From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming only cooks two dishes in Donglai Restaurant from noon to night.

The business of Donglai Restaurant almost doubled compared to usual.

Especially after the news spread at noon, more people from Yancheng rushed to Donglai Restaurant, all wanting to taste the cooking skills of the champion of the national cooking competition.

Hu Feng just contacted suppliers to deliver fish, shrimp and cabbage, and asked the suppliers to make several trips back and forth.

After working in a big restaurant for so many years, this was the first time that Hu Feng encountered a situation where even the cabbage was used up several times.

Looking at the business of the restaurant, Hu Feng admired Feng Zhengming from the bottom of his heart.

It was busy until the evening, and finally Hu Feng stopped accepting new guests after 10:30.

Only then did Feng Zhengming and his team finally finish before midnight.

This crazy continuous cooking made Feng Zhengming exhausted.

When the dishes for the last table of customers are prepared and served.

Feng Zhengming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For the first time, I did not stay in the kitchen and help everyone with the subsequent cleanup.

Feng Zhengming left the kitchen first and found a place to sit down and have a good rest.

When Zhang Minghai saw his junior fellow apprentice going out, he arranged the matters in the kitchen, and Jin followed his junior fellow apprentice out.

I saw my junior fellow apprentice sitting on the cement platform outside the kitchen.

Zhang Minghai walked over carrying a folding chair.

"Come down and sit on a chair. The cement platform is too cold."

Feng Zhengming looked at his sixth senior brother and smiled and replied, "It's okay. It's quite hot today. I've been busy until now. I'm sitting on the cement platform to cool down."

Zhang Minghai still insisted on pulling his junior fellow apprentice down and forced him to sit on the chair.

Seeing his junior fellow apprentice looking exhausted, Zhang Minghai felt somewhat guilty.

But before he could open his mouth, Feng Zhengming took the lead.

"Sixth brother, please don't tell me you've worked hard, or thank me, or say it's all thanks to me."

The words that Zhang Minghai was about to say were choked back by his junior fellow apprentice.

He had no choice but to sit down beside him.

"Zhengming, are you doing this today to make Hu Feng realize that the restaurant cannot do without us, so that he will give me the shares he deserves?"

When Feng Zhengming heard this, he couldn't help laughing.

"Hahaha, Sixth Brother, do I have to risk my life so hard just for your little share?"

Zhang Minghai was stunned by what he said, and he looked at his junior brother in surprise.

Feng Zhengming could only confess to his sixth senior brother.

"I worked so hard today to make a deep impression on the people in Yancheng, so that I can open a branch of the dry rice shop in Yancheng. Since I want to open a branch, of course I have to ensure that the branch's business is good enough."

Zhang Minghai was a little confused: "Are you doing this today to promote yourself?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, to promote myself, to promote the branch I am going to open, and also to promote you."

"Promote me?" Zhang Minghai was confused again.

Feng Zhengming explained seriously: "You are my sixth brother. You will become my partner in the Yancheng branch in the future. Of course, I have to promote you and improve your status among the chefs in Yancheng."

"Will it improve like this?" Zhang Minghai obviously still didn't understand.

Feng Zhengming continued to explain: "With such a big commotion today, there will definitely be many chefs from Yancheng coming to eat. After they taste my cooking, they will naturally understand that my title of No. 1 Scholar is not in vain.

I believe someone will come to visit me tomorrow. By then, won’t you and I be elevated in status?"

This time Zhang Minghai probably understood.

"Isn't this unnecessary? We are all chefs, and everyone does their own thing. There's no need to put pressure on others."

Feng Zhengming said with certainty: "It is very necessary."

Zhang Minghai still didn’t quite understand. He always felt that his junior brother’s plan was very profound, but he couldn’t guess what it was.
Feng Zhengming bent down, put his arms around Sixth Senior Brother, and began to explain to him in a very low voice.

“Sixth brother, in Quancheng, I can say this.”

Feng Zhengming gave a thumbs up as he spoke.

"In Quancheng, the senior brothers also have enough status in the Cooking Association and will be respected by them."

Feng Zhengming pointed at the ground and said, "This is Yancheng. Sixth brother, do you think you can get enough respect? Have you ever thought about why you can't send your children to school?"

The junior brother's words touched upon some of Zhang Minghai's pain points.

From this experience of arranging schooling for his child, Zhang Minghai has realized some problems.

In the past, Zhang Minghai thought that as a chef, he only needed to do his job well, cook delicious dishes in the restaurant, make the restaurant profitable, and he could also make more money.

But Zhang Minghai gradually discovered that often it was not enough to just earn money to support his family.

Like the issue of the two children going to school this time.

Zhang Minghai and his wife were completely helpless.

They don't even have any way to find connections.

In the end, it was Hu Feng who helped to find the connection.

He even bought a house for Zhang Minghai and his wife, so that the family of four could settle down in the urban area of ​​Yancheng.

The children’s schooling problem has finally been solved.

When his junior fellow apprentice mentioned this, Zhang Minghai naturally thought of his third senior brother's child.

The third brother went to Quancheng and smoothly arranged for his child to attend school on a temporary basis.

Then this year, the issue of my third brother’s child going to school was successfully resolved.

This was indeed the reason why Feng Zhengming won the first place in the national cooking competition.

But Feng Zhengming and his friends still have some interpersonal relationships in Quancheng.

Zhang Minghai was suddenly enlightened by his junior fellow apprentice.

He does need some fame. Only with fame can he gain more interpersonal relationships and get some corresponding help when needed.

How to get enough fame?

Today, the junior brother has successfully demonstrated it to Zhang Minghai.

It can be said that the junior brother used his title as the top scholar to speak out in support of Zhang Minghai.

Today, the reputation of Donglai Restaurant will become even more famous in Yancheng, and even in the entire province.

More people will also know that Zhang Minghai is Feng Zhengming’s senior brother.

With this identity, Feng Zhengming later publicly announced that he opened the first dry rice shop branch outside Quancheng, and his senior brother Zhang Minghai was his partner.

Naturally, Zhang Minghai's reputation among Yancheng chefs will also be enhanced.

Feng Zhengming saw that Sixth Senior Brother should understand his intentions.

He reached out and gently patted Sixth Brother on the back.

"Sixth brother, after our dry rice shop opens in Yancheng, you must follow my plan and make the dry rice shop famous in Yancheng. Another thing is that you have to join the Yancheng Local Cooking Association.

In addition, you need to memorize the basic cooking knowledge as soon as possible, and next year you can take the provincial chef qualification examiner exam.

Remember to take the provincial exam, and then help me recruit young chefs from Yancheng for my restaurant.

You need to establish enough prestige among young chefs, and your social status in Yancheng will naturally improve gradually in the future."

Feng Zhengming's words and deeds surprised Senior Brother Six. However, Senior Brother Six understood that what he said was the right path.

Zhang Minghai responded seriously: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I will definitely help you run Yancheng Ganfanpu well."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, Sixth Brother, that's right. We brothers can't say we are famous throughout the country, but at least we must have a place in the Shandong cuisine of Qilu."

Maybe Zhang Minghai never took this to heart in the past.

After going through some things, I listened to what my junior brother said today.

The corresponding idea had already sprouted in his mind.

Among their fellow disciples, there is a national champion like their younger brother.

Why can’t they, their fellow apprentices, have a place in the Shandong cuisine of the province?
They, the brothers, do not necessarily want to suppress others.

But they, the brothers, don't want to be suppressed by others.

They dare not claim to be the authentic Shandong cuisine, but at least they, their fellow apprentices, should be the inheritors of Shandong cuisine.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Minghai's eyes revealed determination.

The two brothers sat outside for a while until the kitchen was cleaned up, and then Ding Yuan and his two disciples and Zhang Minghai came out.

Seeing the fellow disciples sitting outside, everyone gathered around them.

Feng Zhengming raised his head and looked at Sixth Senior Brother’s disciples.

"What did you guys learn from me today?"

This question stumped everyone.

Today they were indeed busy in the kitchen with Feng Zhengming.

But what have you learned?
It seems like I haven't learned anything.

The main reason was that Feng Zhengming moved too fast, and many times when they wanted to learn, they had no chance to follow him.

However, I did get to see the strength of Feng Zhengming, the national top scorer.

So many servings of vinegar and pepper fish and braised cabbage with prawns were sold all day long.

It was the first time for everyone in the kitchen to know that cabbage could be sold out.

Feng Zhengming saw that several people seemed unable to speak.

He laughed: "Hahaha, you guys really didn't follow along seriously."

Zhang Minghai also laughed and looked at his disciples, speechless.

Finally, one of the disciples bravely spoke up.

"Master uncle's skills are so good, and his movements are so smooth, we really can't see clearly."

Hearing this, Feng Zhengming looked at his sixth senior brother with a smile on his face.

Zhang Minghai sighed helplessly: "You guys, didn't you see your uncle today? Doesn't he need to prepare the dishes in advance?

Prepare what you need in advance, calculate the amount of raw materials you need, and prepare those things at once.

Only by making preparations in advance can you act immediately when needed.

You guys didn't pay any attention to something so obvious?"

After Zhang Minghai pointed it out, everyone immediately understood.

Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed what Zhang Minghai said.

Although Feng Zhengming only made two dishes today, the preparation work was very detailed.

Feng Zhengming smiled and took over the words of his sixth senior brother.

“Remember, no matter you are in the kitchen of any restaurant or you are the chef, the most important thing is to coordinate the kitchen well. You must know what dishes you are going to cook today.
Then what do you need to do and what preparations do you need to make in advance.”

Zhang Minghai reminded his disciples: "Did you remember? Thank you, uncle."

The disciples expressed their gratitude to Feng Zhengming together.

Feng Zhengming waved his hand and smiled to indicate that you're welcome.

After communicating with the sixth senior brother’s disciples.

Feng Zhengming smiled and expressed his gratitude to Ding Yuan and the other two.

"Thank you three for working so hard today. Without your help, I might not be able to cook so many dishes."

Ding Yuan and the other two were thanked like this and looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
After a long silence, Hou Dong spoke first: "Brother Feng, you're welcome. We have gained a lot from following you. I now know that passion alone is not enough. A lot of basic skills are needed to become a good chef."

Feng Zhengming encouraged him: "It's okay. When you go back to the army, before you join the kitchen team, you must first learn from Master Cui. When you get there, learn from him carefully. I believe you will improve even more."

Hou Dong nodded seriously after hearing this and said that he would study hard.

Gao Yongfu thought about it and couldn't help asking, "Brother Feng, if I return to my hometown after I retire from the army, can I open a dry rice shop in my hometown? And also make braised pork?"

Along the way, Feng Zhengming had learned that Gao Yongfu was planning to return to his hometown after retiring from the army.

He is a very homesick person and wants to return to his hometown to take care of his parents.

Now Gao Yongfu proposes to open a dry rice shop in his hometown.

I want to learn from Feng Zhengming's Bazirou and open a branch in my hometown.

Feng Zhengming naturally nodded in agreement.

"Okay, now that you're discharged from the army, go home and see your family first, and then you can find time to come back to Quancheng. I'll arrange for you to be with my third senior brother, and let him teach you how to run the kitchen in the dry rice shop."

After agreeing, Feng Zhengming reminded him seriously.

"Let me make it clear in advance that if you want to go back to your hometown to make and sell braised pork, you must strictly guarantee the quality. If the quality is not good, don't blame me for destroying your reputation."

Gao Yongfu naturally agreed seriously: "I know, I will definitely guarantee the quality."

In the end, Ding Yuan didn't say much.

He just asked: "Brother Feng, when your Yancheng branch opens, can I come to the store in Yancheng?"

Hearing Ding Yuan ask this, Feng Zhengming and Sixth Senior Brother were a little surprised.

Ding Yuan quickly explained: "My hometown is Yancheng. Although my parents are not in Yancheng now because of work, they have always said that they want to live in Yancheng after retirement. I want to go back to Yancheng to take care of them."

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming smiled and patted his sixth senior brother beside him.

"Look, Sixth Brother, you already have a capable general."

Zhang Minghai smiled and agreed with Ding Yuan: "Okay, if you go back to Yancheng, you can come find me. If the dry rice shop is not open yet, I will arrange for you to work in the restaurant's kitchen first."

When Ding Yuan heard this, he quickly expressed his gratitude to Zhang Mingyuan.

After the business was over for the day, Feng Zhengming returned to his home with his sixth brother.

The two returned home a little late, and their voices were particularly low when they entered the house.

However, it still woke up Sixth Sister-in-law.

When Feng Zhengming saw his sixth sister-in-law coming out of the house, he quickly apologized to her softly.

The Sixth Sister-in-law asked, "You are back so late, are you hungry? I will cook some noodles for you two brothers, why don't you eat before going to sleep?"

After coming back so late, the two brothers were indeed a little hungry.

Feng Zhengming felt embarrassed to trouble his sixth sister-in-law to cook noodles.

But before he could say no, the Sixth Senior Brother spoke first: "Okay, cook more, thank you for troubling my wife."

Then the Sixth Sister-in-law went into the kitchen and began to work very quickly. (End of this chapter)