Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du didn't seem too happy, and so the black man's face showed even more anxiety. He said, “My friend, I've already offered you my friendship, please don't ask for more.” This big hunk was going to taunt Li Du. He had gotten word from outside that someone wanted him to take care of Li Du and his friends, until they gave out something, and then he would get his reward. Who knew that as soon as he took action, he would be the one at downwind? The prison guards had come and gone, and for some reason even they did not dare to touch Li Du. As the big man overheard the conversation between Li Du and the guards, he learned that this Chinese guy apparently was an important person and that the police threw him into the jail unlawfully as they didn't figure out his situation. America had a reputation of being the beacon of democracy and was also known as the Freedom Bay. In reality, this was a powerful country with an imperfect justice system, and sometimes people would be wrongfully accused. It was just the same as in other countries. If this happened to ordinary citizens it wouldn't cause much fuss. At most, the police would apologize and issue compensation, but that was it. However, if the accused were not just anybody, but someone rich and powerful, that could cause a scandal. The man was tall and rough but, despite his looks, not that simple-minded. He paid attention and understood the situation, and did not want to step further into these murky waters. This was especially true after he saw the tattoo on Godzilla’s chest. He knew what this tattoo represented, as he was once a street gangster leader himself, and had come across drugs before. Godzilla was from the largest cartel in Mexico, the Mexican Cartel. Based on his body size and combat skills, he was not an ordinary member of it, either. If such a person addressed Li Du as ‘boss’, and if someone like Brother Wolf fought for him, the implications were alarming. One local strong hitman and one international super-skilled soldier. This was the usual standard of hired bodyguards for the heads of big cartels in North America.
As he considered these points, the big man hoped to make friends with Li Du. When Li Du said that the prison food was bad, he proactively offered the good stuff he had kept for himself. Of course, he was not really afraid of Li Du. No matter how bad Li Du could be, that was on the outside or even in Mexico, and this was Miami prison. Li Du pointed at the pieces of instant noodles in the bag and said, “Do you know what that is?” “This is Tang, the best food from China. It was the food that emperors and nobles ate back in the old days,” The big man explained. Li Du was stunned speechless. He looked at the big hunk and only managed to ask again after a few moments, “Who told you this?” The man said, “Everyone knows that. There are advertisements on TV as well. Isn't this the food that emperors and nobles liked? Because it's so easy to store and it won't spoil quickly, now it has even become military food in your country.” He continued talking about the virtues of instant noodles, and Li Du understood that this fella had really meant to show his friendship by sharing the noodles with him. Instant noodles were currently in high demand in all the big prisons, surpassing cigarettes and gradually becoming the inner currency. The reason for this was the increase in crime and the number of prisoners countrywide. As the prison budget hadn't increased in years and had decreased when counting per prisoner, most prisons had to lower their food budget. Instant noodles had become popular then. They were easy to cook, tasted good, and could be stored indefinitely. Hence, they were well-liked by the inmates. Such a situation had even occurred in an American TV series titled “Orange is the New Black”. In that series, some of the prisoners had control over the supply of instant noodles on the prison black market and ruled over their fellow inmates. In prison, instant noodles were called ‘Tang’, which was the Chinese word for ‘soup’. The Chinese actually called it ‘Tang Mian’, but the two words were difficult to remember, so only the first one caught on. The instant noodles that the big guy offered Li Du were obviously bad quality ones. They were probably made by the prison canteen, as they weren’t fine and didn't smell good either.
Li Du wanted to accept this gesture of friendship, but he felt that dry bread might taste better compared to this. After their breakfast, the prisoners got ready to start their daily jobs. The usual jobs included outdoor chores, as the prison would take on some projects such as repairing roads and bridges, or renovating houses in the community area, or even handling garbage. This was all physical work, and new prisoners rarely participated. They usually worked inside the prison, doing kitchen or cleaning jobs. This was because the prison administration needed to let the new prisoners get familiar with their new surroundings, and they might not be able to handle heavy physical work on their first day anyway. The guards also had to prevent new prisoners from contacting people on the outside or smuggling contraband goods in. In one instance, a prisoner smuggled drugs into the prison in his anal opening. As new prisoners could carry this out, it was best for the prison authorities to be vigilant. Li Du and his companions were newbies, so when a prison guard came over to lead them away he said, “You guys got lucky today. Don't faint when it's time to clean the toilets. Haha!” A fat African American man dressed as a cook shouted from the door, “Robert, where’s our helper? Why hadn't he shown up?” Li Du’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said: “We can work as kitchen’s helpers, sir.” The jailer glanced at him sideways and said, “Ha, of course you can, but no such luck for you today. Just go and clean the toilets.” Li Du said, “But I know how to make Tang. I can make a batch of Tang from scratch. Everyone seems to like Tang over here, and I think that if they get Tang in their meals they will be happier, and there'll be less fighting.” The prison guard looked at him suspiciously, and said, “You can make Tang? Are you Chinese?” Li Du nodded. The jailer said, “Alright then, we’ll try you out. If you can make good Tang, you can be kitchen helpers, but if it flops, damn it, you're going to clean the toilets from now on!” The four of them got into the kitchen. There were prison guards watching over them, who needed to report anything unusual and keep prisoners from stealing metal utensils.
The prison guard was equipped with a gun, and warned them, “Don't try anything funny. If you guys do anything suspicious, I have the right to shoot you!” Li Du answered properly, “Yes, sir!” There were more than nine hundred inmates in this prison, and together with the policemen and other workers, this added up to a thousand people. It was tedious work to prepare meals for so many. More than ten cooks gathered around and asked, “You know how to make Tang?” The Tang they kept referring to was obviously instant noodles. Actually, this was very simple to make from scratch. When Li Du was young, his family was barely making ends meet. However, he was just the same as other kids and loved instant noodles, Hence Li Du’s parents made the noodles themselves. Li Du demonstrated for the cooks. First, he kneaded the dough. Then there was a stage of letting the dough rest. The Chinese were very familiar with this step, but the Americans didn't know about it. It was very simple. After kneading the dough, it was kept in a big bowl and covered for some time. The noodles made with this method would be even chewier and more elastic. The texture would be finer and smoother. This was the quality mark of instant noodles.
