daughter went downstairs to the living room.

"By the way, didn't Fifth Brother say before that several master chefs in Beijing asked you when you would go to Beijing to launch your food recommendation guide?"

A hint of helplessness appeared on Feng Zhengming's face.

"It's not that I don't want to go to the capital and make a guide to Beijing's best food, it's just that there are too many uncertainties in the capital. I'm afraid that if I go there, I won't be able to keep up with the crowd."

This made my second aunt laugh first: "Haha, so you also have someone you can't control?"

Upon hearing her great-aunt's words, Feng Nuanyou ran happily to her father and threw herself into his arms.

"Even Dad has people he can't control."

Feng Zhengming looked at his daughter and said, "Don't imitate your great-aunt's way of speaking."

Feng Nuanyou immediately displayed a girl's little bit of willfulness: "I'll study, I'll study."

Feng Suying: "That's right, it's okay to imitate your great-aunt's words, your great-aunt allows it."

Feng Nuanyou climbed out of her father's arms and then rushed into her great-aunt's arms.

With her great-aunt's support, the little girl even made a face at her father: "Hehehe, my great-aunt let me learn!"

Feng Zhengming couldn't bring himself to be angry at his daughter's antics.

He had no choice but to answer his aunt's question.

"Some people in the capital, you don't know what kind of background they have. The key is that behind those restaurants, there may be some big bosses supporting them. I really dare not say that I can keep them in check."

His wife, Luo Qing, came downstairs, and she seemed to agree with what her husband said.

"We still need to be careful. Some restaurants in the capital do have questionable backgrounds, which could implicate a lot of people. If we run into trouble during the review process, we might not be able to control the situation."

The second aunt dismissed this, saying, "What are you afraid of? Have you forgotten? You have the country behind you."

"Think about how Zhengming's restaurant was able to win one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year. Isn't it because people see our country's successful bid for the Olympics and its successful entry into the WTO, and they think our country is powerful?"

After hearing what his second aunt said, Feng Zhengming and his wife exchanged a glance, both of them understanding perfectly well.

Before receiving the award last year, Feng Zhengming had a private conversation with Kaufman.

We also obtained a verification from Kaufman.

In fact, Feng Zhengming was named one of the top ten restaurants of the year last year precisely because our country has become stronger.

With a strong motherland, others will not dare to underestimate your culture and cuisine.

In addition, there was some help from Kaufman behind the scenes.

Ultimately, this led to Feng Zhengming being awarded one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

This was actually the first time Feng Zhengming had deeply felt what the prosperity and strength of the motherland brought him.

So Auntie was right; Feng Zhengming had the support of the state.

His food recommendation guide is sure to gain some popularity.

In fact, Feng Zhengming had once considered handing over the Shanghai food recommendation guide to the city government.

The reply the city sent to him, delivered by the old man, was quite simple.

The city can't do this kind of thing itself. Food recommendation guides are relatively subjective selections, so they need to be overseen by a qualified and truly capable culinary champion like Feng Zhengming.

In this way, the entire selection criteria are determined by the public, and the judges are also recognized chefs and gourmets by the public.

Only in this way can the recommendation guidelines achieve an objective and fair form.

This is why most people trust the food recommendations in the guide.

In fact, to avoid suspicion, Feng Zhengming has now basically handed over the entire responsibility for the food recommendation guide to his junior apprentice, Huang Tao.

Huang Tao, relying on his solid writing skills, has indeed created a very impressive food recommendation guide.

The key point is that much of what he writes, whether in terms of culinary expertise or the beauty of his descriptions of dishes, is truly remarkable.

This year, Feng Zhengming also plans to recommend his junior apprentice Huang Tao to participate in a gourmet assessment overseas.

We'll help Huang Tao obtain a globally recognized food critic status.

If he then returns to running a food recommendation guide, I believe no one will question Huang Tao's professionalism in food reviews.

Thinking of this, Feng Zhengming said, "Then let's wait for Junior Uncle to return from his trip abroad, and then we'll take some time to go to the capital."

Feng Nuanyou immediately asked excitedly, "Dad, are we going to stay in that big courtyard again?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "You've become addicted to staying here?"

"Hehehe, let's invite everyone to come and play together! That yard is so big, it can accommodate many of us kids."

Hearing Feng Nuanyou's plan, the great-aunt smiled and gently pinched the little girl's cheek.

"When you get back, have your dad buy that yard for you."

Feng Zhengming was instantly dumbfounded: "Auntie, I... how could I possibly afford that?" (End of Chapter)