From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming did not stay in Shouguang for too long. He had already told everyone all the ideas he needed to come up with.

Feng Zhengming thought that the rest of the matters could be left to his uncle to discuss with the local people in Shouguang.

Feng Zhengming packed his luggage, took Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong, and continued their journey.

On the day of departure, Uncle San and some local people from Shouguang gave Feng Zhengming and his group a ride.

Feng Jiandong asked curiously, "Zhengming, are you going to continue heading east?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head and replied, "Instead of continuing east, we have to go back and head northwest first."

"Go northwest?" Feng Jiandong was a little surprised.

Feng Zhengming explained with a smile: "Originally, we have been to Zibo City and Boshan. We should go all the way north, first to Bincheng in the north, then east to the coastal city, then south to Shouguang, then Weicheng, and then east along the coast to the easternmost part of our Qilu Peninsula, and then go back south from the southern coast of the peninsula."

Listening to Feng Zhengming's explanation, Feng Jiandong was able to slowly outline the route in his mind.

"Zhengming, do you really want to walk all over Qilu?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Yes, this trip is for this matter."

Feng Jiandong still gave affirmation and support to Feng Zhengming's idea.

In the more than one month since he came out, he has indeed accomplished a lot.

Feng Jiandong felt that if he could reach a cooperation with Shouguang this time, it would be a great thing in the future.

When he was about to part with Feng Zhengming, Feng Jiandong still stuffed some money into his pocket.

"Zhengming, you must take this money. It is your uncle's support for you. Your uncle hopes that you can have a smoother journey. After this hike, your uncle will welcome you back to Quancheng."

Feng Zhengming looked at the money given by his third uncle, and finally he accepted it without hesitation.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle San. I'm welcome."

Seeing Feng Zhengming accept the money, Feng Jiandong said with a smile: "We are family, so you don't have to be polite."

Watched the backs of Feng Zhengming and his four companions as they walked away.

Feng Jiandong and the local people in Shouguang might never have thought of it.

Because of Feng Zhengming’s trip to Shouguang.

This brought considerable changes to Shouguang's subsequent development.

Many years later, Feng Jiandong would still express his feelings to his family.

If Feng Zhengming had not found him in Shouguang, if he had not been persuaded to cooperate with the local people in Shouguang.

Maybe his company encountered problems in its later development and it was impossible for it to overcome the difficulties so smoothly.

Those are all things that happened later. After Feng Zhengming and his companions left Shouguang, they headed northwest.

Passing through the two county towns of Guangrao and Boxing, we finally arrived at Bincheng.

The administrative area of ​​Bincheng is quite large. Zouping, where Feng Zhengming and his team visited before, also belongs to Bincheng, but in fact Zouping is closer to Zibo.

After entering Bincheng, Feng Zhengming and his group kept a low profile. Just like before, they stayed there and rested for a day.

Then we strolled around the city and visited some attractions near the city.

Taste some of the more distinctive local delicacies.

I also found a popular local breakfast stall and tried the local breakfast.

Similar to most places in Qilu, the local breakfast in Bincheng is also quite filling.

After resting in Bincheng for almost two days, Feng Zhengming led his men out of the urban area of ​​Bincheng.

The group first walked west and then north.

Passing through the two small counties of Huimin and Yangxin, we arrived at Wudi, north of Bincheng.

When you arrive in Wudi, you can see a large number of jujube trees planted here.

Ding Yuan couldn't help but mutter when he saw this: "Is it true that every household grows jujube trees?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and explained: "Wudi golden silk dates are indeed very famous, but in Bincheng, the famous dates are not only from Wudi, but also the winter dates from Zhanhua are equally famous."

Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong have become accustomed to Feng Zhengming's knowledge of the places along the way.

Along the way, Feng Zhengming could almost tell you about the characteristics of every place he passed through, big or small, in every county town.

Feng Zhengming then introduced to the three people: "In fact, Wudi had a very famous specialty in the past."

This made the three people in the group curious.

Hou Dong couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"

Feng Zhengming introduced with a smile: "It's a black cow, Bohai black cow."

Wudi's Bohai Black Cattle were quite famous in the past.

However, in recent years, due to the low economic benefits and the introduction of cattle breeds with higher meat yields from abroad, Wudi's black cattle industry has declined.

"In fact, Wudi's Bohai Black Cattle have a very good reputation abroad. Whether in Fusang or in Hong Kong, they are known as Black King Kong. They are considered a very high-end beef category, but they are not well-known in China."

Feng Zhengming gave a detailed introduction, which made the three people traveling with him quite curious.

Gao Yongfu asked: "Then are these black cattle only raised in Wudi?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "For now, only Wudi is still breeding. The main reason is that the cost of breeding is relatively high. In fact, the market impact of cattle is also relatively large."

Hou Dong immediately thought of what Feng Zhengming had done in Shouguang. He asked curiously, "Brother Feng, are you planning to support the black cattle industry here as well?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "This is not something I can support casually. I still need to take a look at the breeding situation here before considering whether to participate in the support."

Ding Yuan nodded in agreement: "Yes, raising cattle is not like growing vegetables. The cost of raising cattle is much higher."

Gao Yongfu echoed, "In my hometown, the families that can raise cattle are not ordinary families."

In fact, Feng Zhengming is very clear that under the impact of subsequent industrialization and scale.

The domestic breeding industry of small households will be greatly impacted.

The Bohai Black Cattle from Wudi are the first to be affected.

In terms of breeding scale and cost, black cattle are obviously inferior to ordinary yellow cattle.

From the perspective of storytelling, Wudi Black Cattle will also be impacted by foreign Wagyu beef.

Without enough stories to support it, Wudi’s Black Bull really has no advantages at all.

But after all, it is a well-known cattle breed in China.

If it really disappeared.

It may be very difficult to recover in the future.

Feng Zhengming decided to take a look at the site first before considering what to do.
Four people entered the county town first.

I found a somewhat old hotel in the county town and stayed there.

Although the streets in the county town are a bit older, the overall economy does not seem to be much worse than Shouguang.

The key reason is the restriction of transportation. Although Wudi Golden Silk Jujube is quite famous, due to the inconvenient transportation, the jujube cannot be sold to all parts of the country.

At this moment, Feng Zhengming is really becoming more and more grateful for the country's future major infrastructure.

Large-scale infrastructure projects have really opened up too many counties and villages across the country that had inconvenient transportation.

It has made it possible for many previously unknown specialties to be sold throughout the country through convenient transportation. Even at this moment, Feng Zhengming began to look forward to the arrival of the major infrastructure.

The county town is very small, and there is nothing much for Feng Zhengming and his friends to visit in the county.

In the next few days, they walked out of the county and took a look around the surrounding areas.

I went to see the relatively large local planting area of ​​golden thread dates.

Looking at the large date tree orchard, it is quite spectacular.

In addition, some production and sales companies have been established here that specialize in the purchase and processing of golden thread dates.

Although the county town is not big, the industry related to golden thread dates is quite developed.

Feng Zhengming and his team also visited some factories.

I tasted the local finest dried golden thread dates.

The date pit is really small, but the date flesh is very thick, and it is still sweet and delicious even after being dried.

When the people in the factory learned of Feng Zhengming's identity, they treated him with great courtesy.

There was also a deputy factory director who came to receive them and introduced Feng Zhengming and the others to the factory's situation.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, our factory basically produces all kinds of golden thread jujube processed products. The dried jujube you eat is just the preliminary processed ones. We also have some canned products and golden thread jujube wine."

After listening to the other party's introduction, Feng Zhengming also felt that he had gained a lot of knowledge.

After the factory tour was over, Feng Zhengming asked the deputy factory director about Wudi Black Cattle.

The deputy factory director really knows something about it.

"Black cattle are indeed one of Wudi's specialties. There used to be a special black cattle breeding farm, but now black cattle are not so easy to sell, so there are not many cattle left in the breeding farm, and the efficiency of the farm is not very good."

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked, "Golden Thread Jujube is selling better now, so the county and city should be fully supporting the Golden Thread Jujube industry, right?"

Hearing this, the deputy factory director did not feel embarrassed and simply nodded in agreement.

"Golden thread jujubes are indeed the main industry here. After all, growing jujube trees is easier than raising black cattle, and the cost is lower. The key is that the sales of black cattle have been very poor in recent years."

The deputy factory manager is also a native of Wudi, and he also feels sorry for the poor sales of Hei Niu.

"In the past few years, we sold our black cattle overseas, to ports and small island countries in the east. In recent years, sales have declined, exports have deteriorated, and farmers' enthusiasm for raising cattle has also declined. However, the situation at the breeding farms is still pretty good."

In Feng Zhengming's opinion, the reason why Wudi Black Cattle is declining is because it relies too much on exports.

With today's technology, the loss of beef is actually quite high if exported.

This will naturally lead to the price of black beef in the importing country being quite high, whether it is the export port city or Fuso.

From all aspects, it is true that Wudi black cattle no longer have much advantage in the market.

Under the introduction of the deputy factory director, Feng Zhengming led his people to the breeding farm.

The entire breeding farm is quite spacious.

Because I had heard about it from the factory that processed golden thread dates.

In addition, Feng Zhengming also revealed his identity.

The breeding farm also welcomed his arrival.

The factory director even came out in person and took Feng Zhengming on a tour of the factory.

Seeing the Bohai Black Bull with their own eyes still surprised Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

The cow's physique is obviously much stronger.

And because the fur is black, it looks very ferocious just by looking at it.

Down at the restaurant in the breeding farm.

Although the factory manager was quite polite.

But Feng Zhengming could feel that the other party was a little bit arrogant.

When Feng Zhengming suggested that if production allowed, beef could be supplied to Huiquanlou in Quancheng.

As expected, the factory manager refused very tactfully.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Feng. I know you’re the champion of the national cooking competition and the best chef in the country, but our black beef is actually rarely sold in China. It’s all supplied to Hong Kong and island countries.

You can see that black cattle are different from yellow cattle. They are more difficult to raise and do not produce much meat.”

Having said this, it is obvious that he does not want to supply goods to Feng Zhengming.

I still want to continue export trade.

Feng Zhengming did not force it, and said with a smile: "It's okay, if that's the case, then we won't bother you anymore."

After that, Feng Zhengming did not stay, and did not even ask for anything from the factory director. He just led his people away.

Coming out of the breeding farm and on the way back to the county town.

Hou Dong couldn't help but speak first: "What's there to be proud of? Brother Feng, you are the top scholar in the country, and they are unwilling to provide beef to your Huiquan Restaurant."

Gao Yongfu also felt that the other party was too arrogant and didn't understand why the other party was unwilling to supply goods to the domestic market?

Feng Zhengming smiled and explained to the three indignant people.

"It's very simple. Now everyone is pursuing economic benefits. How much can black beef be sold for in China? And with the current consumption level in China, how many people can afford beef? Not to mention black beef.

But if they export, it is almost a sure win, the price will be higher, and the benefits to the factory will be better.”

After hearing Feng Zhengming's calm explanation, the three of them still found it difficult to understand.

Ding Yuan asked, "Brother Feng, are you really not angry at all?"

Feng Zhengming asked back with a smile: "Why are you angry?"

This question stumped Ding Yuan.

Feng Zhengming then explained further.

"Their approach is understandable. If I were the factory manager, I would probably also prefer to export. There is really no market for black beef in China right now, but perhaps the market prospect will be good in the future.

But at present, black beef sold domestically does not have higher competitiveness, which will also affect the efficiency of their factory.

So if you put yourself in his shoes, there is no need to get angry about what the factory manager said."

Gao Yongfu thought for a moment and asked, "Is black beef really better than regular yellow beef?"

Feng Zhengming smiled first, then thought for a moment before giving an answer.

“Right now, it may not taste better than regular beef, because people have only had enough food for a few years now, and their pursuit of quality and taste is not very high.

Maybe in the future, when our domestic economy develops better, people will start to shift from wanting to have enough food to wanting to eat well.

I should be able to taste the difference, and hopefully by then, Bohai Black Beef will still be available.”

Feng Zhengming and his companions returned to the county town, rested for one night, and headed towards Zhanhua in the southeast the next day.

Feng Zhengming also temporarily put the matter of black beef aside.

But he had another plan in mind.

We need to wait for a suitable opportunity to get a batch of Bohai Black Cattle. (End of this chapter)