From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Feng Zhengming led everyone to gather in front of Fengjia Rice Shop in the morning.

Then two strings of firecrackers were lit, officially announcing the opening of Fengjia Restaurant.

In addition to two strings of firecrackers, Uncle Feng Jiandong also bought some salutes and set them off at the door.

dong dong dong.

The sound shook the entire block, and even half of Quancheng seemed to be able to hear it.

Many people passing by felt strange.

"Whose wedding is this? Why are they setting off such loud salutes?"

Then some people nearby will give an explanation.

"Hahaha, it's not a wedding. The Feng family's dry restaurant is opening today, and they're setting off fireworks to get off to a good start."

"Ah? Feng's dry restaurant is open today?"

"Oh, it's finally open. I've been wanting to eat here for a long time."

"Yes, yes, I also said I would bring my family to eat."

"I've been away from home for a year and I've been thinking about the pork belly from Feng's dry rice shop. I'm going to go and have two pieces for lunch today."

Hearing that Feng's dry rice shop was open for business, many people clamored to come and eat.

When they came to Fengjia Restaurant alone or with their families.

What I saw was a long queue in front of the shop.

Feng Zhengming was not in a hurry to go in. He stood outside and watched with his eldest, second, fourth, fifth and sixth senior brothers, as well as relatives and friends of the family.

I saw that the dry rice shop was booming as soon as it opened.

Fourth Senior Brother Wang Jialiang exclaimed: "Zhengming, your business is really good."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "Today is only the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, there must be a lot of people. In two days, everyone will have to go to work, and there will not be so many people."

Fourth sister-in-law Zhang Lili thought for a moment and said, "Junior brother, I heard that your dry rice shop usually has good business."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "It's not bad. Usually the business is better at noon. Many people who work outside will come here to eat, so there are more people."

Wang Jialiang looked at the people queuing in front of the door and sighed again: "Your shop really looks like a fast food restaurant abroad."

"That's right. When I remodeled it, I used some foreign fast food restaurants as templates." Feng Zhengming nodded.

Through the large floor-to-ceiling glass windows, Zhang Lili could clearly see the semi-open kitchen inside.

Many customers who came in paid at the counter inside, then took the receipt and waited in front of the half-open kitchen to pick up their meals.

This form gave Zhang Lili a lot of inspiration.

"Liangzi, do you think that we can also borrow the model of Zhengming's dry rice shop?"

Wang Jialiang nodded and said, "Indeed, we can borrow it. After we go back, we can actually build a semi-open kitchen so that customers can watch the cooking and then pick up their food directly."

Looking at the format of Fengjia Dry Rice Shop did give Wang Jialiang and Zhang Lili a lot of inspiration.

The couple suddenly discovered that many aspects of their restaurant abroad were not as good as Feng Zhengming's.

Especially the fast food-like Fengjia Rice Shop.

Wang Jialiang feels that if this restaurant is placed abroad, it will increase their restaurant's turnover rate and they may even be able to compete with some Western-style fast food restaurants abroad.

Feng Zhengming saw Wang Jialiang and Zhang Lili staring inside.

He smiled and said, "Fourth brother, you can try the model of my shop when you go back. Of course, the taste will definitely need some improvements."

And then Feng Zhengming said: "But I think if you want to make good Chinese food, you should come back."

These words stunned Wang Jialiang and Zhang Lili.

The couple looked at Feng Zhengming with some surprise.

Feng Zhengming faced the two people's gazes and expressed his opinion very frankly.

“I know that China may not be as good as foreign countries in many aspects, but China is accelerating its pace of development, and I believe we will catch up with the development progress of foreign countries as soon as possible.

I have heard from my fourth brother and sister-in-law these days, and I have also asked my grandfather Situ who is abroad.

I know that Chinese food is not very popular abroad, and there are quite strict restrictions on taste.

I think that would limit the development of your cooking skills, fourth brother.

So if possible, I hope you can come back, so we can develop together in Shanghai."

Feng Zhengming's words caused the fourth brother and his wife to fall into silence.

In fact, fourth brother Wang Jialiang will leave with Zhang Lili in two days.

Feng Zhengming knew that before his fourth senior brother left, they might not be able to see each other again.

The reason why Fourth Brother came to see him today was to start business.

It can be regarded as a farewell between fellow apprentices.

Feng Zhengming would seize this opportunity to tell his fourth brother and sister-in-law some of his thoughts directly.

Seeing that Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law didn’t say anything.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Fourth brother, sister-in-law, you don't have to make a decision now. It may take me a few years to go south to Shanghai.

I am just giving you, my fourth brother and sister-in-law, a suggestion. I believe that if you bring back some of your experiences abroad, we can develop well in Shanghai."

Wang Jialiang and Zhang Lili looked at each other.

The couple was indeed quite inspired when they returned to China together this time.

During the time Wang Jialiang was abroad, he really didn't have a very happy time.

Although he and Zhang Lili had a good relationship, Zhang Lili's father also trusted Wang Jialiang quite a bit and completely handed over the restaurant to Wang Jialiang and Zhang Lili to manage.

The two of them run a restaurant together abroad, and there is a sense of happiness that the wife follows the husband's lead.

It’s just like what Feng Zhengming said just now.

After staying abroad for a long time, Wang Jialiang did feel a little empty.

Because he can't show off his cooking skills to his heart's content when he's abroad.

Most of the time, for the sake of the restaurant's business, he can only cook dishes that cater to the preferences of foreigners.

It can be said that most of the skills that Wang Jialiang learned from his master are basically useless abroad.

Foreigners simply cannot appreciate the broth that Wang Jialiang has spent so much effort to prepare.

I can’t get used to many of the salty and fresh flavors in China.

Most of the time, Wang Jialiang could only make sweet and sour dishes for the sake of his restaurant business. Even many dishes had to be seasoned with ketchup.

Perhaps Wang Jialiang didn’t think there was anything wrong with these at first?
Anyway, as long as foreigners are willing to eat it and can make money from them, it's fine.

But as time went on, Wang Jialiang couldn't help but think about it.

If I keep doing this, will my cooking skills deteriorate?
Moreover, this approach runs counter to some of Wang Jialiang's original ideas.

Wang Jialiang's original idea of ​​going abroad was to prove the benefits of Chinese food to foreigners.

We want to conquer the stomachs of foreigners with our authentic Shandong cuisine skills.

As a result, he now has no choice but to surrender to reality.

Wang Jialiang even had to give up his traditional skills and learn some local cuisine, Korean and curry dishes.

Before returning to China, Wang Jialiang also did a lot of psychological preparation for himself.

After returning, you must never show any dissatisfaction with your situation abroad in front of your master and fellow disciples.

But now that he was about to leave, Feng Zhengming's words still exposed his disguise. Wang Jialiang was reminded of too many experiences of unwillingness and swallowing humiliation.

When Wang Jialiang was about to speak and tell Feng Zhengming directly that he was willing to stay.

Zhang Lili suddenly reached out and held his hand.

Wang Jialiang's wife held his hand and he turned his head to look at his wife.

He could tell from his wife's eyes that she didn't want him to leave her in the country.

Wang Jialiang hesitated for a while, and finally spoke to his junior brother.

"Zhengming, let's go back first. If you really need our help when you go south to Shanghai, we will come back to help you then."

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded after hearing this: "Fourth brother, you and sister-in-law just need to remember that we brothers welcome you back at any time."

Wang Jialiang responded: "Thank you."

When Zhang Lili heard that her husband did not stay immediately, she naturally felt relieved.

"Thank you for your understanding, Junior Brother. When we go back and take care of some things, if you still need us, we will definitely come back and work with you."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "Okay, sister-in-law."

After watching the opening of Fengjia Dry Food Shop, Feng Zhengming also invited everyone to have a meal at Fengjia Dry Food Shop at noon.

This meal is a farewell to the fourth brother and his friends.

The master was not here this afternoon, so the brothers and sisters were more relaxed.

Although Feng Zhengming and his friends had to go back to Huiquanlou to open the restaurant in the evening, he still accompanied the fourth brother and his wife for a few drinks.

Originally, Feng Zhengming wanted to invite his fourth brother and sister-in-law to Huiquanlou for a good meal in the evening.

But the two of them were going to leave Quancheng by train in the afternoon.

So the fellow disciples had no choice but to see the couple off at the dry rice shop at noon.

For this farewell dinner, Feng Zhengming even specially prepared the dish "Oolong Xizhu".

After seeing the dish of Oolong Xizhu with his own eyes, Wang Jialiang said to Feng Zhengming, "Junior brother, I really admire you for this dish."

The dish of Oolong Xizhu served to the fourth brother and his wife is a version without lobster.

However, Feng Zhengming still prepared this dish very seriously and really showed his best skills.

Especially the sea cucumber and two scallions that Feng Zhengming had mentioned to his fourth brother before, he also incorporated them into this Oolong Playing with Pearls dish.

Wang Jialiang tasted two kinds of sea cucumber served with green onion slices.

This allowed him to see the excellent skills of his junior fellow apprentice.

“It turns out that two scallions have such different tastes.”

Zhang Lili also tried two different kinds of green onion slices with sea cucumber.

As soon as she tasted it, she was attracted by this special combination.

"It's delicious. These two kinds of scallions, one retains its crispness but doesn't taste spicy at all, and this one tastes sweet."

Wang Jialiang smiled and said: "This is the unique feature of our Qilu scallions. It has no spicy taste and has a slight sweet taste."

Zhang Lili also mentioned another dish, which was scallion slices cooked with sea cucumber.

The scallion slices are also delicious, cooked well and very soft, with a different texture, they don’t even taste like scallions.

Yang Bin explained: "We have been researching this for a long time. The scallions have to be fried first, then steamed, and finally roasted with the sea cucumber to achieve this taste."

Zhang Lili couldn't help but sigh: "Only Chinese food can give you such a wonderful experience."

Then pair it with the hydrangea scallops on the plate.

They seem like two separate dishes, but they actually taste really good when eaten together.

If she had visited her master before, Zhang Lili would have tasted the traditional Shandong cuisine at Yan's Restaurant.

Today at Feng Zhengming's restaurant, Zhang Lili tasted some innovative flavors of Shandong cuisine.

Feng Zhengming really spent a lot of money to see his fourth senior brother off.

Not only did he make Oolong Xizhu, he also showed off his own braised abalone pork, lamb chop casserole, and hairtail in tomato sauce.

Not to mention Zhang Lili, even Wang Jialiang was surprised by the food.

At first glance, each dish does not seem to be Shandong cuisine.

But if you go and taste it, you will feel as if every dish is Shandong cuisine.

Especially for a chef like Wang Jialiang who has studied authentic Shandong cuisine for many years.

He could see that many of Feng Zhengming's innovative dishes used traditional Shandong cuisine techniques.

My junior fellow apprentice has done a great job of combining traditional techniques with innovation.

Give traditional classic dishes a new flavor.

Zhang Lili couldn't help but sigh at the end of the meal: "This meal is so sumptuous. I feel like I have tasted different flavors from all over the country in this meal."

Feng Zhengming quickly said modestly: "Sister-in-law, you are exaggerating. I am not yet able to master the dishes from all over the world."

Fourth brother Wang Jialiang said: "But you used the techniques of Shandong cuisine to blend different dishes from different places very well and created your own unique flavor."

Wang Jialiang sighed: "You did better than any of us brothers."

At this moment, Wang Jialiang became more certain that he would come back from abroad in the future.

I have to follow my junior brother and do it together.

He felt that only by following his junior fellow apprentice could he better demonstrate his cooking skills and release his various explorations of cooking.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said: "Cooking is supposed to be like this, to combine various things to make more delicious food."

Almost all the senior brothers nodded in agreement.

Wang Jialiang looked at his fellow apprentices present.

Now, there are already three brothers gathered around the little junior brother: the eldest brother, the third brother, and the fifth brother.

Their respective characteristics and talents are all put to good use here with their junior brother.

Wang Jialiang felt somewhat envious.

But Wang Jialiang also has his own pride.

The more this happens, the less likely he will stay.

He wants to see more about how some restaurants operate abroad.

Now he has a new goal.

Go check out some of the top restaurants abroad.

What are the top restaurants abroad like?
Get to know foreign cuisine.

In the future, I will bring the foreign experiences I have gained back to China, exchange ideas with my junior fellow apprentices, and create a set of domestic food management strategies that are more suitable for China.

Although the brothers and sisters talked a lot during lunch, they did not eat very late.

No one drank much.

Feng Zhengming and his friends also sent their fourth senior brother Wang Jialiang and his wife off.

When they parted for the last time, Wang Jialiang smiled and gently punched Feng Zhengming.

"Do your best. I will also work hard and look forward to being called back by you one day. Then we brothers will work together to change the domestic catering landscape."

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded: "Okay, I won't let Fourth Brother wait too long." (End of this chapter)