From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 232 Master’s Family Banquet

In December, Feng Zhengming made arrangements for the restaurant, and the food stall at the train station was temporarily closed for a while.

Together with his senior brother Li Huidong, he got on the train and rushed to pick up his master.

On the train, the senior brothers got together and talked about the changes in one year.

Li Huidong first sighed: "When Yanxi Tower was closed, I was always worried about what you would do in the future? I felt that it was not good for you to follow me in the cafeteria all the time. I also wanted to find an opportunity to recommend you to a big restaurant."

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "Senior brother, you are always thinking of us, and junior brother will always remember your kindness, senior brother."

Li Huidong waved his hand: "Remember the kindness? When you first went to the train station to sell lunch boxes, I was still wondering if you could do it? But I didn't expect that you really did it. Among the brothers, you are now the one in Quancheng It has the greatest reputation and has really made Feng’s Restaurant the most famous sign in Quancheng.”

Feng Zhengming said: "In fact, it is all the credit of Master. If it were not for the formula given by Master, I would not be able to achieve what I am now."

Li Huidong immediately corrected him: "You can't say that. Master got the formula from your grandfather. Giving the formula to you can be regarded as returning it to its original owner. It also allowed you to recognize your grandfather and allow you to have a family." ."

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "I didn't expect that Master had already arranged all this for me."

Li Huidong sounded a little strange: "You mean, Master arranged all this? No way?"

Feng Zhengming gave his senior brother a serious analysis.

"Senior Brother, think about it, why didn't Master ask me to go find Grandpa directly after closing Yanxi Tower?"

Li Huidong thought for a while and shook his head: "When you say that, I feel a little strange."

Feng Zhengming continued: "Master was worried and entrusted me directly to my grandfather. I might not be willing to take over making the meat. Master was worried that I would feel that the sales of the meat on the street would be a loss."

Li Huidong didn't say anything, but just nodded and felt that what Feng Zhengming said was reasonable.

Feng Zhengming went on to analyze: "So Master respects my own wishes and lets me go to your canteen first, Senior Brother, and work with you for a while, and let me finally decide my own direction.

When he learned that I was selling box lunches at the train station, Master was sure that I could put aside my worth to sell box lunches on the street, and that I must be willing to make meat and sell it on the street, so he gave me the formula and asked me to go to my grandfather to find a matchmaker. My grandfather and I know each other. As for whether my grandfather and I will get married later, it will be our own choice. "

When Li Huidong heard this, he probably understood the master's intentions.

The master did not directly arrange anything for each disciple.

Instead, we respect each apprentice's own choice, and then provide certain help to the apprentices based on their own choices.

Li Huidong thought for a while and suddenly said: "I seem to understand now why my brother-in-law went to the factory to negotiate about contracting the canteen and was able to negotiate so smoothly. It should also be because of the master's intervention."

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but be curious: "Master also came forward to contract the canteen for you?"

Li Huidong nodded: "I think Master should have come forward to help. You also know about Fang Jian. I heard that Fang Jian arranged for some of his relatives to contract the canteen. Do you think my brother-in-law went directly to Fang Jian's relatives?" Competition, can we compete for the job of contracting the canteen?"

Having said this, Li Huidong looked at his junior brother and continued: "Zhengming, we must persuade the master this time to let him agree to his return to Quancheng to open a store."

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, senior brother, I will try my best to persuade the master."

After the two arrived by train, to their surprise, when they left the station, they saw the master's eldest son coming to pick them up.

"Brother, why are you here?"

Li Huidong also followed Feng Zhengming and said with a smile: "You actually came to pick us up in person."

Yan Jianxing said: "I will definitely come to pick you up. Dad knew that the senior brother and junior brother would come to pick him up together, so he asked me to come to the train station to greet you."

Li Huidong said with a little fear: "This makes the two of us apprentices feel flattered."

Yan Jianxing said: "Hahaha, senior brother, you're welcome. Let's go. My parents are waiting at home."

Feng Zhengming, together with his senior brother, returned with his master's eldest son.

When they saw the master and his wife at home, the two brothers immediately bowed to the master and his wife together.

The master and his wife quickly helped the two brothers up.

"Okay, okay, it's hard to come here, you two brothers don't have to be so polite."

"Okay, don't learn. You two brothers will learn these messy things."

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "Master, Master, I should kowtow to you."

Li Huidong echoed: "Yes, Master and Mistress are old. We, as apprentices, are unable to serve them by our side. We cannot do it."

The master immediately said with a straight face: "Who wants you to serve me? I taught you my skills so that you can serve me? I want you to pass on the skills, cook the dishes well for me, and promote our Shandong cuisine."

Seeing that his master was a little angry, Feng Zhengming quickly smoothed things over: "Master, my senior brother and I are already working hard. Aren't we here to pick you up and take you and my wife to Quancheng to check how we are doing?"

The teacher's wife was also beside her and said with a smile: "Okay, haven't you been looking forward to their arrival? When the children are here, why don't you show your face and let them go in and sit down to eat? You have been busy all afternoon. Aren’t you just waiting for the two brothers to come?”

Feng Zhengming immediately helped his master and his wife to go inside and said, "Master is cooking by himself? That's the right time. Senior brother and I really caught up. We want to have a good meal tonight."

Being helped to the dining table by Feng Zhengming so unceremoniously made the master's anger disappear immediately.

Yan Jianxing, who was following behind, quietly said to the senior brother: "Senior brother, have you told the junior brother?"

Li Huidong naturally knew what the other party meant, nodded and whispered: "Don't worry, my junior brother and I will talk to the master later, and we will definitely make the master agree to your return to Quancheng."

Yan Jianxing whispered again: "Elder brother, it's not that my dad doesn't want me to go back and open a shop, it's that he doesn't agree with me using the name 'Yan's Cuisine'."

Li Huidong frowned slightly, thought about it carefully and said, "Let me talk to my junior brother."

The master heard the two people whispering, and after sitting down, he shouted: "What are you two talking about?"

Li Huidong quickly responded: "Master is here."

Then everyone sat down together and saw that the food on the table was really rich.

In particular, the two dishes on the table, the braised kidneys and sweet and sour carp, are very eye-catching.

Feng Zhengming stared at the cooked kidneys and said, "Brother, look at this, haven't you seen this dish for a long time?"

Li Huidong also nodded: "I haven't seen him for a long time."

This dish of braised kidneys is truly Master’s specialty.

Clean the pork kidneys, break them in the middle and cut off the waist part.

Then beat the stir-fried kidney with a wheat knife.

The next step is not a stir-fry.

Instead, use clean warm water to blanch.

The water temperature must be kept at 60 degrees, and you need to slowly soak the kidney flowers in this warm water.

The kidneys that come out in this way are more crispy and tender, and are finally topped with the master's secret sauce.

The kidneys used in this dish must be very fresh. Then the water used must also be very clean.

The cooked kidneys will taste more tender in this way.

The taste is completely different from stir-fried kidneys.

The kidney flowers are tender, smooth, and have that unique crispiness.

Feng Zhengming and Li Huidong sat down and waited for Yan Jianxing to pour them wine. They then paid tribute to the master and his wife.

Let Master and Mistress use their chopsticks first.

Almost at the same time, the two brothers couldn't wait to hold out their chopsticks to the waist flower.

Seeing this scene, Master and Mistress were immediately happy.

Feng Zhengming quietly retracted his chopsticks and asked his senior brother to pick up a piece of waistband first.

After the eldest brother picked up the waistband to eat, Feng Zhengming stretched out his chopsticks to pick up one.

Crisp, tender, smooth and fresh.

It is really a unique enjoyment for the tongue and teeth.

There is no fishy smell of pork kidney, and the seasoning is not too heavy.

It's full of umami, with the saltiness of soy sauce, some peppercorn oil, and the addition of chili flakes.

Feng Zhengming recalled the first time he ate this dish. The amazing feeling was definitely beyond the stir-fried kidneys, a new taste experience of kidneys.

I ate this dish again today, and Feng Zhengming wanted to eat the second one after eating one.

As a result, the moment Feng Zhengming stretched out his chopsticks, he bumped into his senior brother again.

"Hahaha……"

Master finally burst out laughing.

The master's smile made the two brothers naturally shrink back together.

Seeing that the two brothers took back their chopsticks together this time, the master smiled and said, "Okay, you can eat as much as you like."

Naturally, the two brothers were not polite. The two brothers couldn't stop eating this dinner at Master's house.

Of course, after three rounds of wine and five flavors of food.

Li Huidong still told his master about the entrustment of his eldest son.

"Master, I think the senior disciple should be allowed to return to Quancheng. In fact, you should know the skills of the senior disciple. He is definitely better than our senior brothers. If he returns to Quancheng to open a shop, that is the best way to inherit your craftsmanship, master. There is nothing wrong with using the name of Yan Family Cuisine, as that will prove that it is your true inheritance, Master."

After hearing what the eldest disciple said, the master immediately looked at his eldest son.

The latter faced his father's somewhat stern look, but did not avoid it.

Because Yan Jianxing is confident in his craftsmanship.

He also feels that he is the facade that can support his father's reputation.

Master Yan saw that his eldest son did not avoid his gaze. He was surprised and looked at his eldest son again for the first time. At the same time, he recalled some of his eldest son's performances over the years.

Feng Zhengming took the opportunity to speak at this time: "Master, I think the senior brother is right. His craftsmanship is really excellent. We know that master, you hope that we don't be too high-profile, but how can a display of cooking skills be considered high-profile? Like me When we were at Jubinyuan, didn’t you also tell me that I didn’t need to keep my hands?

So I think, since your eldest brother’s cooking skills can support your reputation, why can’t you support your eldest brother? Let the eldest brother go back to Quancheng? "

Hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Master already understood that this was discussed in advance by their fellow apprentices.

The master pondered for a moment and looked at his son and said, "You can go back to Quancheng. Don't you have investors? Then you can go back, but you can't use the name of Yanjia Cuisine."

When Yan Jianxing heard this, he felt that despite talking for a long time, the matter had not made any progress.

Feng Zhengming quickly said: "Master, this is wrong."

Master immediately asked: "What's wrong with me?"

Feng Zhengming said: "Master, your surname is Yan, but my eldest brother is also surnamed Yan. My eldest brother named the restaurant after his own surname. What's wrong? So I think eldest brother Yan's cuisine can be used."

When the master heard this, he immediately laughed and scolded: "You are the only one who knows how to cheat, right? Your eldest brother's surname is also Yan, so he can use the name of the Yan family? He used the name of the Yan family, and others are not the first to think of it. Is it Master?"

Feng Zhengming continued: "There is no way, who makes the eldest brother your master's son? No matter what the eldest brother does, others will associate the eldest brother with you, the master. If this is the case, why not just let the eldest brother use Yan's cuisine? Signboard? This is just like the signboard I used for the Feng Family Restaurant."

After Li Huidong heard what his junior brother said, he immediately started talking too.

"Master, I think what my junior brother said is right. Just because Jianxing is your son, everyone will always use two standards to hold him to him. On the one hand, if he does well, others think it is right because he is yours. Son, and no matter how well he does, he cannot take off the label of being your son.

On the other hand, if he does not do well, others will immediately criticize him, even more severely than us disciples.

Master, don't you think this puts a lot of pressure on your junior brother? "

The master smiled and asked: "You say this, but it still becomes my fault?"

Li Huidong and Feng Zhengming quickly apologized to Master together.

Yan Jianxing also apologized to his father.

Master Yan looked at his two apprentices and his eldest son, and seriously thought about what the two apprentices said, and then thought about his eldest son's various efforts over the years.

Even when the eldest son was an apprentice, he learned cooking from another master.

But no matter how hard his eldest son works, he will always be compared with himself.

This indeed put great pressure on the eldest son.

But the eldest son did not disappoint Master Yan. He finally withstood the pressure and learned the craft seriously, and he was really good at it.

Thinking about this, Master Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, if you want to go back to Quancheng and use the Yanjia Cuisine brand, you can use it. But after the provincial youth chef exchange competition is over, I will not stay in Quancheng. Everything in the future will have to be done by yourself. ."

When Yan Jianxing heard what his father said, he understood that this was a test from his father to make Yan's cuisine as famous as it should be based on his own ability.

Yan Jianxing promised his father: "Dad, I will not let you down."

Master Yan smiled and nodded, then pointed to the dishes on the table and said, "You three brothers, please finish all the dishes for me. Don't waste it."

Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers looked at each other, and then the three of them started to feast together.

(End of this chapter)