From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After several more days of preparation, Feng Zhengming personally took charge and contacted suppliers with Yu Fuxiang.

He even specially invited Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong early in the morning to go with Yu Fuxiang to visit several markets in the area.

Yu Fuxiang introduced some of his former suppliers to Feng Zhengming and his group.

He also told Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong some purchasing tips.

"The situation here is different from what you're doing in Shanghai. The best materials here are usually grown and sold by local farmers. So if you want good quality at a low price, it's best to buy from them."

However, since the produce is grown by the farmers themselves, the quantity sold won't be very large. If you spot an opportunity and the price is right, it's best to buy it all.

After spending a few days following Yu Fuxiang, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong also gained a lot of knowledge.

At the same time, they also realized what the so-called "land of fish and rice" really meant.

The procurement of many agricultural products here is indeed different from that in Shandong and Shanghai.

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dongye, through Yu Fuxiang's introduction, also got in touch with some local farmers who grow vegetables on their own land, as well as some fishermen who usually fish.

At this point, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong finally understood why Feng Zhengming had asked Yu Fuxiang to come out of retirement.

Having such a local expert really saves them a lot of trouble.

Yu Fuxiang was extremely knowledgeable about all kinds of purchasing and cooking matters.

Having secured various supply channels, Feng Zhengming also placed an advertisement on television and in newspapers.

Then, the branch in Hongcheng officially opened as scheduled.

On the opening day, local television stations and newspapers also came to interview.

Feng Zhengming then introduced Yu Fuxiang to everyone in public.

I'm telling everyone that Yu Fuxiang will be the head chef of this restaurant from now on.

"Many local friends thought that I studied Shandong cuisine and won the national cooking championship with Shandong cuisine, so I might not know much about Jiangxi cuisine or the local people's taste preferences."

I admit that I am indeed an expert in my field, and it is impossible for me to be familiar with all the cuisines in different regions.

Fortunately, I have a capable wife. With her help, we found Master Yu.

Many people are probably familiar with Master Yu's reputation.

With Chef Yu now in charge of the cooking, I believe everyone can feel more at ease.

All eyes and cameras were focused on Yu Fuxiang.

This made Yu Fuxiang a little reserved.

He used to work in the kitchen and had never experienced anything like this before.

However, Yu Fuxiang still faced the camera seriously and remained calm, even though his palms were sweaty.

Feng Zhengming continued, "In our branch, apart from the braised pork belly, five-spice braised pig's trotters, pork hock, and four-happiness meatballs from my own restaurant, the rest of the dishes are all cooked by Chef Yu, mainly local dishes."

We will ensure the freshness of the ingredients and have Chef Yu cook the most authentic hometown dishes for everyone.

Furthermore, with Chef Yu's help, I also adjusted the flavors of braised pork belly, braised pork hock, four-happiness meatballs, and pig's trotters.

We hope you like it, and we welcome your feedback. We will humbly accept all feedback and strive to make the store even better.

After Feng Zhengming finished speaking, Yu Fuxiang was also asked to say a few words to everyone.

Yu Fuxiang was a little nervous at first, not knowing how to start the conversation or what to say.
However, under Feng Zhengming's encouraging gaze, he also saw his wife and his son and daughter who had come to support him.

He finally mustered the courage to speak his mind.

"Thank you everyone for coming to support me, and thank you to our top scorer for his trust in me."

Like everyone else, I used to hear about this national culinary champion from television and newspapers, who was always quite passionate and serious about cooking.

It was only after spending time with him that I truly realized how incredibly talented our top scorer really is.

He opened a shop here, not simply by copying his other shops.

He conducted a genuine on-site investigation, eating at many local street restaurants and snack shops, and truly understood the tastes of the locals.

Then, based on our tastes, he adjusted the flavors of some of his dishes.

I really admire him for this. His sincerity touched me, so I chose to help him run the store.

I, Yu Fuxiang, have cooked all my life, and I hope to continue cooking for everyone in the future, so that people can eat their fill and, more importantly, eat well without spending too much money.

After Yu Fuxiang finished speaking, someone in the audience immediately shouted, "Good!"

Then everyone applauded Yu Fuxiang.

Some local chefs came today specifically to see the opening of Feng Zhengming's restaurant.

Seeing such a scene, everyone was somewhat moved.

Master Xiong looked at Yu Fuxiang, who was standing with Feng Zhengming.

"Our top scorer is truly remarkable. He was able to completely trust a local street food chef and give him the position of head chef. I doubt any of the rest of us would have the courage to do that."

Du Liangsheng is now truly regretting his actions.

Given his relationship with Feng Zhengming, if he were willing to cooperate with Feng Zhengming, it should have been a win-win situation.

However, Du Liangsheng was somewhat conservative.

Moreover, he harbored a slight jealousy towards Feng Zhengming, which led him to follow the crowd in the chefs' association and not take the initiative to cooperate with Feng Zhengming.

As a result, even his wife's nephew failed the assessment to get into Feng Zhengming's shop.

He has essentially lost the opportunity to cooperate with Feng Zhengming.

But what good is regret?

They found Yu Fuxiang, so they no longer needed the help of other Jiangxi cuisine chefs.

Master Xiong looked at Du Liangsheng and could roughly guess what Du Liangsheng was thinking.

"Xiao Du, you really missed a good opportunity this time."

Du Liangsheng gave a wry smile: "I wanted to put him on the defensive. I thought he would take the initiative to ask me for help, but I didn't expect that he never intended to cooperate with us from the beginning."

Master Xiong: "We overestimated ourselves and underestimated him."

The other master chefs who came with them couldn't help but speak up.

"Even if he has Yu Fuxiang helping him, Yu Fuxiang is just a street food chef. What kind of trouble can he cause?"

"Yes, to put it nicely, he's a chef specializing in 'street food,' but he's really just a self-taught cook."

“Yu Fuxiang’s restaurant was indeed loved by many people, but back then people generally didn’t eat well and did manual labor, so they needed to eat oily, salty, and spicy food to eat with their meals. Now that living conditions are better, who would still eat his food?”

"I just don't believe that Feng Zhengming's shop can really cause any big trouble here."

Du Liangsheng: "You've got it wrong. From the very beginning, Feng Zhuangyuan never intended to open a restaurant here. His restaurant is marketed as Chinese fast food, and he wants to make the ordinary working class eat better."

Master Xiong: "Yes, he never intended to open a big restaurant to compete with us from the beginning."

These words surprised the other chefs, but then smiles appeared on their faces.

"Haha, then we're not afraid of him."

"Yes, he does his business, we do our business, and it doesn't affect anyone."

"People will hold banquets and feasts at our restaurant; they can't possibly do it at his place."

"So we don't need to worry about Mr. Xiong and Master Du. We're not even on the same track."

Master Xiong and Du Liangsheng exchanged a glance, and could only manage a wry smile.

What they didn't say was that Feng Zhengming had no intention of opening a restaurant here, which precisely shows that he didn't think much of opening a restaurant here.

However, Master Xiong and Du Liangsheng didn't bother to say anything more. After all, just as the other chefs had said, Feng Zhengming's restaurant was indeed not a place for banquets or feasts.

Since we're not on the same track, there's no competition between us.

As they were talking, Feng Zhengming and Yu Fuxiang walked over together.

The two men greeted Master Xiong politely and then invited him and the other chefs to come in and sit down.

The other chefs, seeing that Master Xiong and Du Liangsheng did not refuse, followed them inside.

Upon entering the store, one has to admit that Feng Zhengming's store decoration is indeed very sophisticated.

The key is the feeling when you enter; it's very bright and spacious, and it really does feel like a fast food restaurant.

What surprised some of his fellow chefs in the area the most was...

The restaurant's kitchen was actually semi-open.

Standing in front of the food counter, you can clearly see everything in the kitchen.

This type of store was very rare at that time.

It truly broadened the horizons of many local chefs.

Du Liangsheng was quite familiar with Feng Zhengming's business; he had visited other branches of Feng Zhengming's business and knew that all of them were like this.

Moreover, this format was indeed learned from Western fast food restaurants.

The fact that they dare to expose their kitchen like this shows that they are very confident in the skills of their chefs, and also that they have absolute confidence in the hygiene of their restaurant.

Such a design does indeed provide customers with a very comfortable sensory experience.

Master Xiong carefully examined the shop's environment and nodded in approval.

"It's clear that your shop is always so bright and airy, which also reflects your confidence in your skills as a top scholar."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you for your praise, Chef Xiong. I believe that every chef wants to do a good job, and I have even more faith in the skills of the chefs in my kitchen."

Then Feng Zhengming looked at Yu Fuxiang and asked, "Master Yu, would you like to show everyone what you've got?"

Yu Fuxiang naturally understood that Feng Zhengming wanted him to make a good impression on his local peers.

In the past, Yu Fuxiang was looked down upon by some local restaurant chefs because he cooked "Jianghu cuisine" (a style of Sichuan-style cooking).

Now, even Feng Zhengming, the national culinary champion, has asked him to be the head chef at his restaurant.

This means that the top scorer in the national exam recognized his skills.

This made Yu Fuxiang feel a sense of pride and accomplishment among his local peers.

"Okay, I'll go to the kitchen first."

Watching Yu Fuxiang head towards the kitchen, Master Xiong chuckled and said, "Alright, let's try Old Yu's cooking today, and also try our Zhuangyuan's improved version of braised pork."

Feng Zhengming also invited Master Xiong, Du Liangsheng, and other local chefs to sit inside.

After they sat down, Feng Zhengming first served them the shop's four signature dishes.

Braised pork belly, pig's trotters, pork hock, and four-happiness meatballs.

These four items are available in all of Feng Zhengming's branches.

Here, he made some modifications to these four flavors.

To cater to the spicy tastes of people in Jiangxi Province, Feng Zhengming added local chili peppers to the original braising sauce.

Moreover, he made some special adjustments to the overall flavor.

When Master Xiong and Du Liangsheng ate these four dishes, they immediately noticed the differences between them.

Because it was completely different from what they imagined—simply adding chili peppers to the original flavor.

Feng Zhengming genuinely adjusted the overall flavor to include chili peppers.

Local chefs who tried it felt that the taste was truly in line with their local palates.

Or rather, it's a flavor that's been adjusted to suit the tastes of most people in Jiangxi Province.

It's spicy, but not in a purely harsh way.

The other flavors were not masked by the spiciness.

You can still taste the aroma of meat, as well as the unique combination of salty and sweet flavors.

Master Xiong and Du Liangsheng could even taste the aroma added by the spices.

This unique flavor is so good that even local chefs can't find any fault with it.

The taste is so good that it feels like the local cuisine.

Before the dishes were even served, the four classic dishes alone had already impressed the local chefs.

Master Xiong said, "The champion truly lives up to his reputation. He was able to adjust the flavor to suit the local tastes in such a short time."

Du Liangsheng: "How exactly was this seasoned? This flavor is so irresistible, you can't stop eating it."

Other chefs also expressed their feelings.

"This tastes really good."

"It's spicy, but it also retains other flavors."

"The key is that the spiciness is just right to eat."

"Who can disagree? This tastes really comforting."

"Besides the spicy ones, the non-spicy ones in the store taste great too."

"Yes, this seasoning technique is something we should really learn."

Master Xiong looked at the other chefs who had come with him, and when he heard them say they wanted to learn, he didn't say much.

In Master Xiong's opinion, it would probably take local chefs quite some time to learn Feng Zhengming's skills.

The key point is that the store focuses on speed, with affordable prices and down-to-earth flavors.

How can your big restaurants learn from others?

After a while, Feng Zhengming served the dishes to Master Xiong and the others.

Several of the dishes are popular street food dishes.

First up is stir-fried beef cubes with chili peppers.

This dish was one of Yu Fuxiang's best dishes and was also the most popular dish in his restaurant back then.

The moment it's served, you're greeted by the pungent aroma of chili peppers.

However, when you eat it, you'll notice that while it's spicy, the beef cubes also have a subtle, refreshing aroma.

This was the first time that Master Xiong had tried Yu Fuxiang's dish. Although he had heard of it before, he had never had the chance to taste it.

I made a point of trying this dish today.

Master Xiong was also surprised after taking a bite.

"Old Yu's dish is quite interesting."

Du Liangsheng also took a bite, and then looked surprised: "This, this actually has grapefruit peel in it? The aroma is really special, it's a bit unbelievable."

The other chefs were also quite surprised, seemingly not expecting that the first dish alone would be so amazing.

The next dish, braised pork loin with scallion oil, once again astonished the chefs in these grand restaurants. (End of Chapter)