From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After Sun Hai returned to Quancheng for the internal competition, he discussed with Xia Hui and decided to send Xia Hui and her brother home first, which could also be considered a visit to the Xia family.

Xia Mingye admired Sun Hai's decision very much.

"Brother-in-law, you are so brave to go back with my sister like this."

Sun Hai smiled innocently: "If your sister is willing, I will listen to her."

Xia Mingye was startled when he heard this, and turned around to see his sister staring at him with unfriendly eyes.

"Sister, I was just joking with my brother-in-law."

Xia Hui said seriously, "Don't call me brother-in-law. You can't call me brother-in-law now. You should call him Brother Sun or Brother Hai. You can change your name after we get the marriage certificate."

Xia Mingye immediately agreed: "Yes, sir. I will listen to you."

But then he immediately leaned close to Sun Hai's ear and said, "Look, you haven't completely won my sister over yet. You have to work hard, Brother Hai."

Sun Hai just smiled innocently.

He is a simple and honest person, but he is very clear-headed.

Xia Hui didn't let her brother call her brother-in-law, mainly because the two of them had confirmed their relationship but had not yet reached the stage of discussing marriage.

According to Xia Hui's idea, he and Sun Hai still need to work hard together with their junior uncle for a few more years.

Sun Hai and Xia Hui both knew that the junior master-master would not be satisfied with just the two stores in Shanghai.

They knew very well that the two stores owned by Junior Master Uncle were just stepping stones for him to enter Shanghai.

Next, Master-Sister will probably start opening some specialty branches in Shanghai once he has enough staff.

In the end, Junior Master Uncle will definitely open a high-end restaurant in Shanghai specializing in Shandong cuisine.

Sun Hai and Xia Hui were both looking forward to the high-end restaurant.

They really hope to have the opportunity to become chefs in that high-end restaurant.

By that time, they will become real Shandong cuisine chefs.

Of course, Xia Hui also set another goal for Sun Hai.

She hopes Sun Hai can participate in a national competition.

Xia Hui didn't want Sun Hai to get a good ranking in the national competition.

She just hopes that Sun Hai can prove himself in the national competition.

Sun Hai also has this in his heart.

Therefore, in the next few years, the main goal of Sun Hai and Xia Hui will still be to improve their skills. They must keep up with the pace of their junior uncle Feng Zhengming.

Xia Hui saw her brother hugging Sun Hai and mumbling something.

She frowned slightly: "Are you guys leaving or not?"

The two of them had no choice but to separate quickly, carrying their things and following Xia Hui.

The group of three did not take the train, but took a bus back from Quancheng.

When he arrived in Qufu, Sun Hai was really nervous.

Although he had been giving himself all kinds of psychological preparation on the way here.

But when the time came to meet the Xia family, Sun Hai felt somewhat nervous.

After all, this was his first visit as the future son-in-law.

Xia Mingye quietly observed Sun Hai and naturally noticed the fact that he was nervous.

"Hahaha, are you starting to get nervous? Are you worried that my dad will kick you out?"

After hearing this, Xia Hui turned around and glared at her brother.

"You're the only one who talks nonsense. How could Dad kick Sun Hai out?"

Without waiting for her brother to speak, Xia Hui followed up by saying, "Sun Hai is Master Yang's apprentice and Master Yan's grand-disciple. He is also a chef in Shanghai with Master Yang. Do you think he is the same as you?"

After hearing this, Xia Mingye immediately looked sad.

"Well, now that I think about it, it seems like I was the one who was beaten out."

This made Sun Hai laugh.

He laughed like this and felt relieved.

Then the group came to the Xia family's restaurant.

Xia Mingye rushed in first.

Xia Hui reached out and held Sun Hai's hand.

This surprised Sun Hai a little.

Xia Hui's eyes were firm: "Don't be afraid, don't forget, you are a chef recognized by your uncle, your cooking skills are no worse than theirs, they have no right to say anything about you."

With Xia Hui's encouragement, Sun Hai smiled again.

"Okay, I'm not afraid."

Then the two of them walked into the Xia Family Restaurant hand in hand.

After entering the door, Sun Hai saw Xia Mingye and the Xia family waiting for him.

Although Xia Hui was holding his hand, Sun Hai was still somewhat nervous facing so many people from the Xia family.

Then, with Xia Hui's encouragement, Sun Hai took the initiative to greet her.

"Hello, Grandpa Xia, Uncle Xia, Aunt Xia, I am Xia Hui's boyfriend now. I came to visit you today and wish you a happy new year. These things are the gifts we brought back from Shanghai."

As he spoke, Sun Hai walked forward and put down what he was holding.

Until Sun Hai retreated back to Xia Hui's side.

No one in the Xia family said a word.

Xia Hui's parents, his uncles, aunts and other people from other families.

Finally, all eyes turned to Master Xia.

After all, the old man is the one who makes the final decision in the Xia family.

If the old man agrees, then the other people in the Xia family will have no objection.

Master Xia looked at Sun Hai for a while.

The old man looked at Xia Hui with a smile: "Xiao Hui, have you already decided on this boy?"

Xia Hui did not hesitate: "Yes, Sun Hai and I were recommended by Grandpa Yan together, and later we have been working together with Uncle Master. I think Sun Hai is a solid person, and I also recognize his craftsmanship.

So I think he and I are a perfect match, and we can revive Confucius cuisine together.”

After hearing this, Master Xia looked at Sun Hai again.

"So, you are planning to marry into our family and promote Confucius cuisine with Xia Hui?"

Sun Hai did not hesitate: "I am willing to promote Confucius cuisine with Xia Hui."

Xia Hui continued, "Grandpa, he is not marrying into your family. He has skills. He is the apprentice of Uncle Yang and the apprentice of Grandpa Yan. You can't just let him marry into your family."

Master Xia laughed and said, "Why can't I let him marry into my family? He wants to learn Confucius Mansion cuisine, but how can he learn it if he doesn't marry into my family?"

After hearing what her grandfather said, Xia Hui did not give in at all.

"But don't we have other disciples from other families in our Kongfu? Why do we have to let him marry into our family when it comes to him?"

When Sun Hai heard Xia Hui arguing with his grandfather, he actually wanted to say a few words.

He doesn't care whether he marries into the wife's family or not.

For Sun Hai, there is nothing wrong with marrying into the Xia family.

He has an older brother and a younger brother. So his marriage into the Xia family did not have any impact on his family.

But when Sun Hai wanted to speak, Xia Hui held him back and stopped him.

When Master Xia saw his granddaughter arguing with him, the old man also became interested.

"Xiao Hui, are you planning to get married and not inherit the Kong family cuisine?"

When Xia Hui heard this, she answered directly: "Grandpa, if you insist on letting Sun Hai marry into the family, then I would rather not learn Confucius Mansion cuisine with him, and we will go to Shanghai with my uncle."

At this time, Xia Hui's father finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"What nonsense are you talking about? If you don't learn Confucius cuisine, then where did you get those Confucius cuisine techniques that you use to cook?"

Then Xia Hui's uncle looked at Sun Hai and said, "Since you like Xiao Hui, you should make some sacrifices for her."

When Xia Hui heard her father and uncle say this, she felt a little annoyed.

"What's wrong with you? Can't we just not learn Confucius Mansion cuisine? Humph, I see you still want to control me. Not only do you want to control me, you also want to use me to control Sun Hai. If I had known this, I would not have come back."

After saying this, Xia Hui, with her strong personality, actually turned around and pulled Sun Hai away.

Seeing this scene, Master Xia finally couldn't help laughing.

"Hahahaha, alright, alright, stop scaring Xiaohui. Forcing her away would be a huge loss to our family."

Hearing what their grandfather said, Xia Hui and Sun Hai stopped together.

Then she turned her head to look at her grandfather, and also at her father, uncle and others.

Everyone in the family laughed at Xia Hui and Sun Hai.

Obviously, the persecution of the two of them just now was deliberately acted out.

In fact, the Xia family knew that Xia Hui and Sun Hai were in love, and the whole family was really happy. They were also very satisfied with Sun Hai as a son-in-law.

Just as Xia Hui said, Sun Hai is Yang Bin's apprentice and Master Yan's apprentice's great-grandson.

Now he is working as a chef in a store in Shanghai with Feng Zhengming.

All this shows his strength.

Having such a capable son-in-law is a great thing for the Xia family.

So how could the Xia family force Sun Hai to marry into the family?
Besides, the Xia family is now accepting chefs from other families as apprentices, and even some who come with their own skills will be accepted as apprentices.

These are also some of the changes made by the Xia family at Feng Zhengming's suggestion.

The hope is to better inherit and promote Confucius Mansion cuisine.

Who is the person who can best inherit and promote Confucius cuisine?
Obviously, there is no one more suitable than Sun Hai and Xia Hui.

The Xia family really needs a son-in-law like Sun Hai.

After gaining recognition from her family, Xia Hui finally started to smile.

Then he let go of Sun Hai's hand and ran quickly to his mother.

"mom."

The mother reached out and took her daughter into her arms.

"Girl, you are still so impatient. Grandpa and the others just wanted to scare you, and you can't help yourself, right?"

Xia Hui acted coquettishly in her mother's arms: "Mom, wasn't I afraid that you would force Sun Hai to do it?"

Aunt Xia Hui beside her said with a smile: "How dare we force you two? You are now the capable men under the national champion. If we force you to turn around and go back, we will be the ones who suffer."

My aunt also echoed: "Yes, no one dares to force you now."

Master Xia looked at Sun Hai and waved to him.

Sun Hai walked up to Master Xia.

"Sun Hai, Xiao Hui has a quick temper. You should be more tolerant of her in the future."

Sun Hai nodded and agreed: "Master Xia, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Xia Hui."

Master Xia laughed: "Still calling me Master Xia?"

Sun Hai immediately changed his tone: "I understand, Grandpa."

Master Xia laughed happily: "Okay, okay, now that everyone is back, we can start the feast."

Then Master Xia arranged: "You guys rest here tonight, and let Xia Hui go home with you tomorrow morning to visit your parents and family."

Although Sun Hai was very happy to hear this, he still asked a question.

"Isn't it a little early? How about I come and pick her up after the New Year?"

Master Xia smiled and made the decision: "Grandpa has made the decision. Let her go back with you to celebrate the New Year. After the New Year, you can come back to pay New Year's greetings to Grandpa. When you return to Quancheng, our two families will go to Quancheng to meet and settle the matter between you two first."

After hearing this, Sun Hai turned and looked at Xia Hui.

Xia Hui just shyly snuggled into her mother's arms.

Master Xia saw it and said, "Okay, just listen to Grandpa."

Sun Hai went home with Xia Hui and was recognized by the Xia family, which made him very happy.

Next, the Xia family members all asked him and Xia Hui about some of their affairs in Shanghai.

Sun Hai and Xia Hui also told about some of the things that happened in their store in Shanghai.

After hearing their stories, everyone in the Xia family was shocked.

Master Xia sighed: "Zhengming is worthy of being the top scholar in the country. He is really capable and knows how to open a store and do business in Shanghai."

Xia Hui also spoke up immediately: "That's right, Grandpa, Master Uncle really knows how to target different groups of people."

Sun Hai took over the conversation: "In the store we are in, Junior Master Uncle is targeting overseas people in Shanghai, as well as those white-collar workers in Shanghai."

Xia Hui continued, "Master said that as long as we get overseas people to recognize our restaurant, and a large number of them come to eat at our restaurant, we will be able to attract white-collar workers to come and eat there. It's really like that."

Master Xia couldn't help but smile bitterly: "This is also a little thought of some people in China."

After a brief pause, Master Xia sighed.

"They always think that things from overseas are good, and they want to follow suit if people overseas are chasing after them, so that's why the situation in your store happened."

Sun Hai said: "But the dishes in our restaurant are indeed very delicate and delicious."

"Yes, the dishes we cook are all delicious." Xia Hui followed.

Master Xia laughed: "Hahaha, of course it's delicious, those people overseas can't eat everything.

Besides, if the food is not delicious, there are many western restaurants around you. It is impossible for people to choose your restaurant over other western restaurants.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhennan asked, "Are the dishes you cook still Shandong cuisine?"

Sun Hai answered honestly: "There are Shandong cuisine, Hong Kong Cantonese cuisine, and some overseas dishes."

Hearing this, Xia Zhennan frowned slightly: "Then it's not considered Shandong cuisine?"

Xia Hui immediately argued with her father: "It is Shandong cuisine. The techniques we use are all Shandong cuisine techniques. We just made some adjustments to the seasoning to better suit the tastes of Shanghainese people. When serving the food, we used the overseas fast food style."

Sun Hai nodded and said, "Yes, our technique is still Shandong cuisine."

Xia Mingye also stepped forward to help prove it.

"My sister and her friends are back. My sister competed in a cooking competition in Quancheng and cooked a pig's trotter. The cooking method used the bone-breaking technique of our Confucius Mansion cuisine, and it tasted very delicious."

Master Xia also talked about this to his son, daughter and son-in-law.

“Don’t be too rigid about formalities. Why can Feng Zhengming become the top chef in the country? And why can he convince chefs overseas?

It is because he does not stick to the formal tradition, he applies traditional elements to new dishes, blending tradition and innovation.

This is the future development direction of Shandong cuisine." (End of this chapter)