From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Fifth Brother was quite excited on the phone; he had finally found a suitable place for Feng Zhengming to reopen Yanxi Tower.

"Zhengming, you really need to come to the capital as soon as possible. I've used a lot of connections to find a place that's perfect for reopening Yanxilou. It's not within the second ring road of the capital, but it's not too remote either."

Moreover, it's a retro building. I went to see it, and it has a fairly large courtyard with a three-story building inside.

I think that renovating the exterior and then decorating the interior would make it even more luxurious than the old Yanxi Building.

After listening to his fifth senior brother's words, Feng Zhengming remained relatively calm.

"Fifth Brother, I'll arrange things here in the next few days and then go check out the place you mentioned."

Fifth Senior Brother said expectantly, "Okay, okay, Zhengming, you make your arrangements and come over to take a look. You'll definitely be very satisfied after you see it."

Feng Zhengming remained calm: "Okay, Fifth Brother, are your other shops alright? How's business at those smaller shops?"

The fifth senior brother then gave Feng Zhengming a report.

“Both my shop and Lü Chongshan’s shop are doing very well. The best-performing shops are the small ones you acquired. Let me tell you, a few days ago during the National Day holiday, I was invited by people from the chefs’ association in Beijing. They were all asking me, ‘How did you come up with the idea of ​​acquiring those small shops?’”

Based on his fifth senior brother's words, Feng Zhengming could roughly guess that some people in Beijing must have already regretted their actions.

Obviously, with the Olympics being held in Beijing, it will inevitably attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to the city.

Especially during the National Day holiday, although the holiday is not that long yet, it doesn't stop some people from planning ahead.

During the National Day holiday, Feng Zhengming could imagine that the small shops in Beijing that he had acquired would be booming.

So some people in Beijing are now regretting not closing down all their small shops in advance.

Feng Zhengming replied with a smile to his fifth senior brother: "Some things are better done by striking first."

Fifth Senior Brother agreed: "Yes, yes, it's all about striking first."

Feng Zhengming: "Have those chefs in Beijing made any moves lately?"

The fifth senior brother paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then asked, "Zhengming, what message did you receive?"

Feng Zhengming: Not yet, it seems like something big has happened?

Fifth Senior Brother paused for a few seconds: "I heard that there are quite a few people investing in opening new stores in the capital, and several restaurants that used to be quite famous are also being renovated. They are also hiring some chefs, and I heard that they have already gone to Shandong."

After hearing what his fifth senior brother said, Feng Zhengming roughly understood.

Previously, people hadn't paid much attention to the successful bid for the Olympics.

It's now clear that many people are realizing this and want to make arrangements in Beijing in advance.

After all, once the Olympics are over, Beijing will truly become a world-class tourist city, attracting a large number of visitors.

Although there are already quite a few tourists visiting Beijing now, there will definitely be even more after the Olympics.

With so many tourists flocking to Beijing, the catering industry will undoubtedly benefit the most.

Especially the time-honored brands in Beijing, which will definitely attract many people to eat there.

Feng Zhengming has now acquired some of the time-honored shops.

Therefore, some people naturally started to think of other solutions.

The most direct solution is to quickly open a new store in Beijing.

The shop can be new, but as long as you find the right chef, the food can be old.

Ultimately, the catering industry will come down to who tells the best story.

Especially in China, the long history means that there will be plenty of material to tell stories.

"Fifth Brother, don't worry about them for now. After I get there, we'll take a good look at the place you found. If it's suitable, we'll see if we can buy it directly. Then we'll renovate it completely and reopen Yanxi Restaurant."

When the fifth senior brother heard that Feng Zhengming actually wanted to buy it, he was somewhat surprised on the other end of the phone.

"Zhengming, you want to buy it? Such a big place, a three-story building, it probably won't be cheap, right?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Fifth Brother, with our current wealth, can't we afford a building like that?"

After listening to his junior brother's words, Cao Zhiguo thought about it carefully and felt that what his junior brother said seemed to make sense.

With my junior brother's current wealth, acquiring an abandoned building in Beijing, which isn't even within the Second Ring Road, shouldn't be a problem at all.

Fifth Senior Brother had no idea that Feng Zhengming had no intention of paying for it himself.

He planned to use the project of reopening Yanxilou in the capital to attract investment from various parties.

After securing the investment, the first step is to buy the location for the restaurant. Then, sponsorship will be sought for all aspects of the renovations.

In return for these sponsorships, Feng Zhengming would give them a shout-out in the restaurant.

Feng Zhengming is particularly generous in advertising suitable kitchenware and condiments.

Of course, in addition to these commercial sponsorships, Feng Zhengming also planned to get some people in Beijing to contribute some money.

Reopening Yanxilou in Beijing would inject fresh vitality into the city's catering market.

Shouldn't some of the old money in Beijing also make some investments for themselves?
It wasn't just the old money in Beijing that Feng Zhengming wanted to attract; he also wanted to attract some old money from Shanghai and Hong Kong to invest in him.

With sufficient investment, Feng Zhengming could then fully unleash his potential and completely recreate the original Yanxilou restaurant, making sure it conformed to the characteristics of ancient Beijing architecture.

Even in Feng Zhengming's imagination, if the place that his fifth senior brother found was big enough...

He also wants to hire some landscape architects to design the gardens for his yard.

The goal is to completely recreate a complete set of traditional Chinese garden and mansion architecture.

This way, a Chinese aesthetic can be better showcased.

Only by combining innovative Chinese dishes that blend cuisines from all over the country can Yanxilou, which has reopened, truly become a standard Chinese restaurant.

"Fifth Brother, if we're going to do it, we're going to make it the industry benchmark."

I've already opened a restaurant in an old-style villa in Shanghai. It's a top-tier restaurant that combines Chinese and Western styles and is very much in line with the international metropolis of Shanghai.

Many businesses in Shanghai are now starting to learn from my model and open stores, so we need to change our approach when we go to Beijing.

Beijing, as our capital, has a rich cultural heritage, and our Yanxilou restaurant must also have a rich cultural heritage.

Therefore, we aim to make Yanxilou in Beijing a top-tier Chinese restaurant.

We need to satisfy the preconceived notions many people, both domestically and internationally, have about Chinese restaurants.

When the fifth senior brother heard what Feng Zhengming said on the phone, he was stunned. These thoughts surprised him.

He couldn't imagine whether these things were really possible.

"I don't know if we can do these things, but since you're going to do them, I will definitely support you with all my might."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Haha, with Fifth Brother's support, there's definitely no problem."

After speaking with his fifth senior brother over the phone, Feng Zhengming spent a week arranging everything at the various stores in Shanghai.

In the old-style restaurant, Feng Zhengming once again transferred Xia Hui to the restaurant to be in charge of cooking.

Furthermore, Feng Zhengming simply transferred Fu Jun and Cai Tao to the restaurant on the Western restaurant street.

"This time, we're having you switch places so you can all improve together. Fu Jun and Cai Tao are also here at this restaurant on the Western Restaurant Street to experience different kitchen work."

Fu Jun and Cai Tao exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile wryly. They knew very well that their junior uncle's arrangement was because he was not satisfied with their performance recently.

Moreover, they have also felt that since the return of the five apprentices of the junior master, they are not as good as the five apprentices of the junior master in the kitchen of the old house restaurant, and often they are even worse.

They are the kind of people who are very hardworking, but can never keep up with their junior uncle's pace.

The key point is that while the two of them couldn't keep up, the junior master's disciples were able to.

This makes the two of them seem somewhat superfluous in the kitchen.

Of course, they weren't actually superfluous; Feng Zhengming would still mainly assign some of the cooking work to the two of them.

However, an invisible pressure in the kitchen made Fu Jun and Cai Tao feel increasingly oppressed.

Feng Zhengming's decision to temporarily switch places with Xia Hui actually brought them both a sigh of relief.

Seeing the wry smiles on their faces, Feng Zhengming reminded them.

"Don't let your guard down. I hope you can get some experience at that restaurant on the Western restaurant street and understand what you, as head chefs, should do in the kitchen."

Most importantly, when cooking, you should think more and not always think about how to make a dish faster.

Furthermore, don't always think about cheating; try to find ways to save some steps.

"Efficiency in serving dishes isn't the most important thing. We are chefs; our job is to ensure that every dish, when presented to the guests, allows them to directly experience its color, aroma, and flavor."

After listening to Feng Zhengming's teachings, Fu Jun and Cai Tao nodded earnestly, indicating that they would remember them.

In fact, there was another reason why Feng Zhengming transferred Xia Hui to the kitchen of the old villa restaurant.

He discovered that after his five apprentices returned, they had made considerable progress in their skills and seemed somewhat unconvinced by Fu Jun and Cai Tao in the kitchen of the old-style restaurant.

Feng Zhengming was worried that after he left, Fu Jun and Cai Tao might not be able to control the five of them in the kitchen.

So they simply transferred Xia Hui back to the old-style restaurant, letting the eldest sister keep the five of them in check.

Before leaving, Feng Zhengming also gave special instructions to his apprentices, including Xia Hui.

"Xia Hui, I trust your skills and I believe you can run the old-style restaurant well for me."

As for the five of you, I know you've become more capable. You used to be resentful of Fu Jun and Cai Tao, thinking they couldn't manage you.

So I transferred Xia Hui back and put your senior sister in charge of you. If I hear that you dare to disobey my orders...

"When I get back, I'll expel him from the sect immediately."

Feng Zhengming's words startled his five apprentices.

Seeing Feng Zhengming's serious expression, it was clear he wasn't joking with them.

The five of them could only quickly express their gratitude to their master.

"We will definitely follow our senior sister closely."

"Yes, yes, Master, don't worry, we respect our eldest sister."

"Master, we won't do it again. We will definitely listen to our senior sister's management."

"I promise to follow my senior sister and run the old-style restaurant well."

"I will definitely live up to my master's expectations."

When he said this to the five people, Feng Zhengming simply nodded.

"Remember your promises. I don't want any problems to arise in the kitchen while I'm away."

Xia Hui said, "Don't worry, Master, I will keep them in check."

Make proper arrangements for the kitchen of the old-style restaurant.

Before Feng Zhengming was about to go to Beijing, his daughter Feng Nuanyou gave him a little tantrum.

"Dad, I don't want to go to kindergarten. I want to go with you."

Faced with his daughter's words, Feng Zhengming naturally could not agree.

"No, didn't you promise Dad and Mom that you would go to kindergarten properly? Dad has a lot of things to do this time, so he can't take you with him the whole time."

And you promised Dad you'd help Mom, Grandma, and Great-Aunt take care of your younger siblings at home.

Feng Nuanyou pouted; she really didn't want to stay at home.

Seeing his daughter's expression, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Be a good girl. You're already in preschool. You have so much to learn. Study hard so you won't fall behind your classmates when you start elementary school next year."

When her father said that, Feng Nuanyou's pouting lips slowly relaxed.

Feng Zhengming continued to press on: "If you fall behind your classmates, the teacher won't like you, and your classmates will laugh at you, thinking that Youyou is not as good as them."

This approach was quite effective.

Feng Nuanyou has a cheerful personality, but she is quite strong-willed at heart.

While it's not that she can't accept not being first in the exam, she certainly can't accept falling behind others.

After being persuaded by her father, Feng Nuanyou finally obediently accepted attending kindergarten at home.

"Dad, I won't fall behind others. I will definitely study hard."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "That's a good girl. She's a good daughter to her parents."

Seeing that her husband had persuaded their daughter, Luo Qing smiled.

"You still need to educate her, otherwise this girl will not listen. She will only listen properly and do what she is supposed to do when her father speaks."

Feng Zhengming: "You can't say that. Our Youyou has always been very well-behaved. She knows what she should do."

Feng Nuanyou immediately looked at her mother: "Yes, yes, Youyou knows she should study hard."

Luo Qing: "Okay, okay, you know that, then you should study hard."

After making all the necessary arrangements in Shanghai, Feng Zhengming boarded a plane with his luggage and headed to Beijing.

Feng Zhengming went to Beijing with a specific goal in mind.

If the place his fifth senior brother finds is suitable, he will then arrange everything.

In particular, we must attract enough investment and sponsorship to properly reopen Yanxilou.

Of course, Feng Zhengming would never allow anyone to interfere with the management of his restaurant when he accepted investment and sponsorship from others.

Feng Zhengming will give him a share of the profits, and he can also help the sponsored companies promote their products.

But the restaurant's operation must be Feng Zhengming's own responsibility.

Feng Zhengming knew that many people were looking forward to his arrival in Beijing, and many others were waiting for him to arrive.

Whether those people have high hopes for me or want to see me fail.

It didn't make much difference to him.

He was simply following his own ideas, wanting to cook delicious food and showcase the beauty of Chinese cuisine to everyone. (End of Chapter)