From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming bought a plane ticket back to Jinan and explained the situation regarding the kitchen of the old villa restaurant.

After updating the menu, we returned to Jinan with our family.

This trip back to Jinan was a spur-of-the-moment decision by Feng Zhengming, so many people didn't know he would suddenly return.

When Feng Zhengming chartered a car to take his wife, mother-in-law, second aunt, and three children back to his grandfather's house.

Grandpa and Grandpa Situ were both surprised that they had suddenly returned.

Grandpa: "Why did you suddenly come back?"

Grandpa Situ: "That's right, you didn't even call ahead to let us know."

Feng Zhengming: "My master called me. I felt that my master might not be in good health, so I came back to see him."

The two grandfathers were a little confused by what they were told.

"Your master is not in good health?"

"That's not right, we had dinner and drinks together yesterday."

Feng Zhengming looked bewildered: "You guys were drinking together yesterday?"

Grandpa: "Yes, yesterday your master and mistress came to Laopu together. Your third senior brother told us that your Grandpa Situ and I rushed over and had a meal and a few drinks together in Laopu."

Feng Zhengming was somewhat surprised that his master had actually been drinking with his grandfathers yesterday.

He carefully recalled what his master had said to him on the phone.

It seems that Master did not say that his health was failing, but only that he should come back and visit when he had time.

Feng Zhengming was both amused and exasperated: "It seems I misunderstood."

Luo Qing: "It's alright. We haven't been home this year. Consider this a trip home to rest for a while. Master and Mistress miss you too. Go and visit them."

Feng Zhengming nodded in agreement: "Okay, then I'll go visit Master and Mistress tomorrow."

The mother-in-law said, "Then I'll go home too. I haven't been home for a while. I wonder how Qingqing's father is doing at home?"

Luo Qing: "Mom, don't worry, it's okay. My brother comes home every day, and my sister-in-law helps take care of him too."

The mother-in-law was quite happy that her son had found a good wife.

"You should go back and take a look. Your brother and sister-in-law should be getting married this year. We can't keep putting it off any longer."

Luo Qing: "Let my brother and the others decide."

Mother-in-law: "We have to urge them and let them make the decision. I don't know how long your brother will drag this out."

Feng Zhengming: "Mom, shall I take you home?"

Mother-in-law: "Oh, no need. We're already back in Jinan, how could I possibly get lost?"

Despite what his mother-in-law said, Feng Zhengming still took her home.

Coincidentally, Feng Zhengming had just dropped his mother-in-law off at the entrance of the family compound when he ran into his father-in-law and elder brother who were returning home.

When they saw Feng Zhengming return with his mother-in-law, his father-in-law and brother-in-law were also surprised.

"Why are you back?"

"Mom, everything's fine at home. I'll take care of Dad. Aren't you worried about me?"

Mother-in-law: "I'm just worried about you. You've always been unreliable."

These words left the brother-in-law both amused and exasperated.

The father-in-law said, "He doesn't take care of me. I'm basically the one taking care of him. I have to cook for him every day. He's never home."

Being exposed by his father made Luo Wenhan a little embarrassed.

"I... I was just busy, wasn't I?"

Feng Zhengming asked with a smile, "How's business? Is the internet cafe doing well?"

Luo Wenhan: "The internet cafe business is booming. I now own three internet cafes, all of them are large ones with spacious interiors and good computers, so there are a lot of people using them."

Feng Zhengming: "Business is good, but we also need to be careful. It's best not to let minors in, and we must also pay attention to fire safety so that no problems are found."

Luo Wenhan: "Don't worry, I've taken care of all of that. I've also asked them not to let their children go to internet cafes."

Seeing his mother return, Luo Wenhan decided not to go home at all; he had originally intended to come back and have a meal with his father.

However, since his mother could stay with his father when she returned, Luo Wenhan decided to go back to the internet cafe first.

Feng Zhengming also went back to his grandfather's house first.

He also made an appointment with his parents-in-law and brother-in-law to bring the children over for dinner the next day, and to have his brother-in-law bring his girlfriend back as well.

When my mother-in-law and father-in-law returned home, my father-in-law told me a lot about his experiences in Shanghai and Chengdu.

She was also praising her son-in-law to Luo Qing's father.

"Zhengming is really amazing. His shops are all doing very well. He is really capable. People are willing to listen to him. Wherever he goes, there will be a group of people surrounding him."

Hearing his wife's praises of their son-in-law made Mr. Luo feel as if he had personally experienced it all.

"That's why our Qingqing has such good taste; she picked out such a wonderful son-in-law at first sight."

Mother Luo: "Yes, my daughter had excellent judgment back then."

Mr. Luo: "You initially wanted to object, thinking that your daughter had no future with a cook."

Mother Luo: "Didn't I misjudge him? I never expected this son-in-law to be so capable."

Mr. Luo: "So, you can't judge a book by its cover. My son-in-law may seem like a simple person, but it is this simplicity and focus that has brought him his current reputation."

Luo's mother also had to admit that her views were indeed too outdated.

Back then, she didn't have a good eye for her son-in-law, but she did have a good eye for her son pursuing Fang Hongyan. In the end, she was wrong about both of them.

"Luckily, Wenhan didn't manage to win Fang Hongyan's heart back then, otherwise it would have been a real problem."

Mr. Luo: "By the way, the Fang family's daughter got into trouble. Apparently, she was involved in some business deal and got scammed. Now she's heavily in debt and has disappeared."

Then many creditors came to Lao Fang's house demanding money, and her cousin who worked at the brewery seemed to have been implicated as well.

Luo's mother was somewhat surprised: "Such a big fuss?"

Mr. Luo: "I haven't asked for the specifics, but the Fang family is in complete chaos right now."

Hearing this, Luo's mother even felt a little scared.

What if my son had married a woman like that?

It's likely that not only the son will be implicated, but also the daughter and son-in-law.

However, upon further reflection, Luo Qing's mother felt that it shouldn't affect her son-in-law.

This time, I spent a long time in Shanghai and also traveled to other places with my son-in-law.

This allowed Luo Qing's mother to witness her son-in-law's abilities.

Especially considering her son-in-law's obvious superior cognitive abilities and intelligence, Luo's mother felt that Fang Hongyan definitely couldn't fool him.

Then Luo's mother thought of her son: "That's right, didn't my son go to see her?"

Mr. Luo: "Do you really think our son is stupid? He has three internet cafes doing so well now, and he has such a good woman with him. How could he possibly go back to Fang Hongyan?" Hearing her husband say this, Mrs. Luo was relieved.

Then, Mr. Luo went into the kitchen to cook for his wife.

This made Luo's mother feel that even her husband had changed somewhat since their trip.

Feng Zhengming walked with his brother-in-law, chatting with him about the situation in Jinan and other parts of Shandong Province.

Luo Wenhan now runs a chain of internet cafes, and he still receives a lot of information through them.

Some news hadn't spread outside, but it first circulated in internet cafes.

This is mainly because internet cafes are places where many people like to gather in this era.

Some waiters and kitchen apprentices in restaurants and hotels like to go to an internet cafe to play games after work.

Luo Wenhan also learned a lot about things in Jinan and other parts of Shandong through them.

He told Feng Zhengming about the recent lawsuits filed against him by some people.

Feng Zhengming smiled after hearing this: "I know. They complained to the provincial authorities that I raised wages arbitrarily, which damaged the employment environment and deliberately inflated employment costs to disrupt the market."

Luo Wenhan: "Yes, yes, I heard that many restaurant and hotel staff are arguing with their bosses."

Feng Zhengming didn't care at all: "Let them make a fuss. What does my raise have to do with them? Sue me for disrupting the market? They are the ones who are the heartless capitalists."

Luo Wenhan: "Brother-in-law, didn't you come back this time to deal with this matter?"

Feng Zhengming: "No, it was my master who called me and said he missed me. I thought my master was not in good health, so I rushed back to visit him."

Luo Wenhan: "That's not right. Didn't Master Yan just stroll over to the old shop yesterday?"

Feng Zhengming was both amused and exasperated; “I know, my grandfather told me when I came back.”

Luo Wenhan was taken aback for a moment: "The old man probably really misses you; you've hardly come back this year."

Feng Zhengming also said helplessly: "I had no choice but to come back. I was just too busy. I just returned to Shanghai from Chengdu. I'm very busy in Shanghai too. I only managed to come back to visit this time."

Luo Wenhan: "Brother-in-law, aren't you working too hard these days?"

Feng Zhengming: "It's alright. As for hard work, I don't find it very hard. There are many things I've been doing all along, and each store has suitable people to take care of things, so it's not necessary for me to do them personally."

Luo Wenhan: That's right, you can't do everything yourself.

Feng Zhengming: "There are still some things I have to do myself, but there are more and more people who can help me share the burden."

"Brother-in-law, why don't you take on more apprentices? One apprentice isn't enough for you right now."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, it's not about having many apprentices, the key is to have them be excellent."

"We chefs have a lot to deal with, especially in my restaurants. Anyone wanting to be in charge of the kitchen needs to have exceptional skills; just having a lot of people isn't enough."

Luo Wenhan sighed upon hearing this, "I really underestimated the chef before."

Feng Zhengming: "Craftsmanship has never been that simple. Why do many old crafts gradually disappear? It's because the crafts are too complicated and too hard, and there are not many younger generations to inherit them, so the crafts eventually decline and are lost."

Luo Wenhan: "Brother-in-law, I admire you guys more and more now."

Now that Luo Wenhan runs an internet cafe, he often goes online himself.

By going online, he learned more about the changes in the outside world.

Especially in this era, Luo Wenhan can easily access content from abroad.

After being exposed to a lot of foreign content, Luo Wenhan once felt that China was really too backward.

But when he saw so many respected artisans overseas, he couldn't help but think of his brother-in-law.

Luo Wenhan felt that his brother-in-law was also a craftsman.

Moreover, my brother-in-law's skills are definitely better than some overseas craftsmen.

However, compared to some places overseas, artisans are not respected as much in China nowadays.

Luo Wenhan understood even more clearly why so many people admired Feng Zhengming.

It's not that people admire his culinary skills, but rather that many believe Feng Zhengming has made a lot of money, opened so many branches, and even opened a restaurant that won a global top ten award.

These are the reasons why everyone admires Feng Zhengming.

Luo Wenhan felt that this kind of worship was disrespectful to his brother-in-law.

This also shows that many people in China do not value craftsmanship.

After understanding this, Luo Wenhan could better appreciate his brother-in-law's hardships.

It can be said that he accomplished a great career single-handedly.

With almost no resources available, he relied entirely on his exceptional skills to gradually become the owner of a nationally renowned catering group.

Feng Zhengming can now be said to have solidified his title as the national culinary champion.

No one would question his status as the top scholar.

More importantly, he changed the landscape of the domestic catering industry.

In his own way, he wants to make more people respect the chef's skills.

Therefore, Luo Wenhan can now understand why his brother-in-law pays such high wages to the kitchen staff.

He wanted everyone to know that every chef's skill was worth that salary.

Luo Wenhan: "Brother-in-law, you are truly dedicated to ensuring that those artisans receive the compensation they deserve."

Feng Zhengming: "Of course, I am a chef myself. How can I let a chef's skills be looked down upon by others? Now many foreign chefs come to China and are sought after by some people."

Then I'll raise my chefs' wages first, and then force those bosses and incompetent chefs to make changes.

They need to understand that only truly excellent skills will earn them higher pay.

Luo Wenhan laughed: "Brother-in-law, do you want me to help you promote it online? There are so many forums and such online now, and lots of people like to discuss all sorts of things there."

Feng Zhengming: "Sure, you can help me promote it on the forum. Remember the key point: don't let real craftsmen be buried, and don't let those who don't have real skills pass themselves off as skilled ones."

Luo Wenhan nodded: "I understand, don't worry, I will definitely prepare well."

Feng Zhengming: "You can contact my junior uncle Huang Tao and have him write it. You can help him publish it online and find a group of people to help him promote it online, so that as many people as possible can see it and discuss it."

Luo Wenhan was very happy that he could help his brother-in-law.

"Okay, okay, I'll contact those people at the internet cafe later. Anyway, a lot of people are just idling around online all day. Let's give them something to do and help you spread those things together."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brother-in-law."

Luo Wenhan: "It's no trouble at all. I'm very happy to be of help."

After dropping his brother-in-law off at the internet cafe, Feng Zhengming drove back to his grandfather's house.

I just got back tonight, so I'm going to cook a nice meal at my grandpa's house to give them a change of pace.

Then tomorrow, Feng Zhengming will invite his fellow disciples to visit their master.

Although his master is in good health, Feng Zhengming still wants to visit him properly during this trip back, chat with him as much as possible, and most importantly, discuss the reopening of Yanxi Tower in the capital. (End of Chapter)