From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming and his three companions stayed in Dezhou for many days and even visited the counties and towns in the territory.

Just like other places they visited along the way, the four people tried their best to integrate into the county and township.

Sample some local specialities while in the county town.

We also visited and investigated the cooking methods of many local specialties.

Of course, not everyone will share their skills like Grandpa Zhang does.

Feng Zhengming did not force others.

For those who are unwilling to share their skills, he would just look at them, taste them and leave it at that.

When they were about to leave Texas, Feng Zhengming and his friends made a special visit to Grandpa Zhang.

After having a brief conversation with Grandpa Zhang, Feng Zhengming also left Grandpa Zhang his phone number in Quancheng.

Grandpa Zhang bought a lot of food specifically for Feng Zhengming and the others.

Let Feng Zhengming and the others eat it on the way back.

When Feng Zhengming and others wanted to give money, they were almost always rejected by Grandpa Zhang.

"Don't give me money, do you think I'm broke? You can't even afford this little treat, right?"

Faced with Grandpa Zhang's stern refusal, Feng Zhengming and the others had no choice but to accept the items.

After bidding farewell to Grandpa Zhang, Feng Zhengming and his companions officially set off on their journey home.

It took more than half a year to get here.

The four of them traveled all over Qi and Lu on foot.

Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong felt that the journey was extremely rewarding.

Feng Zhengming said: "We only had a cursory tour along the way, and we didn't really appreciate the characteristics of many places, but we did learn a lot.

If I have the chance again in the future, I will definitely go there again to experience the characteristics of each place in detail.”

Ding Yuan asked, "Brother Feng, what are you going to do next? Open branches in various places first?"

Before Feng Zhengming could answer, Hou Dong took the lead in expressing his own guess.

"Brother Feng must be preparing to open branches in various places, and spread the dry rice shops all over the land of Qilu."

Hearing Hou Dong's words, Feng Zhengming laughed.

"Hahaha, you are more adventurous than me. Spread dry rice all over the land of Qilu."

Hou Dong asked curiously, "Isn't it? Brother Feng, don't you want to spread dry rice all over the land of Qilu?"

Gao Yongfu thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Feng, if you open branches in different places, will you share the recipe of Baozirou?"

Ding Yuan and Hou Dong said almost in unison: "No."

The two looked at each other, and Ding Yuan tried to persuade Feng Zhengming seriously.

"Brother Feng, the recipe for the braised pork is a secret of your dry rice shop and cannot be shared with others. If you share it, someone else will definitely learn it."

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked the three people: "Isn't it good to let others learn it too?"

These three people were really stumped by this question.

Feng Zhengming started talking to himself.

"I think that publishing the recipe so that branches around the country can make it themselves is also a good way to pass on the tradition of Ba Zi Rou."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong felt that this seemed to be the truth.

However, the three still disagreed to share the recipe of braised pork.

"Brother Feng, if you really make the recipe public, someone will definitely learn how to make it. If they set up a street stall, they will definitely steal your business."

"Yes, the cost of setting up a street stall is much lower than opening a store, and the price they sell can be cheaper than yours."

"If the price is cheaper and the taste is the same, people will definitely buy it on the street."

Feng Zhengming certainly knew that the advice of the three people was indeed very correct.

However, their thoughts are still limited to the pork.

Feng Zhengming walked all over the land of Qi and Lu on this trip.

Although he only visited many places in a hurry and did not stay there to truly appreciate the local characteristics.

But he has already realized that each place has its own local characteristics.

Including in terms of diet, there are differences in different parts of Qi and Lu.

There is nothing in this world that will be liked by everyone no matter where you put it.

In Feng Zhengming's mind, he decided to open branches in various places.

It’s not just about moving the dry rice shop over there.

The idea is to combine local characteristics and bring local characteristic street food and snacks into branches in various places.

In this way, steamed pork with pork belly is just the most basic item in all branches.

It may even be because of the addition of local specialties and snacks that steamed pork is not the focus of the branches.

Of course, Feng Zhengming has another idea, which is that the taste of the steamed pork in various branches needs to be adjusted according to the different tastes of people in different places.

While the basic cooking methods and spices remain unchanged, changes are made to the seasoning according to the taste preferences of local people.

In this way, even if the basic recipe of Bazirou is announced, it will not actually have much impact.

Of course, this would require Feng Zhengming to invest heavily in opening branches in various places.

The investment here does not mean financial investment.

It's an investment of energy.

It is necessary to find suitable people to run branches in various places.

You also need to find a chef who is more familiar with the local people's taste preferences.

It is even possible that Feng Zhengming must be present in person in the early stages.

He needs to run the branches in various places well before he can let go and hand over the management to local people.

The most important point is to promote the brand and make others recognize the brand.

You must accumulate a good reputation.

With a good reputation, there is no need for any advertising or promotion, and it is natural that local people will help promote branches in various places.

All of this can be a very exhausting process.

Feng Zhengming did not tell Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong what he was thinking.

After all, many of the three people's ideas are simpler.

Even if I tell these three people, they may not be able to truly understand.

On the way back, Feng Zhengming continued to chat with the three people about some unique cooking techniques he saw in different places along the way.

And you can taste different flavors in different places.

When talking about these things, Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong all had a lot to talk about.

In fact, along the way, the three people saw a lot of Feng Zhengming's cooking skills and also learned a lot of theory from Feng Zhengming.

Now the three of them are a little impatient and want to go back as soon as possible to find a chance to practice properly.

After another half a month, Feng Zhengming and his group finally returned to Quancheng.

After a trip around the land of Qi and Lu, I finally returned to the city of springs where I started.

It really gave the four people a feeling of being in another world.

The four of them stepped into the urban area of ​​Quancheng together.

Soon someone on the street recognized them.

"Is that Feng Zhuangyuan? Are you guys back?"

Feng Zhengming heard the other party's question and responded with a smile: "Yes, we are back."

After receiving the response, the first person who spoke was immediately very happy.

"He's back! Our top chef is back." After hearing this, many people on the street turned their heads to look at them.

Then, many people came forward, looked at Feng Zhengming carefully and asked about his experiences on the road.

Feng Zhengming smiled and gave some answers, but of course he did not go into detail about the specifics.

I just want to apologize to everyone. I am really tired and need to rest first.

People who recognized him on the street heard that he needed to rest and did not continue to pester him. They all made way for him, as if they were welcoming a triumphant general, and watched Feng Zhengming and his companions enter the city.

After entering the city, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong first said goodbye to Feng Zhengming and Ding Yuan.

The two people need to go back to report.

Feng Zhengming left some things to the two of them and said that he would come to see them after he had rested.

After saying goodbye to Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong, Feng Zhengming and Ding Yuan walked for a while together.

After Feng Zhengming sent Ding Yuan to the dormitory in Huiquan Building, he asked Ding Yuan to go back and have a good rest.

Then he returned to his grandfather's house alone.

When I returned to Grandpa Feng’s house, I saw Grandpa Feng and Grandpa Situ playing chess in the yard.

Feng Zhengming walked forward with a smile: "Grandpa, Grandpa Situ, I'm back."

The two old men were a little excited and turned their heads to look at Feng Zhengming who was standing outside.

"He's back."

"I'm glad you're back. Come in and take a shower and rest."

Feng Zhengming walked in with a smile and went straight to his room.

When you walk into the room, you can see that it is very tidy.

It seems that his grandfather would clean up his room every day when he was not at home.

This touched Feng Zhengming deeply.

After putting down his luggage, he took out a new set of clothes from the closet and went into the bathroom in Grandpa Feng's house to take a shower.

After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, Feng Zhengming walked out of the house and into the yard.

The two grandfathers are still playing chess.

Seeing Feng Zhengming coming out, the two grandfathers looked at him together.

Grandpa Feng spoke first: "It's a lot darker."

Grandpa Situ followed up: "He has lost a lot of weight too."

Grandpa Feng added: "But it does look stronger."

"Yes, and now he looks more mature." Grandpa Situ also commented.

After being evaluated by the two grandfathers, Feng Zhengming found a small stool and sat down in front of the two grandfathers.

Grandpa Situ asked, "Did you gain much from this trip?"

Feng Zhengming nodded and replied: "We have gained a little, but not a lot. We were a little too rushed in our schedule, and we only had a cursory look at many places."

Grandpa Feng put down the chess piece in his hand and asked: "Is the road safe?"

"It's OK. With Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu, and Hou Dong, the four of us are together. Even if we encounter some petty thieves, they don't dare to attack us. We also helped catch a group of poachers."

Grandpa Situ smiled and praised: "Not bad, it seems that this trip is not completely fruitless."

Feng Zhengming then told the two grandfathers about his gains and his plan to open branches across the province.

After listening to Feng Zhengming's long narration, the two old men were a little surprised.

"You still say that you haven't gained much? I see that you have gained a lot." Grandpa Feng couldn't help but exclaim.

Grandpa Situ is very optimistic about Feng Zhengming's idea of ​​opening a branch.

"Okay, Zhengming, your ideas are great. When opening branches, you should also incorporate local characteristics. That's the right thing to do. If every branch has no characteristics and serves the same braised pork, it will become boring."

Feng Zhengming nodded. "Yes, Grandpa, Grandpa Situ, my idea is that the branch store should not only make our braised pork available to people from other places, but also help preserve some common street food and snacks in various places."

"That's right, your idea is very good." Grandpa Feng praised.

Both grandfathers thought Feng Zhengming’s idea was good.

The delicacies and snacks from all over the world may slowly disappear under the impact of the entry of some foreign things.

If Feng Zhengming could make good use of the branches of Ganfanpu in various places.

By absorbing the unique delicacies and snacks from all over the world, we can preserve them.

The most important thing is to adapt to local conditions and make something with local characteristics.

In fact, it can also save a lot of costs for opening branches.

It can also attract local people to eat it.

Grandpa Situ said with a smile: "In the future, this model can even be promoted nationwide, so that there will be stores of yours all over the country, and they can be regarded as our own fast food restaurants in China."

Hearing what Grandpa Situ said, Feng Zhengming felt a strong sense of resonance.

He inherited the Feng family's dry restaurant from the beginning.

He has always been thinking about running the dry rice shop into a domestic fast food restaurant in the future.

This is different from some later fast food restaurants that use microwaves to heat up pre-prepared meals.

Instead, it is a fast food restaurant that employs serious chefs and prepares various small dishes.

Although this will certainly lead to an increase in costs.

But Feng Zhengming feels that this can solve the internship and employment problems of chef apprentices.

At the same time, the experience in the kitchen of Fengjia Restaurant can also help apprentices grow.

However, this idea cannot be directly promoted nationwide for the time being.

We can only try it within the province now.

Opening branches in various places is a start.

If this model is really feasible, Feng Zhengming wants to open branches all over the province now.

After that, we will gradually expand outside the province.

In the future, every time we open a branch in a new place, we will conduct an investigation in advance to understand the local characteristics and the local people’s taste preferences.

Then recruit suitable chefs and management from the local area.

Feng Zhengming even has a bolder idea.

That is, when expanding nationwide, we can set up a training base.

Chefs from branches across the country receive centralized training.

After the training, they will go to various branches to take up their posts.

If a virtuous cycle is formed, Feng Zhengming feels that the domestic cooking standards will be greatly improved.

Of course, these are just his own fantasies for now.

After all, many areas still need to be tried and improved.

If you really want to succeed, there is still a lot of effort required.

The most critical point is to have an authoritative evaluation system of its own to ensure that the quality of each store can basically satisfy ordinary people.

Although fast food will be indispensable to everyone's life in the future, it is not a bad thing if it is made delicious and healthier.

Feng Zhengming had just returned home and did not go out again, not even to visit Ganfanpu and Huiquanlou.

I just stayed at home and chatted with the two grandfathers about what I saw and heard on the road.

In the evening, I even cooked a few simple dishes myself.

I drank two glasses of wine with the two grandfathers at home.

This can be regarded as a good vacation for Feng Zhengming after he returned home from his walk through Qilu. (End of this chapter)