From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Nuanyou went out with her father. Although the little girl was still in preschool, she was taller than other children her age because her parents were both quite tall.

Now that Dad is driving, Feng Nuanyou can sit in the passenger seat.

The little girl sat very well-behaved in the passenger seat.

She hummed along to the music her dad was playing in the car the whole way.

Feng Zhengming drove to the reopening site of Yanxilou, and it was only along the way that he truly understood what "Beijing's traffic jam" meant.

The father and daughter just happened to catch the tail end of the morning rush hour, and they were stuck in traffic for a very long time.

When the father and daughter arrived at the location, everyone else had already arrived and were waiting in front of the three-story building.

After parking the car, Feng Zhengming got out and then took his daughter out of the passenger seat.

Holding her daughter's little hand, she walked in front of everyone.

"Sorry, we left a little late, but we still got stuck in traffic."

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this, everyone who was waiting laughed.

The elderly people in Beijing who sold him the three-story house laughed and said that Feng Zhengming had left home too late.

"If you want to avoid traffic jams, you should leave earlier. If you leave later, you'll get stuck in traffic."

Then the elderly people saw Feng Nuanyou, who was dressed neatly.

"Isn't this child the daughter of our top scholar Feng?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, she is my daughter. I brought her over to see her. Youyou, quickly greet her."

Feng Nuanyou stepped forward confidently: "Hello Great-Grandpa, Hello Great-Grandma, Hello everyone, my name is Feng Nuanyou."

Hearing the girl greet them warmly and introduce herself made all the elderly people smile happily.

"The daughter of the top scholar Feng is really well-educated."

"Yes, what a well-behaved girl."

"And she's also very pretty and tall."

"So poised and elegant, that's how a lady from a respectable family should behave."

"She looks exactly like my great-granddaughter."

"Haha, Scholar Feng is so lucky to have such a generous, lovely and beautiful daughter."

With everyone's praise, Feng Nuanyou's face was full of smiles. She turned to look at her father, feeling that she hadn't let him down and had made him receive praise from everyone as well.

Feng Zhengming took two steps forward and gently supported his daughter's back.

"Thank you for your kind words, grandpas and grandmas. Today is the launch ceremony for the renovation of our new Yanxi Building. Please come and witness this."

The elderly people knew why they came today, and they were all very willing to come and visit together.

Everyone had high expectations for the renovation of this building, which used to be their staff activity center.

Then Feng Zhengming presided over the launch ceremony, and everyone went through the procedures together.

Afterwards, Feng Zhengming also asked the design company to produce the interior and exterior decoration design drawings for this place.

Feng Zhengming invited all the former property owners, namely all the elderly people, to look at the blueprints together.

"Grandpas and grandmas, this set of drawings shows the details of the interior decoration, this one is the final rendering of the finished decoration, and this one is the decoration plan for the yard and the exterior of the entire building. Please take a look."

When the elderly people saw the drawings, they were clearly surprised that Feng Zhengming would show them such detailed drawings.

I looked at several drawings, especially the renderings of the completed renovation produced by the design company.

The elderly people were truly thrilled; the finished renovation exceeded their expectations.

They couldn't believe that the restaurant in the rendering was the same abandoned staff entertainment building that stood before them for many years.

After a brief silence, the elderly people all expressed that they really liked the design.

"Okay, very good, really great."

"These designs are excellent; they resemble many ancient buildings in Beijing."

"I heard that Yanxi Tower used to be just as classical, right?"

"Then this should be exactly what Yanxilou should look like."

"Great job, Feng Zhuangyuan, your design is excellent."

"Yes, yes, we support your design."

"I hope I can come and see what it looks like when the renovation is finished."

"Can it be exactly the same as this drawing?"

Both the construction team and the design company stated that they would do their best to make it exactly the same as the drawings.

After the construction launch ceremony, Feng Zhengming even personally joined the elderly in striking the first blow on the wall of the old building.

Such a ceremonial start touched the hearts of the elderly.

In the end, Feng Zhengming left the building along with the other elderly residents.

We witnessed the start of the bustling renovation and construction process together with the elderly.

An elderly man remarked with emotion, "This place has been abandoned and left idle for so many years, and it has finally found a place to be used again."

The other elderly people nearby also echoed this sentiment.

"Yes, I hope that Scholar Feng can make good use of this place."

"It definitely will. When we built this building, we used the best technology in the entire factory at the time. This building will be sturdy no matter how many years pass."

"Haha, it really took a lot of effort to build it back then, it's just a pity that the factory moved away later."

"Yes, this place hasn't been used for more than a few years."

"It's been used for several years now. I remember when it was first built, wasn't Old Zhang's son holding his wedding banquet here?"

"Yes, yes, Lao Zhang, your son was really lucky back then. This building had just been built not long before your son got married."

"Haha, luck, that kid just has a bit of luck."

"Old Zhang, is your son still working at the factory?"

"He's still here. He's now the chief engineer, and he hasn't let you down."

"Okay, Old Zhang's son didn't let us down."

Feng Zhengming, holding his daughter's hand, stood beside these elderly people, listening to them chat about the various interesting stories they had told about building their country in the past.

I was quite moved as I listened.

The experiences of these elderly people were far more turbulent and magnificent than those of Feng Zhengming.

Some of them had served on the battlefield and later retired from the military to work in factories.

They accomplished many great things by relying solely on manual labor, even with very few machines available.

Countless miracles that seem impossible today were created by them.

Even after retirement, they still care about the country and their factory.

As for them, they only needed 1 yuan each to sell the building to Feng Zhengming.

It is also a hope in their hearts.

They hoped that this building, which they had personally helped build, would one day become a place that would be talked about by many people in Beijing again under Feng Zhengming's leadership.

At that time, they can come with their younger family members. They can proudly introduce to those younger relatives that this place was built with their own hands.

At that time, every elderly person will feel even more proud and honored.

Liu Yonggang and his team began construction according to the blueprints.

From then on, Feng Zhengming no longer needed to keep an eye on things here.

He also has free time to do other things.

I had a meal with Tao Mengran and her family of three.

Feng Zhengming even personally cooked in the rented courtyard, inviting some veteran chefs from Beijing, including Master Wang.

The master chefs from Beijing were quite satisfied to taste Feng Zhengming's culinary skills in the small courtyard.

In fact, the reason Feng Zhengming invited the master craftsmen to rent the courtyard for a meal was because...

It was all to show off my skills to the master craftsmen.

As it turns out, his skills still impressed all the veteran craftsmen.

Master Wang exclaimed, "Zhengming's skills are getting better and better."

Several master chefs specializing in state banquets in Beijing also expressed their agreement.

"That's really amazing."

"It has reached a level of consummate skill."

"Being able to cook dishes of this caliber at home proves that they have truly surpassed us."

"That's right. Zhengming, many of these dishes should be made in restaurants. It's extremely difficult to make these dishes at home. Controlling the heat is really hard."

"But Zhengming did a very good job; he truly has mastered the skills."

Feng Zhengming smiled as he received the praise from the experienced workers.

"Thank you for your praise, senior brothers and sisters. I dare not slack off in the slightest. I feel that since I have such a position and such a reputation today, I should continue to uphold my skills."

At any time, a chef who cannot master the craft is a failure.

Feng Zhengming's words were unanimously agreed upon by the experienced craftsmen present.

"Yes, if a chef can't cook well, then he really doesn't deserve the title of chef."

"Over the years, the status of chefs has improved a lot, all thanks to you, Zhengming."

"To be honest, Zhengming, with your current achievements and wealth, it's truly remarkable that you can still personally cook like this. It's a rare sight indeed."

"Haha, Zhengming's performance has made us old guys feel ashamed."

"I am ashamed of myself. Think about the apprentices we have trained. How many of them can compete with Zhengming?"

Hearing this, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh and said, "You can't say that. The disciples trained by my senior uncles and masters are definitely stronger than me. We have different areas of expertise, and I have a lot to learn from them."

Master Wang chuckled and said, "What is a master? A master is someone like this, who remains humble even when their skills are at the very top level, and never tries to outdo anyone else."

The master craftsmen in Beijing also agree with this point.

It's really hard to say who has the best culinary skills among chefs in China these days.

But if we're talking about who has both exceptional skills and character, everyone would probably choose Feng Zhengming without hesitation.

Since becoming famous, Feng Zhengming has been virtually flawless.

His kindness, dedication to cooking, exceptional skills, and the unwavering apprenticeship he always maintained.

All of this is something many chefs may never be able to master, even just one aspect, in their entire lives.

But Feng Zhengming is able to do it perfectly without any flaws.

The experienced chefs could tell that Feng Zhengming truly loved cooking and genuinely enjoyed food.

This should be the core principle that a chef should uphold.

However, in today's chaotic and turbulent era, very few people can hold onto this original intention.

Experienced craftsmen will reflect on their own actions.

If they were younger, they could have achieved what Feng Zhengming has today, opening so many branches across the country and running a restaurant like the Old House Restaurant, which could be recognized as one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

I doubt that even the veteran craftsmen themselves, in their youth, could have remained true to their principles like Feng Zhengming.

They don't need to cook themselves; they can rely on their reputation to make money through those branch stores.

Feng Zhengming, however, still maintains his culinary skills.

He can still cook many dishes that are only available in large restaurants at home.

This shows that he truly never gave up his craft.

Master Wang: "Zhengming, you're reopening Yanxi Restaurant. The renovation will probably take quite a while, right? I see you're very particular about the renovation."

Feng Zhengming replied, "Yes, Uncle Wang, the renovation should continue until next year. I still want to restore some of the characteristics of the old Yanxi Restaurant, rather than completely renovating the restaurant."

Master Wang: "So, does this mean your Yanxilou restaurant in Beijing is trying to compete with Beijing hotels?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "How could I have such ability? The Beijing Hotel is the Whampoa Military Academy for real state banquet chefs. My reopened Yanxilou in Beijing can't compare."

These words made several veteran craftsmen in Beijing laugh.

"Haha, you're being too modest."

"That's right. The Beijing Hotel was definitely amazing in the past, but now, compared to the head chef of the Beijing Hotel, your skills are probably even better."

"Zhengming, your Yanxi Restaurant can indeed be compared with the Beijing Hotel. Even if the service is not as good as the Beijing Hotel, at least you should not lose in terms of food."

"Haha, right, right, we can't lose in terms of food."

"The Beijing Hotel offers Cantonese, Sichuan, Huaiyang, and Tan Family cuisine, but it doesn't have Shandong cuisine. Your Yanxilou restaurant fills that gap perfectly."

"There should be more than that. Zhengming's Yanxi Restaurant probably makes some fusion dishes as well as some of his own creations, right?"

Feng Zhengming replied earnestly, "We will still focus on Shandong cuisine."

Master Wang said, "Yanxilou in Beijing will be handed over to his senior apprentices, who are all genuine Shandong cuisine chefs, so it will definitely focus on Shandong cuisine."

After hearing what Master Wang said, the experienced craftsmen in Beijing suddenly understood.

"So, Old Wang, you're planning to go to Zhengming's Yanxi Restaurant?"

"Yeah, Lao Wang, are you planning to go?"

"With Lao Wang in charge, Yanxilou's reputation should be even higher."

Master Wang smiled and waved his hand: "I did work in the kitchen of Yanxilou when I was young, and I learned the skills from the master chefs of Yanxilou, but I can't be considered a chef who came from Yanxilou."

Even Zhengming's master didn't come. It's best for Zhengming and his senior brothers to be the main focus of the reopened Yanxi Restaurant.

A highly respected Sichuan cuisine master chef from Beijing spoke up.

“Old Wang is right. We’re all getting old. It should be the world of young people in the future. We should let young people like Zhengming run it. We should try not to get involved too much.”

The moment this Sichuan cuisine master chef opened his mouth, he gained the approval of the other master chefs.

Feng Zhengming actually hoped that the master craftsmen could go to Yanxilou and give him and his fellow apprentices some guidance.

However, it was clear that none of the experienced workers wanted to go, as they were obviously worried about being accused of taking advantage of Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming naturally couldn't force the issue, and could only invite the experienced craftsmen to supervise the work more often in the future. (End of Chapter)