From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming drove back to Quancheng with Luo Qing and went straight back to Huiquan Tower.

When He Yunqing saw Feng Zhengming coming back, he hurried forward to tell him about the reception.

"This time, some people came from the capital, including Master Hou who came before. According to Master Hou, they are accompanying several leaders who want to inspect the kitchen of Huiquanlou."

Feng Zhengming was a little surprised when he heard this: "Investigating the kitchen of Huiquanlou?"

He Yunqing nodded: "Yes, Master Hou said that this time, not only your personal cooking skills will be tested, but also the cooking skills of the entire team in the kitchen of Huiquanlou."

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming was not surprised at all.

He thought about it carefully and looked at the date again.

Then he roughly guessed the reason behind it.

"It seems that they are going to conduct an inspection and selection on me this time. I am afraid they will ask me to take my team to the capital."

This time it was He Yunqing and Luo Qing's turn to be surprised.

Luo Qing asked: "You mean, we want you and Huiquanlou's chef team to come to Beijing?"

He Yunqing also thought of this, but he didn't say it directly.

When He Yunqing heard what Luo Qing said, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

Feng Zhengming was quite relaxed: "Don't be surprised. Think about the date. Is it an important day coming soon?"

After being reminded, He Yunqing and Luo Qing immediately started counting the days.

Luo Qing quickly thought of it: "Yes, it's July 1st. There is only one month left until July 1st."

He Yunqing also reacted: "Gangcheng is coming back."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Such an important day, there must be some celebration activities, which requires a grand state banquet. I, the top scholar in the country, will probably be invited, and the chef team from Hong Kong City should also be invited."

After saying that, Feng Zhengming went to the store first, picked up the phone and dialed a number.

After the call was connected, Feng Zhengming smiled and spoke directly to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Brother, I may need you to come back and help. Yes, we brothers need to fight together this time. It's very important. Can you go back to Quancheng?

How long? I think you may need to come back to help me for at least a month and a half. If it takes longer, it may be two or three months.

Hahaha, don't worry, second brother, this time it's definitely a big deal, otherwise I wouldn't be able to call you.

OK, OK, we are waiting for you to come, second brother."

After hanging up the phone, Feng Zhengming made another call.

"Hey, Sixth Brother? How's your business going? Is the branch doing well? Can Xiao Lu and Xiao Peng in the branch's kitchen take over now?

Is that all right? Okay, Sixth Brother, come to Quancheng. There's a big job this time, and I don't think I can handle it alone.

I just called my second brother. This time we brothers need to go out together.

How long? At least a month and a half, and if things can’t be resolved, it may take two or three months.”

This time, the person on the other end of the phone obviously hesitated for a long time after hearing how long it had been.

But in the end, the person on the other end of the phone agreed.

"Okay, I knew you would definitely help me with this, Sixth Brother."

After making two phone calls, Feng Zhengming did not go to the kitchen, but asked Luo Qing to accompany him out.

He Yunqing was a little confused by Feng Zhengming's actions.

"Chef, where are you going? Why don't you go in and discuss this with your brothers?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded, "No hurry, everyone is not here yet. Let's discuss it together when my second brother and sixth brother come back. I will go and inform my third brother now."

Then, Feng Zhengming drove Luo Qing straight to the old Fengjia Dry Restaurant.

He Yunqing stood at the door and watched Feng Zhengming drive away.

He suddenly realized: "Is the chef going to do a big job this time? He wants all his fellow apprentices to join the battle and go to Beijing together."

Driving on the way to Laopu, Feng Zhengming was smiling happily.

"Okay, I finally got this chance."

Luo Qing also guessed what Feng Zhengming was thinking.

"Do you really think that the brothers are willing to go to Beijing with you this time?"

Feng Zhengming was very confident: "They can't refuse this time. I have to have the final say this time."

Seeing Feng Zhengming so happy, Luo Qing felt happy for him too.

I was able to go to Beijing to attend the July 1st state banquet.

This is not an opportunity that ordinary people can get.

Luo Qing also knew in her heart that Feng Zhengming had been waiting for this opportunity.

In fact, for Feng Zhengming personally, when he won the first place in the national cooking competition, he had the opportunity to go directly to Beijing.

But he didn't go, because he didn't just want a chance to be alone.

He wanted to form a chef team with his fellow seniors.

We must go to Beijing as a whole.

If there hadn’t been this return state banquet.

Luo Qing could guess that Feng Zhengming would open branches of his Zhengluxing Fengjia Dry Restaurant all over the province. After making enough money, he would go to Beijing with his fellow brothers to open a Yanxilou.

It can be said that neither Master Yan, the Feng family, nor Feng Zhengming’s senior brothers knew what Feng Zhengming was really pursuing.

Luo Qing finally understood that what Feng Zhengming was pursuing was to prove the validity of Yan Xilou to everyone.

In fact, with Feng Zhengming's current ability and the funds on hand, he can already reopen Yan Xilou in Quancheng.

But he didn't do that. Instead, he used the funds he had to open branches.

This may be difficult to understand for some people.

But Luo Qing could understand that Feng Zhengming did this to make more money.

Because if he wanted to go to Beijing to open Yan Xilou.

He needs to have sufficient funds and sufficient industries to back him up.

Of course, now Feng Zhengming has another opportunity to go to Beijing.

It is an opportunity to bring my fellow brothers to Beijing.

That's why he immediately called his second and sixth senior brothers to meet up in Quancheng.

The team that Feng Zhengming is going to Beijing with this time is their fellow apprentices.

The car arrived at the old shop.

After Feng Zhengming got off the car, he and Luo Qing entered the old shop together.

It was not meal time, so there were not many customers in the old shop.

However, some people saw Feng Zhengming coming and greeted him together.

Feng Zhengming smiled and waved to everyone who greeted him.

Wait for him to enter the kitchen.

When he saw him, the third senior brother Yang Bin spoke first.

"Zhengming, you are finally back. This time, there is a big crowd. Not only are Master Hou and his men here, but there are also some leaders. I heard that they want to inspect you and the kitchen staff of Huiquanlou."

Feng Zhengming answered directly: "I have notified my second and sixth brothers to come over."

This made Yang Bin stunned: "You asked the second brother and the sixth brother to come as well? What do you want them to do?"

Feng Zhengming continued, "Third brother, please tell Sun Hai and the others about the old shop. You may want to come with me. I hope that we can go to Beijing together this time."

Yang Bin was stunned for a long time after hearing this, and seemed to not understand what Feng Zhengming meant. After a long while, Yang Bin asked curiously, "Are you going to Beijing this time? Do you want us brothers to go with you?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, this time we brothers will go to Beijing together."

Without waiting for his third brother to reply, Feng Zhengming said, "Fourth brother is abroad and probably won't be able to come back, but we brothers must go together this time, no one can be left behind."

"No, no, wait a minute." Yang Bin still didn't quite understand.

"How did you know that we were going to Beijing together this time?"

Feng Zhengming expressed his guess very frankly.

"This time, the leaders and Chef Hou came together to review me and the kitchen staff of Huiquanlou, especially to test my chef team's ability to command and dispatch and cook as a team. Why?"

Yang Bin shook his head: "How would I know that?"

Feng Zhengming asked again: "Third brother, think about it, what day is very close now?"

Yang Bin still didn't understand: "I really don't know."

However, Xia Mingye in the kitchen helped answer: "Uncle Yang, July 1st is getting closer and closer."

This made Yang Bin react immediately: "Oh, yes, yes, July 1st, Hong Kong City is coming back."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "This time the leader and Master Hou came to inspect me, probably to let me go to Beijing to participate in the cooking of the returning state banquet, so I hope that you brothers will go with me."

After hearing what his junior brother said, Yang Bin was also very excited.

I am very happy to be able to go to Beijing and participate in this state banquet.

It’s an opportunity no chef could refuse.

Yang Bin is of course no exception.

Especially when I heard from my junior brother that he wanted to let his fellow disciples go together this time.

This made it even more difficult for Yang Bin to refuse such an opportunity.

After the excitement, Yang Bin slowly calmed down.

"Zhengming, this is a big deal. You asked us to go to Beijing with you. This must not be an easy thing to do. It's not like you said you would let us go to Beijing with you and we can go together."

At this time, in the back kitchen of the old shop.

Xia Mingye, Sun Hai, Zhu Xu and several apprentices were all there.

They also listened to what Feng Zhengming had just said.

Their hearts are also full of expectations.

Being able to go to Beijing and attend the state banquet for the return was an opportunity they could never have dreamed of.

However, they also understood that with their current skills, they could not go.

But knowing that Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices were going together, everyone in the kitchen was still quite excited.

Now, relying on his reputation as the top scholar, Feng Zhengming has opened branches all over the province, and they are all very popular.

Feng Zhengming and his fellow brothers attended the state banquet.

What will the scene be like when they come back together?
Several people in the kitchen looked at each other, none of them dared to imagine the scene at that time.

At the very least, by then Huiquanlou and Laopu will probably become restaurants where many people will scramble to make reservations.

The business of Feng Zhengming's branches across the province will probably get better.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming and his senior brothers will become even more famous.

By then, they will all become true famous chefs of Shandong cuisine.

For Sun Hai, Xia Mingye and Zhu Xu.

Being able to learn from famous chefs will be very beneficial for them to open other restaurants or even start their own business in the future.

Feng Zhengming asked again: "Third brother, are you going to Beijing with me this time?"

When Yang Bin heard Feng Zhengming ask this, he did not hesitate at all.

"Go, as long as you need it, Third Brother will definitely help you."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Okay, when the second and sixth brothers come, we will discuss it together and give a surprise to the leader who came with Master Hou this time."

Feng Zhengming didn't stay in the old shop for long after telling his third senior brother.

Let the third brother arrange the staff in the kitchen of the old shop.

Then Feng Zhengming drove Luo Qing back to Huiquanlou.

When he returned to Huiquanlou again, He Yunqing had already told Li Huidong and Cao Zhiguo about what happened.

Seeing Feng Zhengming coming back, the eldest senior brother Li Huidong spoke first.

"Zhengming, you asked us to accompany you to Beijing, but I'm afraid it may not be possible, right?"

Of course, fifth senior brother Cao Zhiguo also hopes to go to Beijing together.

Participating in this state banquet together as fellow apprentices and seniors can truly demonstrate what they have learned, practiced and realized over the years.

But Cao Zhiguo was not so confident about going to Beijing together.

"Master Hou and the leaders are here, they must want you to go to Beijing to attend this state banquet. If you want to take us with you, I'm afraid the leaders may not approve it."

After listening to what the fifth senior brother said, Feng Zhengming understood the concerns of his two senior brothers.

"Big brother, fifth brother, Uncle He told me that Chef Hou wanted to evaluate me and the chefs at Huiquanlou. In other words, they definitely don't want me to go to Beijing alone this time. They want me to bring a team of chefs with me."

He Yunqing nodded: "Yes, I heard from the side that Master Hou and the leaders all said that they wanted to see the cooking skills of Huiquanlou's kitchen."

Hearing what He Yunqing said, Li Huidong and Cao Zhiguo looked at each other.

The two of them suddenly felt some anticipation in their hearts.

Li Huidong and Cao Zhiguo couldn't say they didn't care about being able to go to Beijing to attend the state banquet.

It can be seen that the two senior brothers are also very moved.

Feng Zhengming took the opportunity to pour a bucket of cold water on everyone.

"Big Brother, Fifth Brother, don't be too happy too soon. After all, we still need to pass the assessment. If we fail the assessment, I'm afraid our trip to Beijing will be ruined."

He first poured a basin of cold water to cool down the two brothers and himself.

"So, I have already contacted my second and sixth brothers by phone. I also just told my third brother that I hope that this time we brothers can fight together and perform well, and then we can go to Beijing together with honor."

This time, the eldest and fifth brothers did not hesitate at all and immediately agreed in unison: "We will definitely do our best."

While Feng Zhengming was calling to get someone, the person from Beijing was at the Provincial Chefs Association.

Several senior masters in Quancheng were present.

Several provincial leaders were also present.

It can be seen that this matter is indeed very important.

Everyone obviously takes it very seriously.

It was indeed just as Feng Zhengming had guessed. This time the leader and Master Hou came to Quancheng together to assess him, and not to assess him personally, but to assess Feng Zhengming's chef team.

Perhaps because of Feng Zhengming's sudden emergence, there were some slight changes in this return to the state banquet.

The leaders hope to bring together top chefs from different cuisines from all over the country.

Let them prepare a banquet for each part of the motherland.

Then put it together with the banquets of famous chefs in Hong Kong.

This can be considered a state banquet that expresses the meaning of the reunification of the motherland.

Then the most representative person of Shandong cuisine now must be Feng Zhengming. (End of this chapter)