From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When the group arrived in Taicheng, the most leisurely ones were Feng Zhengming and his wife Luo Qing.

The young couple brought their daughter out of the hotel directly, strolled on the street, and came to the branch in Taicheng.

As soon as I walked in, I saw Liang Fen greeting customers enthusiastically.

Feng Zhengming smiled and took the initiative to step forward and say hello.

"Big sister, is business going well?"

When Liang Fen heard the voice, she turned her head and saw Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing, their couple, and their cute little girl coming in.

"Hey, why are you here? Come on, let me see, our little beauty has grown a lot."

Liang Fen approached Feng Nuanyu affectionately.

This made the little girl feel a little curious.

When Liang Fen came closer and reached out to her, Feng Nuanyu quickly turned her head and lay on her mother's shoulder.

Seeing her daughter avoiding the idea, Luo Qing smiled and introduced it to her.

"Why don't you recognize her? This is my aunt, a partner in my father's store."

Liang Fen smiled a little embarrassedly: "We can't say we are partners, we are your father's guys."

Feng Zhengming: "Sister, what you said is not right. I have never considered you as shop assistants. In this shop in Taicheng, you are the bosses here."

Liang Fen looked at Feng Zhengming and said, "How can we be so embarrassed? You opened the store and you taught us the skills. How can we be the boss?"

Feng Zhengming: "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'll leave this store to you. You are the bosses."

Luo Qing also agreed: "Yes, sister, you and your brother-in-law are the bosses, the store is yours."

At this time, Feng Nuanyu also raised her little head from her mother's shoulder.

She turned her head to look at Liang Fen again. This time the little girl did not show any shyness. Instead, she smiled at Liang Fen.

Seeing the little girl smiling at her and listening to what Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing said, Liang Fen also started smiling.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. Come in and sit down. Look at me, I was so busy talking that I didn't even ask you to sit down. Do you want to eat something, little beauty?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Big sister, you don't need to greet us. Let's go into your own store and find a place to sit down. You should greet the guests first."

Liang Fen saw that there were still many people queuing up behind her, so she quickly agreed: "Okay, you can sit wherever you want."

Feng Zhengming escorted Luo Qing and her daughter into the store. When they passed the semi-open kitchen, he waved to Liu Zhongwei who was busy inside.

When Liu Zhongwei saw Feng Zhengming and the others, he smiled and waved the spatula in his hand.

Feng Zhengming shouted: “Look at the pot, don’t get excited.”

Liu Zhongwei quickly lowered his head to look at the pot and continued to cook.

Feng Nuanyu found it very interesting. She looked at Liu Zhongwei inside, then turned to look at her father.

The little girl didn't understand why her father was talking to someone from such a distance.

After entering the store, Feng Zhengming, Luo Qing and their daughter found a seat closer to the inside and sat down.

I sat in a corner of the store, trying not to disturb other customers.

However, someone still recognized Feng Zhengming.

The customer who recognized Feng Zhengming took the initiative to come forward and greet him.

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook hands with the other party, then asked the customer if he was satisfied with the taste of the food in the restaurant.

Customers also expressed their satisfaction.

"We are very confident about the food in your store, Mr. Feng, because no matter which store you are in, the taste will definitely not be bad."

"Yes, many restaurants in Taicheng used to do a bad job. The dishes they made were a mess."

"Ever since you, Feng Zhuangyuan, opened a branch here, the dishes in other restaurants have become better and better."

"That's right. There was no comparison before. Now with Feng Zhuangyuan's store, everyone has something to compare. If those small stores don't improve their craftsmanship, they will have no business."

"This is the right thing to do. We need this kind of competition, otherwise those small shops won't cook well."

For most ordinary diners, they all support Feng Zhengming.

Thanks to the appearance of Feng Zhengming, they can eat more deliciously, more safely and better.

Just like in Taicheng, in the past, because it was a tourist attraction, many restaurants and hotels here charged exorbitant prices.

Not to mention tourists from other places, even many locals would find it unacceptable.

During my break, I want to invite a few good friends to have a meal, or have a small gathering with my family.

As a result, I can’t find a suitable restaurant, and even if I hold a wedding banquet in a restaurant, I will worry about whether the food is good?

But since Feng Zhengming opened a branch in Taicheng.

Everything began to change.

Because of the existence of Feng Zhengming's branch, both locals and tourists coming to Taicheng now have a fixed and safe choice.

That is to eat at Feng Zhengming’s Zhengluxing dry rice shop branch.

Guaranteed to be of good quality and low price.

Not only can you eat your fill without spending much money, but you can also enjoy the same delicious pork, boneless pig's trotters, pork elbows and four-happiness meatballs as in Quancheng.

Moreover, the chef in the restaurant has excellent cooking skills.

Many Shandong dishes that may not be served in other restaurants can be found in Feng Zhengming’s branches.

Of course, those dishes that require a lot of skill are also expensive in the restaurant.

But all of Feng Zhengming's branches have semi-open kitchens.

You can see the process of preparing ingredients and cooking in the kitchen.

So no diner would feel that it is not worth the price.

When you see the chef’s cooking skills, you will feel that the dishes deserve that price.

The existence of the Zhengluxing dry rice shop branch naturally puts a lot of pressure on all other stores.

If your food is not tasty, I won't eat at your restaurant.

In the past I had no choice, but now I can choose to eat at Feng Zhuangyuan’s restaurant.

When the store was small in the beginning, many people would rather wait in line for a long time than go to other stores to eat.

To put it bluntly, I'm afraid of being cheated. I'm worried that I'll go to other restaurants, spend more money, and still not eat well.

So for a period of time, many restaurants in Thai city closed down one after another.

Not only did no one feel it was a pity, many local people in Taicheng even applauded.

Everyone thinks that since the food is not tasty, the restaurant should go bankrupt.

Nowadays, any restaurant that has survived in Taicheng will serve food that tastes good.

And those stores are also making serious improvements.

The service attitude and the choice of ingredients for cooking are getting better and better.

Gradually, when the Fengjia dry rice shop in Zhengluxing was doing too well, some people chose to go to other shops.

Later, Liang Fen and Liu Zhongwei approached Feng Zhengming to discuss expanding the store.

Feng Zhengming immediately decided to let the couple expand their store and let them close their business for a while.

In fact, Feng Zhengming closed the store and expanded it to give other stores in Taicheng a chance.

This will allow other stores in Taicheng to regain their former reputation as soon as possible, so that when Fengjia Dry Rice Shop in Zhengluxing reopens, they can still retain some of their regular customers.

Now, the reputation of those restaurants and hotels on the streets of Taicheng has indeed been restored.

Many bosses were secretly grateful to Feng Zhengming. They knew that if Feng Zhengming hadn't deliberately closed the business for two months for renovation,

Even if they made improvements, they couldn't attract enough customers and still couldn't restore their reputation.

Feng Zhengming's closure gave them the opportunity to attract customers.

Liang Fen and Liu Zhongwei also successfully joined the Taicheng Chefs Association and Catering Association.

Faced with the enthusiasm of the customers and hearing all their compliments, Feng Zhengming smiled and said.

"It's not just about compliments. If you think there's something wrong with the store, whether it's the hygiene, service, or the food is not tasty, you can point it out and I will ask them to improve.

If they can’t change, I will fire them and replace them with better chefs.”

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, all the customers didn't know what to say.
After a long time, a local elderly man spoke first.

"The top scholar is the top scholar. He knows how to maintain the reputation of his store. No one else can compare to him in this respect."

"Zhuangyuan, do you have many great chefs under you?"

Hearing this question, Feng Zhengming nodded: "There are many talented chefs, all of them are young chefs, and they are all looking forward to getting opportunities. If you think any chef here is not good, I can replace him immediately."

The customers smiled and waved their hands, and everyone still thought that the chefs in the current branch were great.

“Now I think the chefs in the store are all very good.”

"Yes, yes. In addition to Chef Liu, the other chefs are also very good."

"There was another one who sounded like he was from Northeast China, and he even made sweet and sour pork for us."

"I've also eaten the sweet and sour pork he made, it tastes very good."

Feng Zhengming certainly knew who the customer was talking about.

Ever since Feng Zhengming became famous, many young people from other places have come to learn cooking.

Some time ago, a group of young chefs from Northeast China came to exchange ideas.

Among them, several more outstanding ones took the initiative to apply to stay in Feng Zhengming's store.

After some assessment, Feng Zhengming's three senior brothers were all allowed to stay.

Feng Zhengming even went back to Quancheng in person to test them.

There is a spirited young man from Northeast China named Zhang Ruixuan.

He performed very well and was noticed by the fifth senior brother, who was going to take him as his apprentice.

Then the fifth senior brother arranged for him to go to Taicheng for an internship.

If Zhang Ruixuan does well here, he might be accepted as a disciple by the fifth senior brother when he returns at the end of the year.

"He's making sweet and sour pork for you in the store? This is a Shandong cuisine restaurant."

Hearing this, the customers present also laughed.

Someone asked: "Can't Shandong restaurants make sweet and sour pork?"

Feng Zhengming thought about it, smiled and nodded: "Sure, we can cook all kinds of dishes in our restaurant."

While chatting, Liang Fen greeted other customers and came to Feng Zhengming and his friends.

Feng Zhengming asked Liang Fen to go to the kitchen and said, "Sister, ask Zhang Ruixuan to make me a plate of sweet and sour pork. It must be the most authentic way they cook it."

Liang Fen was stunned for a moment, then she became a little worried: "You know everything about the top scholar? I think the boy is quite smart, so I let him do it if a customer orders it."

Luo Qing smiled: "Sister, he is not angry, he just wants to test whether Zhang Ruixuan's cooking skills have improved."

Liang Fen breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, I was worried that he would be angry."

Feng Zhengming: "Don't be angry. What's there to be angry about? Let him do his job well."

Liang Fen immediately went to the kitchen and told Zhang Ruixuan what happened.

Zhang Ruixuan was also shocked at first, worried that he would be criticized for making sweet and sour pork without permission.

Liang Fen then relayed what Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing said.

Zhang Ruixuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Huh, it's good that the champion is not angry."

Liu Zhongwei looked at Zhang Ruixuan and said, "Hurry up and prepare, do your best, and show your idol a good performance."

Zhang Ruixuan nodded: "I understand, chef."

Liu Zhongwei and his wife Liang Fen both like Zhang Ruixuan very much.

Because Zhang Ruixuan always speaks directly, although he is very young, there is life in his eyes.

Moreover, in Liu Zhongwei's opinion, Zhang Ruixuan's talent is much better than his own.

Many times, when Liu Zhongwei has difficulty controlling some dishes, Zhang Ruixuan is always there to help, allowing Liu Zhongwei to better control the cooking temperature of the dishes.

In terms of knife skills, Zhang Ruixuan is even more solid.

Sometimes, when Liu Zhongwei asked other apprentices to cut the cubes and compared them with Zhang Ruixuan, he felt that the gap was too obvious.

Zhang Ruixuan also felt that Liu Zhongwei and Liang Fen were very good to him.

So he works very seriously and is very respectful to the couple.

It's the kind of respect that truly treats Liu Zhongwei as his elder brother and Liang Fen as his sister-in-law.

Of course, Zhang Ruixuan has said more than once that his idol is Feng Zhengming.

He told Liu Zhongwei and Liang Fen about his past.

He was forced to go to vocational school to learn cooking.

His family felt that he was not good at academic subjects and wanted him to learn a skill so that he would not go hungry in the future.

At the beginning, Zhang Ruixuan really felt that being a chef had no future.

That’s why they don’t learn cooking well.

Later, he saw Feng Zhengming on TV. Zhang Ruixuan was really shocked by Feng Zhengming's high spirits and the cooking skills he displayed on TV.

At that moment, he finally realized that being a chef could be so cool.

In particular, many of the dishes cooked by Feng Zhengming really made him feel incredible.

Later, Zhang Ruixuan began to learn the craft in a vocational school.

He missed a lot of classes and practiced quietly by himself, trying hard to catch up with others.

Finally, with his own efforts, he was successfully recommended to Quancheng and had the opportunity to exchange and study in Feng Zhuangyuan's store.

Zhang Ruixuan seized the opportunity and got the chance to stay in Feng Zhengming's store.

Although he was unable to stay in Quancheng, Zhang Ruixuan felt that coming to Taicheng was also good.

Here he has more opportunities to cook, and Liang Fen and Liu Zhongwei are really nice to him.

Zhang Ruixuan just wanted to return to Quancheng at the end of the year. He must perform well in the competition and strive to gain the attention of Feng Zhuangyuan. Then he could return to Quancheng. He even thought about going to Shanghai with Feng Zhuangyuan.

But today, Zhang Ruixuan felt that this was also his opportunity, so he made the sweet and sour pork very seriously.

His method is different from that in some restaurants in Northeast China. It is the same method he remembers his grandmother making.

So it is not the method of cooking the juice, but the method of letting the juice lie.

The so-called sauce-lying method is to prepare the sauce and heat it in a pan first, then pour the fried meat slices into the pan, and then stir-fry so that the meat slices are coated with the fried hot sauce.

This method is easier to master and will allow the juice to better adhere to the meat.

After the dish was ready, Zhang Ruixuan looked at the sweet and sour pork on the plate and felt a little nervous.

It was Liu Zhongwei who reminded: "Send it quickly, don't just stand there."

After being reminded, Zhang Ruixuan came back to his senses, picked up the plate and walked out of the kitchen, heading towards Feng Zhengming's table. (End of this chapter)