From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Luo Qing returned to Quancheng from Daocheng before New Year's Day, but Feng Zhengming was always busy and the two had no time to meet.

Most of the time, Luo Qing could only see Feng Zhengming on TV.

But Luo Qing was not unhappy at all. Instead, she was very happy to see Feng Zhengming on TV.

This time, Luo Qing also stayed in the island city for more than half a year. Even after Feng Zhengming returned to Quancheng, she was still in the island city, taking charge of the business of Feng Zhengming's uncle's company.

After staying in the island city for so long, Luo Qing also learned a lot.

Luo Qing learned a lot about some business and foreign trade matters.

More importantly, Luo Qing learned how to negotiate with some people.

It is also because of Luo Qing's learning and progress that Uncle San's business is going smoothly.

Luo Qing made an indispensable contribution in helping Shouguang’s vegetables to be exported.

It truly allows Shouguang’s vegetables to go overseas.

In this regard, Shouguang was very grateful to Luo Qing and almost awarded her a certificate of honor.

In the end, Luo Qing refused it, and Shouguang also gave Luo Qing a bonus.

Together with the bonus given by her third uncle, Luo Qing earned a good income from her six months of work in the island city.

I went home and bought a lot of things for my parents, and also bought gifts for my grandparents.

It makes the elderly in the family very happy.

New Year's Day is over, and Feng Zhengming is finally completely free.

He also arranged everything as soon as possible and went to visit Luo Qing's home with gifts.

Of course, Luo Qing's parents were the happiest when they saw Feng Zhengming coming to their door with gifts.

Luo Qing's mother once again showed off in front of her old neighbors and colleagues in the staff quarters.

Among them, the one with the strongest sour taste is naturally Fang Hongyan's.

Fang Hongyan's mother always thinks that maybe she shouldn't have separated her daughter and Luo Wenhan.

Otherwise, relying on the relationship between Fang Hongyan and Luo Wenhan, his family could also benefit from Feng Zhengming's influence.

But Fang Hongyan’s family may not know.

If Fang Hongyan had not broken up with Luo Wenhan.

If Luo Wenhan had not changed like he does now, Luo Qing might have already broken up with her brother a long time ago.

So no matter how Fang Hongyan's family planned, they would not be able to benefit from Feng Zhengming at all.

When Feng Zhengming entered Luo Qing's house, Luo Wenhan, his elder brother-in-law, was very happy to tell him about some of his achievements over the past year.

"Brother-in-law, I'm telling you, I've almost learned it. Many families in our family compound have asked me to repair their appliances. My skills have been recognized by everyone. The master you found for me is really amazing."

Looking at my brother-in-law's excited face, he told me about the changes he had experienced over the past year.

Feng Zhengming was also very happy for his brother-in-law.

"Very good, it seems that big brother has really put in a lot of effort. Where are you going to open the repair shop?"

Luo Wenhan smiled and replied, "I plan to open it near my home. There are many family housing estates nearby, and many people live there, so there must be a lot of maintenance needed."

Feng Zhengming nodded, and then reminded: "You can open a car nearby, but you have to think about it carefully, brother. Can you swallow your pride and accept money from the neighbors and uncles, aunts and old colleagues here?"

This reminder really stumped Luo Wenhan.

When Luo's mother saw that her son was stumped by the question, she smiled and agreed.

"Look, you're not as comprehensive as others, right? You only think about the convenience of opening a repair shop near your home, but you don't consider that everyone in this area is your old neighbor.

What will you do if someone asks you for money? If they ask you for money, will you be embarrassed to ask them for it?"

Luo's father's attitude was very clear: "If you want to open a store near our house, you have to be respectful and charge people the right amount. And you have to make it clear in advance that you don't sell on credit."

Luo Qing agreed with her father: "Yes, Luo Wenhan, you have to set the rules first."

Faced with the preaching of his family, Luo Wenhan was still a little hesitant.

In fact, what he didn't tell his family was that he had already done repairs for the staff quarters and some people nearby.

The result is that he still has several debts that he hasn't been able to collect from others.

He even paid for the repair parts himself.

Now, after being reminded by Feng Zhengming and lectured by his family, Luo Wenhan began to back down.

"Why don't I open a store here? They are all neighbors, many of them are my parents' old colleagues, and some are my former colleagues and friends from the factory. I am really embarrassed to go to their homes and ask for money."

Luo Qing asked with a rather heart-wrenching tone: "Do you have any friends in the factory?"

Luo Wenhan suddenly felt depressed by his sister's words.

"We used to work in the same factory and workshop. We went to get off work and left work together. If we weren't friends, we were colleagues and acquaintances, right?"

When Feng Zhengming saw his brother-in-law like this, he also felt helpless.

After thinking about it, he gave his brother-in-law an idea.

"How about this, brother, since you can't bring yourself to charge money when opening a store nearby, I recommend two places to you. One is next to my grandfather's house, and the other is the brewery, next to my branch."

Luo Wenhan immediately became excited when he heard this: "Great, both places are good."

Then he thought about it carefully and said, "Then I'll go to the brewery. There are several factory families' quarters there as well."

Luo Qing looked helpless: "You are just trying to evade yourself. Are you not even going to ask your old neighbor for the money you gave him for the repairs? You are even paying for the parts yourself."

Luo Wenhan was stunned when he heard this: "You, how did you know?"

Luo Qing looked down upon her brother's cowardly look.

"Do you think no one reported to me what you did here?"

Luo Wenhan immediately tried hard to act like an older brother.

"Luo Qing, what do you mean? I'm your brother, and you hired someone to monitor me, right?"

Luo Qing curled her lips: "Who wants to monitor you? The things you did have already been spread by those people nearby, but you are the only one who doesn't know about it. You still think you have done something good."

When it comes to his sister, Luo Wenhan has never gotten the upper hand since he was a child.

However, Luo Wenhan also knew that his sister was now under the care of Feng Zhengming.

So he looked at Feng Zhengming decisively.

"Brother-in-law, I'm telling you, you have to take care of this matter in advance. You can't let my sister keep an eye on you. You're a grown man, a national champion in cooking, and now the president of our provincial chefs association. How can you let my sister keep an eye on you?"

Feng Zhengming was shocked when he heard his brother-in-law's obvious provocation.

He couldn't help laughing.

"Hahaha, don't you think it's a happy thing to be watched by someone sent by your sister?"

"Happy? This is still happy?" Luo Wenhan looked incredulous.

Feng Zhengming looked at Luo Qing: "She sent someone to keep an eye on me, which means she has me in her heart, that she cares about me and is worried that I might run into danger outside. Isn't it a kind of happiness to be remembered and cared for by others?"

Luo Qing's face turned red when she heard this, and her eyes were full of deep love for Feng Zhengming.

Luo Wenhan was speechless for a while, and suddenly realized that his instigation would hardly succeed. Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing stared at each other for a while.

He then looked at Luo Wenhan again: "Brother, you have to go to the brewery. I'll ask Lao Yao and the others to help you find a suitable place over there."

Luo Wenhan immediately agreed happily: "Okay, okay, brother-in-law, thank you for your help."

Luo Qing couldn't help scolding her brother: "When have you never bothered others? Remember to ask for the money they owe you. At least you can't refuse the money for the accessories, right?"

Luo Wenhan only agreed to this verbally, but no one knew whether he took it to heart.

At Luo Qing's home, I had lunch with Luo Qing's parents.

By the way, he also drank two glasses of wine with Luo Qing's father.

In the afternoon, Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing went out to play.

Luo Wenhan originally wanted to go along, but was stopped by his mother.

Mother still hopes that Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing can develop faster.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing didn't play much in the afternoon, but went to their uncle's house together.

Now that my uncle and aunt are retired, they are naturally very happy to see Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing coming to visit.

"Oh, our number one scholar finally has time to come to visit us. I thought our number one scholar had forgotten about me, your uncle, and your aunt, and had no intention of visiting us."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "How is that possible? I can never forget my uncle and aunt."

My aunt still helped to speak up: "Don't listen to your uncle, he is just too idle now, he has nothing to do all day and likes to daydream. You are busy at other times, so just do your own things."

My uncle immediately said sourly: "Isn't it too idle? I have nothing to do all day."

Luo Qing quickly tried to comfort him: "Uncle, wouldn't it be nice if you could spend more time at home with your aunt when you have free time?"

Before my uncle could speak, my aunt spoke first.

"Forget it. Let him accompany me? I'm afraid I'll be pissed off. People know to send food to their wives who are in class. He's still waiting for me to come back and cook for him."

When my uncle heard this, he immediately argued: "That's not it, that's not the food I cooked, don't you like it?"

"Hahaha, you have the nerve to say that in front of the kids?
You tell me, when you cook rice, it’s always undercooked, and when you stir-fry vegetables, it’s either too greasy or you forget to add salt.”

My uncle's face turned red after hearing what my aunt said, but he couldn't refute it.

Feng Zhengming smiled and helped smooth things over: "Uncle, if you want to send food to Aunt, you can go to the old shop and ask them to make it, and then you can pack it up and send it to Aunt."

My aunt agreed, "This is a good idea. You can buy it from the store in the future."

After being scolded like this, my uncle certainly felt very embarrassed.

So he simply asked Feng Zhengming for advice.

"Zhengming, you happened to be here today, why don't you teach your uncle to cook a few dishes, and then your uncle will cook for your aunt at home. I always go to your shop to buy food, and you will definitely not charge me. I am embarrassed to go there all the time."

Feng Zhengming quickly expressed his opinion: "It's okay, uncle, you and aunt can go there every day."

Although he said that, Feng Zhengming still stood up and prepared to teach his uncle a few dishes.

"What dish does uncle want to learn to cook?"

Luo Qing's uncle immediately called on her: "First, you have to learn how to make your sweet and sour pork ribs. Your aunt likes that dish very much. Teach your uncle how to make it."

Hearing his uncle say this, Feng Zhengming naturally agreed.

"Okay, then I'll teach you how to make sweet and sour spare ribs."

After agreeing, Feng Zhengming went directly to the vegetable market with his uncle to buy vegetables.

Seeing the two of them go out to buy groceries together, my aunt and Luo Qing were chatting at home.

My aunt asked a lot about Luo Qing's situation during this period, and also asked about her relationship with Feng Zhengming.

On the other side, Feng Zhengming took his uncle to the vegetable market and first explained to his uncle in detail how to choose ribs, which part of the ribs is better, and how to check the freshness of the meat.

"Uncle, you must buy ribs that are reddish pink in color, and choose the longer ones. You can't choose the shorter ribs."

I explained it in detail to my uncle and took him to buy some seasonings.

After returning home, Feng Zhengming began to teach his uncle how to cook spare ribs.

Originally, the ribs must be fried.

However, in order to save some oil, Feng Zhengming changed to frying.

"Uncle, look, this way we use less oil. We can use this method of frying. In addition, the oil from frying the ribs can be collected in a bowl and can be used for cooking later."

Feng Zhengming’s teaching was quite detailed, and my uncle also learned in detail, even taking notes in a notebook.

"After buying the ribs, soak them in water and rinse them, then try to dry the water on the surface of the ribs as much as possible."

"The key to frying is to make sure the oil temperature is high enough. You can't put it in when the oil temperature is still relatively low."

"Uncle, you see there is smoke now, and the oil surface is very calm. Now put the ribs in the pot and cover it with the lid so that the oil doesn't splash onto your body."

My uncle watched very seriously and learned very carefully.

"When the ribs are fried, the meat has shrunk and there is a burnt ring here."

Show my uncle that the ribs are fried, and then start roasting them.

"Put a little oil in the pan. Before the oil temperature rises, add the scallions and ginger first to stir-fry until they are fragrant. Then put the ribs back into the pan and add some soy sauce. Don't use too much soy sauce, mainly to give the ribs some color."

My uncle saw this and asked, "Don't you need to stir-fry the sugar color?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked back: "Uncle, do you know how to stir-fry sugar color?"

"Of course, I see a lot of restaurants just stir-frying sugar color." My uncle said with a bit of pride.

Feng Zhengming introduced: "It is difficult to stir-fry sugar color. Uncle, you are a beginner, so don't stir-fry sugar color. Use this soy sauce that can add color to the ribs, stir-fry to bring out the fragrance, and let the soy sauce coat the surface of the ribs.

The next step is to add rice wine, but don’t add water. The rice wine should be boiled so that it can boil onto the ribs. That’s it.

Next is to add vinegar and sugar. Uncle, you must remember that the amount of vinegar and sugar must be the same.

Then you can adjust the taste according to your aunt’s taste. For example, if she likes sweet and sour pork ribs, we can add half a bag of vinegar and half a bag of sugar.”

Seeing Feng Zhengming put down the vinegar and sugar, his uncle also took notes very seriously.

After adding vinegar and sugar, Feng Zhengming added some rice wine.

"Uncle, remember, the soup in the pot must completely cover the ribs."

My uncle nodded to indicate that he would definitely remember it, then turned around and quickly wrote it down in his notebook.

Feng Zhengming waited for the soup in the pot to boil, then he covered the pot and turned down the fire on his uncle's gas stove.

"Uncle, look, it's probably like this. Cover the pot and don't move it. Let it burn slowly for at least half an hour, until you can smell the aroma of vinegar and sugar through the lid."

After the explanation, Feng Zhengming and his uncle went out of the kitchen first.

When my aunt saw the two of them coming out, she couldn't help but look at my uncle with a smile.

"How is it? I watched Zhengming teach it so carefully, have you learned it?"

When my uncle was asked this question, he naturally patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, there will be no problem. I promise to make you the same sweet and sour spare ribs that Zhengming made today." (End of this chapter)