Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce is a simple, delicious, and convenient dish, making it one of the most popular meals among employees.
Normally, it uses very firm durum wheat, which is dense and chewy. The noodles are straight, firm, and essentially unbendable. These are noodles that cannot be curved.
However, when you put the straight, firm noodles into water, softening them with the water, slowly heating them… boiling… simmering… the straight, firm, unyielding spaghetti will gradually soften in the pleasant warmth of the water and bend.
Although this takes longer than cooking ordinary noodles or rice noodles, they eventually soften and become the curled spaghetti you twirl around your fork.
So, what are some tips for cooking spaghetti?
You should add a moderate amount of olive oil to the boiling water. It's best to use extra virgin olive oil, not regular olive oil—
Because the aroma of extra virgin olive oil is richer, and the flavor is more refined. Adding olive oil to the water can prevent the characteristic bitterness of durum wheat, making the noodles smoother.
Besides olive oil, you should also add some salt to the boiling water. Sea salt is best—
Because sea salt has a stronger salty taste than processed table salt, and its coarser texture is better suited for prolonged boiling, going well with the relatively firm texture of the spaghetti. Both need time to soften.
Adding sea salt also makes the spaghetti easier to cook and soften, turning into soft, curved noodles. Rinsing them in cold water after cooking prevents the softened noodles from sticking together, making them firmer.
Aside from the texture of the spaghetti itself, the sauce is crucial to making delicious spaghetti.
It could be said that the Bolognese sauce is the soul of spaghetti.
So, how do you make excellent Bolognese sauce?
Add olive oil to the pot. Heat the oil in a hot pan.
Finely chopped onions and carrots are sautéed together. After sautéing until softened and fragrant, add the prepared tomato sauce. Stir well to thoroughly combine the tomato sauce with the carrots, creating a sweet and sour flavor.
The sweet carrots, the fragrant celery, and the tomatoes create an authentic Western flavor.
Then… add ground beef. Add more olive oil and salt, stir-frying to infuse the beef with the rich sauce.
Finely ground black pepper, a few bay leaves, half a cup of white wine…
Finally— sprinkle with chopped basil. The vibrant green serves as a garnish and adds flavor.
"Manager, is it really that delicious?"
"Yes… The employee meals are better than the Manager's meals. The portions are also much larger."
Dean Hod anxiously watched X eat without any regard for her image, like a prisoner who had been starving for days… This kind of behavior shouldn't be happening.
Although X occasionally lifted her head, Hod still couldn't believe that Angela would be so harsh on the Manager. But judging from the current situation—
Looking at X now, Hod really wondered if Angela was truly that harsh on the Manager, so harsh that she didn't even give her food.
Had she really never eaten a full meal…?
Her slender figure, so tall and thin… it was possible.
The black-haired, golden-eyed woman with short bangs was focused on her food. When she heard Hod call her, she only lifted her head, a hazy look in her golden eyes, with visible ketchup on her lips. Without any self-consciousness, she licked the ketchup from her lips…
A large plate of spaghetti Bolognese was quickly devoured by X. The clean plate seemed almost too clean.
Licking her lips, X made a slight effort to compose herself, suppressing her desire for more.
After all, eating too much wasn't good. Overeating and drinking would damage the body. Eating until you were 70% full was enough.
After satisfying her hunger, X, like a cat, rubbed against the Training Department Dean, who had provided her with food. She was warm, like a large heater in the air-conditioned room.
"Hod, I want to close my eyes for a while. Wake me up later."
"Huh?"
X leaned against the Training Department Dean's shoulder. But very quickly, due to the difference in size, this became an overwhelming… uncomfortable posture.
Dean Hod was more like a body pillow in X's arms, hugged and cuddled as they took a nap.
Deans didn't need naps, but… that didn't mean machines didn't need rest.
Occasionally letting herself go, stopping thinking, enjoying this undisturbed time, experiencing the warmth of being embraced…
Warmth, like a stove, but not burning. Just simply warm.
Even the cold metallic body could feel this warmth. Because of their closeness, the Training Department Dean could clearly hear the beating of the living heart in the woman's chest, rhythmic… a healthy and vibrant body.
This was different from a machine. It was alive, with blood flowing.
No matter how realistically the exterior was simulated, how human-like it looked, how it could savor food, how it possessed emotions like humans, it was still a steel body.
Wires and power supplies would remind them that they weren't human— that they were reborn when they opened their eyes again, different from others.
"Manager…"
The Training Department Dean murmured in her sleep.
"Hm? What is it, Hod? Is the hug uncomfortable? I'm sorry."
X instinctively apologized. She thought Hod didn't like this action. It was a bit rude to hug a woman and use her as a pillow.
But just as X was about to let go, she was held tighter, like a little rabbit snuggling into someone's arms.
"Manager… I…"
Her soft voice was very quiet, like a stifled sob, hazy and indistinct.
"Hm?"
X patiently waited for Dean Hod to finish her sentence, but she couldn't hear the second half… It was unclear whether she hadn't said it, or if her voice had been too quiet.
After a few seconds of silence, X finally heard the latter half of Dean Hod's sentence. Her tone was very unhappy, with a hint of envy, and perhaps other more complex emotions mixed in.
"I… I… I want to be like you… to be liked by others."
A weak and uncertain voice. This could be defined as a "dream," but X felt it wasn't quite that. She didn't quite understand why the Training Department Dean would suddenly have this thought.
Why would a Corporation AI envy the Manager? Why would she want to be liked?
"Why do you want to be like me, Hod…? Oh."
X knew Hod was a bit stubborn, easily lost in her own world. But… was she waiting for someone's approval? To be honest, this was a rare situation. Most Deans didn't care about the employees' opinions—
They didn't care how the employees treated them.
Like Yesod from the Information Department. Even though she was always called "Viper" by the employees, she stuck to her own style. She considered the employees' fear and avoidance a kind of praise.
And even if they weren't like Yesod, a strange Dean like Malkuth, for example, also stuck to her own principles, unaffected by the employees' opinions. If the employees didn't meet her requirements, they would be fired or demoted, like defective parts.
And Netzach, who openly displayed her rebellious attitude, didn't care what the employees thought. Even if she was scolded or cursed, she wouldn't care and would continue drinking.
But Dean Hod… the Training Department Dean cared too much about what the employees thought of her. She would be affected by a single complaint, feel disheartened by an unfriendly gesture.
She would even lose her judgment because of the employees' flattery…
She was a Dean who was easily influenced by others… She could be called naive, or she could be called "falsely kind." This self-proclaimed kindness sometimes didn't bring good results. Yet, she stubbornly sought positive feedback.
But she was also easily swayed, like a bottle of water only half full. The water inside would sway back and forth.
X understood this kind of shortcoming. The Deans in the Corporation, to varying degrees, all had shortcomings. But Hod's kind of shortcoming was more serious and fatal to the entire Corporation.
Especially… she was the Training Department Dean. Employees were the core resource of the Corporation. They were the fresh blood carrying nutrients. If the hematopoietic system had problems, the entire body would rot.
Incorrectly training employees… Putting problematic employees into positions… would ultimately lead to a chronic death, the collapse of the dam.
X really hoped Hod could be more firm, that even if she wasn't perfect, she shouldn't be swayed by others' words.
People are selfish. It's impossible to be completely selfless… Are there really people who would sacrifice themselves for others without expecting anything in return? Even in beautiful fairy tales, there's the principle of good begets good, evil begets evil.
Why doesn't a tumbler fall? Because its center of gravity never deviates, remaining at a single point, constantly moving toward its goal. Even if there are obstacles, even if there are mistakes, it remains steadfast.
A fading body isn't true death. A broken will, a weakened soul, that's true death, true disintegration.
In reality, in the Corporation, except for the soul and will, nothing is irretrievable. The combined Singularity technology provided by numerous "Wings of the World" is enough to prevent the physical body from perishing.
What is truly difficult, what cannot be saved… is a corrupted mind, a collapsed soul.
Perhaps… should she be stricter with Hod?
X hesitated. She had just approved Hod's design and praised her. How could she suddenly scold Hod, bully a young woman—
That would make her seem like an unreasonable and heartless boss.
It was better to observe for a few more days, see the actual situation.
Everything should be judged based on the actual work situation…
Dean Hod wasn't a malicious Dean. But compared to other Deans— she was perhaps a little too naive, not in terms of age or ability, but in her work style.
She wasn't decisive enough… She was easily swayed.
Even though they were AIs, there was no difference in age…
It was just that their appearances, personalities, and work styles differed. In terms of actual work ability, since they were AIs, there wasn't much difference. It was just that some were more relaxed, while others were more diligent, leading to differences in work efficiency.
"Manager… why does everyone dislike me so much?"
Dean Hod buried herself in X's arms, her hands gripping X's shoulders. Obvious wrinkles appeared on her white coat.
Hod lowered her head. X couldn't see her expression clearly because most of her face was hidden in shadow. She could only vaguely discern a few things…
The light and shadow under Hod's eyes faded. Her sky-blue eyes, like precious gems, had lost their brilliance.
"Manager… I've tried my best… I think I'm a qualified Dean…"
"The other Deans don't care about their subordinates at all! The Corporation just treats employees as expendable resources!"
The pressure on X's shoulders increased. It seemed like her entire weight was on X.
If it were a human, she would have cried… but machines don't cry. The AI could only express sadness, unable to use tears to express her deep-seated resentment, her vulnerability.
—Perhaps it was a complaint. Or perhaps, a kind of self-righteousness.
But venting was always good. Expressing it was always better than suppressing it.
X was willing to be a garbage can. She had the patience to listen to the Deans' complaints…
Because Hod had shown her optimistic and enthusiastic side, and was willing to reveal her inner negativity and unhappiness in front of X, didn't this show that she trusted X?
She trusted X, her Manager, willing to confide in her… So, X was willing to reciprocate her sincerity.
"It's alright, I know Hod works hard. You always want these employees to have a better life. You hope they survive more than anyone else…"
"But, Hod, you're paying too much attention. Your kindness doesn't mean they can understand, accept, or appreciate it."
"My limited knowledge prevents me from explaining this profound principle. But I think it's probably like trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Employees and Deans need to maintain a distance. If it's not necessary…"
X wanted to comfort the Training Department Dean and explain the situation, but she was interrupted.
Hod bit her neck. After a slight stinging sensation, a slightly red mark appeared there.
"But, Manager! I'm different! Those Deans don't even remember their employees' names!"
"I try to remember every employee's name! I truly care about them!"
Her sky-blue eyes were clouded with intense negativity. Her hands pulled at X's white coat. The coat, which wasn't particularly securely fastened, was pulled off in an instant.