From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

During the Chinese New Year, everyone naturally wants to rest well. After a busy year, everyone looks forward to going home for a good rest.

Feng Zhengming spends most of his time traveling all over the country throughout the year.

It was really tough, but he really had no other choice.

If he doesn't do things himself, he can't possibly delegate everything to others.

So, during this Spring Festival break, Feng Zhengming is also making careful plans for things after the New Year.

The first thing, of course, is the opening of Yanxilou Restaurant in the capital.

The renovation of Yanxilou is largely complete, and the final touches can be put on after the New Year.

Then Feng Zhengming needed to complete the procurement of all the interior furnishings as soon as possible.

Various tables and chairs in the lobby and private rooms.

There are also various items needed for the kitchen that need to be purchased.

Of course, those things aren't the most important, since they're all things that can be bought now and can be customized to Feng Zhengming's specifications.

The key to the reopening of Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing lies in its staffing.

Large restaurants like Yanxilou in Beijing require a very large number of staff.

Regarding the kitchen, Feng Zhengming has already contacted his fellow apprentices and asked them to go to Yanxi Restaurant in Beijing.

In addition to the kitchen, the restaurant also needs to be equipped with several experienced managers, supervisors of the management and service staff, and a large number of service personnel, including food runners, hall servers, and private room servers.

It may even require hiring a dedicated team to clean and wash dishes.

The Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing and the Huiquanlou Restaurant in Jinan are even different from Feng Zhengming's old villa restaurant in Shanghai.

All personnel need to be rehired and reassigned.

Moreover, since it was in the capital, Feng Zhengming wanted to make Yanxilou a well-known brand.

He needs to put a lot of thought into the staffing.

Feng Nuanyou was eating a snack when she saw her father sitting there silently. She immediately went to her father's side, reached out and stuffed the candy in her hand into his mouth.

"Hehe, Dad, what are you thinking about? Tell Youyou, and Youyou can help you think about it."

Hearing his daughter's words, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but smile and look at her.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that his daughter had grown up.

My daughter just told me to talk about my troubles so she could help me think about them.

Feng Zhengming felt that his daughter was becoming more and more sensible and lovable.

After thinking about it, Feng Zhengming simply told his daughter about it.

“Dad is thinking that we should open a new restaurant in Beijing.”

Feng Nuanyou chimed in, "I know, I know. Dad is going to open Yanxi Restaurant in Beijing. That's where Dad learned to cook, where Grandpa taught Dad his skills."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, Dad wants to reopen it in Beijing. Didn't Youyou go to see that place?"

Feng Nuanyou nodded.

Feng Zhengming: "Now Dad is thinking, if that restaurant is to open, we need a lot of people to help Dad, especially a lot of waiters. Youyou, where do you think Dad should find people?"

Feng Nuanyou answered almost without thinking: "Dad can bring people with him. Don't we have a lot of people in Shanghai? And you saw a lot of people a few days ago, Dad. You can bring them with you."

Feng Zhengming smiled when his daughter said that.

"We can't take them all with us. If they all go to the capital, then the other shops will be empty."

And those uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters all have their own homes. If we all go to Beijing, what will happen to their own homes? So we can't take them with us.”

After listening, Feng Nuanyou began to seriously help her father think of a solution.

“Then Dad, you can find people in Beijing, find family members in Beijing, and ask the uncles, aunts, sisters and brothers who know how to work to help them.”

Feng Zhengming had thought of all of what his daughter had said.

Feng Zhengming found it amusing to watch his daughter give him advice like a little adult.

He continued to guide his daughter: "Youyou means that Daddy should select people from here to go to the capital to teach the new recruits from the capital. After the new recruits from the capital are taught, they can work in Yanxilou in the capital."

Feng Nuanyou: "Yes, yes, it's just like in kindergarten, where teachers will ask children who already know the material to teach those who don't."

Feng Zhengming: "Could the children back then teach the children who didn't know how?"

Feng Nuanyou: "Sure, if you teach them seriously, they can learn. If you get those kids to listen and study hard, they can learn."

Feng Zhengming: "What should Youyou do if she encounters a child who doesn't study hard?"

Feng Nuanyou looked at her father; the little girl seemed surprised that her father would ask such a question.

However, the little girl still thought about it carefully.

"Then we won't let the children participate in our activities."

After listening to his daughter's words, Feng Zhengming smiled and expressed his satisfaction.

“Great, our Youyou is very smart.”

At this moment, Feng Zhengming already had a plan in mind.

He planned to recruit a large number of people in the capital after the New Year, and then conduct a trial period at Yanxilou to select suitable waiters.

All unsuitable personnel must be screened out.

According to Feng Zhengming's plan, several rounds of screening could be conducted to finally determine a group of key personnel.

They assigned Li Fengning and others from Shanghai to specifically train this group of key personnel.

Then these key personnel will continue to select and train other service staff.

This creates a virtuous cycle.

This allowed Yanxilou Restaurant in the capital to have a group of service personnel who were capable of handling things independently.

This will allow us to continuously improve the service quality of Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing.

Service is also an important part of a restaurant. A good restaurant should provide excellent service and serve good food.

For Feng Zhengming, since he had already decided to reopen Yanxilou, and to reopen it in the capital city.

Therefore, he would not allow himself to fall behind others.

Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing aims to become the benchmark for restaurants in the capital.

Both the food and the service must meet the benchmark standards.

Having figured all this out, Feng Zhengming asked his daughter, "Do you want to go play for a while?"

Feng Nuanyou smiled and said, "Okay, okay."

Feng Zhengming got up, took his daughter's little hand, told his family, and then went out to play.

Before leaving the house, Feng Zhengming dressed his daughter neatly, and the little girl was wrapped up like a big red bun.

It's already snowing outside, so make sure you dress warmly when you go out.

The father and daughter went out together. Feng Zhengming first took his daughter to buy some firecrackers and fireworks. When they returned, they saw that his second aunt's younger brother and his third uncle's younger sister had already come back.

Feng Nuanyou was overjoyed to see it and ran up to them to show off what her father had bought.

Then Feng Zhengming led everyone to build a big snowman in his grandfather's yard.

As the sound of firecrackers gradually rises, it heralds the arrival of the Spring Festival.

Although people's daily lives are getting better and better, the festive atmosphere of the New Year seems to have gradually faded.

But for someone like Feng Zhengming who has been away from home for almost a whole year, returning home for the Spring Festival still has a different meaning.

Even though Feng Nuanyou usually has no shortage of food and clothing, and is much better off than most children her age, she was still very happy to spend the Chinese New Year at her great-grandfather's house.

Feng Zhengming believes that perhaps the flavor of the New Year has never been about taste.

Having lived two lives, he felt that the essence of the New Year was perhaps more about the atmosphere of family reunion.

If everyone in the family can understand each other during the Spring Festival, they can all share the hardships they have endured throughout the year with their family.

And the family members who listen to your story won't just criticize you verbally.

I will take the initiative to empathize with the person confiding in me and use the gentleness of family to comfort them.

They might even offer suggestions or bad ideas, which would bring a smile to everyone's face.

It will make everyone who returns home for the Spring Festival feel the unique embrace and warmth of home.

Feng Zhengming now truly understands the value of that saying from later generations.

When you are successful, everyone around you is a good person.

The harmonious atmosphere during the Lunar New Year in the Feng family can be attributed to the success of Feng Zhengming and everyone in the family.

Everyone achieves their own success, so there's no need for comparison when everyone gets together to celebrate the New Year.

Each person would share the unpleasant things that happened during the year.

Then the whole family helped brainstorm and offered their own different opinions.

Grandpa Feng and Grandpa Situ would also share their life experiences to guide the younger generation, rather than simply lecturing them.

This harmonious New Year atmosphere is something Feng Zhengming may have longed for for many years in his previous life.

Now that he has truly obtained it, he cherishes it immensely.

During the few days of the Lunar New Year, I put everything else aside and devoted myself entirely to spending the holiday with my family.

Of course, his family members also understand some of Feng Zhengming's difficulties and will offer him advice.

For example, the staffing issues needed for the opening of Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing.

The family members offered two different opinions.

One suggestion was for Feng Zhengming to recruit people in Beijing and then send the best people from each shop to Yanxilou in Beijing to train the newcomers.

Another viewpoint suggests that Feng Zhengming should recruit people from Jinan or Shandong and bring a group of them to Yanxilou in Beijing.

Feng Zhengming felt that both viewpoints were good approaches.

He also shared his idea: to recruit more people, first bringing them all to Yanxilou in the capital, and then screening them through training and the work process.

"It may not be easy to find the best service staff all at once. Many people can't tell the difference between good and bad at first glance."

Therefore, it's still necessary to observe them at work to see if they are suitable for working at Yanxilou Restaurant in the capital.

Feng Zhengming's idea was approved by his family.

The uncle spoke up, saying, "Zhengming, some of your ideas are good. People do need to be screened; it's impossible to find the most suitable person all at once."

Auntie smiled and asked, "Zhengming, do you need me to ask around in the capital if there are any retired people who used to be in charge of reception? They could be consultants at your reopened Yanxi Restaurant?"

Upon hearing his wife's words, the eldest uncle immediately stopped her: "That's not good. The people who have retired from the reception department in the capital are a bit arrogant and not suitable for going to Zhengming's Yanxilou."

Feng Zhengming did not refuse: "Auntie, that's fine. You can introduce me to a few people so I can get to know them first."

Aunt Feng felt much better after hearing what he said.

She glanced at her husband and said, "See? It's Zhengming who makes the arrangements. His Yanxi Tower needs people like that. Not all those who have been in charge of reception work are arrogant."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, yes, Aunt is right. If Yanxilou wants to make better progress in the capital, it definitely needs someone like that to help me."

After thinking about it, the uncle felt that Feng Zhengming was right.

"Then when you help Zhengming find people, you must be careful. There are some people you shouldn't recommend to Zhengming casually, lest you ruin his business."

Aunt nodded: "I definitely know that. I can introduce it, but if Zhengming doesn't think it's suitable, then he shouldn't keep it."

At this moment, the second uncle also spoke up: "Zhengming, it's good that you recruited people in Quancheng and Qilu. These kinds of people are easy to manage, and you know them better."

Uncle San was even more direct: "Zhengming, you need people. Uncle San can recommend some people who should be able to help you get through the early stages."

Feng Zhengming chuckled, "Alright, Third Uncle, let the people you recommend try out Huiquan Tower first."

Third Uncle nodded: "This is a good idea. Let's try it at Huiquan Tower now. If it works out, then you can take the person to the capital."

Grandpa Situ also offered some advice: "The service standards must be top-notch. With standards in place, it will be easier for you to screen personnel."

Feng Zhengming: "Grandpa Situ, don't worry, I will carefully set the standards."

After everyone had finished offering their suggestions, Grandpa Feng raised his glass.

"Come, let's all raise our glasses and wish Yanxilou in Zhengming Capital all the best."

The whole family raised their glasses together, and even Feng Nuanyou raised her glass.

"Wishing Zhengming all the best."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you for your blessings. With the blessings and support of my family, I believe that Yanxi Restaurant in Beijing will reopen smoothly."

The whole family drank this glass of wine together.

At the same time, the Spring Festival Gala on television also began.

Amidst the songs of the Spring Festival Gala, the Feng family toasted each other and joyfully spent the Spring Festival night.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, the whole family naturally sits down together to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

At this moment, everyone temporarily puts aside their work and comes together to earnestly enjoy the peace and joy of this Spring Festival holiday.

During the Spring Festival, Feng Zhengming, as in previous years, visited each household to offer New Year's greetings.

However, this year, everyone has already gotten used to it over the years.

Around the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the staff of each branch store had basically returned to their respective stores.

There's no longer any need for Feng Zhengming to make special arrangements; everyone will naturally prepare for the resumption of business on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Feng Zhengming did not allow his wife and children to return to Shanghai with him on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

He asked his wife and daughter to stay in Jinan for a few more days while he went back to Shanghai to make arrangements.

After settling things at the shop in Shanghai, Feng Zhengming will return to Jinan and then take his wife and children to Beijing.

Next, he needed to focus all his attention on the opening of Yanxi Restaurant in the capital. (End of Chapter)