From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Recruitment and store renovations were carried out simultaneously, and everyone was waiting to see when Feng Zhengming's third branch, located outside of Shandong and Shanghai, would open.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing, along with their daughter, found an old residential compound in Hongcheng.

Entering the courtyard of the old family compound, one can clearly feel a different kind of tranquility.

There are tall trees with lush foliage in the yard.

It's clear that this has been around for roughly the same period as the residential compound.

Under the big tree, some elderly people sat facing each other, some playing chess, others enjoying the cool shade.

Seeing Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing with their daughter, the family of three looked unfamiliar.

Many elderly people have set their sights on them.

Feng Zhengming was quite adept at social interaction and took the initiative to greet the elderly residents in the family compound.

"Good morning everyone! Are you all enjoying the cool air here, grandpas and grandmas? This is such a nice place. You must have all worked in the factory in this residential compound before, right?"

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face, and besides, Feng Zhengming is indeed quite kind to people.

In addition, although he is not handsome, his buzz cut hairstyle highlights his righteous and imposing face.

His strong and tall physique also gives the impression that he is a very upright person.

So some elderly people would respond to him with a smile.

"Young men, are you here to find someone?"

"Judging from this, it must be the big boss who's here to see Lao Yu, right?"

"That's probably true. Old Yu's cooking skills are unparalleled, but he has a bad temper."

"Talented people are all bad-tempered. So many restaurants have come to invite Lao Yu to come out of retirement, but Lao Yu has never shown up."

"Young man, if you want to persuade Old Yu to come out of retirement, you'll have to put in some effort."

After listening to the old people's words, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "If I ask Master Yu, he should be willing to come out of retirement."

When he said that, none of the elderly people in the family compound believed him.

"Young man, don't brag."

"That's right. I'm telling you, even when big bosses came to invite Lao Yu before, he wouldn't come out of retirement."

"Old Yu rarely comes out of retirement. He doesn't even listen to people from the Chefs Association."

"Young man, what exactly is your background?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Oh, I'm planning to open a store in Hongcheng. The main business will be fast food, Chinese fast food. All the staff and the store are basically ready."

But we were missing someone who could cook local cuisine really well, and that's when someone recommended Chef Yu to me.

Upon hearing this, an old man carefully examined Feng Zhengming.

"Oh, so you're the national culinary champion?"

When Feng Zhengming realized he had been recognized, he smiled and nodded to the elderly man who had recognized him.

"Yes, but being a culinary champion is just an empty title. I still hope to open an affordable and delicious restaurant that suits the local tastes, so that locals can have a place where they can enjoy good food at reasonable prices."

The elderly residents were all very surprised, never expecting that Feng Zhengming, the national culinary champion mentioned on television and in newspapers, would actually come to their residential compound.

After listening to Feng Zhengming's words, the elderly people felt that they made a lot of sense.

"How are the prices at your shop around here, Top Scholar?"

Feng Zhengming replied with a smile, "The prices are definitely affordable. My shop is a Chinese fast food restaurant, and I hope that everyone can afford to eat well."

The elderly people thought this was great and said they would come to support the store when it opened.

Feng Zhengming naturally welcomed them, and then, with the help of the elders, found Master Yu's house.

"Old Yu, someone's here to see you. They're a distinguished guest."

Soon, a strong, resonant voice rang out in the courtyard.

"What distinguished guest? I'm retired, what distinguished guest would come to me?"

Despite saying that, the people inside still came out and opened the courtyard gate.

Yu Fuxiang was somewhat surprised when he opened the door.

"You, you must be Scholar Feng?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Hello, Master Yu. You don't need to call me the top scholar. Just call me Xiao Feng or Zhengming."

Yu Fuxiang immediately put on a smile: "Come in, please come in. I didn't expect you to find my home."

A group of elderly people who had brought Feng Zhengming and his family of three over saw Yu Fuxiang's warm greeting and immediately started chatting and laughing.

"Looks like Lao Yu is going to make a comeback this time?"

"Of course we should come out of seclusion. Even the top scholar personally came to invite us."

"With Lao Yu coming out of retirement, the food at Zhuangyuan's restaurant must be delicious."

"Since he was able to become the top scorer in the country, his skills must be excellent."

"That's different. I heard the top scholar specializes in Shandong cuisine, so he definitely doesn't know our local tastes as well as Lao Yu does."

"Anyway, when this top scholar's shop opens in the future, I'm going to try it out."

"We must go, just for Lao Yu's cooking skills."

Yu Fuxiang led Feng Zhengming and the others inside, and called for his wife to come out and greet the guests.

A well-off old lady came out of the house.

After looking at Feng Zhengming and his family of three, I was momentarily at a loss for words.

Yu Fuxiang introduced with a smile: "This is our national culinary champion. Didn't you read about him in the newspaper yesterday? Saying that he's so capable that he even opened a restaurant in our Hongcheng."

The old lady suddenly realized: "Oh, so it's Scholar Feng! Please, please have a seat."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Please don't be so polite. We've just come to pay our respects to you and Master Yu."

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming put down the things he had brought.

Luo Qing also stepped forward to greet them and told her daughter to call them "Grandpa and Grandma".

Feng Zhengming brought his wife and daughter with him to visit Yu Fuxiang.

Firstly, it was because Yu Fuxiang was a well-known local chef whom his wife had found out about.

Secondly, they also wanted to give Yu Fuxiang the impression that the three of them were visiting as friends.

After sitting down and drinking some water, Feng Zhengming and Yu Fuxiang chatted about cooking.

Both of them had their own ideas about cooking, and their conversations sparked ideas that they both gained something from.

Compared to Feng Zhengming, Yu Fuxiang was fundamentally different from the Jiangxi cuisine chefs he had previously encountered.

Yu Fuxiang can be considered a "street-smart" type of chef.

He didn't cook any fancy dishes; he mainly made home-style dishes for small street restaurants.

Yu Fuxiang used to work in the company canteen, then he contracted the canteen himself, and later he also tried to open his own restaurant.

Moreover, Yu Fuxiang's restaurant was quite famous back then and was very popular with the locals.

This is also why Feng Zhengming came to find him.

All of Feng Family Rice Shop's stores are primarily geared towards the general public.

Whether in Shandong or Shanghai, they are all making Chinese fast food, which can be considered a kind of "Jianghu" style.

Therefore, when Feng Zhengming came to Hongcheng to open a branch, he naturally had to stick to this down-to-earth approach. He really needed the help of a seasoned chef like Yu Fuxiang.

When the conversation reached this point, Feng Zhengming frankly stated his purpose for coming.

"Master Yu, I've come here today hoping to invite you to be the head chef at my branch in Hongcheng. No matter where my branch is located, in addition to the main dishes, it will focus on local specialties."

I'm from Shandong cuisine and don't know much about your local cuisine, so I hope Chef Yu can help me.

Upon seeing Feng Zhengming appear, Yu Fuxiang had already guessed his purpose.

At that moment, Yu Fuxiang and his wife looked at each other.

A few days ago, they saw related reports on television and in newspapers.

Yu Fuxiang's wife once joked with him: "Maybe the top scholar Feng will come knocking on your door and ask you to come out of retirement. You're not that good at cooking banquets for restaurants, but everyone in Hongcheng knows your culinary skills."

As it turned out, my wife's words came true.

Feng Zhengming actually came to invite Master Yu.

Yu Fuxiang thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, before you came, my wife and I did think that you might come to me. I am quite confident in my skills."

But now that you've actually come to my door to ask me to be the head chef at your restaurant, I'm actually a little apprehensive, worried that I'll ruin your business."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Master Yu, you are too modest. Before I came here, my wife had already done some research and learned about your character and your skills."

My branch specializes in local regional cuisine, so Chef Yu, your skills are absolutely superb.

Before Yu Fuxiang could speak, Feng Zhengming continued to explain the treatment he could offer Yu Fuxiang.

Yu Fuxiang was surprised that Feng Zhengming was really generous. Not only did he give him a very high salary, but he also gave him a 10% share of the Hongcheng branch.

"Master Yu, you will receive 10% of the profits from this shop every year. You can rest assured that even if the shop loses money, I will still pay you your salary, and I will also give you that 10% profit."

These words stunned Mr. Yu and his wife.

They had long heard that Feng Zhengming treated the chefs in his restaurant very well.

They just didn't expect that Feng Zhengming would be willing to offer such high treatment.

The salary that Feng Zhengming paid to Yu Fuxiang was already at the level of the head chefs in those big restaurants in Hongcheng.

In addition, there's a 10% share of the store's profits, which is already an extremely generous treatment.

It's probably impossible to find another store in the entire city of Hongcheng that offers such treatment.

Yu Fuxiang didn't hesitate any longer: "Alright, Scholar Feng, you've given me such good treatment. If I keep refusing, it would seem hypocritical of me. I'm willing to work at your shop, and I will do my best to run it well."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Welcome, Master Yu, to join us."

With Yu Fuxiang joining the team, Feng Zhengming's store finally officially set its opening date.

A few days later, Feng Zhengming formally gathered all the kitchen staff at the new store.

And he introduced Yu Fuxiang to everyone in public.

"From today onwards, Chef Yu will be in charge of cooking at this restaurant."

Feng Zhengming also specifically instructed Hou Dong and Gao Yongfu: "You should listen to Master Yu more and learn more from him. You should cooperate with Master Yu as much as possible in the kitchen."

Hou Dong and Gao Yongfu naturally had no objections.

"I understand, Master."

The other young chefs who were hired by the restaurant were a bit confused.

They had initially thought that the head chef at this branch might be one of them.

Unexpectedly, Feng Zhengming actually invited Yu Fuxiang to come.

Yu Fuxiang is indeed quite famous among chefs of Jiangxi cuisine.

The main reason is that Yu Fuxiang's dishes are indeed very popular.

He started by opening a small restaurant on the street, and business was booming every day.

Another thing that is well known to young chefs specializing in Jiangxi cuisine is the conflict between Yu Fuxiang and the Chefs Association.

Although Yu Fuxiang's skills are very popular, he is arguably the most talked-about local in Hongcheng.

However, the chefs' association always felt that Yu Fuxiang could not be considered a proper chef, and they looked down on the "street food" that Yu Fuxiang made.

I felt that those dishes didn't require any special skills; they were just heavy on oil, salt, and spice, catering to the tastes of the working class.

They felt that such "street food" was simply not presentable and could not be considered a representative of Jiangxi cuisine.

Therefore, Yu Fuxiang didn't even join the Jiangxi Provincial Chefs Association.

This incident caused quite a stir back then, and some young chefs had heard their masters talk about it.

Some of the young chefs' mentors felt sorry for Yu Fuxiang.

I think Yu Fuxiang's culinary skills are absolutely top-notch, and he is qualified to join the Chefs Association and hold a position within it.

Of course, some of the young chefs' mentors looked down on Yu Fuxiang.

But regardless, Yu Fuxiang has now been invited by Feng Zhengming.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming appointed him as the head chef of his Hongcheng branch.

This means that Feng Zhengming is going to confront a group of chefs from the Chefs Association head-on.

Then, while some young chefs were pondering...

Feng Zhengming then spoke up to announce.

"After that, Chef Yu, Hou Dong, and Gao Yongfu were in charge of this branch. Gao Yongfu was the store manager, Hou Dong was the deputy store manager, and Chef Yu was the head chef. Chef Yu had the final say on cooking. The store manager and deputy store manager were in charge of other things in the store."

The rest of you are all apprentices in the kitchen, starting from the basics. Your promotions will depend on your performance.

The young chefs were all taken aback by Feng Zhengming's announcement.

They never imagined that after being hired by Feng Zhengming's branch, they would have to start as apprentices.

Not to mention the young chefs of Jiangxi cuisine, even Yu Fuxiang, Hou Dong, and Gao Yongfu were somewhat surprised.

But it was clear that Feng Zhengming's orders were not open to questioning.

He had mentioned this to all the young chefs when they came to apply for the job.

Given the current situation, the young chefs specializing in Jiangxi cuisine can't really say anything.

They could only pay their respects to Yu Fuxiang, the head chef.

Fortunately, they got along well with Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong during this period.

The young chefs had no objections to appointing the two of them as store manager and assistant store manager.

After all, the young chefs all knew that Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong were Feng Zhengming's apprentices.

Although they are not formal disciples, the two of them are already considered Feng Zhengming's disciples and will inevitably formally become his disciples in the future.

In the eyes of some young Jiangxi cuisine chefs, sending Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong to the Hongcheng branch was a kind of training for them by Feng Zhengming. Perhaps when they have been trained well, that will be the time for them to formally become apprentices.

After everything was announced, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "I hope everyone can run the store well."

After a brief pause, he also gave the young chefs a sweet treat.

"As I said, your bonuses are directly linked to the store's profits. The better you work together to run the store well, the higher the store's profits will be, and the higher your bonuses will be. So keep up the good work."

This sweet date instantly soothed the resentment in the young chefs' hearts.

Everyone was quite confident in the profitability of Feng Zhuangyuan's restaurant, especially now that Yu Fuxiang was in charge of cooking. (End of Chapter)