From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After the visit, Feng Zhengming smiled and chatted with the middle-aged man about the price of the old house.

"Mr. Rong, can you let me see your letter of authorization first? I need to confirm that you have full authority to handle this."

The middle-aged man, Mr. Rong, nodded in agreement, took out the power of attorney from his briefcase and handed it to Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming looked through it carefully and confirmed that Mr. Rong did have the authority to sell this place.

Then he talked to Mr. Rong about the price of this old villa.

Luo Qing held her daughter in her arms and stood by, listening to her husband and the other party negotiating the price.

She was still somewhat frightened when she heard it.

The price of this old villa was indeed something Luo Qing had never dared to imagine before.

The price of another two-story villa they bought before was already quite high in Luo Qing's opinion.

This old three-story house with such a large yard has an astronomical price for Luo Qing.

But when Luo Qing looked at her husband, she found that he could bargain with the other party in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Luo Qing could only stand by and keep silent, watching her husband chatting with the other party.

But in the end, the two did not agree on the price.

Feng Zhengming did not compromise.

He said politely: "Mr. Rong, thank you for taking the time to bring us here. We may not be able to reach an agreement on the price for the time being.

I think this is the case. I will go back and think about it again. You should also go back and think about it and discuss it with your brothers and sisters.

We will contact you later to see if we can agree on a price.”

Mr. Rong hesitated for a moment, but still nodded in agreement.

"Okay, but I have to tell you, Mr. Feng, that this old house is actually very easy to sell. I can't keep waiting for you to make a decision."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "It doesn't matter. If Mr. Rong finds other buyers, it only means that I have no destiny with this place. You don't have to worry about it. Just sell it at the price you want."

When Mr. Rong heard what Feng Zhengming said, his expression changed slightly, but in the end he politely saw Feng Zhengming and the others out.

After walking out of the big iron gate, Feng Zhengming took his daughter from his wife's arms, held his wife's hand and said goodbye to Mr. Rong.

On the way back, Luo Qing didn't say a word at first.

Finally she couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Do you really want to buy it? The price is very high. How can we afford it?"

Feng Zhengming smiled: "That price is not his reserve price. If it is really as easy to sell as he said, he would have sold it at that price long ago, and it would not be our turn to see it."

Luo Qing: "But the price you mentioned is not low, how are you going to buy it?"

Feng Zhengming: "Of course it's a loan."

Luo Qing didn't say anything. She knew in her heart that her husband could indeed borrow enough money.

Not to mention the value of the stores my husband owns throughout the province of Qilu, there is also the sauce factory and other businesses my husband owns in Qilu.

Even if the four stores in Shanghai were used as collateral, sufficient loans should be able to be obtained.

But from Luo Qing's perspective, she felt that it was a bit of a loss to buy the old villa at such a high price.

Feng Zhengming guessed what his wife was thinking.

He smiled and comforted his wife.

“We can’t buy at his price, we’ll definitely have to ask him to lower the price, and you don’t have to worry about us losing money.

The domestic economy has gradually emerged from the trough and will enter a period of accelerated development. More people will flock to Shanghai, and it won’t be long before housing prices in Shanghai will rise.”

Luo Qing asked, "You can't wait for the price to go up before selling the house, right? Are you closing your restaurant?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, of course not. But think about it, if Shanghai attracts more people, it will form a kind of wealth siphon. If everyone has money, won't they have a higher pursuit of food?"

Without waiting for his wife to speak, Feng Zhengming gave her another example.

"Think about it, why did Kong Xingli come to Shanghai to open a restaurant? And why are there so many high-end restaurants in Shanghai?"

Luo Qing thought about it and gradually understood what her husband meant.

"You want to buy that place, renovate it, and attract more customers to eat there?"

Luo Qing was a little surprised and asked, "But in a place like that, we can't possibly receive as many customers as you do in your four stores now, right?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, we bought it to make it a high-end private restaurant, but it doesn't mean that high-end private restaurants cannot entertain the public, right?

We can set up an open day from time to time, so that many middle-class people in Shanghai can make reservations and have a meal.

We can even take on some special wedding banquets that are looking for style. Wouldn’t it be very popular to hold a wedding in an old house like that?”

After listening to her husband's analysis, Luo Qing felt that her husband's idea was really great.

It mainly attracts wealthy and noble people to consume.

At the same time, some time will be set aside for opening to the public.

By taking advantage of the vanity of many people, you can make some money like the middle class in Shanghai.

We also host some wedding banquets.

With this calculation, it seems that such an old house is indeed worth a lot.

Luo Qing suddenly asked: "If that's the case, doesn't it go against some of your ideas?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, it's not a departure. Our other stores are still in operation. This high-end private restaurant is just a supplement."

Luo Qing thought about it carefully and felt that this was the truth.

"That's right. When Kong Xingli's restaurant opened, I also found that no matter how good the cooking skills are, it still needs some publicity and some marketing methods to make the restaurant business better."

At this point, Luo Qing looked at her husband and said, "It seems like you've had this idea for a long time."

Feng Zhengming did not hide anything from his wife.

"You're right. Ever since I participated in the National Cooking Skills Competition, I've already decided that I must market myself well. I can't let my reputation as the national champion go to waste."

Luo Qing smiled. She was very aware of her husband's marketing to her over the years.

Different from some other superficial marketing.

Feng Zhengming has real skills, and his marketing strategy is more of a grassroots mass approach.

Rely on increasing visibility and reputation among the public.

This makes him not just a national champion recognized by the culinary industry.

He became a national top scholar recognized by the public.

Feng Zhengming's approach has earned him a very good reputation.

The public also has a very good impression of him.

With such a foundation, Feng Zhengming gradually improved the quality of the restaurant, and it was also very easy to be accepted by many people.

Now that Feng Zhengming has bought the old villa and converted it into a high-end private restaurant, there will probably be people willing to come and consume at the restaurant even without any advertising.

Because many big bosses have actually been looking forward to it for a long time.

Feng Zhengming opened such a high-end private restaurant.

They no longer have to make reservations or queue up, and can enjoy Feng Zhuangyuan’s craftsmanship in a more private manner.

Luo Qing thought about it and couldn't help laughing. "You always know how to control people's minds, satisfy their vanity, and make them willingly come to you to give you money."

Feng Zhengming corrected his wife: "What do you mean by delivering money? I make money with my craft."

Luo Qing smiled even more happily: "Okay, okay, I earn their money by relying on my skills."

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh too.

The daughter in her father's arms saw that both her father and mother were smiling.

She immediately started laughing too.

Although she didn't understand what her parents were saying, the little girl felt happy just laughing along with them.

Feng Zhengming hailed a taxi when he returned.

After getting on the car, the driver recognized me.

The driver had a very pleasant chat with Feng Zhengming along the way.

When I heard the driver talking, he always wanted to take his family to eat at Feng Zhengming's restaurant on the western restaurant street, but there was always a queue.

Feng Zhengming smiled and promised the driver: "Next time, before you go, give the store a call, even one day in advance, and I will definitely reserve a table for you."

The driver was very happy when he heard this: "Thank you, thank you so much, Mr. Feng."

When we finally got off the car, the driver still didn't want to collect the fare.

Feng Zhengming still forced the driver to pay the fare and left him a business card for the store.

When we returned to the store, everyone had already returned from dinner at Kong Xingli Restaurant. They had changed their clothes and were busy in the store.

Feng Zhengming walked in and asked with a smile: "How was your lunch today? Are you all full?"

Hearing this, everyone in the store burst into laughter.

"I'm full. I have to say that the lunch I had today was really good."

"Yes, we have sea cucumbers and abalone for lunch today. I didn't expect them to taste so good."

"Those dishes are delicious, but they don't taste as good as your cooking, Chef."

"I don't think it's much different. It may be our biggest competitor in the future."

"Yes, we really need to be on guard."

I heard that everyone is on guard against future competition.

Feng Zhengming laughed again: "Hahaha, don't worry, we are quite far away from them, and we target different customers than them, so there is no competition between us."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, everyone thought about it and felt that it was indeed true.

Feng Zhengming: "Besides, Shanghai is so big, and more and more people are coming to Shanghai now. Even if I grow a few more hands and can split into several people, I can't monopolize all the catering business by myself."

These words made everyone burst into laughter.

Everyone knew that Feng Zhengming was telling the truth.

Shanghai is such a big city that it is impossible for anyone to monopolize the entire catering industry in Shanghai.

People also always need something new.

Feng Zhengming: "So we just need to learn from others' strengths, stick to our own things, and attract those customers who have already recognized us. That's enough."

Everyone nodded in agreement with these words.

Finally, Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "I hope we can all work together to run our store well."

"Okay." Everyone responded loudly almost at the same time.

Even Feng Nuanyou in her mother's arms seemed to be infected, and the little girl followed everyone else's example and raised her little fist.

Feng Zhengming then walked into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, staff from the four stores were waiting.

Seeing Feng Zhengming come in, the managers and chefs of the other three stores spoke first.

"Master, the dishes at the restaurant were very good today at noon."

"Yes, Master, Master Kong is indeed a great chef from Jufengde, his cooking skills are beyond reproach."

"We are probably no match for you, only Uncle Master can help you."

“I didn’t expect that traditional Shandong cuisine could be cooked so well.”

Feng Zhengming heard what everyone said, smiled and asked: "What? Are you planning to admit defeat?"

Jiang Chengzhe immediately took the lead: "How is that possible? Only when there is an opponent can there be motivation."

Others echoed this and said they would work hard to catch up.

Feng Zhengming: "That's right. Just like I said outside just now, Shanghai is big enough, and more and more people are coming to Shanghai. It's impossible for us to take up such a big market. We just need to do our best."

Next, Feng Zhengming analyzed with everyone some of the advantages and disadvantages of Kong Xingli Restaurant today.

Everyone also expressed their own opinions.

Overall, it is indeed well received.

The main reason is that Kong Xingli’s craftsmanship is indeed very solid.

So some other details can indeed be ignored unless you are deliberately nitpicking.

However, there is a problem raised by Jiang Chengzhe, which is considered a big problem for the restaurant.

"In fact, the biggest problem is that they are a little slow in serving the dishes. I know it must be in the kitchen, where Chef Kong has to make some final adjustments. But if the restaurant receives a lot of customers, the serving speed is indeed too slow."

After Jiang Chengzhe brought this up, everyone in the kitchen thought about it carefully and agreed that the slow serving of food was a problem.

Feng Zhengming: "I roughly know the reason why the dishes are served slowly. When Brother Kong was at Jufengde, other chefs would help him prepare many dishes, so he might not need to prepare many dishes himself.

Now he is the only master chef in the restaurant's kitchen, and his apprentices often don't dare to act on their own.

Therefore, all dishes have to pass through his hands, so naturally the serving efficiency is much slower.”

After Feng Zhengming's analysis, Jiang Chengzhe thought about it carefully and nodded, thinking that this should be the case.

Everyone in the kitchen quickly realized what was going on.

Feng Zhengming's entire set of process-based models in the kitchen is indeed a very practical means that can greatly reduce the workload of all kitchen staff.

Feng Zhengming disassembled the process step by step, although it seemed very complicated, tedious and huge.

The portion shared by each kitchen staff has also become much smaller.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Feng Zhengming’s current store serves affordable and fast food.

After all, his four stores don’t need to be as exquisite as Kong Xingli Restaurant.

Feng Zhengming finally encouraged everyone: "Okay, let's treat this meal today as a learning experience. We can learn from the good points in the future, and we must be alert to some problems."

Everyone in the kitchen responded in unison: "Got it, Chef."

Afterwards, Feng Zhengming arranged for the staff from the other three stores to go back first.

"If you can't make it in the evening, you can postpone the business appropriately. It's okay. Let's treat today as a collective team building and learning. There is no need to rush to do business."

The current store managers of the three stores all nodded in agreement.

Then they led the people from each store and took taxis back to their respective stores. (End of this chapter)