From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming and his fellow brothers arrived in Texas and first found a hotel to put down their belongings.

Then, led by Feng Zhengming, they first went to Grandpa Zhang's shop in the alley.

It was still morning when the group arrived.

I just happened to meet Grandpa Zhang who was coming back from shopping.

"Grandpa Zhang, did you just come back from shopping?"

Grandpa Zhang, who was pushing a small tricycle into the house, turned around and saw Feng Zhengming after hearing the sound.

"Oh, it's our Feng Zhuangyuan."

Feng Zhengming and his fellow brothers helped push the cart while he smiled and said, "Grandpa Zhang, please don't call me Feng Zhuangyuan. You'd better call me Zhengming."

Grandpa Zhang smiled and said, "You could call me that before, but not now. You are now recognized as the top scholar and have even been on the news."

Grandpa Zhang is right about this.

Feng Zhengming and others participated in the state banquet celebrating the return.

Because of the hors d'oeuvre of the huge painting of the motherland's mountains and rivers designed by Feng Zhengming, they naturally received news reports.

It was still reported on the 7 o'clock evening news broadcast by CCTV.

It was even reported in the returning special program.

So now the whole country knows about Feng Zhengming, the champion of the National Cooking Skills Competition.

The CCTV also released an interview with Feng Zhengming in its special program.

Naturally, it made Feng Zhengming a national celebrity.

Grandpa Zhang often sees Feng Zhengming on TV news these days.

The old man was very happy about Feng Zhengming's achievements.

Feng Zhengming still said to the old man: "Grandpa Zhang, no matter what achievements I have made, I am still a junior in front of you, so you can call me Zhengming."

Grandpa Zhang wanted to argue, but Feng Zhengming insisted that he be called "Zhengming".

Finally, the old man had to compromise: "Okay, okay, I'll call you Zhengming."

Then Grandpa Zhang opened the door of his shop and watched Feng Zhengming and his fellow brothers carry the things in.

Grandpa Zhang was a little embarrassed: "Oh, how can I let you do these jobs?"

Senior Brother Li Huidong responded: "Don't be polite to us, we also do these odd jobs at the state banquet."

Third Senior Brother Yang Bin followed up and said, "That's right, please don't be polite to us."

Help Grandpa Zhang pack up his things.

Feng Zhengming and the others sat down at the invitation of Grandpa Zhang.

Then Feng Zhengming asked about the branch in Texas.

Grandpa Zhang was a little confused by the question: "Shouldn't we wait until you come back to open a branch? No one has come to see me here?"

When Feng Zhengming heard this, he and his fellow brothers looked at each other in surprise.

Everyone felt very strange.

It was obvious that before Feng Zhengming and his team went to Beijing, they arranged for people to come and prepare for the establishment of the Dezhou branch.

Although Lu Chongshan shouldn't have come yet, the others should have come to Texas, right?
But how could people who came to Texas not look for Grandpa Zhang?
Li Huidong was worried that his junior fellow apprentice would be anxious, so he smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Maybe the people who came here are still preparing, so they didn't come to disturb Grandpa Zhang. In this way, let's contact them first and see."

Feng Zhengming knew that his senior brother was afraid that he would get angry, so he smiled and agreed with his senior brother.

How could Grandpa Zhang, at such an old age, not see the clues?

"Zhengming, I'm old now, and I may not be able to help you run the branch."

Hearing this, Feng Zhengming immediately interrupted what Grandpa Zhang was saying.

"No, Grandpa Zhang, you are indeed old, but your skills are still there, and I believe you will run my branch carefully. You will definitely not let the branch cook randomly."

When Grandpa Zhang heard this, he nodded and said, "That's right. No matter what, we must make sure the dishes are well prepared."

Following Grandpa Zhang's words, Feng Zhengming said with a serious face: "So I hope Grandpa Zhang can help me not to destroy my reputation and run the branch well."

Grandpa Zhang didn't refuse this time: "Okay, if you trust me, I'll help you."

Seeing that it was almost noon, Grandpa Zhang asked Feng Zhengming and the others to have lunch in the store.

Feng Zhengming naturally agreed and asked his fellow brothers to accompany Grandpa Zhang first. He took the opportunity to leave for a while, found a place to call home and inquire about the situation.

I called home and asked, and only then did I find out.

The people who were previously assigned to Texas to prepare for the branch encountered some troubles.

He Yunqing said on the phone that the local chefs association in Texas did not allow them to open a branch.

Feng Zhengming felt a little puzzled when he received such news.

“Why don’t you let us open a branch?”

He Yunqing could not explain the specific situation over the phone, he just told Feng Zhengming that the people he had sent to Texas were still there, and told Feng Zhengming the address of the hotel where they were staying.

Now that Feng Zhengming had the address, he told He Yunqing to continue taking care of the family as he and his fellow brothers would have to stay for a few days.

At noon, I had lunch at Grandpa Zhang’s shop.

Tasted the braised chicken made by Grandpa Zhang.

There is also the big willow noodles made by Grandpa Zhang.

The brothers really enjoyed the meal.

Even the senior brothers ate three bowls of noodles each.

During the meal, Feng Zhengming and his friends talked to Grandpa Zhang only about participating in the state banquet in Beijing, and did not mention anything about the branch in Texas.

After lunch, some old customers came to Grandpa Zhang's store and he started to get busy.

Feng Zhengming and the others found an opportunity to say goodbye and leave.

Then several people went straight to the hotel address given by He Yunqing.

When they arrived at the place, Feng Zhengming and his fellow brothers were somewhat surprised.

The hotel address given by He Yunqing turned out to be a very large hotel.

It is not difficult to tell from the interior and exterior decoration of the hotel that it should be a hotel that cost a lot of money to decorate.

You know, when Feng Zhengming and his senior brothers came back from Beijing, they only stayed in a very small hotel.

As a result, the people who were arranged to come to Texas to prepare for the branch actually stayed in such a grand hotel.

When Fifth Brother Cao Zhiguo saw this situation, he immediately couldn't help but get angry.

"It's obvious that they are deliberately using the money from Zhengming's opening of a branch store to squander it here."

Second brother Chen Zezhi was relatively calm.

"Don't jump to conclusions yet, go see the person and ask first."

Feng Zhengming and his friends walked in together and just as they reached the front desk to ask questions.

Suddenly, I saw the two people sent by Feng Zhengming to prepare for the Texas branch walking in from outside, surrounded by several people.

Feng Zhengming walked quickly forward to the front of a group of people.

"Liang Xiaocheng, what are you doing here?"

The person sent by Feng Zhengming to prepare for the Dezhou branch was one of the first apprentices to enter Huiquanlou.

The man who was chosen by Gu Zhicheng and served as his apprentice for a period of time was named Liang Xiaocheng.

Although he and Gu Zhicheng do not have the official relationship of master and disciple, he can be considered Gu Zhicheng's disciple.

Originally, Gu Zhicheng wanted to take him back with him when he returned to the island city, but Liang Xiaocheng chose to stay in Huiquanlou.

Moreover, his hometown is in Texas, and Liang Xiaocheng's family has an industry in Texas, which is also quite famous.

Because of this, Feng Zhengming needed someone to come to Texas to prepare for the opening of the Texas branch.

Liang Xiaocheng volunteered and told others about his family situation in Texas.

Feng Zhengming felt that Liang Xiaocheng's performance in Huiquanlou had always been good.

Plus, his family is in Texas.

As the saying goes, it is easier to get things done if you have local connections.

So Liang Xiaocheng was arranged to go back to Dezhou to scout the way.

However, based on the current situation, choosing Liang Xiaocheng to be in charge of the Texas branch may be the wrong person.

Liang Xiaocheng's face was flushed, obviously he had drunk a lot of alcohol at noon.

Before seeing Feng Zhengming, Liang Xiaocheng was still bragging to the group of people who followed him.

"Don't worry, I was sent by the top scholar. If you want to call me the top scholar, do you know what I am called? I call him the chef. Do you know what it means to call him the chef?
This means that I am the top scholar's confidant, so as long as I make the final decision, if you want to participate in the shares, it's just a matter of words."

Just as Liang Xiaocheng was bragging to a group of people, he heard a familiar voice calling him.

Then he raised his head bleary-eyed and looked.

The moment Liang Xiaocheng saw Feng Zhengming, he sobered up immediately.

"Master, Chef, why are you here?"

Then the brothers came over.

When Li Huidong and Cao Zhiguo saw Liang Xiaocheng's look, both of them were filled with disappointment.

Cao Zhiguo was even more rude: "How dare you, kid, to cheat people here by claiming to be the chef? I asked you to set up a branch, but you didn't go to Grandpa Zhang and just spent your time here."

The group of people following Liang Xiaocheng had already recognized Feng Zhengming at this time.

The group of people quickly rushed to Feng Zhengming and took out their business cards one by one to introduce themselves to Feng Zhengming.

This group of people are almost all local bosses in Texas.

Some of them run all kinds of businesses.

But the only thing is that none of the businesses are related to catering.

Feng Zhengming did not accept the business cards from this group of people.

He just spoke to them very calmly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't control my people well. You can bring me the bill for how much you spent on him during this period, and I will refund you all the money in full."

After saying this, Feng Zhengming continued with a very serious statement.

"I want to make it clear that my decision to open a branch in Texas was entirely my own. I never thought of looking for anyone to be a partner, nor did I think of asking others to invest in my shares.

So I may disappoint you all, please help me pass this message to others."

After Feng Zhengming said this, the group of people surrounding Liang Xiaocheng immediately understood everything.

They have been completely fooled by Liang Xiaocheng these days.

One of the middle-aged men looked at Liang Xiaocheng with disappointment on his face.

"Xiaocheng, your father and I have been good friends for many years. I didn't expect that you would even lie to me."

Liang Xiaocheng felt like he was falling into an icy cave at this moment, and he couldn't utter a word.

Feng Zhengming stepped forward and said to the middle-aged man, "I am really sorry. This incident was my mistake. You can tell those who were deceived by him. Everyone can come to me with the order form and I will return the money to everyone."

The middle-aged man looked at Feng Zhengming and introduced himself first.

"Hello, Mr. Feng, my name is Huang Dongtao. Liang Xiaocheng's father and I have been friends for many years. We used to live in the same building. I never thought he could do such a thing.

Mr. Feng, don't worry. This kid didn't spend much money on the meal he asked us to treat him to.

I will pass your words on to others who have been deceived by this guy.

As for coming to you with the bill to ask for repayment, I don’t think they will do that.”

Feng Zhengming expressed his gratitude to Huang Dongtao: "Thank you, please help me contact his parents. I think for this kind of thing, I should meet his parents."

Huang Dongtao glanced at Liang Xiaocheng, sighed heavily, and nodded in agreement.

Wait until all the people who had surrounded Liang Xiaocheng left one after another.

Only then did Feng Zhengming look at Liang Xiaocheng.

"Go upstairs and gather your things, then come down with me."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the senior brothers present understood that he wanted to give Liang Xiaocheng another chance.

As a result, Liang Xiaocheng just smiled and refused.

"Mr. Feng, you don't have to pretend to be a magnanimous person. Since you have discovered everything, I will quit my job. I will resign from Huiquanlou."

Liang Xiaocheng then said arrogantly: "You just started out by selling lunch boxes on the street. I can tell you that my family runs the largest restaurant in Texas. I don't believe that I am not as good as you.

Just wait, I will make my restaurant the largest restaurant in Texas. I am very grateful for what you taught me at Huiquanlou.

I will use the skills I learned at Huiquanlou to defeat your store in Texas."

Another person who came to Texas with Liang Xiaocheng didn't know what to do when he saw this scene.

Feng Zhengming looked at Liang Xiaocheng and suddenly laughed.

"Okay, you're quite good at talking. If you want to resign, then go ahead."

Feng Zhengming then put away the smile on his face and warned.

"I'm warning you, you are not allowed to use Huiquanlou or my name again. Otherwise, I will sue you, and then even your father won't be able to protect you."

Liang Xiaocheng still said stubbornly: "Don't worry, I won't use your name again."

Seeing Liang Xiaocheng turn around and leave, Feng Zhengming and several other senior brothers were filled with indignation.

"This kid is quite reasonable, right?"

"Does he think we've treated him unfairly?"

"He borrowed the name of our Huiquanlou to cheat people in Texas. Is that right?"

"What's wrong with people these days? How can there still be people like this?"

"Young people today are becoming increasingly difficult to understand."

Feng Zhengming looked at the other person who came to Texas and stayed behind, Lin Hui.

The other party quickly waved his hands in front of Feng Zhengming: "It's none of my business, it was all done by him."

Feng Zhengming could only say: "Go upstairs and pack your things and come with us."

The apprentice named Lin Hui quickly agreed: "Okay, I'll go up and get the things."

Watching Lin Hui go upstairs to get something, Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and looked at his senior brothers.

"Brother, you guys take Lin Hui back to Grandpa Zhang first. I'm going to go out for a while to do something."

Several senior brothers nodded and agreed, letting Feng Zhengming do his thing.

After Feng Zhengming came out of the hotel, he went straight to a local newspaper in Texas and published a statement in the newspaper.

I even made a special phone call from the newspaper to the provincial TV station and asked the TV station to help make a statement.

The declaration is also simple.

It is to declare that the branches he opened in various places in the province were all invested by himself, and he would not solicit others to invest in shares. He informed the whole province so that everyone would not be deceived. (End of this chapter)