Chapter 240: The Three Women's Dinner Table

She put on her coat, ready to leave, when the morgue attendant called: the hearse had arrived and was about to transport the “disposable bodies.” He asked if body number 1633090107001 should be sent for cremation.

“No, not yet,” Su Wan said. “There might be further examinations.”

“I understand, Regional Commander.”

“It must be properly stored. Without my written order, no one is to view, move, or dispose of it. No one, do you understand?”

“Yes, Regional Commander.”

The Farm Café was Su Wan’s favorite dining spot. Although it was a bit far, it had booths and private rooms, offering more privacy. Her friends from the army and colleagues from internal affairs also liked to come here, so she could often find someone to share a table and chat with. It was a strange habit of hers; she was uncomfortable with formal dinner invitations and preferred chance encounters. This way, it seemed there were no obligations on either side, and she could leave whenever she wanted. So, she often went to the trouble of taking the incredibly basic little train to the Farm for a meal.

Su Wan’s diet was always very simple. In the cafeteria, she usually had rice with a few kinds of boiled vegetables, plus a bowl of pickled cabbage and potato soup with not a drop of oil. This was her usual lunch and dinner. Even at banquets, she didn’t eat much, still sticking to simple vegetables.

Her diet had been criticized by Chen Sigen: severe lack of protein and fat intake. As a forensic doctor, she was well aware of the long-term consequences. Sooner or later, she would die of malnutrition. The work intensity in Lingao was not comparable to the old world. For this reason, she improved her diet once a week, going to the Farm Café for a good meal.

She never got the limited-supply dishes at the Farm—lazy people don’t like to call and make reservations, nor do they care about the café’s weekly limited menu. So she had to eat whatever was available.

Vegetables and fruits were in abundant supply at the café, but the meat was a bit monotonous. Besides seafood and poultry, mutton was the meat that the General Office could supply relatively fully. Every week, dozens of sheep were transported from Changhua to Lingao under the name of “special use by the General Office.” The best parts of the sheep, like lamb chops, tenderloin, and legs, were hot sellers, which Su Wan naturally couldn’t get. Fortunately, there weren’t many fans of roasted sheep’s head among the transmigrators, so Su Wan could always buy it when she wanted to eat.

The roasted sheep’s head at the Farm was taught to the cooks here by a transmigrator with a chef’s certificate, following the method from Ningxia. It was cooked over a high flame, with the flames shooting up more than a foot from the stove. The sheep’s head was first boiled until half-cooked, then chopped in half with one stroke. The cook would brush on a layer of sheep oil, and it would sizzle. The whole process was complicated: brushing oil, soy sauce, vinegar, cumin, chili oil, sprinkling fennel powder, pepper, sesame seeds, adding chopped green onions, cilantro, and onions.

Su Wan felt that, let alone eating it, just looking at it was very tempting, not to mention the aroma. It was a pity that not many people in the Senate appreciated it. The pretentious vanilla roasted lamb chops, on the other hand, became a hot seller. Although only a few sheep’s heads were roasted a day, she could always order one.

“Half a sheep’s head to start, with extra cumin and chili,” Su Wan said to the waiter. “A large vegetable salad, and a liter of draft beer.”

While waiting for her food, she saw Salina sitting in a booth not far away. She was wearing a black uniform just like her own, and next to her was a young woman she didn’t know. Judging by her clothes and demeanor, she should also be a transmigrator.

Seeing her gaze, Salina smiled and waved at her, gesturing for her to come over.

“Su, are you okay? Come and sit with us.”

Su Wan nodded and walked to her table. The waiter quickly moved her cup and plate over and refilled her lemon water.

“Let me introduce you. This is Cheng Yongxin from the Great Library,” Salina said. “And this is our chief forensic doctor, Su Wan.”

“A pleasure,” the two said politely.

For a moment, Su Wan saw a glint in Cheng Yongxin’s eyes, as if she was very interested in her.

What’s this woman’s story? Su Wan was a little curious.

“You don’t look well. Was your trip very tiring? You’re working again today?”

“There’s a new case. Director Ran insists I get the report out as soon as possible,” Su Wan said, taking a sip of lemon water.

“That’s too hard. You should say you need a good rest.”

“Alas, Salina, everyone who has come to this time is working hard. How can I alone say I need a rest? Even if I could say it, I would feel uneasy,” Su Wan put down her cup and sighed to Salina. Perhaps due to the long-term nourishment from Xue Ziliang, Salina’s complexion was very good. Her sunset-like golden hair always had an alluring luster, her lake-green eyes and curvaceous figure exuded the unique charm of a white woman, and the occasional flush on her moon-white cheeks made her even more beautiful.

Looking at Cheng Yongxin beside her, with her jeans tightly wrapping her long legs, a flowing white long-sleeved shirt on top with the sleeves casually rolled up, and her straight, black-silk-like hair cascading down her shoulders. Her face was lightly made up, looking very delicate.

Thinking of her own dry black hair, thin body, and pale features, Su Wan couldn’t help but feel a little dejected.

Do I also need to find a man to nourish me as soon as possible? Speaking of which, there were quite a few candidates. It seemed she should find someone to lose her virginity to soon…

“The Senate is truly a group of workaholics,” Salina said.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Cheng Yongxin smiled leisurely. “Fortunately, work is so busy, consuming the main energy of the men. Otherwise, who knows what other crooked things they would come up with.”

“That’s true.” Su Wan heard the hidden meaning in her words and nodded.

“You’re right.” Although Salina had been educated by Mrs. Qian, she still hadn’t shed her original temper. “Sometimes I really find it hard to understand their way of thinking.” She suddenly became emotional and brought up the matter of auctioning white female slaves. Salina said angrily, “This is the most shameful crime I have ever personally encountered in my life.”

Although the auction of white female slaves had happened a long time ago, Salina’s sudden mention of it felt a bit abrupt to Su Wan. However, she also had some reservations about this matter. Wasn’t this a clear contempt and disregard for female transmigrators?! Her sudden urge to talk was overwhelming:

“What can be done, Salina? Don’t forget what those people came to this time for. Communism, democracy, and freedom, or whatever national dignity and national rejuvenation, are all just pretexts, all bullshit! In the end, they are just here to do all sorts of vulgar, filthy, and cruel things that were not allowed or conditioned in the old world. For example, playing with heavy weapons, plundering wealth, and living the corrupt life they couldn’t live in the old world. Here, neither 21st-century morality nor 17th-century morality can stand in the way of their cannons. They believe that what they think is right is the truth, isn’t it?” Su Wan’s voice rose considerably. “I’m sorry, I may have gotten a little excited.”

“Yes, everyone in this world has more or less terrible thoughts. If they don’t have the power to subvert the world, it’s fine. Once they have this ability and are let loose, it’s the most terrible thing in the world. This is the disadvantage of democracy,” Cheng Yongxin said faintly, like a protagonist in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Just then, the waiter brought their food. A large venison steak was placed on a heated iron plate, sizzling, with golden-brown French fries and a few green broccoli florets as side dishes.

“Is that a mushroom sauce?” Cheng Yongxin said. “It goes well with venison.”

“That’s right. They can finally make a sauce other than pepper sauce,” Salina said, her appetite whetted. “Wu is very capable.”

“It’s his wife who is very capable,” Cheng Yongxin corrected. “Apparently no one remembers who his wife is.”

“Yes.” Salina had no intention of asking who Wu’s wife was and had already started cutting the venison.

Cheng Yongxin was having the chicken stir-fried rice noodle set, which was not only lighter in taste but also much smaller in portion.

Salina said while eating the venison, “You eat too little, Cheng Cheng baby.”

“My work is mostly sedentary. Eating less is good for my health.”

The roasted sheep’s head was brought to the table, purplish-black and fragrant.

“God, what is this?”

“Roasted sheep’s head.”

“Sheep’s head!” Salina said with an exaggerated expression. “This thing, is there anything… um, edible on it?”

“Everything except the bones is edible, and it’s delicious,” Su Wan said, washing her hands in the small bowl of water. “A delicacy.” She said, plucking the roasted, golden-brown sheep’s eye from the head and putting it in her mouth with a smile. A crunch, and it was as delicious as she had expected: crispy and juicy.

Su Wan broke open the sheep’s head, revealing the brain, and ate it with a small spoon: the brain was soft and smooth like tofu. She tore off the skin and threw it into her mouth. It was a little burnt, but the more she chewed, the more fragrant it became.

Su Wan called out loudly, “Waiter! Garlic!” After that, she took a big gulp of draft beer, wiped her mouth, and said:

“It’s really delicious. Do you want to try some? The cheek meat tastes like the best arctic surf clam!”

Salina shook her head repeatedly, and Cheng Yongxin also smiled and shook her hand: “I don’t like mutton. The gamey smell is too strong. Besides, the cholesterol in this thing must be very high, it’s unhealthy.”

“That’s a pity.” Su Wan ate heartily, the carrots and onion slices in her salad crunching.

Salina and Cheng Yongxin couldn’t help but show looks of disgust. Su Wan sneered inwardly. She ate the sheep’s head by herself, chewing on raw garlic clove by clove, and drank the cold draft beer. The more she ate, the more she wanted to eat, and she drank a whole liter of draft beer in one go.