The Gourmet in Prison
As the old woman gradually walked away, Veronica whispered to Aiden, "Is this prisoner about to be released? She seems quite friendly. What crime did she commit?"
Aiden turned his head and glanced at her, remaining silent for a moment before speaking, "She's not being released. She's a death row inmate. And Today is the day of her execution. She's headed to the execution grounds."
Veronica was suddenly stunned for a moment.
When the old woman said "farewell," she didn't think much of it. After all when prisoner leaves the prison, whether the prisoner herself or the guards who supervised her, no one would want to her return. Even saying farewell here could be considered a fitting goodbye.
"This old lady used to live in the southern suburbs of the city. She rented out her house to others, gained their trust, then poisoned and killed them, and took their belongings.
She used this method to kill six people. It can be said that she deserved her fate. There's nothing worth pitying," Aiden explained calmly.
"Unlike you, she was caught with solid evidence, and she confessed on the spot."
Veronica still couldn't quite process it. "But she doesn't seem look like..."
"Not like that kind of person, right?" Aiden smoothly continued, "Yes, it's true. People here often don't look like the criminals they are.
The human heart is inscrutable. So, remember, the most important thing here is not to easily trust the inmates. There's not many Rare specimens like you, who falsely accused and brought here."
Veronica fell silent. This was still quite shocking for her.
Aiden then took her to visit other workshops where the inmates worked and introduced her to some of the prison's facilities. Soon, it was lunchtime, and Aiden led her to the staff cafeteria.
"Do we have to eat in the cafeteria while working?" Veronica asked cautiously.
"Yes, during working hours, guards are generally not allowed to leave the prison..." Aiden thought for a moment and added, "Except for me."
"Is this within the rules?" Veronica looked at Aiden skeptically.
"The regulations state that you must report to your superior if you leave your post during working hours. But I don't have a superior here, so I report to myself," Aiden said with a smile.
(Tn: Genius!!!!)
"We have to eat in the cafeteria," Veronica sighed.
"You look very disappointed," Aiden observed with interest.
"When I was a mounted police officer, I could grab a meal outside while on duty..." Veronica didn't hide it, seeing that her superior had already noticed it.
"Whether it was at the police academy or in the police force, the cafeteria food was always terrible."
"You don't need to worry about that. Our cafeteria is actually quite good," Aiden said confidently.
Five minutes later, Aiden and Veronica each carried their meals and sat down facing each other.
"There seem to be a lot of dishes I've never seen before," Veronica exclaimed with curiosity as she inspected the contents of her plate. "What is this pile of red sauce?"
"That's called Sweet and Sour Pork. It's a pork tenderloin that is cut into cubes and marinated, then coated with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, then deep-fried and stir-fried with a sauce made from fruit vinegar, tomato paste, and sugar," Aiden explained to her.
Veronica cautiously picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth.
"It's delicious!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth in amazement. This was a cooking method she had never tasted before. "And what's this one called?"
"Kung Pao Chicken."
"What?" Veronica didn't understand the name of this dish.
"Basically, it's diced chicken and peanuts stir-fried with a bunch of spices. Give it a try."
Veronica used a spoon to take a bite and was immediately impressed. "How did the chefs here come up with such amazing dishes?"
"I taught them," Aiden replied.
"Sir, were you a chef before?" Veronica asked wide-eyed.
"No, I just know the recipes."
"Then where did you learn them from?"
"It's a secret," Aiden said with a smile.
In his previous world, human culinary culture had already undergone globalization and market testing. Although he wasn't a professional chef, he could still recall many well-known recipes from His memory.
As a bonafide Transmigrator, after arriving in a different world, of course, he had to promote the culinary culture of his own world. After all, in order to embark on a new life in this world, he had to satisfy his own appetite.
The level of development in this world wasn't considered backward, but in comparison, the culinary culture of the common people seemed somewhat barren.
The restaurants on the streets were passable, offering both home-cooked dishes and top-notch delicacies.
However, when it came to the cafeteria's communal meals, they became abysmal, offering little more than sustenance.
After Aiden became the warden, he brought about a transformation in the prison's cafeteria. He compiled some recipes based on the ingredients and seasonings available in this world and taught them to the chefs here.
Although doing so only elevated the quality of the meals here to the level of an average unit cafeteria in his previous world, it was still a significant improvement. Moreover, for the people of this world, these dishes brought a new level of novelty and flavor enhancement.
You see, the first time Aiden had a meal in the cafeteria of this world, he felt a strong sense of rejection looking at the dry bread, a few slices of smoked meat, and a lump of mashed beans on his plate.
The improvement in the prison cafeteria also raised the inmates' food standards. Although the meal standards for inmates were definitely not up to par with the guards, it was much better compared to the times when they were served a piece of bread and two or three blobs of strange-colored, unidentifiable substances on a plate.
As an added benefit, the discipline of the inmates also saw some improvement.
Commotion caused by inmates being dissatisfied with the food used to happen, with inmates wielding trays and utensils to fights in the cafeteria.
But after Aiden took over, such incidents were completely eliminated.
"By the way, Commander, what do you have there?" Veronica suddenly asked.
"You mean this?" Aiden shook the two slender wooden sticks in his hand. "These are the utensils I'm used to. They're called chopsticks. Is there a problem?"
"Do these things really work?" Veronica looked at them curiously.
"Of course, they work." Aiden demonstrated by skillfully picking up some food from his bowl and showed it to Veronica.
"It's really amazing." Veronica looked around. "I see many guards using the same utensils as you. Did they learn it from you?"
"Yes, if you ever join us for a hotpot meal, you'll want to learn too."
"Hotpot? What's that?"
"You'll get to experience it when we have a chance for a group meal. You'll love it."
Veronica nodded in agreement, feeling fortunate in her heart to be assigned here. She looked at the contents in Aiden's bowl and curiously blinked,
"This is the first time I've seen someone eat noodles in soup like this. What are the ingredients?"
"Pickled sour vegetables, and pork offal."
"What kind of offal is this? I've never seen it before." Veronica pointed to a circular piece of offal.
"Why don't you try it first?" Aiden revealed a mysterious smile and used a pair of chopsticks that hadn't been used yet to pick up a piece for Veronica.
Veronica curiously put the food in her mouth, took a couple of chews, then widened her eyes, "I've never tasted this texture before. What part is this?"
"I'll tell you later. If you want more, you can go to that window."
"And what's this called?"
"Pig powder," Aiden said with a meaningful smile.
Based on his experience, it was probably best not to tell her right away that she had just eaten pig intestines. after all, Convincing the cafeteria chefs to deal with this kind of ingredient was quite a challenge.