From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

On the day when Feng Zhengming's Yancheng branch opened, it really shocked half of the city's population.

At first, when many people heard that a dry rice shop selling braised pork was going to open, they didn’t know what was so special about it.
But when I found out it was actually opened by Feng Zhengming, a young chef from Qilu who won the first prize in the national competition with his Shandong cuisine.

It immediately sparked discussions in almost the entire city of Yancheng.

On the opening day, many people came to the restaurant at around six in the morning.

On the street outside the branch, those who came here to see the store were waiting for its opening.

Feng Zhengming had actually anticipated this, so he started making various preparations two days in advance.

He and his sixth senior brother brought everyone in the kitchen, even the service staff in the store, as well as Luo Qing and the two grandfathers to join in to help.

In the end, Feng Zhengming prepared five large pots of braised pork.

There was so much steamed meat that everyone was shocked.

But Feng Zhengming was quite confident in calming everyone down.

"Don't worry, our five big pots of braised pork will definitely be sold out on the opening day.

This is our way of opening up the market, so that everyone who comes to our store in Yancheng on that day can buy our steamed pork.

In this way, everyone can truly taste the flavor of the meat.

Only after knowing the taste of our Feng family’s braised pork will people continue to come and eat it.”

After Feng Zhengming said this, everyone agreed that this was indeed the case.

Then, in order to ensure that there would be no problems on the opening day, Feng Zhengming and his sixth senior brother stayed in the store the night before.

It can be said that the two brothers really took care of the store themselves and made all preparations.

Early in the morning, other people from the kitchen arrived one after another.

Everyone saw that there were already people waiting on the street outside for them to open.

After entering the door, Lu Zhengyu was very excited and rushed directly into the kitchen.

"Master, Junior Uncle-Master, outside, there is someone outside..."

When Lu Zhengyu rushed into the kitchen, he saw that his master and his junior uncle had already gotten up and were already heating up pots of braised pork.

Feng Zhengming didn't wait for Lu Zhengyu to finish speaking, and turned around and asked with a smile: "Are there a lot of people outside?"

Lu Zhengyu was also shocked to see his master and junior uncle busy in the kitchen.

Hearing what his junior uncle said, Lu Zhengyu suddenly came to his senses.

"Yes, there are a lot of people outside waiting for us to open."

Then Lu Zhengyu asked carefully: "Master, Junior Uncle, you guys, you didn't get up very early, did you?"

Zhang Minghai couldn't help laughing: "Hahaha, of course I got up very early. When I saw a lot of people coming outside, your junior master and I started to make preparations."

At this moment, Lu Zhengyu felt sincere admiration for his master and junior uncle.

In Lu Zhengyu's opinion, if someone else had the fame and skills of his junior uncle.

I'm afraid that if they open a branch, the most they will do is come over a few times during the renovation and then leave everything in the kitchen to the hired staff.

Show up as the boss on the opening day.

All the work should be done by the people in the kitchen.

As for the branch, is the taste good?

Maybe the boss himself doesn't care at all.

At most, at the beginning, the boss might watch over others in the kitchen and make them work more carefully.

But I'm afraid he would never do it himself like Feng Zhengming did.

The junior master in front of Lu Zhengyu is completely different.

In Lu Zhengyu's opinion, with the fame of the junior master uncle, even if it is just a figurehead, he can attract quite a lot of customers to eat.

Junior Master-Uncle is not just a figurehead, he will personally finalize the purchase.

He will personally teach the kitchen staff and the waiters in the front branch how to do their jobs.

He even personally stayed in the shop to keep watch on the opening day.

He would get up early in the morning to prepare for the opening.

Lu Zhengyu felt that with his junior master's dedication, how could his branch's business not be good?
Lu Zhengyu was the first one to come in. He was stunned when he saw his master and uncle busy in the kitchen.

After him, Peng Yan and other kitchen staff were also stunned after taking a look.

It was Feng Zhengming who clapped his hands to wake them up.

"Okay, don't just stand there, change your clothes quickly and start getting ready. Do you remember what we told you?"

Feng Zhengming clapped his hands and shouted, and everyone immediately came back to their senses.

Everyone answered in unison: "Remember."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, go change your clothes and make all the preparations. We will open on time at noon. On the first day of opening, we must shock everyone in Yancheng so that everyone will remember us. Can you do it?"

"can."

They still answered Feng Zhengming in unison and loudly.

Then, everyone quickly turned around and went to the locker room to change their clothes.

Zhang Minghai saw that everyone was full of vigor.

Then he looked at his junior fellow apprentice and smiled: "Zhengming, I didn't realize before that you are really a natural leader. You can mobilize everyone's enthusiasm in an instant and make everyone willing to work hard."

Feng Zhengming listened and smiled: "Sixth brother, this is my first branch outside Quancheng, I must do it well, not only to open it, but also to send it on its way.

Brother Liu, when the business is stable after I leave, don’t follow my example and don’t keep an eye on it every day.

Just let the apprentices do what they should do freely.

As long as the taste of the braised pork remains unchanged, it doesn’t matter if the other dishes have some flaws and the apprentices are complained by customers.”

Zhang Minghai was immediately confused and said, "Why do you make it sound like my apprentice is going to make a mistake and be complained about?"

"No, no, senior brother, that's not what I meant." Feng Zhengming quickly explained.

"I don't want you to be too tired running back and forth. After all, Donglai Restaurant can't do without you, right?"

Zhang Minghai responded seriously: "Don't worry, since you opened your first branch in Yancheng, I will definitely help you keep it safe and ensure the reputation of your branch in Yancheng."

When Feng Zhengming saw how serious his sixth senior brother was, he could only smile bitterly with helplessness.

"Sixth brother, we brothers really don't need to do this. I came to Yancheng to open the first branch, not to tie you down. I hope to give you and your wife a piece of your own business."

Zhang Minghai laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha, you said it's our own business, so shouldn't I keep a closer eye on it?"

Feng Zhengming was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help laughing.

"Okay, Sixth Brother, you are right to say that, but Sixth Brother, don't do it like you did when you opened your business today."

Zhang Minghai asked: "Then what do you think should be done?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "You can limit the quantity. You can't make so much. Don't force yourself to make five big pots of braised pork, because if you can't guarantee the quality and taste, making too much will damage the reputation."

Sixth Senior Brother immediately nodded in agreement.

"You're right. We'd rather sell less than let the taste get worse."

As time went by, staff of all branches arrived one after another.

Feng Zhengming did not blame everyone too much for coming early or late.

After all, as long as you're not late, it's fine.

Besides, since today is the first day, it must be earlier.

After that, you just need to make the meat in a cycle and you don’t have to get up early every day to be busy.

After all, braised pork is definitely eaten at noon and in the evening.

No one would come here so early in the morning to eat braised pork for breakfast. If today wasn't the first day of business, there probably wouldn't be so many people gathering here so early in the morning.

After all the kitchen staff were present, Feng Zhengming and Sixth Senior Brother stepped aside and began to watch everyone working in the kitchen.

When the soup of the braised pork is served separately, it is used to braise the dried tofu, gluten and green peppers separately.

Feng Zhengming also emphasized this to everyone once again.

"You must remember all of this. Do not add dried tofu, gluten, and green peppers directly into the meat pot. Be sure to use separate broth to braise those ingredients. Eggs can be added to the braised meat broth and braised together."

Before opening the business, Feng Zhengming and his sixth senior brother tried their best to give everyone a final lesson so that everyone in the kitchen would know how to do their job.

Finally, it was almost noon and Luo Qing brought the two grandfathers to the branch.

Before entering the door, the two grandfathers were also surprised by the crowd gathered outside.

"Wow, there are so many people here?"

"It seems that our top pick still has strong appeal."

“They must have come here because of its reputation.”

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"This will put a lot of pressure on Zhengming."

"Hahaha, what kind of situation hasn't Zhengming seen? He won't feel any pressure."

"You are very confident in your grandson."

"Of course."

The two grandfathers walked into the store, talking and laughing.

Luo Qing let the two grandfathers enter first, and she explained something to everyone in front of the door.

"Don't worry, our business hours will start at 11 a.m. in the future. Please don't come so early in the future. After all, it takes time to prepare the store.

Today, you can rest assured that we will make sure to provide as much steamed pork as possible, and we will also provide as much stir-fried seafood as possible, a specialty of Yancheng.

The price of Bazi meat is the same as that in Quancheng, and there will be no price increase, so please rest assured."

The crowd waiting at the door heard Luo Qing stand up and explain to everyone.

Someone curiously asked: "Who are you?"

Then someone started to speculate loudly: "Are you the boss's wife?"

"Is she our Feng Zhuangyuan's wife?"

Faced with the crowd's curious inquiries, Luo Qing admitted it to everyone generously.

"You all guessed correctly. I am Feng Zhengming's wife. Although we haven't held the wedding yet, we have already obtained the marriage certificate."

Upon hearing this, the crowd burst into exclamations, followed by many people congratulating.

Many people looked at Luo Qing carefully, and most of them were quite satisfied with her appearance.

"Not bad, not bad. They are a perfect match for our number one scholar."

"Yes, the top scholar's wife should be this beautiful."

"Hahaha, yes, the top scholar has such a beautiful wife, those unmarried girls can give up now."

"After getting married, won't our top scholar be more attractive?"

"A married top scholar is more attractive to young wives."

"Hahaha, don't say that, the number one scholar's wife is here."

Luo Qing was also left in tears and laughter by what everyone said.

I know the crowd didn't mean any harm by saying this, they were just joking.

Luo Qing said bluntly: "I'm telling you guys, you can joke around, but don't think about our top scholar. Although we haven't held the wedding yet, he's mine after we got the marriage certificate. Don't even think about it."

Luo Qing shouted this in public, causing the crowd to fall silent for a moment.

Then the crowd burst into applause and cheers.

"Hahaha, she's worthy of being the woman who can capture our top scholar. She's really powerful."

"This is our authentic Qilu girl."

"Yes, this is what a proper housekeeper woman looks like."

"That's the only way to control the top scholar and keep the place under control."

It has to be said that Luo Qing's conversation with the crowd actually gave everyone a better impression of Feng Zhengming.

Through Luo Qing, everyone felt that Feng Zhengming should also be this approachable person.

As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." The top scholar's wife is so good, so the top scholar must be a good person.

Feng Zhengming heard from the grandfathers that Luo Qing was outside helping to greet customers.

He quickly took off his apron and walked quickly out of the store wearing his chef's uniform.

Seeing Feng Zhengming appear, the crowd waiting outside suddenly became excited.

"The top scholar has been chosen."

"Our top pick has been revealed."

"Hello, No. 1 Scholar."

"You are the pride of our Qilu."

"Yes, it is the pride of our Shandong cuisine."

Feng Zhengming clasped his hands and bowed to the crowd: "Thank you, everyone. Thank you so much for coming here so enthusiastically. I'm really sorry to have made you wait outside for so long.

Our branch will open at 11:00 a.m. every day from now on, so please don’t come too early.”

After a brief pause, Feng Zhengming continued to introduce what he had prepared for today.

"Today, our store is fully stocked with Braised Pork Dumplings from Fengjia Dry Rice Shop in Quancheng and our own brand Zhengluxing Braised Pork Dumplings.

You can try it. If you have eaten it in Quancheng before, if the taste is different between our Yancheng branch and Quancheng branch today, we will not charge you.

Everyone can come in and taste it today. If you have any comments, you can leave a message in our message book.

Welcome everyone to give us suggestions for our new store, we will make improvements.

Thank you again for welcoming me to Yancheng, and thank you all for coming to support me today."

As soon as Feng Zhengming finished speaking, there was a commotion among the crowd.

Then the crowd dispersed to both sides, and some people from Yancheng came specifically to send flower baskets to celebrate the opening of Feng Zhengming's new store.

Among them were some potted plants and even a money tree sent to Feng Zhengming.

They are displayed in pairs in front of the store.

The crowd watching saw the words written on the congratulatory ribbons.

They were all very surprised.

Some big hotels in Yancheng, the Chefs Association of Yancheng, and the city of Yancheng all sent flower baskets to express their congratulations.

This scene really surprised everyone.

But on second thought, with Feng Zhengming's current reputation, he opened a branch in Yancheng.

This branch in particular is Feng Zhengming’s first branch in the province outside of Quancheng.

Naturally, it is to gain welcome from all aspects of Yancheng.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with this celebration.

Soon, the time was approaching eleven o'clock.

Feng Zhengming called out everyone in the store, and he and his sixth senior brother invited the presidents of the city and Yancheng Chefs Association to cut the ribbon for his Yancheng branch.

Accompanied by bursts of salutes, Feng Zhengming's Tobacco City branch finally officially opened for business. (End of this chapter)