From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Taking advantage of the interview with the TV station and newspaper, Feng Zhengming took the opportunity to promote the "Zhengluxing" brand.

The interviewee heard Feng Zhengming mention the brand "Zhengluxing".

The person interviewing the reporter immediately took the opportunity to ask questions.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, you mentioned Zheng Luxing. This is a brand you created. Can you introduce it to us?"

Feng Zhengming nodded and said: "Zheng Luxing is a trademark brand that I registered a long time ago. At first, I wanted to use this brand to open a branch of Bazirou.

Now I am gradually improving it, hoping to build this brand into a brand of our Shandong cuisine.

In addition to chain stores like Ganfanpu, we will also build some more high-end restaurants in the future.

We must inherit and promote Shandong cuisine and make it better.”

After listening to Feng Zhengming’s introduction, the interviewees became more interested in the “Zhengluxing” brand.

The TV station also raised questions.

"So, Mr. Feng, besides branches and restaurants, will your 'Zheng Luxing' brand have other businesses?"

Feng Zhengming nodded and replied: "In fact, neither the branches nor the restaurants are the most valuable of our brand. I think the most valuable thing is that we have to build a chef training system.

Nowadays, after many young chefs graduate from vocational schools, most of them still need to find restaurants to continue their studies.

Being a chef is not a profession that one can become proficient in just by learning how to cook at a vocational school.

Often, what vocational schools teach are just some basic skills.”

Feng Zhengming paused for a moment here.

"I want to build a complete system for training young chefs. In the future, relying on my chain stores and restaurants, I can provide a complete set of systematic training for young chefs.

Let them gradually grow into independent chefs and become real master chefs.

Whether they stay in other Zhengluxing chain stores or restaurants, or go to other restaurants outside, I believe they will bring the most authentic Shandong cuisine techniques with them.”

Feng Zhengming's remarks surprised the TV stations and newspapers that interviewed him.

His entire plan sounded quite complete, which was somewhat beyond the expectations of the others who were interviewing him.

Before coming for the interview, both the TV station and the newspaper made some preparations.

But now, facing many of Feng Zhengming's ideas, both the TV station and the newspaper feel that they are not adequately prepared.

A lot of the information they have about Feng Zhengming is now obviously outdated.

Feng Zhengming has a more complete plan, and he is already implementing it.

The following interviews were almost all led by Feng Zhengming.

The TV station and the newspaper could only ask some follow-up questions based on the information they had just heard from Feng Zhengming.

Fortunately, the overall interview result was very good.

Both TV stations and newspapers get the content they want.

The next day, some interviews with Feng Zhengming were published in newspapers.

The TV station, on the other hand, waited another day before releasing the interview.

The main purpose is to cooperate with the promotion of the provincial young chef cooking skills exchange competition.

Feng Zhengming's interview was released and still aroused a lot of discussion.

It also prompted many people to make a special trip to Feng Zhengming's old shop to patronize it.

My main purpose was to meet Feng Zhengming and see how he encouraged the young chefs who came to participate in the competition.

Young chefs from all over the country are still willing to visit Feng Zhengming.

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words of encouragement, the young chefs felt as if they had received some kind of blessing.

Then after the interview was broadcast, after the eldest and fifth brothers closed Huiquanlou in the evening, they came to the old shop together to find Feng Zhengming.

Seeing Feng Zhengming, Fifth Senior Brother Cao Zhiguo joked, "Zhengming, you are getting more and more arrogant. You haven't come to Huiquanlou to see us in so many days since you came back."

Before Feng Zhengming could open his mouth, senior brother Li Huidong also started joking.

"It seems that our junior brother has indeed become the top scholar."

Feng Zhengming was so embarrassed that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Big Brother, Fifth Brother, you are trying to embarrass me on purpose, right?"

The eldest and fifth brothers looked at each other, then looked at Feng Zhengming and laughed.

Third brother Yang Bin also came out from the kitchen at this time.

"Okay, Big Brother and Old Five, are you still jealous of me?"

Yang Bin came out and continued to speak for his junior fellow apprentice.

“This old shop is Zhengming’s first store. It’s natural for him to come to the old shop first when he comes back. Besides, aren’t there many young chefs participating in the competition recently?
Everyone who comes to the Spring City wants to see the number one scholar and share in his blessings. "

The fifth brother immediately took over the conversation: "Third brother, you know what, there are indeed many students who are about to take the college entrance examination. Their families will bring them to Huiquan Restaurant to book a table, hoping to get some of the blessing of the top scholar so that their children can do better in the college entrance examination."

The third brother smiled and nodded: "I know this, only a few people go to Huiquan House to entertain guests, and most people come to my place to eat braised pork."

Feng Zhengming had just heard about this situation.

"Really? There are people who really worship me as a literary star?"

The eldest brother nodded: "Not really, but a lot."

The third senior brother took over the conversation and explained it carefully to Feng Zhengming.

"Nowadays, many children in Quancheng who are going to take the college entrance examination, if their families can afford it, will first go to the Confucius Mansion to pay their respects, and then come back to Huiquanlou to book a table so that their children can have a good meal before the exam.

If you are not so well off, you may take a bus to Confucius Mansion to burn incense in advance, and then come back to your shop for a meal."

The eldest senior brother helped to add: "For example, in the months leading up to the college entrance examination this year, many people booked tables at Huiquanlou, and every table ordered the sweet and sour carp."

It is understandable that Feng Zhengming ordered sweet and sour carp.

The main thing is that the sweet and sour carp inherited from their master by Feng Zhengming and his brothers is very beautiful in shape.

The graceful shape, like leaping over the dragon gate, also satisfies the expectations of many parents for their children to pass the college entrance examination.

As a result, at one point, the big carps at Huiquanlou were sold out.

Fortunately, Feng Zhengming, the top scholar, is well-known.

Those who supply Huiquanlou also understand that most parents want to get a blessing for their children before the college entrance examination.

The people who supply Huiquanlou also have children at home.

Their own children will also face the college entrance examination.

Therefore, when the college entrance examination was approaching this year, the supplier tried every possible means to help Huiquanlou get enough big carp.

After Feng Zhengming learned about it, he felt a little embarrassed.

"How can I do this? What if they eat at Huiquanlou and fail to pass the exam? Wouldn't that be a big sin for me?"

This made the three brothers burst into laughter. "Zhengming, don't feel any pressure. Before the children take the college entrance examination, we go to Huiquanlou or your old shop for a meal. It's nothing more than a good luck before the exam, and it also allows the children to relax."

"That's right. It's just like many people going to Qufu to worship in the Confucius Temple. They just pray for good luck."

"In fact, no one expects that having a meal at Huiquanlou or Laopu will allow children to get into top universities. The exam still depends on the children's own efforts."

After hearing what his senior brothers said, Feng Zhengming laughed and felt relaxed.

Today, the eldest and fifth senior brothers came to see Feng Zhengming specifically, and not just to see the youngest brother.

There are still some things about Huiquanlou that the two senior brothers want to talk to Feng Zhengming about.

"You took Xia Hui, Guan Wei, Sun Hai and the others away at once. The kitchen staff and I were under a lot of pressure for a while. It wasn't until after the National Day that we were able to get this group of new young chefs to keep up with the pace of the kitchen."

"So I discussed with my senior brother whether we should recruit a group of apprentices and young chefs to help you train some manpower in advance."

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming immediately understood what his two senior brothers meant.

The eldest and fifth brothers just want to have more people around them so that they can relax a little.

They want to help their junior fellow apprentice train more young chefs.

In this way, whether Feng Zhengming wants to continue opening branches or open a high-end restaurant, he will have enough staff to call upon, and he will be able to fill the gap in time after people from a certain store are called upon.

Feng Zhengming's heart was filled with gratitude towards his two senior brothers.

His several senior brothers have always been thinking about him, their junior brother.

I want my junior fellow apprentice to do better in his career.

They did their best to help their junior brother.

Knowing that his senior brothers would spare no effort to help him, Feng Zhengming could rest assured to leave the rear to them and take his men to Shanghai to fight.

Thinking of this, Feng Zhengming expressed his gratitude to his three senior brothers with a serious face.

“Thank you, my three brothers. Without you, as well as my second and sixth brothers’ help, I would not be able to open a store in Shanghai so quickly and without any worries, let alone devote myself to the store in Shanghai.

It is you who made me worry-free and it is you who made me achieve what I have today."

After hearing Feng Zhengming’s thanks, the three senior brothers smiled and said you’re welcome.

"Zhengming, why are you being so polite? You don't need to be polite to your brothers."

"Yes, Zhengming, we brothers are welcome."

"It's clear that you can succeed in Shanghai, which will bring honor to us brothers."

Feng Zhengming then spoke seriously to his three senior brothers.

“Big Brother, Third Brother, Fifth Brother, you don’t need to ask me if you want to recruit new people. As long as you think they are suitable, you can recruit new people.

But don’t always think about helping me train young chefs. You also need to train some people to help you share some of the work in the kitchen. You should also think more about yourselves.”

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this, the three senior brothers were all stunned.

The three of them looked at each other.

"Hahaha, Zhengming, why are you being so polite to us?"

"Yes, we watched your interview and know that you want to establish a training system for newcomers. My eldest brother, third brother and I will definitely support you with all our strength."

"Zhengming, don't worry. Huiquanlou has enough staff in the kitchen right now."

After the third senior brother heard what the other two brothers said, he also agreed.

"Yes, you have seen it these days. The old shop has enough staff. You have Yao Zhenhui and Xiaopeng in the other shop over at the brewery, so there is enough staff as well."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "I'm not saying that you don't have enough people. What I mean is that you should also have your own team. Maybe in the future, you, the eldest brother, the third brother, and the fifth brother, can open your own restaurant?"

Hearing this, the three brothers looked at each other in surprise.

This time, Fifth Brother spoke first.

"I'll be honest with you. Ever since I came back from my failure in the capital, I realized that I'm definitely not the type to work alone. Your fifth brother really doesn't have that ability."

The eldest and third brothers had the same idea.

The seniors all feel that many of their ideas cannot keep up with the current era.

So instead of opening their own restaurants and losing money, they might as well continue to work with Feng Zhengming.

The third brother joked with Feng Zhengming: "You don't want to give us pensions, do you? So you plan to kick us all out when we get older?"

Feng Zhengming was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Third brother, how is that possible? I will definitely prioritize your retirement. After you retire, I will definitely continue to pay you a salary every month."

The eldest senior brother smiled and comforted Feng Zhengming.

"Don't get excited, your third brother was just joking."

Then the eldest brother also made his position very clear.

“To be honest, we are not going to work alone because we are all very clear about our own abilities. We don’t have the ability to run a restaurant by ourselves.

So we will continue to follow you, guarantee you a good basic foundation in the province, and help you train chefs with good skills.

In the future, we may really have to follow you until we grow old, but you have to be responsible for us anyway."

When Feng Zhengming heard what his eldest senior brother said, his eyes fell on the faces of his three senior brothers.

He knew that his fellow senior brothers, including his second and sixth senior brothers who were not present today, were helping him wholeheartedly.

Moreover, the senior brothers also hope that I can really accomplish the things that they want to do but cannot do.

We need to better inherit and develop Shandong cuisine, and also ensure that it keeps up with the times.

From this perspective, Feng Zhengming is indeed facing greater pressure.

Fortunately, he has the title of national top scholar and has made a good start.

So the senior brothers also believe that the junior brother can definitely do it.

Faced with the expectations of his seniors, Feng Zhengming could only nod.

"Okay, eldest brother, third brother, and fifth brother, don't worry. I will work hard. You don't have to worry about your retirement. I will make proper arrangements for you and ensure that you can live a good life after retirement."

In fact, the reason why retirement is mentioned is mainly due to the wave of layoffs in the country in the past year.

This makes many people more or less worried about their future retirement.

Feng Zhengming could probably guess that when his senior brothers mentioned retirement, they also had concerns in their hearts.

He has already planned in his mind that he will take some time to pay attention to this issue next year. He will first renew the pension insurance of his seniors and, if possible, buy higher-grade insurance for all of them.

In this way, the seniors will at least be able to receive the most basic pension in the future.

Feng Zhengming also plans to set up a pension fund within the company to save some money for his fellow brothers in retirement. (End of this chapter)