From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After the formal meeting to recognize the athletes, all athletes were informed that a grand welcome banquet had been prepared for them.

Then someone asked the athletes, "What kind of dishes do you usually like to eat? You can tell us today, and our chefs in the kitchen will make them for you."

Then someone else chimed in, "Yes, yes, today we've specially invited the national culinary champion to cook for you."

Hearing this, the athletes were all very excited.

Soon someone couldn't help but shout, "I want to eat braised pork!"

"Haha, good, braised pork, you can eat your fill tonight."

Another athlete chimed in, "I want to eat sweet and sour pork ribs. My family used to eat them a lot when I was a kid."

Although the words were spoken very softly, they were heard because no one else was saying anything.

"Haha, okay, everything is fine. Let them arrange the sweet and sour pork ribs too."

This made the athlete who mentioned sweet and sour ribs feel a little embarrassed.

"Don't be shy, everyone. Today is a welcome banquet for your triumphant return. We want you all to have a good meal. Please feel free to tell us what you would like to eat."

One athlete boldly followed up by asking, "I'm from Northeast China, and I'd like to eat 'Di San Xian' (a dish of stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers) and 'Guo Bao Rou' (sweet and sour pork)."

"Okay, get it arranged. We have stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers, and sweet and sour pork."

Next, the athletes all spoke up, saying what their favorite home-cooked dishes were.

"I like to eat shredded pork with green peppers."

"When I was a child, I often ate eggplant with fish-fragrant sauce."

"I like the minced meat and green beans dish; it goes really well with rice."

"And the alfalfa meat is really delicious."

"We also have other dishes that go well with rice, such as our boiled fish and boiled sliced ​​pork, both of which are delicious."

"I want to eat roast duck. When I was a child, we could only eat roast duck during festivals."

"I wonder if you have any seafood? We love eating seafood where I'm from."

"Oh yeah, and the grilled squid we have back home is delicious too."

The athletes talked about the various home-cooked dishes they used to eat at home, as well as some dishes from their respective hometowns.

They are the protagonists of today, the triumphant heroes, and naturally all of this will be fulfilled.

Soon someone ran to the kitchen to inform Feng Zhengming and the other chefs to get ready.

“Feng Zhuangyuan, you might need to go out and meet with our athletes. They might make some requests regarding the dishes. What do you think?”

Feng Zhengming looked at his two senior apprentices and the head chefs in the kitchen.

They all smiled and said they could, and would try their best to meet the athletes' requests.

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, we will do our best to meet your needs."

The staff member smiled and said, "Thank you, everyone. Please come with me."

Feng Zhengming and the master chefs were led to the banquet hall.

Upon entering the banquet hall, one sees the triumphant athletes returning home.

There are indeed athletes who know Feng Zhengming.

"He really is the national culinary champion."

"You know him?"

“I know him. He filmed a cooking show on TV. My mom used to love watching it and even learned a lot of dishes from it. She always said she would cook them for me.”

“I remember my dad also learned it, but then the show was canceled.”

"Yes, yes, I remember now, I watched it before the training camp."

"It really is him."

Then some athletes came up to Feng Zhengming and greeted him.

Feng Zhengming was also a little excited: "Haha, you are all heroes who have returned in triumph. How can I let you take the initiative to greet me? I am the national culinary champion."

You all compete against the best athletes in international tournaments; you're better than me.

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this made the athletes laugh.

What excited Feng Zhengming the most was meeting his former idols, the two real diving queens.

"Your diving is amazing! I love watching you dive, it's so beautiful."

The two diving queens are still very young, and they both smiled beautifully when praised by Feng Zhengming.

"Then Scholar Feng will cook something delicious for us today."

"Yes, yes, we can't hold back, Scholar Feng, it has to be the best."

Feng Zhengming: "No problem, I'm here today to serve you heroes. Whatever you want to eat, we'll make sure you get it."

Then the athletes stepped forward and told Feng Zhengming in person what dishes they wanted to eat.

Feng Zhengming even took out a small notebook and wrote them down one by one.

Seeing this, the people who organized the event were quite satisfied.

"This is a real welcome feast! Our culinary champion is definitely more popular."

"Haha, Feng Zhengming is really amazing. He's popular with young people wherever he goes."

"I heard that his restaurant employs only young chefs."

"That's good, just like our young athletes, young people do better."

"Unfortunately, there's no way to assign Feng Zhengming to the kitchen."

"It's good that he doesn't work in the kitchen. The recommendation guides he created in Shandong and Shanghai are really excellent. They've standardized the catering industry. We need talents like him who understand how to integrate market demands."

Feng Zhengming probably didn't expect that many of the things he did would be so popular.

Therefore, his plans to open a shop in the capital and reopen Yanxilou in the capital will undoubtedly receive tremendous support.

Feng Zhengming finished recording the dishes ordered by the athletes and coaches.

He also took photos with some athletes and coaches.

After all the other chefs had finished taking photos, they returned to the kitchen together to prepare.

Actually, all kinds of ingredients are prepared in the kitchen.

They had all inquired beforehand about the athletes' taste preferences and the dishes they liked to eat.

Therefore, in addition to some specially prepared dishes, the kitchen also prepares dishes specifically for the athletes that they might need to eat.

Next, Feng Zhengming and his team got busy in the kitchen.

Including Feng Zhengming and his two senior apprentices, almost all the master chefs were on the stove.

Each dish was ordered individually by the athletes and then prepared by their own hands.

Many of these are home-style dishes that are fried, stir-fried, or braised, and are rarely made in the kitchen of the Great Hall of the People.

But for Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers, this was precisely the time for them to demonstrate their strength.

Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers took on almost all the stir-fried dishes.

Yang Bin made alfalfa meat.

Cao Zhiguo made three kinds of potatoes and green peppers and sweet and sour pork.

Feng Zhengming came alone with a dish of shredded pork with green peppers, eggplant with garlic sauce, and minced pork with green beans.

Once the dishes were prepared, they were delivered to the banquet hall by the staff using trolleys.

The aroma wafting in as soon as they entered the room excited the athletes on site.

Wow, it really is fish-fragrant eggplant!

"This is truly a combination of 'Three Treasures of the Earth' and 'Sweet and Sour Pork'."

"This stir-fried green pepper and shredded pork is really delicious."

"Minced meat and green beans? I love this dish so much."

The person hosting the banquet raised their glass.

"Haha, the food has been served. Shall we raise a glass together to toast our heroes' triumphant return? Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses and drank the first glass of wine.

After drinking the alcohol, the athletes officially began their meal.

"Don't be shy, don't hold back. Eat the same way you usually eat at home today. Don't be polite." Upon hearing this, the athletes were initially a little hesitant and embarrassed.

But with delicious food in front of them, everyone gradually let loose completely.

Various scenes of people shoveling food into their mouths appeared, making the hosts of the banquet unable to help but laugh.

"They're all children."

"Haha, they are all our good kids."

"Yes, they really work hard, so let them eat as much as they want."

"Eat well, drink well, and go back to get some rest."

Soon, staff members came to the kitchen to urge them to prepare the food, and immediately informed Feng Zhengming and his team.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, everyone really enjoys the dishes you made. We all eat with great relish."

Feng Zhengming and the others immediately burst into laughter and cheers.

Everyone in the kitchen became more motivated, and everyone took cooking more seriously from then on.

This is probably the scene a chef would most like to see.

That's because so many customers like the dishes I make.

And they all ate with great relish.

Feng Zhengming and his team worked tirelessly in the kitchen until every athlete had a good and satisfying meal.

The banquet ended with a series of burps.

This made the people hosting the banquet quite happy.

Tonight, everyone truly experienced the joy of celebrating together.

Of course, after the meal, the athletes and coaches also came to the kitchen to thank Feng Zhengming and the others.

He also took photos with everyone in the kitchen, and he got permission from most of the chefs who wanted to take individual photos.

For Feng Zhengming, it seems that even more athletes and coaches want to take a photo with him.

Feng Zhengming smiled and expressed his gratitude to the athletes and coaches for their respect.

The two diving queens even hung their gold medals on a photo with Feng Zhengming.

This really excited Feng Zhengming.

"Thank you so much, thank you both so much."

Then the athletes said together, "Your skills deserve a gold medal."

Feng Zhengming: "I don't deserve it. I'm glad everyone likes it. You're all welcome to come to my restaurant in the future."

The athletes all said they would definitely go and eat there if they had the chance.

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment, then couldn't help but apologize: "I'm sorry, it seems like I'm advertising myself a bit."

This made everyone laugh.

"This is clearly an internal advertisement, so it doesn't count as a violation."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said to the person speaking, "Then I must urge all my stores to make sure the dishes are good, absolutely no mistakes are made, and that they are of good quality and reasonably priced."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

In fact, this applies to athletes, coaches, and many others tonight.

Everyone has their own opinion and knows that all of Feng Zhengming's stores have a very good reputation.

Everyone knows that Feng Zhengming has been working hard to make each of his stores successful.

In fact, given Feng Zhengming's current reputation, he doesn't need to work so hard.

Many famous chefs don't keep a close eye on the products at each of their restaurants like Feng Zhengming does.

This is also why Feng Zhengming was able to participate in the state banquet and serve as the head chef.

This welcome banquet has come to an end.

Although Feng Zhengming and his team had successfully completed their mission, he and his two senior brothers still led their apprentices and students to clean up the kitchen together with the other kitchen staff.

Finally, I took a look at the kitchen, a place that many chefs dream of stepping into.

Feng Zhengming stood at the door and bowed deeply to the entire kitchen as a farewell.

As they left, they saw everyone in the kitchen seeing them off.

Feng Zhengming quickly stepped forward and shook hands with everyone one by one.

"Thank you for your guidance these past few days, Scholar Feng."

"We have learned a lot from these exchanges over the past few days."

"I hope that there will be an opportunity for Feng Zhuangyuan to come and work with us again in the future."

"That's right, I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together again."

Feng Zhengming: "Thank you everyone. Without your cooperation these past few days, we wouldn't have been able to prepare the dishes well, and we probably wouldn't have been able to prepare so many banquets at all."

If we're talking about what I've learned, I've learned more here. You've taught me a lot, and I will put that knowledge into practice in my daily life.

At the end of this farewell ceremony, the master chefs presented Feng Zhengming with a gift.

It was a kitchen knife from the kitchen of the Great Hall of the People.

"This kitchen knife is a small gift."

"I hope it can help you in the future."

"Take this, and don't let it down in the future."

"That's right, remember to cook well and make delicious and affordable food for everyone."

Feng Zhengming accepted the cleaver and bowed again to the chefs to express his gratitude.

"Thank you, I will use it well and never let it get dusty."

After saying their final goodbyes, Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers led their disciples and apprentices away.

They were not sent back to the dormitory, but directly back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, Yang Bin couldn't help but sigh, "It really feels like a lifetime ago. The experiences of the past few days have been truly magical."

Xia Hui couldn't help but chime in, "I think I'll never forget it for the rest of my life."

Sun Decai: "Of course I'll never forget it."

Tang Yong: "It's really unbelievable."

“There’s nothing unbelievable about it; it’s just that Master has the ability.” Lu Haisheng admired his master, Feng Zhengming, even more.

Cao Zhiguo: "Zhengming is truly our pride."

Feng Zhengming: "Alright, stop praising me. Let's get back to our positions and start preparing for the Beijing branch."

Cao Zhiguo immediately put on a bitter face: "Is it too late for me to regret this now?"

Yang Bin laughed: "There's no time. You have to come to the capital."

Feng Zhengming chuckled, "Fifth Brother, don't worry, I'll be there too. I've also contacted some master chefs, and they've recommended some young chefs from Beijing. We can screen them out."

Cao Zhiguo: "Alright, Zhengming, you trust me, I will definitely hold on."

Yang Bin: "Why are you acting so tragic? You clearly got the good deal, okay?"

Cao Zhiguo immediately retorted, "Good thing? Then I'll give it to you?"

Yang Bin: "I can't come. I still have to stay and protect our hometown in Shandong."

Cao Zhiguo looked helpless, feeling like he was being held back by his third senior brother and junior brother.

Feng Zhengming told everyone to go back to their rooms to rest, and he also went back to his room.

When the daughter saw her father return, she immediately danced excitedly on the bed.

Luo Qing asked with a smile, "How was it? No mistakes, right?"

Feng Zhengming: "How could your husband make a mistake? I've met many Olympic champions. I'll show you the photos when they come out."

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming had already walked to the bedside and held his daughter in his arms.

Luo Qing asked, "Now that the big event is over, should we start preparing to open a store in Beijing?"

Feng Zhengming held his daughter and let her kiss him.

"Yes, we can begin." (End of Chapter)