From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming and his team naturally could not go to the front-line levee, and could only go to the supply station at the back.

There will be some rotated soldiers resting here.

The conditions here are also very poor, and most soldiers can only eat steamed buns and instant noodles.

The supplies sent to them this time were mostly various compressed foods.

Feng Zhengming arrived here with the convoy and set up a stove with the soldiers who were transporting supplies.

Then they started cooking for the soldiers in big pots.

The sight of Feng Zhengming waving the big shovel again made Zhang Lei, who was with him, feel as if he was back to the scene in the cafeteria.

At that time, in the canteen kitchen of the brewery, Feng Zhengming and his senior brother were waving big iron shovels to cook.

Only this time, his senior brother was not by his side, and the pot and shovel were even bigger.

But even though Feng Zhengming is now famous and has opened two stores in Shanghai, he has received various praises at home and abroad.

He was still quite skillful when wielding the big iron shovel to cook the big pot of food.

The biggest difficulty in cooking a big pot is that you need to stir the vegetables.

If the vegetables are not stirred, on the one hand, the vegetables will be heated unevenly, and on the other hand, the taste will be uneven.

Joining Feng Zhengming in wielding the big shovel were Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong.

After following Feng Zhengming on that hiking trip across Shandong, the two of them honed their skills well when they returned, and have almost become the responsible persons for the army's kitchen squad.

Hou Dong, in particular, made great progress in his craftsmanship and kept in mind what Feng Zhengming taught him.

In recent years, he has even become a real master chef in the kitchen.

Now he is also very excited to be able to wield the big shovel with Feng Zhengming.

Sun Hai and Zhang Lei, who came with Feng Zhengming, did not have many opportunities to cook.

Although both of them have good cooking skills, they have no experience in cooking big pot dishes, so when they came here they could only help Feng Zhengming.

Pot after pot of dishes were cooked. Feng Zhengming could even carry the big pot out by himself and pour the dishes in the pot into the prepared insulated box.

All the dishes were packed together with the cooked rice.

Feng Zhengming followed Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong's food delivery truck.

He personally rushed to the soldiers stationed on the levee.

The soldiers guarding the dike were extremely happy when they saw the white rice and hot dishes delivered to them.

During this period, they went out in the wind and rain, and most of the time they could only eat various compressed biscuits and compressed foods, which really made their mouths taste bland.

Although those things can indeed replenish physical energy better, it is really uncomfortable to eat them all the time.

Today they received a notice that a cooking team and a chef would be coming with the new supplies.

It happened to be a temporary lull in the flood peak, so the troops decided to give everyone extra meals.

Let everyone have a meal of white rice.

Now seeing white rice and various fragrant dishes, especially the green dishes, many soldiers were so excited that they shed tears.

Feng Zhengming said nothing and helped serve rice and dishes to the soldiers one by one.

They were covered in mud, their skin was tanned, and their hands and feet were either worn out or white from blisters.

All this in front of him really shocked Feng Zhengming's heart deeply.

He even wondered if he had not cooked enough food and whether all the soldiers could have enough to eat.

I saw the soldiers wolfing down the food, some even skipped the vegetables and just finished a big bowl of rice.

Then the soldiers were heard to offer heartfelt praise.

“It’s delicious. It’s really delicious.”

Feng Zhengming felt that this made him more proud than any praise he had ever heard in Shanghai.

For nearly the next month, Feng Zhengming, Sun Hai and Zhang Lei stayed at the supply point.

They even followed the military vehicles transporting supplies and made several trips to the more forward embankments to deliver meals.

When the water finally receded, the soldiers prepared to evacuate.

Feng Zhengming took Sun Hai and Zhang Lei and left first.

Instead of letting the military vehicle carrying supplies take them back, Feng Zhengming took the two of them back to Shanghai by train.

When the three men returned to Shanghai, they were covered in mud and looked like they had just escaped.

It was already October when Feng Zhengming and his colleagues returned to Shanghai.

The three of them didn't have time to change their clothes, so they were still wearing summer clothes.

Feng Zhengming took the two of them and went straight back to his house in Shanghai.

After arriving home, Feng Zhengming learned that his wife Luo Qing had been admitted to the hospital.

It turned out that his child was about to be born.

Luo Qing's parents and grandmother, even Grandpa Feng and Grandpa Situ have all come.

Because I knew that Feng Zhengming went to cook for the soldiers on the front line of flood control and rescue.

Everyone was worried that Luo Qing would be worried about Feng Zhengming's safety and become depressed, which would lead to problems when giving birth.

So everyone sent Luo Qing to the hospital in advance, and the family members took turns to take care of Luo Qing.

When Sun Hai and Zhang Lei heard the news, they both smiled and congratulated Feng Zhengming.

"Congratulations, uncle. This is really great news."

"Congratulations, Junior Master. Now that the flood has subsided, Junior Master's child is about to be born. It is truly a double blessing."

Feng Zhengming was also very happy. He originally asked the two to take a bath at home and go to the hospital together.

But Sun Hai and Zhang Lei refused after discussing it.

"Uncle Master, please take a shower, change your clothes and go to the hospital quickly. We want to go to the bathhouse to take a shower."

"Yes, Junior Uncle, let's go to the bathhouse to take a bath. It will be more comfortable."

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed: "Okay, then you go."

After seeing Sun Hai and Zhang Lei off, Feng Zhengming quickly took a shower at home, changed into clean clothes, and hurried out to take a taxi to the hospital.

When Feng Zhengming arrived at the hospital, he saw his family members waiting there.

Feng Zhengming, who looked darker and thinner, walked in.

At first, no one in his family dared to recognize him.

It was not until Feng Zhengming walked up to everyone and took the initiative to greet everyone.

At this time, the whole family finally recognized him.

My mother-in-law first looked distressed: "Oh, Zhengming, why have you lost so much weight? And you've become much darker. You must have had a hard time on the dam, right?"

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "Mom, I just cook for the soldiers. It's not hard at all. The hard work is still on the soldiers. It's not easy for them on the front line."

Then Feng Zhengming asked, "How is Qingqing?"

The mother-in-law replied: "She's already in the delivery room. Oh, it's really expensive to spend money here."

Feng Zhengming comforted her: "It's okay, Mom. As long as Qingqing is fine, it's okay to spend some money."

Then Feng Zhengming looked at the others.

Grandpa Feng, Grandpa Situ and Grandma were also there.

My third uncle, third aunt, and my aunt also came.

Feng Zhengming saw his aunt and asked, "Aunt, come here, what about the child?"

My aunt smiled and replied, "Bring the child with you. I just happened to go home to visit him. The child is at his grandmother's house."

Feng Zhengming heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this: "Thanks for everyone's hard work."

Grandpa heard this and said, "You are having a hard time out there. We can't go to help you. We can only help you take good care of Luo Qing so that you don't have to worry about anything."

Everyone waited quietly outside the delivery room, as if there was some kind of divine will.

Before Feng Zhengming arrived, Luo Qing went in and there was no movement.

Soon after he came back, there was movement in the delivery room.

The nurse poked her head out and said, "Congratulations, it's a daughter."

After hearing the nurse say it was a daughter, Feng Zhengming immediately stepped forward and asked, "Where's the mother? How is the child's mother?"

This might be the first time the nurse has seen someone care about the child's mother instead of the child first.

She was stunned for a while, then replied: "Mother and daughter are safe, please rest assured."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "Thank you, thank you for your hard work."

The nurse nodded and went back into the delivery room.

After returning, the nurse thought about it and vaguely recognized that the person just now seemed to be Feng Zhengming's top chef?
Feng Zhengming soon saw his wife Luo Qing in the ward.

His face was full of heartache and deep love for his wife.

"Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for giving birth to a daughter for me."

Luo Qing hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Don't you like your daughter?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "How could that be? I'm different from others. I love my daughter the most."

These words made Luo Qing smile as well.

Feng Zhengming hugged his wife and kissed her on the forehead.

"You're working so hard, don't think too much. I really like daughters. You may not know that when I first knew you were pregnant, I was hoping to have a daughter."

When everyone in the ward heard Feng Zhengming's words, they all laughed.

Then the woman in the next bed couldn't help but blame her husband.

"Look at me? Look at you. I gave birth to a daughter, and your face has been ugly for so many days."

After being criticized by his wife, the husband was not willing to be outdone.

"You think you're right after giving birth to a daughter? My family relies on me to carry on the family line. Now that you've given birth to a daughter, what do you think we should do?"

The husband's words left his wife speechless.

Feng Zhengming raised his head and looked over: "Brother, now it doesn't matter whether you have a boy or a girl. In fact, a girl is better. People say that a daughter is a father's little cotton-padded jacket."

Grandpa also said: "Yes, it's the same as if my daughter has been trained well."

Luo Qing's mother and grandmother in the ward did not say a word.

Since Luo Qing's grandmother and mother favor boys over girls, they don't really like having a daughter.

Especially now that Luo Qing has given birth to a daughter, grandma and mother even feel a little sorry for having such a good son-in-law like Feng Zhengming.

So when Feng Zhengming and his grandfather talk to others about having a boy or a girl, it doesn’t matter.

Luo Qing's mother and grandmother chose to remain silent.

Luo Qing saw that her grandmother and mother were silent.

Luo Qing also knew that her grandmother and mother favored boys over girls.

She also felt a little unhappy.

Fortunately, the topic was not discussed for long, and the man in the next bed didn't want to say more.

Perhaps because he couldn't argue with Feng Zhengming, he could only stand up and leave.

Seeing her husband leave, the wife apologized to Feng Zhengming feeling embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, he's the only son in the family, so maybe..."

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded: "It's okay, I can understand, but I still think daughters are better. The domestic economic conditions are getting better and better. If I have a son, I may spend more and more money to marry him."

The woman smiled, obviously not taking Feng Zhengming's words to heart.

Perhaps in the woman's heart, she also hopes to give her husband a son.

In the next few days, Feng Zhengming did not rush back to the store, but instead made delicious meals for his wife at home.

He really puts all his thoughts on his wife.

Many women in the hospital were quite envious of Luo Qing.

Especially the woman who was in the same ward with Luo Qing.

Every day I watch Feng Zhengming prepare different delicious foods for his wife in the morning, afternoon and evening.

The woman looked at the lunch box her husband bought and she had no appetite at all.

Once, Luo Qing noticed that the woman was a little greedy, so she asked Feng Zhengming to give her some and let her eat with her.

The woman took a bite and immediately looked incredulous.

"What on earth does your husband do? His craftsmanship is too good, isn't it?"

Luo Qing smiled and replied: "He is a cook, so he is good at cooking."

Feng Zhengming went in and out of the hospital and was never recognized by anyone.

The main reason was that he had been out for a trip and he looked darker and thinner than before.

So although some people may think his face looks familiar.

But no one would think of him as the top chef on TV.

When the woman learned that Feng Zhengming was a cook, she couldn't help but sigh: "Sister, you are so lucky. I feel that your husband's cooking skills are not worse than those of the chefs in the big restaurants."

Luo Qing looked at her husband with a smile, knowing that he didn't want to be exposed, so she was modest.

"He can't be compared with the master chef. He is just a small cook."

The woman said: "You can't say that. You are still young. You may become a master chef in the future."

The more Luo Qing listened, the more secretly delighted she felt.

She really likes to hear others praise her husband.

Feng Zhengming said nothing, just teased his daughter.

The woman's big watery eyes looked very much like Luo Qing.

The high nose bridge looks more like Feng Zhengming.

Although she is still very young and nothing can be seen, Feng Zhengming always feels at ease when looking at his daughter.

Luo Qing and the woman in the next bed got along better and better as they talked.

Later, she simply asked Feng Zhengming to bring more food so that she could eat together with the older sister in the bed next to her.

This made the woman feel embarrassed: "No, no, that would be too hard for your husband, and it's embarrassing to eat all the time."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It's okay, sister. I'll do it together anyway."

The woman winked at her husband, suggesting that he should at least give her some money.

But the husband just smiled and shook hands with Feng Zhengming to express his gratitude.

Feng Zhengming didn't care about it and just said something to the husband in the next bed.

"Brother, you just need to buy your own meals for lunch and dinner from now on. I just made some and sent them over so that you can eat with your sister and our family. This way you can save some trouble."

These words directly exposed the man, leaving him stunned.

But I was too embarrassed to open my mouth to eat together.

In the end, the man could only smile and nod: "Okay, okay, thank you."

The mother-in-law and Luo Qing's grandmother, who had come here specially to take care of their daughter, were unable to help for a while under Feng Zhengming's personal care.

Feng Zhengming simply asked his uncle to take everyone around Shanghai for some fun.

He said that after his wife was discharged from the hospital, she would go home and make her grandmother and mother-in-law suffer. (End of this chapter)