From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng went to Huiquan Tower together.

The two of them really didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that they would run into their two senior brothers, Feng Zhengming and Feng Zhengming, at Huiquan Tower.

"I didn't expect Senior Brother Yang to be here too. What a coincidence that we've come."

Yang Bin smiled and said, "Why are you all calling me 'senior brother' like Zhengming?"

Tao Jingwen: "Haha, this makes our relationship seem closer. I'm older than you, so I should call you Brother Yang, is that alright?"

Yang Bin: "Sure, Brother Tao, you're a big leader. It's an honor for me to call you 'brother'."

Tao Jingwen: "What are you saying? I'm not some big leader. Right now, the province is looking to rejuvenate, and Xiao Chen has a better chance of becoming a big leader."

Chen Zhiheng was both amused and exasperated: "Brother Tao, I'm still far from good enough."

Li Huidong and Yang Bin both burst into laughter.

Then, Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng began to talk about their trip.

After giving a basic introduction, Chen Zhiheng also showed some of the meeting minutes to Li Huidong and Yang Bin.

Tao Jingwen: "This matter shouldn't be our concern. It's your freedom to give your store higher wages, and we should encourage that."

This increases the income of those who work hard, which should be a very good thing.

However, now that so many restaurants and eateries have jointly filed a lawsuit against you, the province can't ignore this matter.

Li Huidong and Yang Bin looked at each other in bewilderment after hearing this.

The two brothers couldn't help but think to themselves, "What a coincidence!"

The two brothers were just talking about this.

Now the provincial authorities have come to us about this matter.

Li Huidong thought for a moment and said, "I don't think we did anything wrong. We are willing to use more of our profits to increase everyone's salaries. Can anyone say that our junior brother did something wrong?"

Yang Bin: "Yes, I can tell you that now, most of the profits from each of Zhengming's stores are distributed to everyone."

It's fair to say that because of the salary increase, Zhengming isn't making much money from each store right now. If some stores experience slow periods, he might even lose money.

These words surprised both Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng.

"Losing money?"

"You're losing money, and you still want to raise their wages?"

Li Huidong: "Losing money may only be temporary, because some stores can only generate so much profit each day. So when the wages of kitchen staff are to be benchmarked against those in Shanghai, it may indeed lead to losses."

Hearing Li Huidong's words, Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng suddenly realized something.

Feng Zhengming did this not because he made a lot of money, but because he was actually narrowing regional differences.

Geographically speaking, many cities in Shandong Province are indeed not comparable to Shanghai.

In terms of labor costs, many places in Shandong are much lower than those in Shanghai.

However, Feng Zhengming did not discriminate in the wages of the kitchen staff just because the stores were located in various parts of Shandong.

He would rather earn less money himself than compromise on ensuring that the wages of kitchen staff in each store remained roughly the same.

Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng understood why restaurants and eateries from all over Shandong Province had come to them this time.

Because in some other restaurants and eateries, they simply cannot afford to pay the corresponding wages.

The salary level offered by Feng Zhengming was far beyond the local wage level.

Chen Zhiheng tentatively asked, "Could we talk to Zhengming and ask him to consider things a bit more? Maybe he shouldn't let the salary increase be too much?"

Li Huidong and Yang Bin exchanged a smile.

Yang Bin asked, "You can't expect us to lower the wages that have gone up, can you?"

This question left Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

We really can't let people lower the wages that have gone up.

If he really does that, Feng Zhengming's own reputation will also be damaged.

And it may cause dissatisfaction among many store staff.

Before the two could speak, Li Huidong continued to express his opinion.

"It's impossible for us to cut wages, and it's also impossible for us to stop raising wages later. As long as we can make money, we will definitely continue to raise wages for everyone."

If those restaurants and eateries are unhappy, they can sue us anytime; we don't care.

Li Huidong's words effectively shut down what Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng were about to say.

This may also be the first time that Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng have seen Li Huidong speak like this.

Li Huidong is usually very approachable and kind to people.

No one expected that Li Huidong would be so resolute in this matter.

Tao Jingwen: "Brother Li, we know that your salary increase is a personal matter and we really shouldn't interfere. But now they're saying that you're disrupting the labor market, and we can't just sit idly by."

Li Huidong: "Are we the ones disrupting the job market? This is clearly their problem."

Yang Bin: "Yes, they want a raise. The boss can squeeze out some money to give the employees a raise, but they are unwilling to do so."

Now that we've raised wages, their employees are making trouble for them. Can you blame us for that?
They only think of their employees who stood by them through thick and thin, but when they enjoy their rewards, they don't think about those employees who shared their hardships. What kind of company is that?

When Li Huidong and Yang Bin, the two brothers, went all out, Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng were completely speechless.

They had to admit that what Li Huidong and Yang Bin said was indeed true.

Most restaurant owners are only thinking about making more money for themselves.

They might not dare to overly exploit the chefs in the kitchen.

But for other employees, most bosses have an attitude of "take it or leave it."

Bosses always think they can find enough staff.

If employees are unwilling to work, you can replace them with a new batch of employees.

Some bosses don't even respect the chefs in charge of cooking.

The head chef can be replaced at any time.

Li Huidong and Yang Bin had encountered bosses like this before.

That's why they were so agitated and angry about the bosses suing their junior colleagues for "disrupting the job market."

Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng exchanged a glance, and at this point in their conversation, they understood each other.

Let alone negotiating with Feng Zhengming, even his senior brothers couldn't reach an agreement.

Tao Jingwen sighed helplessly, "It seems you really aren't going to budge an inch?"

Li Huidong: "They are the ones who should give way. If they were willing to give more to their employees, they wouldn't have been forced into this situation. We have a clear conscience, so why should we give way?"

Yang Bin: "We have the support of our employees, and we also have the support of many more working people."

Chen Zhiheng smiled wryly: "These two senior brothers have really left us speechless."

In the end, Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng had no choice but to go back first. After they left, Yang Bin couldn't help but want to call his junior brother to let him know.

Li Huidong stopped him, saying, "Don't rush to call. Zhengming is probably still busy. Let's wait until after business closes tonight and then call him to tell him."

Yang Bin nodded: "Okay, but I really admire them. They actually came to cause us trouble just because we got a raise?"

Li Huidong: "Judging from Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng's attitudes, there shouldn't be any problems."

Yang Bin: "Yeah, I don't believe we'd be punished for raising employee salaries?"

Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng left Huiquan Tower together.

On their way back, the two of them felt that the whole thing was both funny and sad.

I've never heard of a boss being sued by other bosses for giving employees a raise.

This whole thing is truly absurd.

Tao Jingwen: "Perhaps we shouldn't have come here at all. There are some things we should tell those bosses. They should also consider their employees more and not just think about making money for themselves."

Chen Zhiheng: "Yes, we really shouldn't have come here. They're raising wages for their employees, which is a good thing."

The two returned to the province and reported the matter to the provincial authorities.

Then the province's opinion was: "Don't pay attention to those who sue Feng Zhengming. Instead of looking for problems in themselves, they want to sue Feng Zhengming for arbitrarily raising the wages of his employees."
Since Feng Zhengming has managed to run his catering company well and make it truly big and strong, it's his own business to raise his employees' wages.

What right do we have to interfere? And what right do those people have to sue Feng Zhengming?

Finally, the provincial authorities even stated, "We can issue them a warning; if they really want to file a lawsuit, then we will have to investigate them thoroughly."

With the support of the province, Tao Jingwen and Chen Zhiheng gained confidence.

The two quickly informed the bosses who had sued Feng Zhengming.

Those bosses originally thought they could at least cause some trouble for Feng Zhengming.

They actually knew that suing Feng Zhengming was hopeless.

However, they are happy to see some trouble being caused.

Unexpectedly, Feng Zhengming escaped trouble, while they almost encountered some problems.

The news quickly spread throughout Jinan, and Master naturally found out as well.

When the master found out, he was also quite annoyed.

"These guys are getting more and more annoyed with Zhengming. They're always trying to make trouble for him. Instead of running their restaurants and hotels properly, they're only thinking about how to slander and suppress others."

Seeing that her master was angry, the master's wife tried to persuade him.

"Don't be angry. It's clear they can handle this kind of thing. Besides, it's a joke if word gets out that they've done this before. There are even cases of people suing them for giving their employees a raise."

Those who advocate for justice are utterly shameless.

Master: "They're shameless. Instead of thinking about improving employee benefits, boosting employee morale, and improving service and food quality, they're only thinking about rotten things."

Master's wife: "So let them learn a lesson, and sooner or later they'll all have to close down."

The master thought for a moment and said, "I should also remind my family to pay attention to this as well."

Master's wife: "Don't worry, my son and his family know. They will always give their employees better wages and benefits."

The master still sighed, "Zhengming has really had a tough time these past few years. If it weren't for him, Shandong cuisine might always be overshadowed by others."

Master's wife: "How could that be? Shandong cuisine is one of the four major cuisines. Even if it doesn't have its past glory, it shouldn't be ignored."

Master: "But in recent years, Shandong cuisine has lacked some vitality. Many things have been made too rigidly, and there is a lack of pioneering and innovative spirit."

Master's wife: "Isn't there Zhengming?"

"Oh dear, I mean if we don't have Zhengming to prove it," the master said, sounding a little anxious.

"Hahaha." The teacher's wife couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright, tell me, tell me."

The master continued by recounting how Feng Zhengming had recently raised everyone's salaries.

"Why did Zhengming dare to raise wages like that? He raised the wages of all the kitchen staff in his stores to the same level as those in Shanghai."
It's because he's capable of making that money; he has a large number of branches all over the country.

With so many stores making money for him, he doesn't care if each store takes a smaller share.

Why do you think he's able to do that? Isn't it because his skills are excellent? He attracts so many people to follow him with his charm.

Master's wife: "It's not just his personal charm that attracts people. The people in Zhengming's shops are all trained by his fellow apprentices. That's the key to Zhengming's success."

The master nodded: "Yes, that's even more crucial. It just shows how many excellent young chefs they've trained."

In reality, it's not that master chefs and other restaurant chefs don't know how to train apprentices.

The main problem is that even though they train apprentices, they can't provide them with job opportunities.

Once an apprentice is trained, he may not be able to work as a chef in the restaurant where his master is in charge until the master retires.

This often leads to a competitive relationship between apprentices and masters.

Therefore, some masters in the past would deliberately hold back some skills when teaching their disciples.

Unless the master is no longer able to work and has to retire from the kitchen, it is possible for him to pass on the skills he has kept to his apprentice.

This also results in many young chefs often lacking practical experience and unable to perfect their dishes.

It's different with Feng Zhengming; he has plenty of branches.

We can assign suitable positions to all apprentices.

In addition, Feng Zhengming was paid a relatively high salary from the time he started as an apprentice.

This is a world of difference compared to the traditional apprenticeship system where many apprentices don't receive any wages at all.

This further relieved the apprentices of any worries.

Apprentices can then focus more intently on mastering the craft.

Ultimately, those apprentices definitely hoped to stay in Feng Zhengming's shops.

This resulted in Feng Zhengming's kitchen staff being highly skilled and capable.

Master: "Zhengming, he must have started planning this a long time ago. He wanted to do it this way, to combine training and opening branch stores."

At this point, the master finally smiled.

"He actually managed to do it."

Master's wife: "You didn't even want to take him as your apprentice back then."

Master: "At that time, I felt that he was too impatient. I hoped to temper his temperament. If I hadn't made him suffer back then, would he have achieved what he has today?"

Hearing this, the master's wife couldn't help but laugh: "Hahaha, yes, yes, without a good master like you, how could there be such a capable disciple?"

Upon hearing this, the master couldn't help but laugh.

Afterwards, the master also called Feng Zhengming, hoping that he would return to Jinan when he had time, expressing his longing for him.

Feng Zhengming was startled when he received a call from his master, wondering if his master was unwell.
Without even thinking, he immediately agreed to his master's request, hung up the phone, and went to buy a plane ticket. (End of Chapter)