Chapter 61 - Asked to stay behind by a teacher (1)
The three of them are different things for dinner. The two kids were still growing, so Shu Yan made them two dishes plus a soup and made herself boiled cabbage and carrots with just a little bit of oil and salt. The green cabbage and orange carrots looked really pretty and tasty, but Ye Tianbao had just one piece of carrot and didn’t want anything to do with it anymore.
“Why is mom eating that?” Ye Jingjing was much more thoughtful. She thought that they had run out of money and that’s all mom could eat while she saved the rest for them.
Shu Yan smiled at her and said, “What are you thinking about? Mom is not eating rice so she can lose weight. You guys hurry up and eat.”
Weight loss by portion control was truly painful, especially when the two piggies were slurping down their dinner next to her. Shu Yan had to imagine that she was eating the most amazingly delectable meal in order to eat her food one small bite at a time.
The original owner had a very good appetite. She had always had two big bowls of rice along with fatty meats. After she had transmigrated over, Shu Yan had controlled herself to eating only until 80% full and no pork for dinner. She had finally lost a little bit of weight since. Tonight she had only eaten till 60% full and mostly soup and vegetables. She was hungry by 9 PM.
She worried about waking the kids, so she turned to her side to put some pressure on her stomach. She felt so hungry that it was like a fire burning inside her stomach and she kept on salivating. Shu Yan closed her eyes uncomfortably, hoping that once she fell asleep she wouldn’t feel the hunger anymore. Except that she realized she was so hungry she couldn’t fall asleep at all.
No wonder they said the worst kind of death was starving to death. Shu Yan could truly understand that now. She let out a long sigh and wanted to get up and go get some water. She felt that all her limbs were shaking, but of course, that was just her imagination. She drank some hot water and the discomfort in her stomach alleviated a little. She saw the leftover food out of the corners of her eyes and gulped but quickly went back into bed.
Shu Yan continued her inner struggle. What’s wrong with being fat? You can eat whatever you want. How happy is that? No, must lose weight, must persist. When I walk outside with Jingjing and Tianbo, people think I am their grandmother. How hurtful was that? Must lose weight. Goal is to be pretty, pretty, pretty.
She fell asleep at some point in time. When it was morning, perhaps she had been hungry for too long, she didn’t even feel hunger anymore. She went out to buy breakfast and got the kids milk, buns, and eggs and just a glass of soy milk and an egg for herself.
Breakfast is essential. Health was also important even during a diet. Shu Yan ate her breakfast on her way back, and her face was filled with happiness.
“Eat quickly then we’ll head to school, okay?” Shu Yan peeled the eggs for the two kids and walked inside the kitchen to prepare lunch for Ye Jingjing.
She rinsed the rice and cooked it. She even purposefully cooked a little extra so she could make herself fried rice or rice with water during lunch. Braised pork belly would take a while to make. Shu Yan stir fried it in the pan before putting them inside the pressure cooker. She peeled and added two more hard boiled eggs inside and it took only ten minutes before it was ready. She minced less fatty portion of the meat that she saved from early and sliced up the string beans for a simple dish of minced pork with string beans. Ye Jingjing’s lunch now has two dishes plus two eggs.
“Mom gave you quite a bit of food. Don’t forget to share with your classmates. There is also milk; don’t forget to drink that. Don’t forget to have your fruit after lunch. I put a banana in this side pocket. Be careful not to squish it.” Shu Yan gave her detailed instructions as she packed her lunch box.
“Okay. Thank you, mom,” said Ye Jingjing as she nodded obediently.
Ye Tianbao could have lunch at school, but Shu Yan gave him some crackers that he could also share with his classmates.
From where they were staying, they’d walk past City Xi Grade School on their way to the kindergarten, so the three of them headed out together.