From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Jiang Chengzhe made an appointment with the other party, and Feng Zhengming prepared to bring his chefs to the banquet.

As a result, they will have to stay in Shanghai for a few more days.

Because we still have to wait for a few people from Hangzhou to arrive.

Fortunately, Hangzhou is not far from Shanghai.

On the third day as agreed, Feng Zhengming and his friends went to a banquet arranged by the Shanghai Chefs Association.

The restaurant arranged in Shanghai this time is still a time-honored restaurant in Shanghai.

Feng Zhengming led his people to the restaurant, where someone was already waiting for them in front of the door.

Seeing Feng Zhengming coming, he immediately led them upstairs to the private room.

The restaurant has specially prepared a very large private room.

A large table that can seat about twenty or thirty people.

In the private room, the lineup waiting for Feng Zhengming and his team was also quite extraordinary.

Feng Zhengming saw at a glance that among the people present were representative chefs from the four schools of Zhejiang cuisine.

The president of the Zhejiang Cuisine Chefs Association was also present.

The president and vice president of the Chefs Association, as well as several well-known chefs from Shanghai, were also present on the Shanghai side.

When Feng Zhengming saw this scene, he whispered something to Jiang Chengzhe beside him.

"The scene is quite big and the lineup is very impressive. It looks like they were well prepared."

Jiang Chengzhe was a little embarrassed when he saw this scene.

I didn't expect the other side to have such a large lineup.

After Feng Zhengming entered the room, he smiled and took the initiative to greet the chefs present.

"Hello, chefs. I didn't expect you would make such a big show to treat us to a meal today."

Then Feng Zhengming didn't wait for the other party to speak, but instead began to introduce the people who came with him.

"This guy is Sun Hai, the apprentice of my third senior brother. He is the head chef of one of my restaurants in Shanghai. His cooking skills have been recognized by customers. It is said that the local dishes he makes have won the hearts of many locals."

"This is Xia Hui. You should know her by her name. She is the heir of the Xia family, the master of Kongfu cuisine. She works at the restaurant on the street next to my western restaurant. She is Ah Zhe's assistant. Even though she is a woman, her cooking skills are absolutely impeccable."

Then Feng Zhengming introduced the young chefs he brought one by one.

It can be said that in front of a group of chefs, Feng Zhengming directly elevated the status of all his subordinates.

This also made the chefs present take a closer look at the young chefs.

They still understood that Feng Zhengming introduced it this way.

This shows that they are the real backbone of Feng Zhengming's four stores in Shanghai.

In particular, Feng Zhengming bluntly said that their local dishes are all good and have won the recognition of many locals.

This was equivalent to expressing in front of the local chefs present that his subordinates had gained a foothold in Shanghai by relying on their cooking skills to be recognized by the locals.

The chefs from Shanghai and Hangzhou who were present were also very polite to Feng Zhengming and his friends.

Then everyone sat down together.

Soon, the restaurant served dishes one by one to Feng Zhengming and his friends.

Feng Zhengming could tell at a glance that the dishes on the restaurant tonight, in addition to local dishes, also included many famous dishes from the four schools of Zhejiang cuisine.

From this perspective, the other party had indeed made some preparations for tonight's meal.

Feng Zhengming was not surprised.

After all, they came to Shanghai to find me, they must want to show themselves.

At least when it comes to cooking, I can’t lose to Feng Zhengming.

After sitting down, Feng Zhengming ate the dishes one by one without saying a word.

I tasted the various dishes on the table.

"Yes, it seems that you have really put a lot of effort into this meal tonight. Whether it is local cuisine or the four schools of Zhejiang cuisine, the dishes are all quite authentic and taste great."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the president of the Shanghai Chefs Association spoke first.

"Zhengming, today's meal is a way for these people from Hangzhou to come here specially to apologize to you."

Feng Zhengming quickly waved his hands: "That's too serious. How can we say we are apologizing? We are all in the same industry and we cook different cuisines. In fact, there is no distinction between us."

The president of the Chefs Association from Hangzhou then took the initiative to apologize.

"It was because we didn't arrange the game well that Feng Zhuangyuan was not treated well in Hangzhou. It was indeed our fault."

Feng Zhengming: "That incident is in the past, and I really don't blame you. I think the Hangzhou race was well organized. It was some people with ulterior motives who took advantage of your rules."

Having said that, Feng Zhengming raised his glass and toasted the master chefs who came from Hangzhou.

"I would like to offer a toast to you all and apologize to you all for my rash resignation from the judging panel."

Feng Zhengming's toast made the several master chefs from Hangzhou a little uneasy.

They came here together originally, and they really wanted to have a good talk with Feng Zhengming.

I want Feng Zhengming to show his attitude. Hangzhou and Zhejiang cuisine cannot take the blame.

Public opinion is now very unfavorable to Hangzhou and Zhejiang cuisine.

Many people are saying that Hangzhou is manipulating the National Zhejiang Cuisine Competition.

It was also said that the chef who abstained from voting was allowed to discredit Feng Zhuangyuan.

They even said that they were deliberately suppressing Feng Zhengming.

This kind of public opinion makes chefs in Hangzhou and the entire Zhejiang cuisine feel very wronged.

This time they came together in the hope that the chefs in Shanghai could mediate and resolve the misunderstandings with Feng Zhengming, so that Feng Zhengming could also help Hangzhou and Zhejiang cuisine.

Several Zhejiang cuisine chefs don’t beat around the bush.

So after Feng Zhengming toasted.

They simply stated their purpose.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, we are not here to ask you for anything. We know that the problems in the Hangzhou race were caused by our failure to make all kinds of preparations in the early stage. The fault is ours."

"Yes, we did make too many mistakes and failed to run the game well."

"The first reason we came here this time is to apologize to Feng Zhuangyuan."

"We are really sorry that you, Mr. Feng, were almost wrongly accused because of our mistakes."

"Also, we hope that Feng Zhuangyuan can help us clarify that we really didn't take any money, and we didn't collude with that chef who gave up to attack you."

"Yes, we really don't dare to suppress you, Feng Zhuangyuan. We hope to cooperate more with you."

When Jiang Chengzhe heard this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief again.

He had really thought that since they had come here with such a big fanfare, they might have a good talk with Feng Zhengming.

Unexpectedly, they finally surrendered to Feng Zhengming.

But this does not seem strange to Jiang Chengzhe.

Feng Zhengming is now recognized by more people. He is no longer on the same level as the masters present.

So they chose to submit to Feng Zhengming and cooperate with him, which actually brought them more benefits.

Feng Zhengming saw that the master chefs from Hangzhou all said this.

He certainly wasn't pushy.

“You are too polite, everyone. I know that the matter of the Hangcheng race has nothing to do with you, and I certainly won’t blame you.

I have also told Hangzhou before that we can cooperate, and I will open a branch in Hangzhou in the future.

You should have heard that my branch serves braised pork, but we will also have some local specialties, so I will really need your guidance when the time comes."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, all the Zhejiang cuisine chefs present naturally laughed.

They all said that they would definitely support Feng Zhengming when he opened a branch in Hangzhou.

Seeing that the matter was resolved smoothly, several chefs from Shanghai warmly invited everyone to eat together.

The atmosphere of the meal was very harmonious.

Of course, with Feng Zhengming's deliberate promotion, several young chefs who followed him to the Shanghai store also appeared in front of the master chefs of Shanghai and Zhejiang cuisine.

In the future they will naturally receive some respect in Shanghai.

This will also help boost the fame of these young chefs.

After all, they can't always follow Feng Zhengming.

Sooner or later Feng Zhengming will hand over a few stores to them.

So they need to have good relations with the local chefs.

At the last dinner, Xia Hui got several chefs of Shanghai and Zhejiang cuisine drunk.

They seemed to think that Xia Hui was a woman and wanted to drink a few more glasses with her.

Unexpectedly, Xia Hui's alcohol tolerance was indeed amazing.

In addition, Feng Zhengming nodded and told Xia Hui that she could drink as much as she wanted.

"It's okay. We'll be back the day after tomorrow, and we don't have to go to work tomorrow. Just drink as much as you want. We're all in the same business, so let's have fun tonight."

Xia Hui received the order and showed her true drinking capacity.

Fortunately, there are still sober people, otherwise several chefs of Shanghai and Zhejiang cuisine might not be able to go back.

Feng Zhengming has Xia Hui and several other young chefs on his side.

His own glass of wine was drunk from the beginning to the end.

After the meal, Feng Zhengming took everyone back to his house in Shanghai.

In the evening, Jiang Chengzhe talked to Feng Zhengming alone again.

"Tell me, how come you can cook so well and run your store so well?"

Without waiting for Feng Zhengming to answer, Jiang Chengzhe directly pointed out some of his practices.

"To be honest, your promotional methods are very similar to those of some chefs in Hong Kong, but the difference between you and them is that you don't deliberately raise the prices like them."

Feng Zhengming laughed when he heard this: "That's enough. I treat every customer with my real good craftsmanship, and naturally the customers will give me corresponding feedback."

Jiang Chengzhe asked: "Have you never thought that your title of No. 1 scholar could be worth more?"

Feng Zhengming sighed: "I have indeed thought about it."

Jiang Chengzhe immediately laughed: "Hahaha, I knew you must have thought about it."

Feng Zhengming then asked: "But if I really have no shame and make the most of my title of No. 1, how many years can I enjoy the title of No. 1?"

Jiang Chengzhe was stunned by this question and thought about it carefully.

"You are right. If you really do that, your reputation as the top scholar will be ruined sooner or later due to abuse, and it may even become a handle for others to hold you hostage."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, people can be greedy, but they must know what the price they have to pay for being greedy is."

Jiang Chengzhe asked again: "But I'm still confused. Let's not talk about the branches in your hometown. Just talking about the four branches in Shanghai, you make a lot of profit every month. Why do you give most of the profit to us?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked, "Why? Do you think my salary is too high? I'll give you a reduction after the New Year."

Jiang Chengzhe was stunned by what he said, and then quickly said: "No, that's not what I meant."

Feng Zhengming put away his smile and said, "The reason is very simple. Since I hope that the chefs' skills will be respected enough and that others will be willing to pay for their skills, shouldn't I first respect the labor of every employee?"

Jiang Chengzhe was stunned again.

After thinking for a long time, he was a little amused: "Compared with you, I feel like I was really a capitalist before."

"Hahaha." This made Feng Zhengming laugh.

Then Feng Zhengming asked Jiang Chengzhe: "Think about it, what are we still lacking?
I already have my own house in Shanghai and so many stores.

I also have my own car to use, and I can afford three meals a day and anything my family wants to buy.

In this case, why should I ask for more money? Give more labor compensation to everyone so that everyone can live a better life.

This way, everyone will be willing to follow me, isn't that good?"

Jiang Chengzhe smiled: "You are a person who is easily satisfied. If it were someone in Hong Kong, they would just want more money, so they could buy more mansions and luxury cars, and also buy a lot of luxury goods."

"Those are personal hobbies. I'm not very interested in those things." Feng Zhengming answered calmly.

This is the truth in Feng Zhengming's heart. He really has no interest in mansions, luxury cars, or luxury goods.

He also doesn't think that owning those things can really improve his so-called taste in life.

Jiang Chengzhe looked Feng Zhengming up and down.

"No wonder you still dress so simply. You don't even have a decent watch, and you still wear this old watch of yours."

Feng Zhengming looked at the watch on his wrist and said, "This belonged to my grandfather. How can I just throw away something that has been passed down from my ancestors?"

Jiang Chengzhe was a little surprised: "This watch belongs to Grandpa Feng?"

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, when my grandfather gave it to me, he said that my grandmother bought it for him."

Jiang Chengzhe reached out and took Feng Zhengming's hand and looked at his watch.

"Such a meaningful watch cannot be replaced by any famous watch or gold watch."

At this point, Jiang Chengzhe was somewhat helpless: "Why do I feel that the more I look at you, the more you look like an ascetic monk?"

“Hahaha.” Feng Zhengming was amused again. “Can I be considered an ascetic monk? It’s better to say that those famous chefs in Hong Kong that you met before, they really do live too luxuriously.”

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Jiang Chengzhe thought about it carefully and had to admit it.

"It's true. In places like Hong Kong, people are living a life of luxury and extravagance. Anyone who has made money through some means will spend it like a drunkard, living a life of luxury and extravagance."

Feng Zhengming stretched out his hand and pressed Jiang Chengzhe's shoulder: "So I'm very happy that you haven't been blinded by those things."

Jiang Chengzhe shrugged: "I'm not interested in those things. The salary you give me is already very high, enough for me to live comfortably. My parents also support me."

When Feng Zhengming heard Jiang Chengzhe mention his parents, he immediately asked, "Bring your uncle and aunt back after the Chinese New Year. I will treat them well then."

Jiang Chengzhe agreed: "Okay, my parents have always wanted to meet you."

The two young chefs who admired each other had a long talk, and the next day Feng Zhengming sent Jiang Chengzhe on the plane. (End of this chapter)