From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Zhang Minghai introduced himself to his wife and two children.

Feng Zhengming also took the initiative to greet Zhang Minghai's wife: "Hello, sister-in-law."

Only then did Zhang Minghai's wife and children dare to recognize him.

Zhang Minghai's wife was still a little surprised: "Xiao Feng, how come you have become so dark? You are completely different from the one I saw on TV, and you are thinner than when I saw you on TV."

Without waiting for Feng Zhengming to reply, Zhang Minghai helped to explain.

"Hasn't he been walking all over our province recently? He walked all the way here this time. He walked so much, sometimes he couldn't get to the village or city in time, and had to sleep outside in the open. How could he not lose weight?"

The Sixth Sister-in-law was a little surprised when she heard this: "Hey, Xiao Feng, why are you leaving like this? What's your goal?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. I'm just training myself. Besides, there are four of us together, so it's safer on the road. Every time we pass through a village or a city, we buy all kinds of food."

At this time, the sixth brother's daughter came forward and said, "Uncle, are you like those foreign backpackers? Do you want to travel all over the country?"

Hearing the girl ask him, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but smile and asked back: "Do you know backpackers?"

The girl nodded. "I read about them in a magazine I borrowed from the school library. It said that these people traveled around the world with backpacks on their backs, then worked in one place to earn money for their trip and then went to the next place."

Feng Zhengming praised him and said, "Okay, you know a lot."

Then Zhang Minghai smiled and explained to his daughter: "Your uncle doesn't have to work while traveling. Your uncle has money. He will never lack money for food wherever he goes with his bag on his back."

Zhang Minghai's son asked curiously: "Dad, why is my uncle so rich?"

The daughter was equally curious: "How can little uncle have money without working? Mom and Dad, you both have to go to work every day."

Zhang Minghai continued to explain to his son and daughter: "Your uncle has opened three restaurants in Quancheng, two dry rice shops, and a big restaurant, so he has money without having to work."

As soon as he finished speaking, his son immediately shouted, "I know, my uncle is the big boss."

Zhang Minghai gave his son a thumbs up and said, "Yes, your uncle is the big boss."

Feng Zhengming quickly waved his hands: "No, no, my uncle is not a big boss. In fact, my uncle is a chef just like your father."

The girl immediately replied: "I know, uncle, you've been on TV, and my dad said you're the best chef in the country."

I see that Sixth Brother’s daughter and son are both very smart.

Even when facing a stranger like them, the two children were able to communicate very naturally.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but feel that his sixth brother and sister-in-law had done a good job in educating his children.

He carefully explained his identity to the two children.

"I can only say that I am the best chef in the country for now. Maybe there will be better chefs than me in the future, or your father will surpass me in the future, so I need to keep working hard."

After hearing this, Sixth Sister-in-law quickly followed up with the words to educate her two children.

"Did you hear that? Uncle is now the best chef in the country, but he still needs to work hard, because if he doesn't work hard, others will catch up with him. It's the same for you to study, understand?"

Zhang Minghai also educated the children.

"Mom and Dad don't ask you to be the best, but you must learn what you should learn, understand?"

Under the guidance of their parents, the two children nodded and agreed obediently.

Then, Feng Zhengming and his sixth brother went into the kitchen together, and the two brothers cooked some home-cooked dishes together.

We’ll have dinner at Sixth Brother’s house in the evening.

The two brothers were naturally more at ease.

Drinking and chatting.

Feng Zhengming also told his sixth brother and his family about many of his experiences on the road.

The two children, in particular, were very excited when they heard Feng Zhengming talk about what happened on the road.

Listening to Feng Zhengming's experiences on the road made Sixth Brother's family nervous and excited.

From time to time, laughter could be heard in the house.

This shows that what Feng Zhengming said was indeed very interesting.

We ate and chatted until quite late.

Sixth sister-in-law took the children to bed first, allowing the two brothers to chat alone for a while.

Feng Zhengming and his sixth senior brother sat alone, and the brothers did not continue drinking.

After cleaning the table and dishes.

The two brothers simply sat down and continued chatting while drinking tea.

Zhang Minghai also told his junior fellow apprentice about his current situation.

"Zhengming, to be honest, I really have to thank you. If it weren't for your inspiration, I might not have thought of making many dishes on my own. And your sister-in-law and I were able to bring our children to the city thanks to your great reputation."

Hearing what Senior Brother Six said, Feng Zhengming immediately waved his hand and said, "Sixth Brother, don't say that. You have achieved such success because of your own efforts.

My little fame is just icing on the cake."

Without waiting for Sixth Senior Brother to say anything, Feng Zhengming took the initiative and told him that he wanted to open a chain of dry rice shops in other cities in the province.

After listening to Feng Zhengming's idea, Zhang Minghai immediately felt that it was feasible.

"Of course, everyone knows the braised pork in your Feng Family Restaurant. Plus, with your title of No. 1 scholar, if you are willing to release the recipe, there will definitely be many people willing to join you."

Feng Zhengming shook his head and explained: "No, Sixth Brother, I don't want anyone to join casually. I hope to promote the Feng Family Dry Food Shop model to all parts of the province."

Zhang Minghai was a little surprised: "Your Fengjia dry food shop model? Will it be promoted throughout the province?"

Feng Zhengming nodded and said, "Yes, the craftsmanship of our Shandong cuisine cannot be lost. If we want to keep the craftsmanship of Shandong cuisine alive, we need a suitable restaurant to pass it on.

If the model of Fengjia Rice Shop can be promoted throughout the province, it can attract a large number of young chefs.

Give young chefs a place to practice and learn.

I believe there will be more good chefs in the future, and they will help Shandong cuisine develop better.”

Zhang Minghai looked at Feng Zhengming in disbelief.

He understood that Feng Zhengming's idea was indeed very good.

As a chef, Zhang Minghai is well aware of the embarrassment faced by many Shandong cuisine chefs today.

There may not be many suitable restaurants in the province for them to practice and learn.

If you go outside the province, you will have to face competition from chefs from other places.

Some young chefs who really aspire to become good chefs may really be buried.

If Feng Zhengming's plan could succeed.

It can indeed solve the employment problems of many young chefs.

You can work in Feng's dry rice shop first, and if you can really hone your skills, you can also have the opportunity to try to apply for some big restaurants and hotels, and you will be more confident at that time. After all, the dry rice shop was opened by Feng Zhengming, and he was the champion of the national cooking competition.

With such a status blessing, young chefs who have learned and practiced in dry rice shops will naturally not prepare their own.

The more Zhang Minghai thought about it, the more he felt that Feng Zhengming's idea was really good.

The key is that he is now the top scholar and can definitely get support from all over the place.

Then, Zhang Minghai suddenly thought of something.

"Zhengming, you told me all this, do you want me to be your partner in the dry food shop in Yancheng?"

Feng Zhengming immediately nodded with a smile.

"Yes, Sixth Brother, you know, if I open chain stores in various places in the province, I can't go everywhere, so I must find a trustworthy person to help in each place."

Zhang Minghai immediately looked helpless: "Are you overestimating your sixth senior brother's ability?"

Feng Zhengming still had a smile on his face and was full of trust in his sixth senior brother.

"Sixth Brother, I know your abilities, and I feel safe working with you. I can give the formula of the meat to others, but wouldn't it be better to give it to you, Sixth Brother?"

Zhang Minghai never expected that Feng Zhengming had come around and was waiting for him here.

"But I'm not good at management. You've seen that I'm in charge of the kitchen at Donglai Restaurant. The rest of the management work is left to Lao Hu."

Feng Zhengming nodded and explained: "Don't worry, Sixth Brother, you don't have to manage it. You are just responsible for the kitchen."

Zhang Minghai asked curiously, "Only in charge of the kitchen?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, Sixth Brother, you will be in charge of the kitchen, just like Third Brother, teach the young chefs in the kitchen. As for the management of the shop, we can hire someone else to do it when the time comes."

Zhang Minghai was a little worried when he heard this: "You want to hire someone else to run the shop? Aren't you afraid that they will deliberately cheat you?"

After saying this and seeing Feng Zhengming staring at him, Zhang Minghai immediately understood.

My junior brother wants me to help run the shop.

"Me? I can't do that. I can only be in charge of the kitchen."

Feng Zhengming suppressed his smile and began to speak seriously to his sixth senior brother.

"Sixth brother, you don't need to worry too much about the business operations. You just need to check the accounts at the end of the month and make sure the people you hire don't mess with the materials.

And I feel relieved to have you, Sixth Brother, in charge of the kitchen. What is the key to our restaurant and hotel?
It’s the kitchen.

Even if they are good at business, what else can they do without us in the kitchen? "

After listening to what Feng Zhengming said, Zhang Minghai thought about it carefully and felt that this was the truth.

Ultimately, restaurants and hotels still depend on the skills of their chefs.

As long as cooking skills are needed, Zhang Minghai is not afraid of anyone.

The fighting spirit was successfully aroused by my junior fellow apprentice.

Zhang Minghai agreed seriously, "Okay, if you trust Sixth Brother, then Sixth Brother will definitely help you run your shop in Yancheng well."

Feng Zhengming was immediately delighted when he heard this: "This is my sixth brother. Then my first dry rice shop outside of Quancheng will be opened in Yancheng."

"What?" Zhang Minghai looked excited just now.

When I heard Feng Zhengming say that he wanted to open the first store in Yancheng, my excitement disappeared immediately.

"No, Zhengming, you want to open the first dry rice shop outside Quancheng in Yancheng?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, it's in Yancheng."

Zhang Minghai couldn't help but want to back out.

He just spoke so righteously, but he didn't expect that the first store outside Quancheng would really be opened in Yancheng.

Zhang Minghai felt that his junior brother should first try it in a city near Quancheng, such as Zibo City.

As the two brothers were talking, Zhang Minghai's wife came out.

"I heard everything just now. I also think Zhengming's idea is very good. As the sixth senior brother, you should help him well. He opened the first store in Yancheng, which shows that he trusts you, the sixth senior brother. We can't let him down."

Feng Zhengming looked at his sixth sister-in-law when he heard this. "You are right, sister-in-law. Aren't you a foreman in a hotel now? So, when my shop is open, you can resign and I will leave the management of the shop to you."

"No." Zhang Minghai rejected it immediately.

"Zhengming, you can't do this. I know you want to take care of our family, but your sister-in-law has never run a business before. It's definitely not okay for you to hand over the shop to her to run."

Feng Zhengming completely ignored what his Sixth Senior Brother said, and instead looked at his Sixth Sister-in-law with a smile.

Sure enough, the Sixth Sister-in-law immediately responded: "Who said no? I've seen everything as a foreman in a hotel. I can also learn how to run a dry rice shop. I think it shouldn't be difficult to learn."

Feng Zhengming immediately agreed: "Yes, it's easy. As for the location, I'll come to Yancheng when I get back and we'll choose together. After we choose a place, I'll find people to do the decoration, as well as the hiring of people and some supply arrangements. I can arrange everything for you.

Sixth sister, you just need to manage the service staff, and manage the accounts every day, and you and Sixth brother also need to review the daily business revenue, it's really not difficult. "

Zhang Minghai was a little confused. He felt that his junior fellow apprentice was plotting against him at this moment.

How come it seems that the dry food shop opened by the junior brother has become a husband-and-wife business for their family?
Zhang Minghai thought that the initial investment was made by his junior fellow apprentices, but in the end the management was handed over to the couple.

Isn't this putting Junior Brother at a disadvantage?

"No, no, we can't do that." Zhang Minghai waved his hands quickly, "If you do this, it will prove that our business has become a husband-and-wife business. How can I, your senior, take advantage of you like this?"

Sixth sister-in-law also felt that it really had become a husband-and-wife business for their family.

If Feng Zhengming doesn’t even arrange an accountant.

Whether the shop makes a profit or a loss every month, isn't it up to the couple to decide?
Thinking of this, Sixth Sister-in-law also felt embarrassed.

"You should send someone here. You can't leave everything to us. Your sixth brother and I really can't take advantage of you."

Feng Zhengming asked with a smile: "Sixth Brother, Sixth Sister-in-law, you asked me to send someone here. Are you trying to tell me that we will just be partners from now on and we won't talk about the friendship between brothers anymore?"

Hearing this, Zhang Minghai quickly denied it: "How is it possible? We have the same feelings as brothers, and we are brothers for life."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "So, Sixth Brother, we are brothers for life. I am an orphan, but I have always regarded my brothers as my brothers. Could it be that my brothers and sisters-in-law would betray me, their younger brother?"

Having said this, Zhang Minghai and his wife looked at each other, unable to say a word for a moment.

Yes, what is the relationship between Feng Zhengming and Zhang Minghai?
They are brothers who learned the craft from the same master.

How could Zhang Minghai be so despicable as to cheat his junior fellow apprentice just for a little money?

Thinking of this, Zhang Minghai sighed: "Zhengming, what do you want Sixth Brother to say?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and held Sixth Brother’s hand.

"Sixth brother, you don't need to say anything. You are my real brother. We brothers just need to work together to make the business better and let others know that we brothers are always worthy of our skills. We are conscientiously making and spreading Shandong cuisine."

Holding his junior fellow apprentice's hand tightly, Zhang Minghai nodded earnestly. (End of this chapter)