From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When Huiquanlou closed in the evening, Feng Zhengming clapped his hands in the kitchen and stopped everyone who was cleaning.

“I have to say that everyone performed very well tonight.

I believe everyone should know that people from Gangcheng had a meal at our Huiquanlou tonight. Everyone also saw that several chefs from Gangcheng came to praise our kitchen.

I think their praise is well deserved.”

Feng Zhengming's words stunned everyone in the kitchen.

Especially when he said at the end, "Their praise is well deserved by everyone."

This is in stark contrast to the humble image that Feng Zhengming has always been seen as.

For a moment, everyone even felt a little strange, wondering whether Feng Zhengming in front of them was still their serious chef?
Feng Zhengming saw that everyone was stunned by his words.

Even the eldest and fifth brothers looked surprised.

He smiled and asked, "Why? Do you think what I said is wrong?"

This question made everyone come to their senses.

Li Huidong nodded and said, "That's right. We performed so well tonight. We made new ideas for each dish without losing the old taste. We are indeed worthy of their praise."

At this moment, everyone in the kitchen started laughing.

Everyone's smile was filled with pride in their self-recognition.

Feng Zhengming didn't say any words of warning.

He just continued to encourage everyone: "You should do this in the future. You should believe that our chef team is the ceiling among Shandong cuisine chef teams.

We can cook any Shandong cuisine and handle any banquet."

At this moment, Feng Zhengming was really not humble at all.

Hearing his words, everyone in the kitchen became even more excited.

Qi Jiale couldn't help but shout first: "Yes, we are the best."

After Qi Jiale shouted, everyone else in the kitchen also started shouting.

Everyone in the kitchen's confidence was completely aroused.

They all really have an aura that no one else can do it better than them.

After making everyone excited for a while, Feng Zhengming asked everyone to continue cleaning together.

Because of Feng Zhengming's praise and affirmation.

Everyone cleans up faster too.

Even the kitchen was cleaned cleaner than usual.

After cleaning, Feng Zhengming invited everyone to go to the dry rice shop for a midnight snack.

On the way, Xia Hui approached Feng Zhengming and expressed her doubts.

"Uncle Master, why are you encouraging us like this today? Aren't you afraid that we will all become proud?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked back: "Isn't it good to be proud?"

Xia Hui hesitated for a moment and expressed her judgment.

“Pride is indeed not a good thing. Pride makes people unwilling to listen to other advice and makes them more likely to make mistakes.”

Feng Zhengming nodded in agreement with Xia Hui's judgment.

"You're right. Pride does make you arrogant. Then you won't listen to other people's advice and will be more likely to make mistakes. You won't be able to calm down and hone your skills. You may even be careless when cooking."

Xia Hui asked seriously, "Master, you know that pride is not good, why did you encourage us tonight?"

After hesitating for a while, Xia Hui asked, "Do you want us to be arrogant?"

Feng Zhengming laughed when he heard it: "Hahaha, why do you think I want you to be arrogant?

Everyone worked hard tonight and received recognition from those who came from Hong Kong City. Whether they were tycoons from Hong Kong City or chefs from Hong Kong City, they were all impressed by our dishes tonight.

At a time like this, shouldn't we all be excited and happy?"

When asked by Feng Zhengming, Xia Hui really couldn't think of any reason to refute.

Feng Zhengming looked at the people in front of him who were riding their bikes and discussing excitedly together.

"Look, aren't everyone very happy now? And everyone is also discussing how to make the dishes better so that they won't be looked down upon by the chefs in Hong Kong.

At times like this, encouragement is often more useful than any warning.

Acknowledge everyone’s efforts.”

Feng Zhengming’s last sentence is, “We should affirm everyone’s efforts.”

Xia Hui was completely moved instantly.

Look at the people riding bicycles in the kitchen in front.

Everyone seemed happy from the bottom of their hearts.

Xia Hui couldn't help but feel that Feng Zhengming was indeed a great chef.

The group came to the old dry rice shop.

Grandpa Feng and Grandpa Situ are also in the shop today.

Feng Zhengming led everyone in and asked everyone to find a seat and take care of their own food and drinks.

He came up to the two grandfathers with a smile.

"Grandpa Situ, why aren't you playing chess at home today?"

As soon as this question was asked, Grandpa Situ looked at Grandpa Feng with a smile, and pursed his lips but did not say anything.

Feng Zhengming looked at his grandfather again with a serious expression on his face.

You can probably guess what the situation is.

It must be because Grandpa Feng lost too much chess today.

Grandpa Feng is like a little child now.

Feng Zhengming smiled and comforted: "It's okay, Grandpa. You can go find Grandpa Situ and win it back tomorrow."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Grandpa Situ next to him took the opportunity to make another move.

"It may be difficult for Xiao Feng to win back."

After hearing what Grandpa Situ said, Feng Zhengming was a little bit amused and helpless.

Sure enough, when Grandpa Feng heard this, his expression changed.

"Humph, I was careless and let you steal my trick. Believe it or not, I will not lose to you in the next fight."

Grandpa Situ smiled and responded, "You can do it again, but you have to wait until tomorrow. It's getting late today, and I should go home and sleep soon."

Grandpa Feng didn't say anything, but the expression on his face clearly showed that he was still unconvinced.

Seeing this, Feng Zhengming simply told the two grandfathers about his interactions with the chefs from Gangcheng today.

This topic immediately made the two grandfathers temporarily put aside the "love and hatred" over chess.

Listen carefully to Feng Zhengming's narration.

Grandpa Feng couldn't help but applaud.

"Okay, that's what you should do. How can our Shandong cuisine lose to others?"

It’s obvious that I lost many games of chess to Grandpa Situ today.

This also made Grandpa Feng angry.

So in Grandpa Feng’s opinion, the fact that his grandson Feng Zhengming could dominate the chefs in Gangcheng was as satisfying as if he had won against Old Situ in chess.

"What about those Hong Kong tycoons? Let them see the heritage and profoundness of our Shandong cuisine, so that they don't always look down on others and act arrogantly."

When Mr. Situ heard what Feng Zonghe said, he couldn't help but look at the other person quietly with a smile on his face.

After the other party finished speaking, Mr. Situ spoke. "Zhengming's cooking today was really refreshing. It made people feel proud of our Shandong cuisine. It was great."

Then Mr. Situ said: "However, people in Hong Kong City really don't need to look down on them. To put it bluntly, Hong Kong City can develop so well because it is an international financial port and people need it.

Which of the tycoons in Hong Kong doesn’t rely on those to make a living?
But they should also face reality.

Ultimately, they still need the protection of the state.

Otherwise, Hong Kong City, which was built on finance, will also be destroyed by finance.”

Feng Zhengming felt that Grandpa Situ’s words were quite insightful.

In the future, Hong Kong City will indeed gradually decline due to financial withdrawal.

But that is for the future.

The fact that Grandpa Situ can see the problems in Gangcheng right now shows that Grandpa Situ is indeed very capable and has a unique vision.

Grandpa Feng was a little disdainful when he saw that Grandpa Situ had said a lot.

"Don't think about that. We are both old men now. You can only win against me in chess. If you were to compete with young people, you might not be able to beat them."

These words made Grandpa Situ happy immediately.

"Xiao Feng, you are right. After all, we are all old and no longer have the energy to compete with young people.

But as the saying goes, old ginger is still spicy. Although we are old, some of our vision may still be better than that of young people. "

This made Feng Zhengming a little curious.

"Grandpa Situ, where do you think the future is best?"

Grandpa Situ stared at Feng Zhengming with a smile: "Is there any need to ask? Of course, China is better. The development potential of China has not yet been fully stimulated.

People in our country have always believed in getting rich through hard work. Based on this point, our future development will be better than any other country or region.

So Zhengming, you must not listen to some people and run abroad.

Maybe things abroad are better than in China now, but if you can’t catch up with the accelerated development in China, you will definitely regret it.”

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed to Grandpa Situ: "Grandpa Situ, don't worry, I'm not going abroad. I cook Shandong cuisine, and the roots of Shandong cuisine are in China. If I go abroad and cater to the tastes of foreigners, then Shandong cuisine will no longer be Shandong cuisine."

The two grandfathers agreed very much with this statement.

"That's right, Shandong cuisine should be in China. No matter what others say, our Shandong cuisine should still stick to traditional techniques. We can cater to the tastes of some young people today in terms of seasoning, but the techniques must not be lost."

"Your grandfather is right. Techniques are the foundation of Shandong cuisine. If even the traditional techniques are lost, then Shandong cuisine will no longer be Shandong cuisine."

Feng Zhengming nodded seriously and agreed: "Grandpa Situ, don't worry, I will definitely not lose my skills."

As they were chatting, the two grandfathers saw a group of people coming in the door.

The leader among them was Luo Qing.

Seeing Luo Qing coming in, the two grandfathers immediately laughed happily.

"Zhengming, your little wife is here, go and greet her quickly."

"Yes, yes, you don't have to accompany us two old men. We will go home and sleep by ourselves later."

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming stood up and turned around, just in time to meet Luo Qing's eyes.

Then, I saw several people coming in with Luo Qing.

Among them were both men and women, who looked like colleagues invited by Luo Qing and business partners of Uncle San's company.

But just as Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing looked at each other and smiled, he walked towards Luo Qing and her group.

Suddenly, among the group of people following Luo Qing, there was a young man with a greasy face and powdered hair. He actually stretched out his hand and slapped Luo Qing below the waist.

This made Feng Zhengming unable to tolerate it anymore.

He quickened his pace and rushed over, reaching out to pull Luo Qing into his arms.

The sudden change shocked everyone.

The man who stretched out his hand and was about to hit Luo Qing below the waist raised his head and looked at Feng Zhengming.

After taking a look at Feng Zhengming, there was a hint of hostility in the other person's eyes.

However, on the surface, the other party still showed a harmless-looking smile.

"Ms. Luo, who is this?"

As soon as the other party opened his mouth, it was obvious that he did not have a local accent.

Before Luo Qing could answer, Feng Zhengming smiled and replied, "I'm her boyfriend."

These words made the other party's face change immediately.

It was obvious that the other party knew Luo Qing and also knew Feng Zhengming's identity.

His face froze for a moment, and the hostility in the other person's eyes disappeared.

He extended his hand to Feng Zhengming very respectfully: "So you are our national champion. Hello, champion chef. My name is Chu Tianfeng. You have heard of the champion a long time ago.

Today, Miss Luo had dinner with us, and then went to the dance hall with us for a while. Now she is bringing us to your restaurant for a midnight snack."

Feng Zhengming could tell that the other party deliberately emphasized that Luo Qing would treat them to dinner in the evening and accompany them to the dance hall.

Obviously, although the other party spoke very politely, his tone was clearly impolite.

Luo Qing also heard that there was something wrong in the other party's words.

She immediately explained: "Mr. Chu, please explain clearly. I didn't go to the dance hall because I had something to do at the company. I brought you here for supper as an apology."

After hearing what Luo Qing said, Chu Tianfeng felt a little embarrassed.

"Really? I'm really sorry. I may have drunk too much and said something a bit out of control."

Feng Zhengming hugged Luo Qing, then smiled and invited Chu Tianfeng and others.

"Since you are all here for a midnight snack, please come in."

Chu Tianfeng walked in and asked, "Feng Zhuangyuan, since it's your girlfriend, Miss Luo, who is apologizing to us, shouldn't you cook for us yourself?"

Feng Zhengming responded rudely: "Sorry, I won't be cooking here tonight. If Mr. Chu wants to eat the food I made, you can go to Huiquanlou."

Without waiting for the other party to speak, Feng Zhengming added a sentence.

"Oh, Huiquanlou may be difficult to book recently because the Hong Kong City Chef Group and several Hong Kong City tycoons are here. Many of their social events may be held at Huiquanlou. If Mr. Chu wants to make a reservation, he must ask in advance."

Chu Tianfeng and the group of people who came with him were originally a little dissatisfied with Feng Zhengming's unwillingness to cook for them personally.

But I heard Feng Zhengming mention that some bosses and chefs from Gangcheng are now in Quancheng.

And from Feng Zhengming's tone, he has a good relationship with Hong Kong City.

This made the other party suddenly feel a little cautious.

This time, Chu Tianfeng and his group came to Quancheng, on the one hand to discuss some business with Feng Zhengming's uncle's company, but also more importantly to target the two tycoons in Gangcheng.

If Feng Zhengming has a close relationship with Gangcheng, then Chu Tianfeng and others would not dare to easily touch Feng Zhengming's bottom line.

Although Chu Tianfeng is young, he is obviously a very smooth guy.

"Hahaha, the number one scholar is indeed the number one scholar. It doesn't matter. We drank a lot of wine tonight. We can just have something casual to eat for supper. We don't dare to trouble the number one scholar to cook for us personally."

Then Feng Zhengming asked the waiter to take Chu Tianfeng and the others into the private room.

Watching Chu Tianfeng and the others walk in, Feng Zhengming turned his head to look at Luo Qing behind him.

"Where did they come from?"

Luo Qing replied in a low voice: "Uncle San said that it came from the northeast."

Feng Zhengming nodded and said, "It's okay, you don't have to go over. If they want to complain later, I'll tell Uncle San."

Luo Qing smiled and gently comforted Feng Zhengming.

"Don't worry, I won't suffer any loss."

Then Luo Qing walked towards the private room. At this time, her background was still quite heroic. (End of this chapter)