From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The four people rushed all the way to Jingyang Ridge, but the current Jingyang Ridge made them somewhat disappointed.

In fact, Jingyanggang is not far from Yanggu County.

And now this place has not really been developed into a tourist area.

So Jingyang Ridge looks like a slightly dilapidated hill.

Only then did Feng Zhengming realize that the TV series "Water Margin" had not yet become popular across the country.

Nowadays, most people don’t come here specifically for tourism.

Therefore, there should be no local tourism development here.

But Feng Zhengming soon felt that this might be a good opportunity for him.

Perhaps you can plan ahead and wait for the tourism boom to break out in the future, and then use these scenic spots that have not yet been noticed by people to do something to promote the development of local tourism.

I can also make good use of the opportunity and start some supporting catering business around the scenic area.

When Feng Zhengming was thinking about the future, he heard the disappointment of Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

"I thought I could see something related here, but I didn't expect it to be like this."

"It looks like there's no one managing this place."

“It looks like a run-down little village.”

Hearing the three people's lost words, Feng Zhengming greeted them with a smile.

"It doesn't matter. Haven't we seen enough places like this on this trip?"

After a brief pause, Feng Zhengming looked at the current Jingyang Ridge and said, "After all, Water Margin is a novel. Maybe everyone knows that it is one of the four great classics, but not many people have actually read it. When everyone knows about it in the future, I believe many people will come here.

By then, the local authorities should also carry out some construction here and develop it into a qualified scenic spot.”

After comforting the three people, Feng Zhengming asked them to leave together, and they did not go to Yanggu.

Feng Zhengming changed his route instead and led the three people to the southeast.

The group crossed a river and entered Dongping.

Then, led by Feng Zhengming, the group came to the big lake in Dongping County.

Arriving here, everyone felt relaxed and happy, and their mood improved.

The four of them strolled along the lake together.

Looking at Dongping Lake, Feng Zhengming smiled and gave instructions to the three people.

"This is the location of Liangshan Marsh in the Water Margin, and it just happens to be in harmony with Jingyang Ridge. If tourism development is done well in the future, relevant attractions should be built here."

Listening to Feng Zhengming's plans for Dongping Lake and Jingyang Ridge, Ding Yuan and the other two felt that it made a lot of sense.

After a trip to Dongping Lake, the four people felt much better.

Then they turned back west and returned to Yanggu County.

As we entered the county town, we saw the promotion of the famous Jingyanggang Liquor.

Seeing this, Ding Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Is this Jingyanggang wine the same as the three bowls you can drink back then?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "With the current winemaking technology, I'm afraid it would be really difficult to get through the job after drinking three bowls of this wine."

This made the other three people a little confused?
Hou Dong asked: "Brother Feng, do you mean that when Wu Song drank 18 bowls of wine and was able to go up the mountain to fight the tiger, was he actually drinking water-infused wine?"

Feng Zhengming nodded and responded: "It can't be said that the wine was watered down. It's just that the wine at that time should not have had such a high alcohol content as the wine now. Otherwise, after drinking 18 bowls, wouldn't he have been poisoned by alcohol?"

The three people who were accompanying him thought about it and felt that this seemed to be the truth.

The four of them strolled around the county town.

I also went to the Lion Tower in the northwest corner of the county town to take a look.

The Lion Tower is much better than the one on Jingyang Ridge.

Perhaps because it is in the county town, the quaint buildings are well built.

It is a good tourist attraction.

When Feng Zhengming came here, a new idea immediately came to his mind.

When we open a branch of the dry rice shop here in the future, maybe we can learn from the style of ancient wine shops in the decoration.

The branch can also add braised beef in soy sauce to imitate the serving methods in some Water Margin stories.

If paired with the local Jingyanggang wine, it should become a branch with strong local characteristics.

With this in mind, Feng Zhengming and his team stayed in the county town for one night.

The next day the four of them continued on their journey.

Next is to continue heading north.

Before entering the city of Liaocheng, Feng Zhengming and his team first arrived in Dong'a County, not far from Liaocheng.

This is also a very famous place.

It can be said that with the popularity of television advertisements, almost no one does not know about Dong-E E-Jiao.

When the four people entered the county town, they naturally saw a large number of shops selling donkey-hide gelatin.

However, Feng Zhengming has no interest in donkey-hide gelatin.

Instead, he found a donkey meat restaurant in the county town.

Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong are a little confused about this?
"Brother Feng, we are here at the place where donkey-hide gelatin is produced. Why don't we take a look at the donkey-hide gelatin?"

"Yes, the donkey-hide gelatin here should be the most authentic, right?"

"Should we eat first before we go to see it?"

Feng Zhengming listened to the three people's words and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "We are not in the medicinal materials business, why are we looking at donkey-hide gelatin? Dong'e doesn't only have donkey-hide gelatin, the black donkeys here are very good.

Haven’t you heard that there is dragon meat in the sky and donkey meat on the ground? When you are here, you must try the authentic donkey meat.”

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the three of them suddenly came to their senses.

Suddenly, they lost interest in the local donkey-hide gelatin.

Feng Zhengming asked the store owner for some braised donkey meat and also ordered some local specialties that were famous in the towns below.

After trying several dishes, Feng Zhengming and his friends felt that the most delicious thing was still donkey meat.

After the meal, Feng Zhengming and his friends did not stay for long.

Dong'a was not far from Liaocheng, so they rushed all the way to Liaocheng.

Once you enter the city, you can actually see a lot of local delicacies from the counties and towns in Liaocheng.

It really is like a market where all the specialties from counties and towns are gathered.

This gave Feng Zhengming more ideas.

I think if we open a branch in Liaocheng, there are still many local specialties that can be added to the store.

Such as braised beef, braised donkey meat, roast chicken, fried fish, and the very distinctive bean curd.

These can all be added to Ganfanpu’s Liaocheng branch.

Feng Zhengming and his friends first found a hotel to stay in.

The next day, he took the three of them to an old restaurant in Liaocheng.

The head chef of this restaurant is also an old acquaintance of Feng Zhengming.

It was Qiu Zhonghui who had been able to compete with Feng Zhengming in the cold dishes competition. When Qiu Zhonghui saw Feng Zhengming coming, he immediately came out to greet them.

"Hahaha, the presence of our number one scholar really brings honor to our Liaocheng Grand Restaurant."

Feng Zhengming also responded with a smile: "Master Qiu is so polite. Although I am the champion of the national cooking competition, I am still a junior in front of Master Qiu."

Qiu Zhonghui quickly rejected this statement.

"You can't say that. We are peers at best. I'm not your elder. How can I have that qualification?"

Then Qiu Zhonghui led Feng Zhengming and others into the restaurant.

"To be honest, I have to thank you. If you hadn't won the National Cooking Competition, I wouldn't have become famous, and I wouldn't have been invited by Liaocheng Restaurant."

Feng Zhengming praised: "This shows that Master Qiu's craftsmanship is still good enough and has not been buried."

In response to Feng Zhengming's praise, Qiu Zhonghui smiled and said, "Being recognized by the top scorer gives me more confidence."

Feng Zhengming said: "You should have more confidence. Master Qiu, your craftsmanship must be fine."

After entering the restaurant, Qiu Zhonghui introduced Feng Zhengming to some of the situations in Liaocheng.

We also invited Feng Zhengming and others to taste the unique food of Liaocheng.

Although it is the same food that can be found in county towns.

Qiu Zhonghui has obviously made some changes.

After being seasoned by Qiu Zhonghui, the braised donkey meat is not so salty and tastes more meaty.

Of course, there is also a local dish that is very skillful.

Hollow glass balls.

When this dish is served, it looks a bit like small meatballs covered with a layer of sugar shell.

But Gao Yongfu was a little surprised when he bit into one: "It's actually hollow inside."

This exclamation also surprised Ding Yuan and Hou Dong.

The two of them immediately picked up one and bit it open.

I found that it was indeed hollow inside.

All three of them looked at Feng Zhengming immediately.

Facing the gazes of the three people, Feng Zhengming gave an explanation with a smile.

"This is a local dish that requires a lot of skill. First, you need to blanch the high-gluten flour with boiling water until the dough is half cooked, then add water and stir it clockwise until there are no particles in the batter, then add the egg yolk and continue stirring.

After the batter is stirred evenly, heat the oil to about 30% temperature, roll the batter into balls and fry them in the pan.

But don't fry them for too long, take them out immediately when the shell of the meatballs is formed.

Then increase the oil temperature to about 60% hot, and put the meatballs into the pan to fry again.

If you are not sure, you can turn off the heat at this time.

Then as the frying process progresses, the meatballs will spit out the excess flour inside, and at this time you can fish the meatballs out.”

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the three of them felt that the process of making frying meatballs seemed very complicated.

"Take out the meatballs and remove the spitted out flour. Then increase the oil temperature to 70% and fry them for the third time until the surface of the meatballs is crispy."

Feng Zhengming picked up a hollow glass meatball with chopsticks.

"After frying, the next step is to stir-fry the sugar. Melt the sugar in the pan and stir-fry until it is slightly colored. Pour the meatballs into the pan and stir-fry quickly. After the surface of the meatballs is coated with syrup, sprinkle sesame seeds on the surface of the meatballs and then serve."

After listening to Feng Zhengming's oral teaching, the three finally realized that this dish is indeed not simple.

It is not easy to control the oil temperature for deep frying three times.

Finally, stir-fry the syrup and pour the meatballs into the pot so that the surface of the meatballs is evenly coated with syrup.

It can be said that the whole process is a test of the chef's control over the heat.

Feng Zhengming ate one and said to the three people with a smile: "I am afraid that there will be fewer and fewer restaurants willing to cook this dish in the future, because it is very labor-intensive to make and it is also a great test for the chef's ability to control the fire and oil temperature."

Just at this moment, Qiu Zhonghui came over and served the dishes.

After listening to Feng Zhengming's words, he also agreed: "It is true that fewer people are making this dish now."

But then, he put down the dish in his hand and added: "Fortunately, there are still people making it in Liaocheng, especially in counties and towns where there are wedding banquets, there will definitely be such a dish."

Hou Dong asked curiously, "Can the chef at a wedding banquet in the countryside make this dish?"

Qiu Zhonghui responded with a smile: "Don't underestimate those chefs who can cook big banquets. Some of them have great skills."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "The masters are among the common people. It is not easy to prepare a big feast in the countryside."

Speaking of this, Feng Zhengming recalled the time when he and his senior brother prepared a grand banquet together.

"I once cooked banquets with my senior brother. At that time, we thought that we could make a lot of money by working in the brewery cafeteria and taking on banquets in the surrounding villages."

Qiu Zhonghui smiled and took over the conversation: "But Feng Zhuangyuan probably didn't expect that he would become the national champion so quickly, and run the Ganfanpu and Huiquanlou so well."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, I really didn't expect that, at that time I used the stove in the cafeteria and went to the South Station of Quancheng every day to sell lunch boxes.

Later, my master gave me the recipe for Bazi Rou, and I got to know my grandfather who gave the recipe to my master.

Maybe everything is fate, and the subsequent development became faster all of a sudden."

Qiu Zhonghui sat down and said, "This is also the advantage of this era. As long as you have the ability, you can quickly show your strength and achieve better development with your own ability."

Whether it is Feng Zhengming or Qiu Zhonghui, they are people who have achieved their current success through their own abilities.

Although Qiu Zhonghui is not as famous as Feng Zhengming, he has also become the head chef of Liaocheng Restaurant.

This might be something he never dared to think of in the past.

Therefore, both of them feel that personal ability is very important.

Of course, Feng Zhengming also thinks that opportunities are equally important.

Having ability is only one aspect. Without good opportunities, having ability alone may be buried.

They stayed in Liaocheng for a few days, and it was basically Qiu Zhonghui who entertained them.

This made Feng Zhengming feel a little embarrassed.

Over the past few days, Feng Zhengming also talked with Qiu Zhonghui about opening a branch of the dry rice shop outside Quancheng.

Qiu Zhonghui was very surprised by some of Feng Zhengming's ideas.

"Zhuangyuan, your ideas are really different. No wonder you are the national champion. Others may open branches outside Quancheng just to ensure that their signature products are well made.

You actually thought of adding local specialties to your stores when you open branches in different places."

Feng Zhengming smiled and explained: "We always have to adapt to the eating habits of people from different places and add some local specialties, which can be regarded as a better preservation and inheritance of local specialties."

Qiu Zhonghui nodded, and agreed very much with Feng Zhengming's idea.

"Okay, that's right. Zhuangyuan, if you want to come to Liaocheng to look at the branch, I will definitely support you. I can help you contact the locals, and I think the locals will definitely support you."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "I also hope that my branch can bring something new to the local area."

Qiu Zhonghui then said that he had accepted several apprentices and planned to take them to participate in the provincial youth chef cooking competition at the end of the year.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Sure, we'll meet again in Quancheng, and I'll definitely treat you well."

After making an appointment with Qiu Zhonghui to meet again in Quancheng at the end of the year, Feng Zhengming and his friends continued their journey.

After more than ten days of travel, they finally arrived at the last stop of this trip, Texas. (End of this chapter)