From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

With the summer vacation here, Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing are even busier than usual.

Feng Zhengming needs to get up early every day to keep an eye on the supply of goods to each store.

After all, the weather is hot, and even slight problems with the raw materials could lead to food safety issues.

Especially the children's lunch kitchen at Luo Qing's place.

Although it's summer vacation and kindergartens and schools are on holiday, many children are taken by their parents to eat in the children's dining room in front of the kitchen.

Many children who haven't even started kindergarten will be taken to the restaurant by their parents.

This makes the requirements for raw materials even more stringent.

Every day, Feng Zhengming would arrive at the supplier's delivery point early in the morning.

Carefully inspect the raw materials delivered to each store every day.

He will prioritize sending the freshest ones to the children's lunch kitchen.

With the freshest ingredients, plus the culinary skills of the chefs at Feng Zhengming's various stores.

The dining area in front of the children's lunch kitchen has become the first choice for many parents to take their children out for meals during holidays.

Moreover, during holidays, dining at the kitchen's restaurant allows you to enjoy some dishes unique to this area.

Most of these dishes need to be prepared and eaten fresh, so children don't usually get to eat them in kindergarten and school lunches.

Parents are understanding and happy to let their children have better meals during the holidays.

There is one thing that causes some distress for many parents.

Children who are used to eating food from the children's lunch kitchen are less willing to eat home-cooked meals.

This has resulted in many grandparents who were eagerly anticipating the children's holiday and wanting to show off their culinary skills suddenly losing the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

Some children even explicitly say that the food cooked by their grandparents or maternal grandparents is not as good as what is made in the children's kitchen.

This naturally displeased some grandparents and maternal grandparents.

So some grandparents brought their grandchildren specifically to try it.

Before entering the door, Grandma looked resentful.

"I refuse to believe that the food here can be better than mine."

Grandpa: "It's not surprising that they do better than you. After all, they are professional chefs. If they didn't do as well as you, how could they be professional chefs? They wouldn't be able to earn a salary."

Grandma still disagreed: "If it tastes better than mine, it must be the kind that's heavy on oil and salt, which isn't healthy."

Grandpa: "I heard they hired a nutrition expert to provide meals for so many kindergartens and schools, how could they not be healthy?"

Grandma glared at Grandpa: "Why are you always talking up for others?"

Grandpa chuckled, "Look at this place, how clean it is! I feel completely at ease eating here, so don't be so unconvinced."

Grandma listened to Grandpa and looked around the restaurant again.

Admittedly, the restaurant was very clean, and many parents brought their children to eat there.

Many of them were brought by their grandparents or maternal grandparents.

Even though I was still somewhat unconvinced, the facts before me spoke louder than words.

Such a clean restaurant is probably impossible to find any problems with.

As soon as the child entered the restaurant, he immediately wanted to play with some of the other children there.

Grandma reached out and pulled the child: "Eat first. Are you going to play instead of eating? So, did you come here to eat or to play?"

Then Grandma complained again, "Honestly, why would a perfectly good restaurant design places for kids to play?"

Grandpa: "Don't keep complaining about other people's designs."

Look here, so many parents have brought their children. That shows the service is excellent, the children love it, and parents feel reassured knowing their kids have plenty to eat and play with.

After being scolded by Grandpa, Grandma finally shut up for the time being.

Grandpa didn't let the child go play first; instead, he and Grandma led the child to find a place to sit down.

As soon as the three generations of the family sat down, a waitress rushed over to greet them.

"Hello, here is my menu. Please take a look, grandpa and grandma. You can order for the children first. Our dishes are all made to order and will take some time."

After the waitress explained the menu, the grandparents reached out and took it from her.

Grandpa picked up his grandson and let him order from the menu.

Seeing this, Grandma couldn't help but say, "Why don't you let the child have some time? What does a little kid know?"

The grandson immediately chimed in, "I know how to order, I know how to order."

After her grandson said that, the grandmother had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, okay, you order, you order."

The child glanced at the menu and ordered two dishes that he usually ate for lunch at school.

I also specifically ordered some pastries from the kitchen here.

I ordered a serving of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and some ciba (glutinous rice cakes).

Then the grandson asked his grandparents to order.

Grandpa looked around and found that there was even scallion oil noodles here, so he ordered a bowl of scallion oil noodles.

Grandma didn't want to order at first, still harboring a prejudice against the restaurant.

However, urged by her grandfather and grandson, the grandmother still ordered a dish of local-style braised pork.

After ordering, although the grandmother's attitude was not good, the waitress still kept smiling and asked the three of them to wait a moment.

Seeing the waiter leave, Grandpa said in a low voice, "Look at you, why are you giving him such a cold shoulder? He works here too. You treat him like that, and he still smiles at you. It makes you seem very mean."

Hearing this, Grandma realized that she might have gone a bit too far.

"I understand. I'll apologize to her when she comes to serve the food."

The grandson looked at his grandmother and smiled, saying, "Grandma apologized, so she's a good grandma."

Grandma laughed at these words: "You little rascal, you don't eat Grandma's cooking, you just know how to say nice things."

Grandpa comforted him, "This way you won't have to work so hard. It just costs a little more money, but we can afford it. As long as our grandson is happy, that's all that matters."

Most parents who bring their children to the children's kitchen in front of the restaurant during the summer vacation share the same idea as this grandfather.

While waiting for the food to be served, the children can play in the play area here.

The grandmother quickly discovered that there was a handwashing station specifically for children next to the play area.

After playing in the play area, children can wash their hands before eating.

Many parents found these designs to be excellent.

The grandparents played with their grandson for a while, and after the dishes were served, they called their grandson out to wash his hands and return to his seat.

I sat down and saw the various dishes on the table.

Grandpa couldn't help but smile: "It looks better than Grandma's."

These words made Grandma immediately raise her head and glare at Grandpa.

Grandpa: "Don't glare at me, we need to tell the truth."

The grandson immediately chimed in, "You can't lie." Grandma was speechless and could only put an apron on her grandson and prepare to eat.

Grandma originally wanted to feed her grandson, but to her surprise, the grandson picked up the spoon and started eating on his own.

Grandpa and Grandma were both quite surprised.

Immediately afterwards, a smile appeared on Grandpa's face.

In my memory, when my grandson came home for vacation, his grandmother had to feed him every day.

Moreover, feeding your grandson is often a very troublesome task.

Children often don't want to eat properly, so grandma has to hold the food and feed them for a long time to feed them.

Many times, Grandpa couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to get angry, but Grandma stopped him each time.

Grandpa was very happy to see his grandson eating heartily by himself without needing to be fed today.

"Haha, our child has grown up and can eat by himself now. Eat well, eat more. What do you like to eat? Grandpa will get you some. How about a shrimp?"

Grandma felt a little empty inside; her grandson no longer needed her to feed him.

The little grandson ate by himself for a while, then looked up at his grandparents.

"Grandpa, Grandma, you eat together."

Grandpa chuckled and said, "Okay, okay, let's eat together."

Grandma was also very happy: "Our child has really grown up. He knows to let Grandpa and Grandma eat together. Okay, let's eat together."

The fact that he actually started eating the food surprised his grandparents.

Unlike young people or working people, the elderly don't have much time to cook and usually eat out.

Therefore, many parents who come to the children's lunch kitchen restaurant have great trust in Feng Zhengming and his chef team's skills.

This is the first time the two elderly people have tasted the cooking skills of Feng Zhengming's team of chefs.

It was truly one taste that completely won over the two elderly people.

Grandma carefully examined the food on the plate.

An incredulous expression appeared on her face.

"Why is this dish so delicious? It looks so plain, but it tastes amazing."

Grandpa laughed: "Look, this is their skill. Otherwise, why would they open this restaurant and have so many children brought here by their parents during the holidays?"

Grandma was still somewhat incredulous: "Was this really made fresh?"

Just then, a waiter happened to pass by and immediately stopped to come over and explain.

"Grandma, if you're worried, we can take you to the back to have a look. Our kitchen is completely open, so you can see the people working there."

Upon hearing this, Grandpa quickly reached out and grabbed Grandma.

"Don't go. They're doing such a good job, what's the point of you going to see it?"

Grandma was still worried and decided to go with her to check on things.

Led by a waiter, Grandma went to the children's lunch kitchen at the back.

Standing here, Grandma looked in surprise at the kitchen through the glass, where chefs were diligently preparing everything, with dedicated staff responsible for washing, cutting, and cooking.

All the processes can be clearly seen, and the different people in charge will hardly overlap.

Grandma was absolutely stunned to see such a completely transparent kitchen.

Grandma never imagined that a restaurant's kitchen could be cleaner than her own kitchen.

After the visit, Grandma returned to the restaurant.

As soon as I sat down, Grandpa asked with a smile, "How was it? Did you find anything wrong with it?"

Grandma looked at Grandpa and said, "I really didn't expect that their kitchen would be cleaner than our kitchen at home. The staff are all separated, with some washing and others cutting and preparing food. The cooking is also handled by a dedicated person."

Grandma got even more excited when she said this: "Their big pot of vegetables is so easy to stir-fry, it's even better than cooking at home."

Grandpa smiled and said, "See? I told you so! They really have that skill."

Grandma: "No wonder so many parents come here to queue up and bring their kids to eat, even when their children are on vacation."

Grandpa: "This shows that Scholar Feng really wanted his child to eat well."

Grandma: "Such a good chef is really rare."

Grandpa: "Of course it's rare. Otherwise, why would he be the national culinary champion?"

An elderly man at the next table chuckled and chimed in.

"Yes, yes, he is the national culinary champion, so he is truly responsible. A good person like him should make money."

"That's right. I was just like my older sister, worried that it might not be good for our kids to eat here. But after seeing it for myself, I realized that the food here is better than what we eat at home."

"They're professionals at cooking; we can only admire them."

"So we need professionals to do professional things."

"Haha, I bring my daughter over for lunch every day now. It saves my husband and me a lot of trouble. Sometimes we can pack up the leftovers and take them home. We can just reheat them in the evening."

Parents who bring their children all really love the kids' kitchen.

Hearing the praise, the waiters all smiled and held their heads high with genuine pride, feeling truly honored.

In the back office, Luo Qing was also having dinner with her three children, her mother, and her second aunt.

While we were eating, the assistant couldn't resist knocking on the door and coming in.

Luo Qing looked at her assistant curiously: "What's wrong?"

The assistant quickly and excitedly explained, "It's like this, Mr. Luo. Just now, many people were talking about how many guests who came today were praising Chef Feng."

Luo Qing smiled: "Oh, that's not surprising, he's often praised."

Assistant: "Mr. Luo, it's like this, I have a cousin who's about to graduate from vocational school, and I was wondering if he could come here for an internship?"

Luo Qing: "Is your cousin studying cooking?"

The assistant nodded: "Yes, Mr. Luo, my cousin also admires Chef Feng very much, so he studied to be a chef in vocational school."

Luo Qing: "Then let your cousin intern at another store. He can learn more practical basic skills there. If he performs well, he might be transferred to the kitchen of the old-style restaurant."

The assistant immediately became excited: "Really? My cousin really has a chance to get into that restaurant's kitchen?"

Luo Qing nodded: "Of course, as long as you perform well during your internship and are able to stay in the kitchen of any restaurant, you will have the opportunity to work in the kitchen of the old-style house restaurant."

The assistant quickly bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, thank you, Mr. Luo."

Luo Qing: "No need to thank me. Whether he can get in depends on your cousin's own ability. Tell him to do his best."

The assistant replied, "Don't worry, Mr. Luo, I will definitely keep a close eye on him."

After the assistant left, Luo's mother couldn't help but ask, "You just agreed like that? Didn't you ask Zhengming first?"

Luo Qing: "Mom, don't worry, your son-in-law won't care about these little things."

My second aunt also chimed in to help.

"That's right, big sister, don't worry. Qingqing can handle this little thing. You don't need to ask Zhengming."

Mother Luo nodded, still quite reassured about her daughter and son-in-law's relationship. (End of Chapter)