From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Just as Feng Zhengming expected, it happened about a week after he returned to Quancheng after winning the top prize in the national competition.

Chang Zongfu finally rushed back to Quancheng and went to Huiquanlou as soon as possible.

Chang Zongfu, who rushed back in a hurry, didn't know that Feng Zhengming had already returned.

He saw on the news while he was away that the chefs who participated in the national competition were organized to tour Shanghai after the competition.

So Chang Zongfu thought that Feng Zhengming, the top scholar, would definitely stay there and have fun.

Perhaps I will be invited to attend some high-end dinners in Shanghai.

Chang Zongfu rushed to Huiquanlou and found He Yunqing first. He asked to see the account book.

He Yunqing also felt a little strange that Chang Zongfu showed up and asked to look at the account book.
"Boss Chang, why do you suddenly want to look at the account book? I remember that although you have invested in Huiquanlou, it seems that you have an agreement with the chef that you cannot interfere with the operation of Huiquanlou, right?"

Chang Zongfu was stunned when he heard what He Yunqing said.

His expression immediately changed, he smiled and said: "I have no intention of interfering with the management of Huiquanlou, your Huiquanlou is doing so well now.

Chef Feng is now the champion of the national cooking competition, so his business will definitely be better in the future.

How can I have any reason to interfere in the management? "

He Yunqing asked: "Why do you suddenly want to check the accounts today?"

Chang Zongfu hesitated, as if he couldn't think of how to explain it for a moment.

Just at this time, Luo Qing came to Huiquan Tower, originally wanting to find Feng Zhengming.

I saw Chang Zongfu in front of the counter on the first floor, seemingly negotiating something with He Yunqing?
Luo Qing came forward curiously and listened without saying anything at first.

Upon learning that Chang Zongfu wanted to see the account book, He Yunqing refused to hand it over.

Luo Qing stood up and said with a smile: "Mr. Chang, long time no see. Mr. Chang has not been in Quancheng for more than half a year. I wonder where he is making a fortune?"

When Chang Zongfu saw Luo Qing, he immediately smiled and said, "Xiao Luo, I have been busy with business in other places for most of the past six months. By the way, I have also been studying the delicacies of various places. I want to introduce some new things to Huiquanlou."

Luo Qing laughed after hearing this: "Boss Chang, you are really troubled, but Huiquanlou doesn't seem to need new things right now."

Luo Qing's words choked Chang Zongfu again.

He Yunqing also noticed something and felt that Chang Zongfu's sudden return to Quancheng and his visit to Huiquanlou to look at the account books might be a sign of something.

And judging from Chang Zongfu's incoherent speech, it seemed that something was wrong with him.

He Yunqing thought about this and finally asked bluntly.

"Boss Chang, have you run into any problems? That's why you want to look at Huiquanlou's account book. Are you planning to see how much dividend you can get this year?"

When Chang Zongfu heard He Yunqing ask this, he finally couldn't hold back and told him his true purpose.

"Old He, I won't hide it from you. I did encounter some problems in my business. Then I saw Chef Feng successfully won the national competition on TV, so I wanted to come back and check the account book to see if I can get my dividends in advance from Huiquanlou?"

After hearing this, He Yunqing and Luo Qing understood.

Chang Zongfu wanted to find out the profitability of Huiquanlou.

And it seems that he is indeed in trouble and urgently needs some funds to turn around.

At this moment, Feng Zhengming walked out from the kitchen.

In fact, as soon as Chang Zongfu entered the door, He Yunqing asked someone to go to the kitchen to inform Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming, who was busy in the kitchen, didn't take it seriously at first when he heard that Chang Zongfu had arrived.

But I heard that Chang Zongfu came and asked to see the account book.

Feng Zhengming felt that something was wrong, so he came out of the kitchen and hid aside to eavesdrop for a while.

Now that Chang Zongfu had spoken the truth, Feng Zhengming came out.

"Mr. Chang, this is not like you. When you invested in me before, you were full of ambition."

Chang Zongfu was really surprised to see Feng Zhengming coming out.

"You, you're back already? Aren't you in Shanghai?"

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "I came back the next day after the award ceremony. We went to all the places in Shanghai that we should go to, so we didn't stay there to play with them."

Then he asked directly: "Mr. Chang, can you tell me what kind of trouble you are in?"

Chang Zongfu hesitated for a moment and finally told the whole truth.

It turned out that Chang Zongfu was indeed in trouble in his business.

To be more precise, he had problems with cash flow.

He said that he was cheated by his partners, which led to the breaking of his company's funding chain.

Feng Zhengming asked, "So, Mr. Chang, you rushed back to Quancheng in a hurry, and came directly to Huiquanlou to see the account book. Are you trying to use Huiquanlou's money to fill your hole?"

After his purpose was directly exposed by Feng Zhengming, Chang Zongfu looked a little haggard in an instant.

"Chef Feng, I'm really in trouble this time. I really need some money to make ends meet. Otherwise, my company will be in big trouble by the end of the year."

Seeing Chang Zongfu's haggard expression, Feng Zhengming roughly guessed that the other party was indeed in big trouble.

He looked at He Yunqing and asked, "Uncle He, how much money do we have on account?"

He Yunqing probably guessed what Feng Zhengming was thinking, so he could only go and get the account book.

Then he did some calculations and handed the account book to Feng Zhengming.

Seeing the money in the account book, Feng Zhengming realized that the money on Huiquanlou’s account should not be enough to help Chang Zongfu.

Although Feng Zhengming and Chang Zongfu have many differences in their business philosophies.

Deep down, Chang Zongfu still believes that foreign countries are more advanced.

But no matter what, the first capital for taking over Huiquanlou was provided by Chang Zongfufu.

Without Chang Zongfu's money, Feng Zhengming might not have been able to take over Huiquanlou smoothly, let alone renovate Huiquanlou according to his own ideas.

If there had not been the renovation of Huiquanlou, there would have been no stage for Huiquanlou to showcase its culinary skills.

Maybe I won’t be able to qualify for the national competition.

Feng Zhengming felt that no matter what, Chang Zongfu had helped him in the first place, even if his original intentions were not pure.

Now that he is in trouble, I must help him no matter what.

It is even more impossible to buy back the shares from him at a very low price.

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and said, "How about this, Mr. Chang, give me a day and I'll come up with a solution. I definitely won't let you lose money on your shares. I'll give you a good price."

When Chang Zongfu heard Feng Zhengming say this, he could see that Feng Zhengming really wanted to help him.

For Chang Zongfu now, the only way for him to get out of the predicament is to sell his shares in Huiquanlou.

At this moment, Chang Zongfu even felt fortunate in his heart that he had invested money to help Feng Zhengming take over Huiquanlou.

"Okay, thank you, Chef Feng."

Feng Zhengming patted Chang Zongfu on the shoulder and said, "You're welcome. Maybe if I helped you this time, and you get through the hard times and make a comeback in the future, you can help me again."

Chang Zongfu said: "As long as I can get through this difficult time, I will remember Chef Feng's kindness. If you need anything, I will do my best to help Chef Feng."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Please stay for dinner, Mr. Chang. I'm going to make a few phone calls."

Then Feng Zhengming walked to the counter to make a phone call. Luo Qing followed Feng Zhengming and asked in a low voice, "Are you going to look for Uncle San?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "I'll ask Grandpa first to see how much money the Ganfanpu has on its books. If it's possible, I still don't want to ask Third Uncle."

After hesitating for a moment, Luo Qing whispered, "Actually, if you ask your Third Uncle, I'm afraid he can't afford to help you now."

Feng Zhengming was shocked: "Third uncle is also in trouble?"

Luo Qing shook her head: "That's not the case. Uncle San's company is fine. It's just that it's the end of the year now, so Uncle San can't give you a lot of money all at once."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "I'll ask Grandpa at the restaurant first."

Luo Qing calculated for a moment and said, "Although the turnover rate of the Ganfanpu is much higher than that of Huiquanlou, the Ganfanpu has always been on the path of small profits but quick turnover. I'm afraid there won't be much money on the books, right?"

In fact, even if Luo Qing didn't say it, Feng Zhengming probably knew it.

It seems that Feng Zhengming's two restaurants in Quancheng are doing very well.

But in reality, the profit he gets from Huiquanlou and Ganfanpu every month is not much.

On the one hand, dry rice shops are a business of small profits but quick turnover, relying on volume, so the profit is not very high.

On the other hand, although the prices of Huiquanlou's dishes can indeed be raised, the cost of maintaining Huiquanlou is also relatively high.

In addition, Feng Zhengming pays a high salary to his senior brothers and young chefs in the kitchen.

So although Feng Zhengming's two restaurants seem to be quite prosperous, when you really talk about the money he makes, it's actually not that much.

At this moment, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but feel a little sense of urgency.

If you continue to stay in Quancheng, you may face some unavoidable problems.

Or it should be said that these are some of the problems that all old industrial cities in the north will face.

Under the tide of the times, no matter how good Feng Zhengming's craftsmanship is.

Even though he has the title of champion in the national cooking competition.

I'm afraid there is no way to create a larger profit margin for Huiquanlou out of thin air.

Not to mention that he also had the idea of ​​rebuilding Yan Xi Tower.

I'm afraid that in the coming years, it may be difficult to just maintain Huiquanlou.

At this moment, Feng Zhengming was even more determined to hurry south.

If he wanted to go to Shanghai, he had to take advantage of his status as the champion of the national cooking competition and gain a foothold in Shanghai as soon as possible, so that Shandong cuisine could open up the market outside.

After opening up the market outside and gaining a firm foothold.

Make a name for yourself and wait until the overall economic environment gets better.

Feng Zhengming can return to Quancheng with the fame he has made outside.

By then he should be able to try to rebuild Yan Xi Tower.

Feng Zhengming was thinking about all this in his mind and dialed the phone number of the dry rice shop.

At this time, grandpa should be in the rice shop.

After receiving Feng Zhengming’s call, grandpa heard clearly what happened.

The grandfather on the other end of the phone said: "The dry food shop certainly doesn't have that much money on its books, but if you need it, I still have some money to help you get it together."

When Feng Zhengming heard that his grandfather wanted to raise money for him, he quickly refused.

"No, no, Master. It's fine if there's not that much money on the books. I can't ask you to pay me any more."

The grandfather on the other end of the phone smiled and said, "It's okay. Actually, that money was given to me by your grandfather Situ. He wanted to invest in you when he was in Quancheng, but you didn't accept it, so he left it to me first.

I said I would give you the money when you need it.”

Probably knowing that Feng Zhengming would feel burdened, Grandpa continued, "Don't feel burdened. Your Grandpa Situ said that after you spend the money, you will definitely have to earn money to pay it back."

After listening to his grandfather's words, Feng Zhengming was really moved.

Your life in this life may be difficult at the beginning.

An orphan, begging on the streets.

But since I met my master, I entered the kitchen of Yan Xilou.

It seems that God has always been favoring me.

Even when Yan Xilou closed down, he was first taken care of by his senior brother, and later he met his grandfather.

With the help of my grandfather's family, there are also some other kind people willing to help me.

It can be said that Feng Zhengming's career has developed quite smoothly.

He had hardly encountered any difficulties.

Of course, this is actually positively correlated with his own abilities.

Whether it was Grandpa and the Feng family, or some other people who helped him.

Basically they just wanted Feng Zhengming to have less financial worries.

But whether it is running a dry rice shop or taking over Huiquanlou.

Ultimately, Feng Zhengming still needs to have sufficient ability.

If he didn't have good cooking skills and a little business acumen.

Maybe there won't be so many people willing to spend money to help him.

Feng Zhengming said to his grandfather: "Thank you, Grandpa, and thank you Grandpa Situ, I will definitely pay you back."

The money problem is solved.

Feng Zhengming hung up the phone and told Chang Zongfu.

"Okay, I've already made the contact. I will buy back the shares from you. Don't worry, I will definitely not let you suffer any loss. I hope this money can help you tide over the difficulties."

Chang Zongfu was really grateful when he heard this.

"Thank you, Chef Feng. Thank you so much. I am so embarrassed by you."

Chang Zongfu was a little embarrassed when he said this, "I used to want to buy you, Chef Feng, and let you work for my restaurant, but now I have to rely on you to save me."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Don't say that, Mr. Chang. Everyone has difficulties. The difficulties you encounter today are just like the difficulties I encountered in the past.

We are just helping each other. As long as everyone can get through the difficulties, I believe there will be a chance to turn things around.

Maybe in the future I will encounter difficulties and ask for help from Mr. Chang who has turned things around.

By then, I may just have to work for your restaurant, Mr. Chang."

These words immediately made Chang Zongfu laugh.

"Okay, if there comes a day in the future, I will definitely open a top-notch restaurant and let Chef Feng be the head chef. I will hand over everything in the restaurant to you, and then we will split the profits 70% and 30%."

At this point, Chang Zongfu did not forget to add: "I want 70% by then."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, okay, if that day comes, I'll just need that 30% to have enough to eat." (End of this chapter)