From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After lunch, Feng Zhengming, his wife Luo Qing, and their daughter went to Lingyin Temple for a visit.

Luo Qing went to Lingyin Temple to burn incense and pray for her daughter.

Feng Zhengming didn't really believe it, but he followed his wife in burning incense and praying for their daughter.

The little girl became quieter after coming to this ancient temple.

While burning incense in Lingyin Temple, Feng Zhengming and his friends actually ran into some chefs who came to participate in an individual competition.

They also came to Lingyin Temple to burn incense and pray for a good result in this competition.

Seeing this, Luo Qing couldn't help but whisper to her husband, "They are praying for good results here, why don't they ask you, the judge, for some pointers?"

Hearing his wife say this, Feng Zhengming smiled and responded to his wife in a low voice.

"They just hope to get a good blessing, just like you praying for your daughter, it is also a good expectation."

Luo Qing pouted and muttered, "I pray for my daughter because I hope she grows up healthily."

Feng Zhengming smiled and hugged his wife: "I know that they are praying for good results here, which is also a good wish. After all, when everyone works equally hard, the final result may only depend on God's will."

Luo Qing was puzzled: "Why should we depend on God's will?"

Feng Zhengming explained: “Think about it, who knows what problems we will encounter in the competition?
Maybe you were unlucky, or there were some mistakes during the game, or maybe there was a problem with the stove during the game? No one can say for sure."

After hearing what her husband said, Luo Qing suddenly understood why these chefs from other places came to the temple to pray for good luck.

Afterwards, Luo Qing took her husband to draw divination for her daughter.

Feng Zhengming was also accompanying his wife, holding his daughter.

Luo Qing was quite attentive to fortune-telling and even asked for a lucky charm for her daughter.

Feng Zhengming could see that his wife cared a lot about their daughter.

Luo Qing hopes that her daughter can be safe, healthy and happy.

Feng Zhengming also patiently accompanied his wife.

When interpreting the divination, the monk in the temple said that the daughter would be extremely intelligent and would become very rich and powerful in the future.

This made Luo Qing very happy to hear, and she asked Feng Zhengming to donate a lot of incense money to the temple.

Feng Zhengming feels that whether his daughter becomes rich or not has more to do with how hard he works.

But since he said so many good things, he should be given some tea money.

Feng Zhengming donated a considerable amount of money to the temple.

However, neither he nor his wife signed their names, and the donation was made in the name of their daughter.

Luo Qing carefully wrote her daughter's name on the list: Feng Nuanyu.

He wrote his daughter's name and gave it to the monk in the temple.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing turned and left with their daughter.

When we walked out of Lingyin Temple, we met a few individual chefs who had come to Hangzhou to participate in the National Cooking Skills Competition and had burned incense to pray for good luck.

Listening to the conversation between several people, it can be judged that they are probably not together.

We happened to live together after arriving in Hangzhou.

So we traveled together in Hangzhou.

Then they came to Lingyin Temple together to draw a fortune, hoping it would help them in the competition.

"The lottery I asked for seems to be good. It says that I will definitely get the expected results this time."

"My signature also said I could get good results."

“Actually, any achievement is fine, the main purpose is to come here and communicate with other chefs.”

"Yes, yes. We can also compete here and meet Feng Zhuangyuan."

When talking about Feng Zhengming, the top scholar, it was obvious that they all admired him very much.

"If I can get guidance from Mr. Feng, my cooking skills will definitely improve."

"Of course. Mr. Feng's skills are now really amazing."

"Have you heard about it? Mr. Feng made a restaurant recommendation guide in Shanghai, recommending many small restaurants in Shanghai. Those small restaurants became popular all of a sudden."

"That's for sure. After all, it was Mr. Feng who recommended the restaurant."

"I don't know what the annotations that Feng Zhuangyuan recommended are. It would be great if I could get that kind of recommendation guide in my hometown."

"Hahaha, are you so sure that your skills are worthy of being recommended by the top scholar?"

Several people were talking and laughing. Although the fortune sticks they got were good and bad, it did not affect their mood at all.

When talking about Feng Zhengming's recommended guide, the chefs had somewhat different opinions.

"I think Feng Zhuangyuan's recommended guide was first promoted in Qilu and now in Shanghai. But it can only be promoted in these two places. It should not be easy to implement in other places."

"Not necessarily? As long as Feng Zhuangyuan makes an impact, other places will also need it."

"Whether something tastes good or not is subjective, and everyone has different tastes."

"Yes, Feng Zhuangyuan's recommendation guide is obviously based on the format of foreign countries. However, the judging criteria of foreign countries seem to be based on the layout of the restaurant, service and other things."

"It's different, completely different. Didn't you see that most of the restaurants in Feng Zhuangyuan's recommended guide are small restaurants?"

"That's right. So Feng Zhuangyuan's philosophy is that the dishes should be delicious and inexpensive."

"Oh, then Feng Zhuangyuan's standard is good quality and low price."

"Hahaha, you haven't read that recommended guide, have you?"

This question stumped the other people, as they indeed had not read the recommended guidelines.

The person asking the question took out a book from his backpack.

"Look, it's actually written here that it recommends delicious and affordable restaurants in Shanghai to ordinary people in Shanghai."

Take a look at Feng Zhengming’s recommendation guide in Shanghai.

Several chefs who came to Hangzhou to participate in the competition gradually began to admire Feng Zhengming more and more.

"As expected of the No. 1 scholar, the layout is different. From what I've seen, the restaurants recommended here are basically small street restaurants. They should be affordable and delicious."

"Yes, and there are local Shanghai dishes, as well as some restaurants with chefs from other places."

"This way, with this book, I can find restaurants that suit my taste when I travel in Shanghai."

"That's true. I was a little worried when I went to Shanghai before. What should I eat? Some restaurants in Shanghai are really not good enough for me."

At this time, the chef who took out the recommended guide suddenly said.

"In fact, if you go to Shanghai in the future and don't know what to eat, there is a choice that you will never go wrong."

The others looked at him strangely.

"What is the choice?"

When asked by everyone, the chef smiled and replied: "Let's go to the Zhuangyuan restaurant to eat."

Luo Qing, who was hearing this, almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help laughing, so he and his wife took their daughter away.

After they walked away, Luo Qing couldn't help laughing. "Hahaha, it's incredible. I didn't expect that even the chefs participating in the competition admire you so much."

Feng Zhengming also smiled bitterly with helplessness on his face.

In his heart, he doesn't want everyone to admire him. He hopes that everyone can see his efforts and then learn to work as hard as he does and focus on his craft.

However, Feng Zhengming also knows that in today's era, it is indeed not easy to expect chefs to fully focus on their skills.

We are about to enter the year 2000, and various social thoughts are intertwining and colliding with each other.

The Internet is also on the rise now, and more thoughts collide on the Internet, making everything start to change.

Under the impact of such various thoughts, it is indeed difficult for people to remain original in mind.

Even Feng Zhengming himself is using the recommendation guide to establish his own authoritative standards, and is promoting his own branches and publicizing his own craftsmanship.

Times have changed, and some things do need to change.

To keep up with the times, even if you want to stick to your craft, you cannot ignore the development of the times.

Feng Zhengming had his own plans when he came to Hangzhou to serve as a judge this time.

He wanted to use Hangzhou as a springboard to expand his store further south, and after opening branches along the southeastern coastal provinces, he could promote his own set of ideas.

In particular, the recommended guide booklet should be better disseminated throughout the southeast coast.

It was first promoted and spread throughout the southeast coastal areas, and then spread among outsiders working in various parts of the southeast coastal areas.

Gradually spread the recommended guidelines back to some provinces in the mainland.

In this way, the influence of the recommended guidelines can be gradually expanded to the whole country.

Luo Qing was a little surprised to see her husband lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and held his wife in his arms, whispering some of his thoughts to her.

Luo Qing nodded and said, "Your ideas are good. Times have changed. We really need to keep up with the times. No matter how good your craftsmanship is, it won't work without enough publicity."

Having said that, Luo Qing took out her cell phone.

"Just like this mobile phone, who could have imagined a few years ago that mobile phones would develop so fast?"

Feng Zhengming also laughed: "Yes, technology is advancing too fast, we have to keep up."

Luo Qing asked: "Do you think I should learn computer science? I heard that the computer industry is developing very fast, especially with the Internet. There are so many people online who can communicate and discuss things with each other."

Feng Zhengming fully supports his wife's decision.

"Sure, after the New Year, you can take some time to learn it. Computers are something that you really need to learn in a timely manner to keep up with the times. You may find it useful in the future."

With the support of her husband, Luo Qing naturally became more confident.

"Okay, my daughter will be a little older next year, so I'll go and learn it then."

The family of three spent a whole day in Hangzhou.

In the evening, we ate something outside and then returned to the hotel.

As soon as he returned to the hotel, people from the event organizer in Hangzhou found Feng Zhengming.

Tell Feng Zhengming about some of the arrangements made by the event organizer.

Feng Zhengming took the various forms given to him by the event organizer.

I went back to the room and looked at it carefully.

"Hangzhou seems to take this competition very seriously. Not only are there auditions, but there are also some competitions at West Lake. Even the venue for the finals is arranged in a hotel by the West Lake."

Luo Qing took the schedule form her husband handed to her, looked through it and sighed.

"What a generous move."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "It is indeed a big deal. It seems that Hangzhou City really wants to get some food labels."

At this time, the doorbell of Feng Zhengming's room rang.

Feng Zhengming walked to the door.

The door was opened and welcomed in by several presidents and vice presidents of the Hangzhou Catering and Chefs Association.

They were accompanied by a leader from Hangzhou.

Fortunately, Feng Zhengming and his family lived in a suite.

When Luo Qing saw someone coming, she carried her daughter into the bedroom.

Feng Zhengming asked everyone to sit outside.

The leader of Hangzhou City was a little embarrassed: "I'm so sorry to disturb the top scholar's rest."

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded: "It's okay, the main thing is to bring my daughter here. The child is a little tired after playing all day, so we talked about our own things, and the mother and daughter slept inside."

Feng Zhengming then said: "You don't have to call me the top scholar. My name is Feng Zhengming. You are all older than me, so you can call me Xiao Feng or Zhengming."

Feng Zhengming's words made everyone there relax.

The Hangzhou leader spoke first: "Then we will be bold and call you Zhengming."

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed: "Okay."

The leader then stated the purpose of his visit directly.

Feng Zhengming understood after hearing this.

It turned out that these people came to see him specifically tonight because they actually hoped that Feng Zhengming could open a branch in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou leaders said directly: "Now we are carrying out various developments and constructions in Hangzhou. We hope to build a series of Hangzhou cultural tourism circles based on the famous landscape of West Lake.

But now there are some voices that think that Hangzhou is a food desert and there is no good food.

So we hope that you can come to our Hangzhou branch, and we promise to provide you with the best help."

At this time, the president of the catering association spoke up.

"We heard that you have made a restaurant recommendation guide in Qilu and Shanghai. We hope you can come to Hangzhou and make one too."

After a brief pause, the president of the restaurant association said: "It's not even just Hangzhou, it's our entire province."

The president of the Chefs Association also spoke up: "Zhengming, we are old acquaintances. When I saw you at the national cooking competition, I thought you were really amazing.

Later we went to Hong Kong together for exchanges, and the Hong Kong tycoon invited the famous overseas chef Kaufman.

We are no match for him. It was you who conquered Kofman with the same dish of stuffed pig's trotter.

So we invite you to Hangzhou this time, and we hope that your presence can inspire our chefs from the four schools of Zhejiang cuisine to learn and improve with you.”

After listening to what the few people said, Feng Zhengming smiled and gave a very straightforward answer.

"To be honest, I do want to open a branch in Hangzhou, but I am a person after all, and I have a family and children to take care of, so I can't just open a store."

Feng Zhengming clearly stated his philosophy for opening a store: "I still insist that the craftsmanship of my branch must be up to standard.

I don’t want to use my reputation to fool customers casually. I want customers to feel that their money is worth it. This is the philosophy I must adhere to when opening a store.”

After a short pause, Feng Zhengming said seriously: "I will definitely come back to Hangzhou to open a branch, but I need to be well prepared before coming. I don't want to ruin my reputation." (End of this chapter)