From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After drinking the hangover soup, Feng Zhengming was almost sober.

He stood up, shook his head, and walked towards the locker room.

After changing his clothes, Feng Zhengming went to the kitchen.

When the two brothers in the kitchen saw Feng Zhengming come in, they came forward and showed some concern.

"Zhengming, you're drunk, but you still come here? Don't you want to go home and rest?"

"We are all about to have a holiday, and there is nothing to do. Why did you come all the way here? Don't you trust me and my senior brother?"

Feng Zhengming smiled at his two senior brothers.

"Big Brother, Fifth Brother, I'm going to Shanghai after the New Year. I may have to hand over Huiquanlou to you completely."

Li Huidong asked: "Why? You don't plan to come back?"

Cao Zhiguo curled his lips and said, "Are you going to live in Shanghai from now on?"

Feng Zhengming still kept smiling: "I will definitely come back. Next year I will mainly be in Shanghai and run the store in Shanghai well.

After all, the chefs I brought over were young, and I wanted them to adapt to the pace of Shanghai and improve their skills.”

Li Huidong turned his head and looked at the people in the kitchen.

"Don't worry, you can bring your best young chef with you and make our Shandong cuisine famous in Shanghai."

Cao Zhiguo laughed: "Hahaha, you took these old hands away, and it just so happens that my senior brother and I are recruiting a group of new people, and the new people will be more obedient.

Unlike the old hands nowadays, who have been in the kitchen for a long time and sometimes don’t obey.”

Feng Zhengming also laughed. Of course he knew that Fifth Brother was joking.

The arrival of new people in the kitchen of Huiquanlou means that the eldest and fifth brothers will have to work harder.

Many things were made in cooperation with the young chef who had been with them for a long time.

A new group of young chefs will be hired to join the kitchen.

If things were better, it might be that the two senior brothers were guiding them.

If it’s bad, we may really have to go back to the senior brothers and do it ourselves.

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and said, "How about I leave a few people for you?"

The fifth brother immediately asked back: "Why? Don't you trust me and the eldest brother's abilities?"

"No, why wouldn't I trust your abilities?" Feng Zhengming quickly explained, "I just thought Huiquanlou might also need some help, so I'll leave a few of you here to help you train new people, and then go over later."

Senior Brother Li Huidong waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. Your Fifth Brother and I already have experience in leading this group of people.

When we train new people, we will actually be more relaxed.”

Hearing what his senior brother said, Feng Zhengming was deeply moved.

He knew very well that without his senior brothers, he would not be where he is now.

If we want to go south to Shanghai to open a branch, we can bring a group of young chefs with us.

"Thank you, Big Brother and Fifth Brother. Without you helping me to guard the rear, I really wouldn't be able to lead people to Shanghai like I am now."

These words made the eldest brother and the fifth brother look at each other immediately.

Cao Zhiguo smiled and said, "Don't be polite to us. You treat us so well, so of course we have to do our job well. Otherwise, what will we do if you, the boss, get angry and fire us?"

The fifth brother started by making jokes, which made the atmosphere between the fellow disciples less serious.

Li Huidong smiled and said, "Remember, you are bringing our Shandong cuisine to Shanghai. You must show your skills and status as the top scholar and gain a foothold in Shanghai."

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, I will make Shandong cuisine gain a foothold in Shanghai."

Before Huiquanlou closed for the Chinese New Year, Feng Zhengming stayed in the kitchen of Huiquanlou for a few days and personally cooked.

By integrating his experience of communicating with chefs from all over the country, Feng Zhengming's cooking skills have obviously improved.

Because the Chinese New Year is approaching, he also introduced some new dishes to add some festive atmosphere to the Spring Festival.

This also makes people who come to Huiquanlou for dinner before the Chinese New Year look forward to Huiquanlou being able to order New Year’s Eve dinner, or being open during the Chinese New Year.

However, Feng Zhengming still insisted on closing the business on the evening of the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month.

After cleaning Huiquanlou, he gave everyone a Spring Festival red envelope.

They locked the door of Huiquanlou and posted a notice of closure on the door.

During the Spring Festival, the rest time is relatively long.

It also gives Feng Zhengming more time to celebrate the New Year.

On New Year’s Eve, several families still celebrated the New Year together.

However, this year, we will celebrate the New Year not at Huiquanlou, but at Yan's Restaurant, our master's home.

The master also gathered all his disciples together, and the families of several disciples also went to the master's restaurant together.

Master Yan made this arrangement so that he could have a good time with his apprentices.

The master also knew that after the Chinese New Year, his disciple would go south to Shanghai.

So during the banquet, the master also warned Feng Zhengming.

"Zhengming, remember, when you go to someone else's place, you have to pay more attention to the food you cook. You can't let others think that our Shandong cuisine is just so-so. You have to let others see the true level of our Shandong cuisine."

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Master, don't worry. I will open two branches there to test the waters. If it works, I will find a suitable place in Shanghai and open an authentic Shandong cuisine restaurant in Shanghai before the millennium."

My second brother, who is not often at home, was a little curious.

"Zhengming, why did you open a branch there first to test the waters?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Isn't this just to find out the tastes of people from different places in Shanghai? And you probably don't know, but the spending power in Shanghai is still stronger.

I will open a branch of Bazirou there first, and I can also take the opportunity to make some money there first."

This statement made everyone laugh.

Grandpa Situ said, "If Zhengming needs money, tell me. I can give you money to open a store. I can still afford to let you open a top-notch restaurant in Shanghai."

Feng Zhengming expressed his gratitude to Grandpa Situ.

"Thank you, Grandpa Situ, but I hope I can come by myself this time. I want to open a top-notch restaurant in Shanghai, serving Shandong cuisine. I will also invite famous chefs from Hong Kong to cook Cantonese cuisine. My restaurant will integrate cuisines from all over the world."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the master asked curiously, "Are you really planning to let Jiang Chengzhe work for you?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Yes, that's what he said. If he loses to me, he has to work for me. When I open a restaurant in Shanghai, I will let him work in my restaurant."

Hearing this made everyone laugh again.

Everyone has become aware of Jiang Chengzhe's fame recently.

Especially after Feng Zhengming and others went to Hong Kong for exchanges.

Many media have reported on Jiang Chengzhe.

Some media in the south, in particular, praised Jiang Chengzhe as a younger and more promising chef than Feng Zhengming.

This also made many people feel uncomfortable. Now I heard Feng Zhengming say that when he opened a restaurant in Shanghai, he would let Jiang Chengzhe work for him.

It made everyone feel much better.

This was after the New Year’s Eve dinner at Master’s house.

The eldest and second brothers of the master's family also went to find Feng Zhengming separately.

What the eldest and second brothers meant was that they hoped to use some menu items from Feng Zhengming’s Huiquanlou.

Feng Zhengming smiled and agreed readily.

"That's no problem. Big brother, second brother, if you need anything, just go to Huiquan Tower to find Big Brother. Big Brother will definitely help you. Otherwise, wait a few days, before I leave, you can come find me and I will teach you."

The eldest and second brothers of the master's family were very grateful and said that they could not keep bothering Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said that it was not a problem.

"Brother, this is not a big deal. When I open a restaurant in Shanghai, you can take Master and his wife to have a look. Or when your own children grow up and want to learn cooking, you can just send them to Shanghai to see me.

I can personally guide them in the kitchen of my restaurant and let them stay with me for a while.

If they have learned enough and are willing to come back and open a shop in Quancheng, I will definitely support them.

If they are willing to stay in the kitchen of my restaurant in Shanghai, I can let them stay there."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the two older brothers from the master's family felt a little embarrassed.

The eldest brother: "Zhengming, this really makes us embarrassed."

Second brother: "Yes, Zhengming, is this too difficult for you?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It's not difficult at all. My skills were passed down to me by my master, right? If I pass them on to my master's descendants, it doesn't count as passing them on to others, right?"

These words made the two older brothers of the master laugh.

The second brother laughed and said, "Zhengming, you look more interesting now than before, and you seem to have become more easy-going."

The eldest brother also nodded in agreement: "Yes, before you achieved your current success, you really gave people a sense of optimism, so Dad and the brothers liked you very much.

Later, when you achieved success, people were still somewhat afraid of you when they saw you. "

Feng Zhengming smiled: "I'm not that scary, am I? I won't lose my temper with us like our master did when he taught us. I might even hit us a few times."

The second brother said: "You really don't lose your temper, but your temperament can give people a sense of oppression."

Feng Zhengming was left speechless.

I chatted with my master’s two older brothers for a while.

Finally, I dispelled the awe they had for me in their hearts.

In the end, he even made an agreement with his two brothers that when they had time, they would bring the master to Shanghai.

In the future, if my eldest brother’s son wants to learn cooking, he must be sent to learn from Feng Zhengming.

Wait until I have finished chatting with the two brothers from my master's family.

The master suddenly appeared and coughed lightly.

Let the two brothers leave first.

Feng Zhengming faced his master and without waiting for his master to speak, he spoke first with a smile.

"Master, don't think that my brothers are taking advantage of me. You taught me my cooking skills. When your grandson, my eldest nephew, really grows up and wants to learn cooking, he can take me as his master. Doesn't that mean that my skills are not passed on to outsiders?"

After hearing this, Master Yan couldn't help but raise his hand and gently tap his little apprentice's head.

"You little bastard, so many people have tried to get you to accept a disciple, but you always refused. Now you are making a promise to your two brothers. Do you think you owe the master something?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Master has given me a new life and raised me. If I hadn't met Master, I might still be wandering around and become a street urchin."

Master Yan asked: "Do you think that Master took you in and taught you the craft in order to get something in return?"

"No, Master. I know you never ask us disciples to repay you, but we disciples will definitely repay you. Besides, I also need disciples and pass on my skills."

Hearing this, Master Yan's face turned serious: "Okay, since you are going to accept apprentices in the future, you must screen them strictly for me. No matter who they are, they must pass your assessment, and you are not allowed to give anyone a backdoor.

Especially for the younger generations of the master's family, you must not give them any preferential treatment. If they have the ability, they can enter your restaurant and become your apprentices based on their ability. "

Master's words made Feng Zhengming hesitate for a while.

After looking into his master's firm gaze for a long time, Feng Zhengming could only nod in agreement.

"Master, rest assured. I will strictly select my apprentices."

After saying this, the master changed the topic and talked about Feng Zhengming going south to Shanghai to open a store.

"You may encounter some difficulties at the beginning when you open a store in Shanghai. Do you know what the biggest difficulty is?"

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and replied, "It should be about materials, right?"

The master nodded and said, "Yes, the biggest difficulty is materials. Some supplies in Shanghai may not be as easy to obtain as here. My suggestion is that you'd better find a suitable supplier in advance.

For example, if you have a branch on a street with a lot of Western restaurants, you must control the quality of the ingredients well.”

Feng Zhengming said seriously: "I will find a suitable supplier. If that doesn't work, we can ship it from Qilu. We can use several seaports to ship it to Shanghai. It shouldn't be difficult."

The master was a little surprised: "You want to ship by sea?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, I do want to try sea transportation."

The master shook his head and said, "Your demand for sea transportation is too small. For sea transportation, the larger the volume, the lower the cost. Do you want to ship your two stores by sea? The cost will be very high."

Before Feng Zhengming could speak, his master gave him some ideas.

"Shanghai is actually not far from some raw material production areas in Jiangnan. You can try to contact those raw material production areas and ask them to supply you from those places."

Master's words actually inspired Feng Zhengming.

"Thank you for the reminder, Master. I can go and ask the chefs in those places for help."

The master smiled and nodded: "Yes, you have a good relationship with them. You can find the origin of the raw materials through them, contact the suppliers from the origin, and let them ship the goods to you."

At this point, the master suddenly felt emotional again.

"Master may be worrying too much. With your current reputation as the top scholar, if you want to get raw materials, I'm afraid many suppliers will come to you on their own initiative. You just need to carefully select them when the time comes."

Feng Zhengming looked at his master and he understood that his master always cared about him.

The master hopes that he can get better and better, truly promote Shandong cuisine, and pass on his good skills.

Perhaps the master saw a glimmer of hope in Feng Zhengming.

That is a ray of light that illuminates the future of Shandong cuisine.

The master has high expectations for Feng Zhengming and believes that he can lead Shandong cuisine to continue to develop.

This year, Feng Zhengming is still busy. Although several stores are closed, Feng Zhengming still needs to accompany Luo Qing to visit relatives and friends, and also needs to arrange some of his own friends.

After the Chinese New Year, Feng Zhengming received an unexpected good news.

Luo Qing went to the hospital for a checkup because she was feeling unwell, and it turned out that she was pregnant. (End of this chapter)