From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When Feng Zhengming and his junior master-uncle Huang Tao were creating a list of famous Shandong chefs.

Soon the news of Kong Xingli's departure from Jufengde spread.

There were even rumors on the streets of Quancheng that Kong Xingli had taken away all the backbone members of Jufengde.

Feng Zhengming also heard various rumors while sitting at home, and they were all heard by his wife Luo Qing when she took the children out to play.

"I never thought that Kong Xingli would actually leave Jufengde, and take so many key members with him."

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "He didn't take all the backbones away, he just took a group of his apprentices away."

Luo Qing was a little surprised to see that her husband didn't seem surprised.

"Why don't you seem surprised at all? Did you know this a long time ago?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "I just heard you say this, but I did have a guess a long time ago. I think after our competition is over, there will definitely be a lot of chefs who will be poached."

Luo Qing asked: "Did you guess that Kong Xingli would be poached?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "I really didn't guess this."

Luo Qing was suspicious: "Really didn't guess it?"

The daughter seemed to notice that her mother was suspicious of her father. She tilted her head and stared at her father, waving her hands and babbling, as if to warn her father not to lie to her.

When Feng Zhengming saw his daughter's appearance, he smiled and took his daughter from his wife's arms.

He let his daughter sit on his lap and then pulled his wife to sit down.

“Whether it was Kong Xingli or other chefs who were poached, it’s not surprising at all. Our competition has created such a big scene that the whole country knows about it.

Many people from all over the country watch our games on TV, and you can see that I have a lot of letters from people from other places.

With such a huge influence, think about it, how could no one come to poach the master chef?"

Luo Qing nodded after hearing what her husband said.

"That's true. This competition is really a bit too exciting. I heard from Mrs. Coffman that many people overseas are also paying attention to it."

Luo Qing gently took her daughter's hand and said, "Is Daddy very powerful?"

The daughter didn’t understand what her mother was saying to her. She thought her mother was holding her hand and wanted to play with her, so she followed her mother and moved her hands up and down.

Feng Zhengming looked at his wife and daughter playing hand in hand, smiled and continued to express some of his own guesses.

"Since Kong Xingli was poached, it means that the person who hired him must have offered him a good salary. He may have agreed to build a high-end restaurant specifically for Kong Xingli, let him be the chef, and also give him a share of the restaurant's profits."

While holding hands with her daughter, Luo Qing asked, "Is there really someone who would invest so much in him?"

Feng Zhengming: "Do you not trust the skills of our Shandong cuisine chefs?"

Luo Qing smiled: "I don't distrust you. If someone comes to you, I will definitely believe it."

Feng Zhengming was also amused: "I am too famous, they dare not approach me easily."

Luo Qing asked: "Then if Mr. Feng were to invite you, what kind of treatment would he give you?"

Feng Zhengming was stunned for a moment, and seeing his wife's smiling face, he guessed that his wife asked him this on purpose.

"It's easy. First of all, the restaurant must be decorated according to my requirements. Then I will be paid a million per year, and 70% of the restaurant's profits. That should be about right."

After hearing this, Luo Qing looked incredulous at first.

But she looked at her husband carefully.

She suddenly took her daughter back.

"No, what you're asking for is too little. Don't you even think about your daughter? You need at least two million a year. We can live on one million and save another million for our daughter."

Luo Qing's words stunned Feng Zhengming, and then he couldn't help laughing.

Luo Qing couldn't help laughing as well.

The daughter was confused. Why did her mother start laughing with her father as soon as she held her in her arms?

Although I don’t understand what mom and dad are laughing at?
But since mom and dad are laughing, I must laugh along with them.

So then my daughter started laughing too.

The family of three laughed for a long time at home.

Luo Qing stopped laughing and stared at her husband: "Are we thinking too beautifully?"

Feng Zhengming: "It's not beautiful, but at least your husband should still be worth this much now."

Luo Qing asked: "Is there really someone willing to spend so much money to hire you?"

Feng Zhengming thought about it and shook his head: "I'm afraid not, but there may be in the future."

After a short pause, Feng Zhengming laughed again: "Besides, we don't have to work for others now, right? We have so many stores, wouldn't it be nice to be our own boss?"

Luo Qing curled her lips: "Being your own boss is not good at all. You have so many stores now. Don't you give most of the money you earn to the kitchen?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "There is no other way. We have to give the kitchen staff good enough treatment, otherwise why would the brothers be willing to follow me?"

Luo Qing also agreed: "That's right. Besides, after deducting everyone's salary, we still make a lot of money a year."

Feng Zhengming knew that Luo Qing was in charge of the accounts now, and she was satisfied with her annual income, which meant that she did make a lot of money every year.

Although he didn't know exactly how much he earned, Feng Zhengming had a rough estimate.

I'm afraid that with all the stores combined, their annual revenue could now be over a million.

If you only look at the profits of all the stores combined.

That number is really huge.

But most of Feng Zhengming's profits go to paying salaries to kitchen and service staff.

Especially for the kitchen staff, the wages that the chefs and apprentices receive are definitely higher than those received in other big restaurants.

Plus the dividends shared between my senior brother and Jiang Chengzhe.

Most of these will be deducted from the annual profits.

The income that Feng Zhengming finally received could not be as much as others imagined.

But it's worth it for Feng Zhengming.

Because he didn't think that he would run these stores for a few years and then sell them to make money and run away.

He wants to keep running the business and use these stores to support his own brand.

In addition, the existence of these stores can also provide more chefs who are loyal to their craft with a place to work.

So in comparison, earning a little less money is nothing.

No matter how much money you make, it’s just enough for three meals a day.

Besides, the money Feng Zhengming earns now is enough for him to support his family and let his wife and daughter live a very good life.

People should still be content. Feng Zhengming is very content now.

Luo Qing brought the topic back to Kong Xingli.

"You said Kong Xingli is leaving. Will there be a gap at Jufengde? Who will take over Kong Xingli's position as the chef?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. I have already informed Master Su in advance. I believe that Master Su and his team will definitely make arrangements. Jufengde has never lacked good chefs."

Luo Qing also agreed with this: "Yes, Jufengde is a century-old restaurant that has been standing for a long time. It is indeed not short of good chefs."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Besides, Jufengde still has Master Su here, so nothing will go wrong."

In fact, Kong Xingli's departure did not cause much turmoil within Jufengde. Master Su had been reminded by Feng Zhengming a long time ago.

So Kong Xingli went to him and told him that he wanted to resign and go south to Shanghai to partner with others to open a new store.

Master Su was not very surprised.

However, Master Su still asked his apprentice a question in person.

"Are you really sure that if you open a high-end Shandong cuisine restaurant in Shanghai, your achievements will be as great as Zhengming's?"

When asked this by his master, Kong Xingli felt a little oppressed, even though his master's tone was very calm.

Forcing a smile, Kong Xingli tried his best to appear indifferent.

"Master, I don't want to compete with Zhengming. I know I am no match for him. I just want to try it out and also try to make some attempts for our Shandong cuisine to go the high-end restaurant route."

Master Su couldn't help but laugh when he heard his apprentice say this.

“Your words may deceive others, but they cannot deceive me, your master. I brought you up as my apprentice, and I helped you become the head chef of Jufengde.

You seem to have a peaceful personality and a sense of non-confrontation with the world.

But Master knows that you have always been unwilling to admit defeat."

Kong Xingli's expression suddenly changed when his master revealed his thoughts.

Master Su sighed.

"In fact, Xingli, you have worked very hard, and you are also very good. It's just that your surname and the fact that you were born in Qilu always put some bad pressure on you."

Hearing the surname Kong Xingli and the fact that he is from Qi and Lu, it is natural to associate him with the Kong Mansion.

Of course, Kong Xingli's family has little relationship with the Kong Mansion.

Kong Xingli's ancestors should be considered servants in the Kong Mansion.

But because of this surname, my family still believes that "all things are inferior except reading".

Therefore, most of the people in Kong Xingli's family are studious.

Kong Xingli, however, has loved eating since he was a child, and later developed a strong interest in cooking.

He went to a vocational school without telling his family, and specifically chose the culinary major.

When his family found out, they were naturally angry at his choice.

In particular, Kong Xingli's father once wanted to sever the father-son relationship with him, believing that he disgraced the family name by being a cook.

They were all prepared to prevent Kong Xingli from continuing to have the surname "Kong" in the future.

But Kong Xingli always insisted. At the same time, he was strong-willed and wanted to make a name for himself in the culinary industry to prove to his family that "there are top talents in all 360 professions."

It was not until Kong Xingli entered Jufengde that he won the favor of Master Su and was later accepted as his apprentice.

At that time, the family's views on Kong Xingli gradually began to change.

Wait until Kong Xingli started cooking in the kitchen of Jufengde.

With his skills, he won an award in the provincial cooking skills competition.

His family's opinion of him changed further.

But Kong Xingli himself felt that even until he became the head chef of Jufengde, his family members never really viewed his profession as an equal, and their attitude towards him only improved slightly.

This also drove Kong Xingli to want to gain more glory.

I want to further prove myself with my craft.

It’s a pity that Feng Zhengming appeared.

On the one hand, the emergence of Feng Zhengming has brought new vitality to Shandong cuisine.

This brought Shandong cuisine back into everyone’s attention.

It even began to show signs of surpassing other local cuisines.

But Feng Zhengming's success made Kong Xingli jealous.

Because he originally thought that he should be the one doing all this.

Therefore, Kong Xingli also wanted to compete with Feng Zhengming and prove that his Shandong cuisine skills were not inferior to Feng Zhengming's.

This is also the reason why he agreed to go to Shanghai with the investors this time.

As a master, Master Su really knows his apprentice very well.

"Go ahead, and you can bring the people you choose with you, but I think you must think clearly about your position when you go to Shanghai. Remember, your skills are your real reputation.

Also, don't treat Zhengming as an opponent, treat him as your partner in Shanghai, and communicate with him more. It will only benefit you, not harm you."

Kong Xingli looked at his master. He didn't expect that his master would say these to him so calmly.

He originally thought that he would be reprimanded by his master for leaving.

Not only did the master not have the slightest intention of scolding him, he even gave him advice.

"Master, I..."

Kong Xingli didn't know what to say.
Master Su smiled calmly, "Don't feel like you did anything wrong. You didn't do anything wrong. You have this opportunity to go out. Just like you said, you can also promote Shandong cuisine, so you should go.

Jufengde is a century-old brand that trains Shandong cuisine chefs. Your departure will give more opportunities to the younger generations.

Don’t worry about Jufengde. Maybe the new chef of Jufengde will compete with you in the future.”

At this point, Master Su reminded: "The prerequisite is that you can really make your restaurant famous in Shanghai."

Kong Xingli understood that his master's words were a reminder and encouragement to him.

He responded seriously: "Master, rest assured, I will try my best to do well."

Master Su smiled and said, "If you need anything, go to Zhengming for help. He won't refuse to help you. Don't keep thinking about surpassing him. If you keep thinking like that, it will put too much pressure on you."

Kong Xingli was still a little unconvinced: "Master, I still want to work hard towards him."

Master Su: "That's right, you have to decide for yourself. I can't help you once you go to Shanghai. It's all up to you."

After hearing what his master said, Kong Xingli's tears almost burst out instantly.

Ever since he chose to be a chef, he has not been recognized by his family for all these years.

But he has always received the comfort and care of his master like family.

Many people have always said that Master Su has a bad temper.

But Master Su has always been very good to his apprentice Kong Xingli.

It really feels like he treats Kong Xingli as his own son.

Originally, Master Su had retired a long time ago and could have left Jufengde and gone on to teach like Master Cui, or he could have published a book or supported his son or daughter to open a restaurant.

But Master Su did not leave Jufengde and still works in the kitchen as a consultant.

It can be said that it was Master Su who helped Kong Xingli reach his current position as the chef.

Kong Xingli also understood the affection his master had for him.

Even if I want to leave, I will take some of the people in the kitchen with me.

The master did not blame him at all.

Kong Xingli knelt down and kowtowed respectfully to his master, then stood up, said goodbye to his master, and turned to leave. (End of this chapter)