From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The wedding banquet in front of Huiquan Tower was almost over.

As is customary, the person hosting the wedding would come to the kitchen to offer a toast and express their gratitude.

Especially for newlyweds, nowadays in Jinan, if they hold their wedding banquet at Huiquanlou Restaurant, the newlyweds will usually go to the kitchen to toast the chefs.

Thank you to the chefs in the kitchen for their hard work today for their wedding banquet.

As is customary, the two families holding their wedding banquet today also came to the kitchen to offer toasts.

To their surprise, they found Feng Zhengming in the kitchen of Huiquanlou Restaurant.

"So you're here too, Scholar Feng? Then this celebratory feast is truly well worth it."

"Yes, yes, we really have to thank Scholar Feng for personally preparing our wedding banquet."

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook his head: "I didn't cook it myself, I just happened to be there. Most of the dishes were made by the chefs in the kitchen of Huiquanlou."

I think you should still thank them, and you should trust their skills.

The bride and groom exchanged a glance and quickly understood what Feng Zhengming meant.

They first toasted everyone in the kitchen together.

"Thank you all, chefs. You've really worked hard today."

Everyone in the kitchen picked up the drinks that the groom's family had brought in.

Li Huidong led the way: "No need to be polite, we wish you a long and happy marriage."

Yang Bin added, "May you have a son soon."

The kitchen staff almost shouted in unison, "May you have a long and happy marriage and many children."

The chefs' unanimous congratulations made the bride and groom a little excited.

Feng Zhengming also raised a glass of wine, and then he also took the initiative to toast the bride and groom.

"Thank you for trusting our skills and arranging your wedding banquet at our Huiquanlou Restaurant. I toast you both with this glass, hoping that you will hold hands, love each other dearly, and stay together until the end."

The young couple was overjoyed to hear Feng Zhengming's blessing.

The elders who accompanied the newlyweds to toast also offered their praise.

"Our top scorer really knows how to talk."

"Yes, yes, our top scholar is indeed cultured."

"That's why they say he's the top scholar. We never would have thought of such congratulatory words."

The newlyweds' parents also came forward to shake hands with Feng Zhengming to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Scholar Feng, for your blessings."

"We are so lucky to have you here today, Scholar Feng. We are here to celebrate our wedding."

Feng Zhengming held the hands of both sets of parents, smiled, and once again offered his blessings to both sets of parents.

"No need to be so polite. A wedding is a big event for the family. If our dishes today satisfy you, that's what makes us chefs happiest, and it's also our greatest blessing to the newlyweds."

The last couple even asked to take a photo with chefs Feng Zhengming and his team.

Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers took a group photo with the newlyweds.

Even at the end, Feng Zhengming and his friends received red envelopes from the newlyweds.

Feng Zhengming initially refused, saying, "I can't accept it. I didn't cook anything today."

However, the newlyweds still insisted that Feng Zhengming accept the gift to express their gratitude for his appearance.

After some back and forth, Feng Zhengming had no choice but to accept the red envelope.

After seeing off the newlyweds, Feng Zhengming opened the red envelopes he had received and distributed the money inside to everyone in the kitchen.

"It's not much money, just consider it as a reward for everyone's hard work today. As for the bonuses, your head chef, Chef Li Huidong, will give them to you."

Hearing this made everyone in the kitchen burst into laughter.

Li Huidong: "You're the boss, so you want me to give everyone bonuses, right?"

Feng Zhengming: "Brother, you're the boss too. I don't come back often, so I have to follow your rules for the kitchen."

Li Huidong: "What rules do I have? Aren't these all rules you set back then?"

"Alright, let's stick to the original rules."

The rule that Feng Zhengming set at Huiquanlou was that if there was a wedding banquet, all the kitchen staff would receive a bonus as a reward for their hard work.

This rule was originally intended to encourage everyone in the kitchen to do a good job of preparing wedding banquets for guests.

By hosting a successful wedding banquet, we can rebuild Huiquanlou's reputation.

Nowadays, it's not really necessary to do that anymore.

Huiquanlou enjoys the highest reputation in Jinan.

However, this rule was still retained, as a benefit that Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices gave to everyone in the kitchen.

After all, these days, Huiquanlou Restaurant charges at least several hundred yuan per table for wedding banquets.

Moreover, the kitchen staff are the busiest during the wedding banquet preparation process.

Because a large amount of food needs to be prepared, the head chefs, such as Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices, are not particularly busy.

After all, most dishes don't require much skill.

The key to a wedding banquet is to ensure the quality of the ingredients and seasonings.

If a pot can yield at least four dishes, then dishes requiring delicate techniques are almost impossible to make.

So it's relatively easy for the head chef; the key is to ensure proper plating and to control the seasoning.

The real hard work is done by the other kitchen staff, who have to do everything from cleaning and preparing the ingredients to cooking them – it's a huge workload.

They felt it was only right to give them a bonus as a subsidy.

After the midday wedding banquet, the cleaning work in the kitchen was handed over to the apprentices and trainees.

Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers, together with He Yunqing, brewed a pot of tea and sat down in a private room at Huiquanlou.

"Uncle He, you've worked so hard these past few years. You've been busy running around taking care of the business at Huiquanlou. I'd like to offer you a toast with tea instead of wine."

He Yunqing: "Oh dear, our top scholar, you can't do this."

Now that Feng Zhengming sees He Yunqing, he has to admit that he does look old.

Feng Zhengming felt that it might be necessary to find someone to replace He Yunqing.

He Yunqing: "Zhengming, if it weren't for you taking over this place, relying on your skills, your influence, and your senior brothers to support this kitchen over the years..."

"I should be thanking you all. If it weren't for you taking over, Huiquanlou would probably have had to close down long ago."

Li Huidong: "Brother He, please don't say that. We've been working together very well for the past few years. If it weren't for you always taking care of things in front of us, I probably wouldn't be able to just focus on making the dishes in the kitchen."

He Yunqing: "It's my duty, that's what I should do."

Then He Yunqing took the initiative to say, "Now that you're back, Zhengming, I'd like to offer some advice. I am getting old and may not be able to continue accompanying Huiquanlou. I'd like to recommend a few people to take my place."

Feng Zhengming: "Sure, Uncle He, we can definitely trust the people you recommend."

Then Feng Zhengming added, "Uncle He, don't worry, I will continue to pay you this salary from Huiquanlou."

He Yunqing quickly refused, "No need, really no need, Zhengming, I've already taken advantage of you a lot. I still have a pension after retirement, I don't need you to pay me a salary." Feng Zhengming insisted, "No, no, Uncle He, your pension isn't much money, we still need to continue paying you a salary."

Li Huidong and Yang Bin both agreed on this point.

"That's right, you've helped us a lot over the years, you should continue to receive money."

"That's right, that's right, consider it your share of profits from Huiquan Tower."

Looking at Feng Zhengming and his two fellow disciples, He Yunqing was truly moved.

"Thank you, thank you so much, my fellow apprentices. You are all chefs with excellent skills and good character. You are truly role models for us chefs."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, Uncle He, don't be so polite with us. We've always had a great working relationship."

He Yunqing then told Feng Zhengming about the people he recommended to succeed him.

There are two men and one woman.

"They all graduated with degrees in hotel management, so they are probably more professional than me. The three of them have been working here for a while now, and the girl is more meticulous."

The two men were quite reliable and knew how to communicate effectively with customers; they were also very attentive to the management of the store.

Upon hearing He Yunqing's recommendation, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "How about this, let's meet him today."

He Yunqing nodded: "Okay, you should meet him."

Not long after, He Yunqing called the three people to the private room.

All three were wearing the lobby manager's suit.

The woman's name was Pan Fanglan, and she was about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Although she was relatively young, she looked quite capable.

The two men were named Xu Qing and Wang Jialiang.

Xu Qing is older, and Wang Jialiang is two or three years older than Pan Fanglan.

The two men seemed quite shrewd, and they were quite outspoken when talking to Feng Zhengming and the others.

Feng Zhengming was fairly satisfied with the three people, and they answered his initial questions fluently.

“Okay, Uncle He has already told me and recommended the three of you to be in charge of the lobby management of Huiquanlou. I hope the three of you can work together to manage the lobby of Huiquanlou well.”

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming's expression turned serious.

"I don't easily get involved in the management here, so I hope you can do your jobs well. I don't like people forming cliques, and most importantly, you need to cooperate well with the kitchen staff."

If a customer complains about the service, I will definitely hold all three of you accountable. Don't blame me for getting angry then.

Feng Zhengming made his point very clear, and the three of them naturally agreed cautiously.

All three of them knew that Feng Zhengming was a very strict person.

Huiquanlou's reputation in Jinan was built step by step by Feng Zhengming and his team.

Huiquanlou is now showing signs of dominating other restaurants in Jinan.

At a time like this, Feng Zhengming would probably be even less likely to allow any flaws.

In fact, all three of them were very happy to have such an opportunity.

By taking over He Yunqing's position, the three of them will also receive better treatment.

This also provides the three of them with a more respectable job.

You should know that if you become the lobby manager of Huiquanlou, you'll probably be in high demand when you leave Huiquanlou and look for other jobs elsewhere.

Pan Fanglan, the woman among the three, spoke first.

"Thank you for your trust, boss. I will definitely do my best."

Feng Zhengming: "No need to call me boss. Just call me Chef Feng, like before."

Xu Qing immediately replied, "I think it's better to call you Scholar Feng, that way we can make some distinction."

Feng Zhengming looked at Xu Qing and smiled: "No need to call me Scholar Feng, just call me Chef Feng."

Finally, Wang Jialiang simply addressed Feng Zhengming as, "Okay, Chef Feng."

Clearly, Wang Jialiang is the most honest of the three.

He Yunqing chose him because he valued his reliability.

Perhaps Wang Jialiang's ability to entertain guests is not as good as Xu Qing's and Pan Fanglan's.

However, since he is in charge of some service work at Huiquanlou, he will definitely manage the staff better and pay more attention to many small details.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but feel that the three people He Yunqing had chosen were indeed very suitable.

Moreover, He Yunqing clearly knew that the three of them each had their own strengths.

That's why he recommended three people to Feng Zhengming at once.

All three are lobby managers, which serves as a check and balance between them, and each can also manage their own area to prevent any chaotic situations from arising in Huiquanlou.

Of course, without He Yunqing, the teamwork among the three would be tested to some extent.

Feng Zhengming also wanted to emphasize to the three of them: "I hope the three of you can cooperate well. Huiquanlou is my life's work. Uncle He recommended you, which is also a recognition of you."

Li Huidong also spoke up: "Don't let the people who recommended you down."

Feng Zhengming: "I'll give you a year. After a year, we'll see how you perform. There will be some changes then, and someone will be able to truly take over Uncle He's position."

These words naturally made the three of them even more excited.

The opportunity to completely replace He Yunqing was still tempting for all three of them.

Feng Zhengming's meaning was clear: ultimately, only one person could manage everything in Huiquan Tower.

The other two people can only obey the management of that one person.

This creates a competitive situation for the three of them.

After all, both the eldest and third senior brothers were going to the capital for a year.

Before they go to the capital, they still need to select suitable people who can thoroughly manage everything at Huiquanlou.

After Feng Zhengming and the other two left, they smiled and looked at He Yunqing.

"Uncle He, I'm afraid you'll need to work a little harder. The performance of these three people over the next year will require your evaluation, so you'll have to stay at Huiquanlou for another year."

He Yunqing smiled and said, "It's okay. I don't really want to go home for the time being. It's good to keep busy here."

Yang Bin looked at Feng Zhengming: "Are you not entirely satisfied with any of the three people?"

Feng Zhengming: "It's not that I'm dissatisfied, but there always needs to be someone in front of Huiquan Tower who can make the final decision. We can't have three people discussing everything together."

Li Huidong: "That's right, someone needs to make the decision."

He Yunqing: "I will choose the most suitable person."

Feng Zhengming: "Uncle He, don't tell them yet. The most suitable person in my mind not only needs to be able to handle many things well, but also needs to know how to unite people."

He Yunqing smiled: "This is indeed a crucial factor, and I hope the three of them can realize it."

Li Huidong and Yang Bin exchanged a smile.

They all realized that Feng Zhengming intended to give the three successors of He Yunqing a test.

Ultimately, who will truly take over the reins of Huiquan Tower depends on whether each of the three individuals can recognize the crucial factor. (End of Chapter)