From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Upon returning to Shanghai, Feng Zhengming's first priority was to visit each and every shop in the city.

This time, he first went to the "Home Flavor" restaurant.

This restaurant is located on Shanghai's newest international food street. It doesn't have overly luxurious decor, nor does it have very Western-style food plating, and it hardly uses any expensive ingredients.

Yet this shop on the food street is consistently the most popular and successful.

Feng Zhengming's home is decorated in a warm and cozy style, and the dishes are very common home-cooked meals.

There's also the almost entirely transparent open kitchen, a restaurant model rarely seen in China.

Initially, most of the people who came to eat there were drawn by the reputation of Feng Zhengming, the top scholar in the imperial examination.

After eating there a few times, many people gradually began to like this restaurant.

It has gradually become popular among young white-collar workers in Shanghai.

In the past, many young men and women felt that going to a Western restaurant could better demonstrate their sophisticated taste.

But now it's completely different. With Feng Zhengming's backing, this restaurant called "Home Flavor" is clearly more upscale.

Moreover, if we're talking about high-end restaurants, which one in Shanghai or even the whole country can compare to the Old Villa Restaurant?
And "Jiawei" is a high-end restaurant that is also warm and family-like, which is something that many people have never seen before.

After even some foreigners in Shanghai started to frequent the place.

Home-style restaurant has naturally become a favorite among many people in Shanghai once again.

What? You're asking if it will steal business from Feng Zhengming's other stores?
I really don't know how to do that at all.

The main reason is that Shanghai is such a large city that most people choose to eat there.

The location of Jiawei Restaurant is in a newly planned food street in the city, and there are also fashion shopping malls and large business buildings nearby.

This restaurant naturally became a favorite among many people who came here to shop, play, and play.

In Shanghai's catering industry, those who have led the city's catering market in the past all have to admire Feng Zhengming.

"Our top scholar Feng is truly ahead of his time."

"That's right. I was thinking of following his lead and renting an old villa to open a restaurant, but his newly opened Home Flavor Restaurant has set a new trend."

"I can't keep up, I simply can't keep up with their way of thinking."

"Tell me, how exactly did this Scholar Feng come up with those ideas?"

"Yeah, the key thing is that his wife opened a children's lunch kitchen and set up a restaurant in front of it, and it actually became popular. My daughter was clamoring for me to take her there a few days ago."

"Your daughter is the one yelling at you? I've already taken my son there many times."

"I am truly impressed by this top scholar, Feng."

Feng Zhengming arrived at Jiawei Restaurant, and was spotted by some customers as soon as he entered.

"Wow, Scholar Feng is here."

As soon as someone spoke, they immediately attracted the attention of many people.

"He really is Scholar Feng."

"I never expected to meet Chef Feng while eating here."

"Hello, Scholar Feng."

"Hello, Chef Feng."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Hello everyone, are you satisfied with today's dishes?"

The customers present immediately answered in unison, "Satisfied."

Then some guests couldn't help but start praising it.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, your restaurant is really amazing. This is the first time I've ever seen home-style dishes made so exquisitely."

"Yes, your food is exquisite, the portions are generous, and it's cleaner than some of the small street shops. It's really great."

"Yes, yes, those are the advantages, and these advantages make us come here to eat often."

“I brought my parents here last time, and they really liked it. They said that as soon as they came in, they felt like they were home. The food was also delicious, and they really enjoyed it.”

Hearing everyone's praise, Feng Zhengming said, "Thank you for the praise, but please don't just praise me. If there are any shortcomings, please give us your opinions and we will improve."

The customers all laughed when they heard Feng Zhengming say that.

At first, quite a few people did come specifically to find fault.

But soon everyone discovered that the store would indeed quickly resolve the little details they were nitpicking about.

Moreover, some customers who are clearly just looking for trouble actually receive bonuses from the store.

Because of this, some people have even come specifically to find fault in order to cheat for the bonus.

Unfortunately, they underestimated Feng Zhengming's influence.

For those who want to cheat for the bonus but can't find any fault with it, not only will the store not intervene, but other customers will also not allow them to smear Feng Zhengming.

So soon those who wanted to scam money found it too difficult to do so in Feng Zhengming's shop.

The key point is that the store will likely treat them very politely.

However, those customers who like Feng Zhengming's shop will not be polite to those who deliberately smear him.

At one point, a magazine deliberately wrote some negative reviews about Feng Zhengming's shop.

That magazine office was almost smashed by Feng Zhengming's supporters.

In the end, after the magazine called the police, they were ordered by the police to issue a public apology.

Many people have gradually come to realize that Feng Zhengming is a benchmark in the industry.

Moreover, it is an officially recognized benchmark.

So unless Feng Zhengming himself has problems, no one can smear him.

"Scholar Feng, you're too kind. There's no problem with your shop."

"Yes, some of the minor issues from before have also been fixed."

"To be honest, I've eaten at many restaurants, but only Feng Zhuangyuan's restaurant makes me feel most at ease."

"It really puts our minds at ease, and the food in your restaurant is also very delicious."

"Chef Feng, we all support you and hope you can do better and better and make a lot of money."

Feng Zhengming chuckled: "I don't need to make a lot of money. I just hope that everyone can truly enjoy the delicious food from our country and have a place where they can eat with peace of mind."

Everyone's satisfied, and I'll feel more at ease making money."

In fact, many people know that Feng Zhengming's current net worth is quite different.

Even the owners of many large hotels and restaurants probably can't compare to Feng Zhengming's wealth.

But no one would think that Feng Zhengming shouldn't have earned that money.

Firstly, because Feng Zhengming does indeed possess his own unique skills.

Secondly, it's because all his stores are absolute benchmarks and represent the highest level of integrity compared to his competitors.

Furthermore, some chefs in the kitchen, when interviewed, stated that the wages they received at Feng Zhengming's restaurant were definitely among the highest in the industry.

This also means that when many bosses try to poach employees, they often can't afford to pay them enough.

Even many bosses found it unbelievable and couldn't understand why Feng Zhengming would pay his chefs such high wages.
What they didn't know was that Feng Zhengming never intended to make money for himself from the very beginning.

Besides rent, the biggest expense for all his stores is the salaries of all his employees.

Especially the head chefs in the kitchens of each restaurant, their wages are really very high.

It can even be two or three times that of some small restaurants.

This salary makes restaurant owners who want to poach them hesitant to even consider it.

Feng Zhengming relied on the profits from his many stores.

Although he doesn't earn much from each store, he has a lot of stores.

In this situation, it would be easy to make up for his expenses on staff salaries. But those who truly understand the secrets behind this will know very well that only Feng Zhengming in the whole country could do this.

This is partly because Feng Zhengming has excellent culinary skills.

On the other hand, it's also because Feng Zhengming can train chefs himself.

If others do this, you can recruit a group of chefs, but when you expand your business, how can you ensure that the chefs in each store are skilled enough?

In this regard, Feng Zhengming has a complete team to train chefs.

His senior fellow apprentices will help him continuously train new chefs.

With a constant stream of new chefs, Feng Zhengming's restaurants will always have enough good chefs on staff.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming was able to open many branches across the country.

He can open so many stores in Shanghai, and each store still has a very good reputation.

Feng Zhengming chatted with the customers in the restaurant for a while, then went to the changing room, changed into a chef's uniform, and carefully washed and disinfected his hands according to the disinfection standards before entering the restaurant's kitchen.

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei were busy in the kitchen with their team.

They completely follow Professor Feng Zhengming's instructions and separate all the various processes.

By assigning different tasks to different people, the efficiency and quality of food preparation can be guaranteed.

Feng Zhengming stood aside and watched for a while.

I am quite satisfied with the performance of Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei.

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei can now be considered master chefs.

Moreover, for some everyday dishes, they no longer need to cook for each other.

The other chefs under my command can also cook very well.

With the two of them supervising, the quality of the food produced in the kitchen can be fully guaranteed.

After one round of ordering was completed.

Feng Zhengming smiled and applauded for everyone in the kitchen.

"Well, everyone's performance has exceeded my expectations. I didn't expect that the people who came to you would be so amazing."

After hearing the applause, everyone looked at Feng Zhengming, who was standing by the door.

"Chef, you're back."

"Uncle-Master, you're back so soon?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "You're back. You really gained a lot from your trip to Sichuan Province. You brought back a lot of seasonings from there. I'll share some with you guys so you can have some different flavors."

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei exchanged a glance, then smiled at Feng Zhengming together.

Zhu Xu: "Uncle-Master, are you planning to add Sichuan cuisine to your menu?"

Zhang Lei: "I'm afraid Sichuan cuisine won't sell very well in Shanghai, will it?"

Feng Zhengming: "Sichuan cuisine can be added. Don't worry about it not selling well. We can make some improvements to the flavor. Have you forgotten that we should adapt our cooking to local conditions?"

You can't cook the same dishes the same way every time; you have to make adjustments based on local tastes.

Upon hearing Feng Zhengming's words, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei immediately nodded in agreement.

"Understood, Uncle-Master."

"Understood, Uncle-Master. We will strive to improve."

Feng Zhengming: "I am really happy to see your growth. You will be in charge of this restaurant for the time being. Once you have brought this restaurant to a proper level and a new chef has come to take over, I will make other arrangements for you."

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei exchanged a glance, and both hesitated almost simultaneously.

Zhang Lei: "Uncle-Master, can we go to the capital with you? I heard that you are going to reopen Yanxi Tower in the capital."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "You all want to go to the reopened Yanxi Restaurant in the capital?"

Zhang Lei looked at Zhu Xu, and then the two of them nodded together.

Feng Zhengming: "It's not impossible, but if you want to go, you'll need to pass the assessment by your master Zhang Lei and the others. We'll select the best batch of chefs to go."

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei were quite excited as they listened.

The opportunity to visit the reopened Yanxi Restaurant in the capital was indeed very appealing to the two of them.

Even though they knew that once they got there, because of Li Huidong and the others, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei could only temporarily assist.

But the reopening of Yanxilou still holds a different meaning for them.

This might mean something different to Shandong cuisine chefs.

So even if they could only work as assistants temporarily, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei still wanted to try.

Feng Zhengming also gave the two a reminder.

"If you really want to go, I will arrange for other chefs to take over. In other words, if you go to Beijing, you may not be able to come back from Shanghai."

These words surprised Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei.

However, after thinking about it carefully, the two of them could understand their junior uncle's arrangement.

Shanghai is ultimately Feng Zhengming's largest base of operations.

Although the branches in various parts of Shandong can be considered a very important base.

But if we're talking about the most important place for Feng Zhengming, it's still Shanghai.

Old-style villa restaurants are key in Shanghai.

In addition, Shanghai is also a better window to the outside world.

Feng Zhengming can showcase his culinary skills to more people overseas here.

So that foreigners can see what real Chinese cuisine is like.

Therefore, all these stores in Shanghai must maintain their current standards.

If the chefs in Shanghai leave now, Feng Zhengming will have to find new people to replace them.

After understanding, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei both nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, Uncle-Master, we understand."

“That’s right, Uncle-Master. We definitely can’t continue to occupy this spot after we leave.”

Feng Zhengming: "It's good that you understand, but don't be impatient. Yanxi Tower in the capital still needs to be prepared for a while, and there are still many things that haven't been dealt with."

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei immediately burst into laughter.

"I believe in my uncle's abilities. If he really wanted to, he could have started it already."

"That's right, Junior Uncle hopes to make a name for himself."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, not bad, Lei Zi has made a name for himself."

After a pause, Feng Zhengming shared some of his thoughts.

"It's not about making a name for ourselves, but at least when Yanxilou reopens in the capital, we must have enough to show to everyone. We can't let people think that we're still stuck in the past."

Therefore, many things need to be changed in advance to truly integrate Yanxilou into the capital.

After hearing these words, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei exchanged a glance, both of them realizing the gap between themselves and their junior uncle.

The biggest difference lies here: Junior Uncle is always the one who strives for perfection.

No matter which store he opens, he will do his best in everything.

After all, Feng Zhengming is not like he was when he first started his shop.

Every time he opens a shop, countless eyes are watching him.

Among them will be many people who are jealous of him, watching him closely and finding any tiny mistake he makes to magnify.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming will only go further than his opponents, leaving them with absolutely no room for error. (End of Chapter)