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Chapter 74: Red-Braised Pork

Lu Li ignored him and went off to gather ingredients and utensils.

The chubby head chef stood beside Jiang Chaoyun and asked in confusion, “Officer Jiang, what exactly is going on? Why let this kid cook?”

Jiang Chaoyun massaged her forehead and explained off-handedly, “It has to do with the case; if a prisoner eats his red-braised pork, he might give us some leads.”

“Huh?” The chubby chef felt baffled; he rubbed his shiny bald head and asked, “You mean the kid’s cooking is so good it will move him to confess for leniency?”

The chef goggled in astonishment.

Jiang Chaoyun half laughed, half sighed, “That’s not what I meant; it’s just that this high-schooler’s cooking may match the prisoner’s taste.”

Shi Chen snorted, “Sounds like wishful thinking to me! We don’t even know if he can cook.”

He still brooded over the fact that his superiors had made him apologize to Lu Li over a mere meal.

The chubby chef was skeptical as well: “Why don’t I do it instead? My red-braised pork tastes great too. The kid is only so old, I’ve been a chef longer than he has been alive, and no matter what, my food is bound to be better than his.”

Jiang Chaoyun ignored them and quietly watched Lu Li at work.

She did not think Lu Li’s food was especially delicious; she simply believed his cooking might resemble Xu Ke’s mother’s flavor.

At present, Lu Li’s Culinary Arts stat was at Minor-Accomplishment level (1/10), equivalent to a national Level-2 chef.

A national Level-2 chef was a state-certified technician who used to qualify for a government pension.

Although the chubby chef was employed by the precinct, he was still a notch below that rank.

Lu Li skillfully handled the pork belly; with exquisite knife work, the cleaver flew in his hands, the layers of meat bloomed like flowers, and neat uniform strips seemed to come alive and lined up beneath his blade.

Every strip appeared to have a strictly defined length and width; to the naked eye they were indistinguishable, as if copied and pasted.

The three onlookers were dazzled, and their earlier ridicule and doubt quietly melted away.

Even Shi Chen, who looked down on Lu Li the most, could not help but praise inwardly, “What knife skills.”

The chef had still harbored objections, but at this scene he fell silent, reminded of his own culinary mentor.

Only his teacher possessed such knife technique.

The pork belly soon went into the pot; with spices added, it was boiled over high heat and reduced over a low flame, and a simple yet artful plate of red-braised pork was finished.

Lu Li leisurely lifted the lid, and a rich meaty aroma burst forth, instantly capturing the trio’s noses.

“Gulp!” A loud swallow echoed, and Jiang Chaoyun shot Shi Chen a disdainful glance.

“Want a taste?” Lu Li ladled out two portions of red-braised pork and set them on the table.

“Who wants to eat your food!” Shi Chen glared at Lu Li.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Jiang Chaoyun picked up her chopsticks and gently lifted a piece to her mouth.

The unique texture of the pork belly blossomed on her tongue: the lean meat was tender, sweet and savory; the fat, wrapped in oily nectar, burst gently and glided smoothly down her throat.

“Delicious!” Radiance lit up Jiang Chaoyun’s valiant features.

She had previously heard Qin Lan rave about Lu Li’s cooking and even joke that she would let him break her heart for it, but she had always dismissed the idea.

Only now, with his food truly in her mouth, did she feel Qin Lan might have had a point.

The chubby chef also picked up chopsticks and stuffed a piece into his mouth.

He said nothing as two lines of tears rolled down.

“I miss my master…”

Lu Li paid no mind to their reactions; he fetched a lunchbox, filled it half with rice, upended the red-braised pork over it, drizzled the fragrant gravy, and finally snapped the lid shut.

“Let’s go see Xu Ke,” Lu Li said softly.

Reluctantly, Jiang Chaoyun set down her chopsticks, stood up, and answered, “Okay.”

Shi Chen waved his hand, “Interrogating Xu Ke is a job for you detectives; I’m staying out of it.”

Jiang Chaoyun nodded and left together with Lu Li.

After only a few steps out of the cafeteria, Jiang Chaoyun patted her pocket and froze, “I forgot my phone… wait here, I’ll go get it.”

She hurried back and saw Shi Chen and the chubby chef wolfing down rice and red-braised pork like rabid dogs.

The bowl of pork emptied quickly; Shi Chen snatched the plate first, poured all the sauce into his own bowl, and even shot the chef a fierce glare.

Jiang Chaoyun stared at the sauce and grains of rice at Shi Chen’s mouth for a long moment without speaking.

She quietly found her phone and snapped a photo of Shi Chen’s atrocious eating posture.

The click of the shutter startled Shi Chen; he jerked awake and demanded, “What are you doing!”

Jiang Chaoyun lifted her chin and mimicked him, “Who wants to eat your food!”

Shi Chen’s face turned ashen and his mouth twitched, “If I say the meat jumped into my mouth on its own, would you believe me?”

Jiang Chaoyun rolled her eyes, walked out, and sent the photo to the work group chat under the title “Wild Boar Feeding.”

Soon, waves of “hahaha” flooded the chat.

…

Inside the interrogation room…

“Xu Ke, do you think that if you keep silent we can’t find the truth? Once we do, your charges will be heavier! Tell us who is above you now and we can request leniency.”

Xu Ke did not answer; he stared blankly in one direction as though he could see something strange through the air.

Wang Hongtao looked at the disheveled, delirious Xu Ke and felt at a loss.

“He really can endure… hasn’t said a single word.”

Wang Hongtao sighed; he had interrogated Xu Ke all night, his backside was numb, yet he had not pried a single useful sentence from him.

Yet superiors and the Mingyue Group had pressed him many times, ordering him to produce something.

But Xu Ke remained dull and foolish, murmuring only “Mom” under his breath.

“Sigh…” Wang Hongtao stood up helplessly; up to now, Xu Ke had not eaten a bite or drunk a sip.

He even suspected that, given Xu Ke’s condition, he might not last until tomorrow.

“Captain Wang, should we get him some food?” the officer beside Wang Hongtao asked.

“What’s the point? He’ll just knock it over again and waste good food.”

Wang Hongtao had a splitting headache; he had not mistreated Xu Ke, he had tried feeding him many times, but without exception Xu Ke had overturned every tray.

“Try this one.” Jiang Chaoyun entered with a lunchbox in her hands and gently opened it.

Wang Hongtao was about to tell her not to bother when Xu Ke twitched his nose, and his previously dull, unfocused eyes suddenly sharpened as if they had found light.

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