She naturally knew that living in a group meant trying to fit in, but she couldn't fit in right now because she only ordered one dish each time she ate, while her roommates usually ordered three. Although she didn't care if they laughed at her, she figured it was best to avoid such situations if possible, so she ate alone in the cafeteria.
As for why she only ordered one dish, it was because she wanted to save money. She currently has no home and no money. Her only source of income is from two tutoring jobs. Her tuition fees are covered by bank student loans. Tutoring jobs are not sustainable, so she has to save money desperately, making every penny count. Once she has six or seven thousand yuan in savings, even if she can't find a job for a while, she won't have to interrupt her studies or go hungry.
Besides, she's a girl, and eating less can help her stay slim, so she treats it as a way to lose weight.
The third reason is that the food in university cafeterias isn't cheap these days. A vegetarian dish costs three yuan, and a meat dish with a little meat costs five yuan. With breakfast, lunch, and dinner a day, if she eats two meat dishes and one vegetarian dish, it will cost at least fifty yuan, which adds up to 1,500 yuan a month. In addition, she has phone bills and toiletries. Her two tutoring jobs only bring in 1,600 yuan a month. If she eats three dishes a month like her roommates, she won't be able to save a single penny and might even end up in debt! Therefore, poor children learn to be responsible early. On the first day of school, after arriving at the cafeteria and asking about the prices, Ye Wenyu thought it over and decided to only get one vegetarian dish per meal. Rice costs 80 cents, and the vegetarian dish costs three yuan, such as stir-fried shredded potatoes or stir-fried bok choy with vinegar. Sometimes, if a cafeteria has a special offer, such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes or stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts for only three yuan, she considers it a treat.
Ye Wenyu has been eating like this for a month now, spending ten yuan a day, which allows her to save about a thousand yuan a month.
She didn't think it was bad. In her previous life, because of Lin Tingfeng, she indulged in a life of luxury and ate all kinds of delicacies from all over the world. But it was nothing special. A person can only eat three meals a day and sleep in one bed. It doesn't matter if the material life is a little hard. The most important thing is the freedom and health of the spirit and soul. So she said she could persevere in her current ascetic life, and she felt at ease and happy.
Ye Wenyu went to the cafeteria after thinking for a while. She was lucky today; her favorite dish, stir-fried dried tofu with chili peppers, was still available, and it was on sale for only three yuan. Ye Wenyu asked the cafeteria lady to get the dish, swiped her meal card, and the lady asked with concern, "Won't you become malnourished eating the same dish every day?"
Ye Wenyu smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm on a diet."
The cafeteria lady generously scooped up a large spoonful of rice for her, saying, "Eat more, you're not fat at all!" Then she scooped a spoonful of soybean and pig's trotter soup from the side and poured it over her rice, so she had a meat dish too. Since the soup was free, the cafeteria lady was taking advantage of a loophole in the cafeteria to give her extra attention.
Ye Wenyu smiled and said, "Thank you, Auntie!" She felt a warmth in her heart, thinking that there were still many good people in the world. She thought that the cafeteria aunt must be worried that she only ordered one dish per meal and was concerned about her nutrition, so she took such good care of her. Although she said that she was on a diet and only ordered one dish, she really didn't have any money. So she was very happy to receive the aunt's care.
Ye Wenyu turned around with her rice plate, intending to find a corner in the cafeteria to eat properly, when she found her three roommates standing in front of her, staring wide-eyed at the rice plate in her hand.
Ye Wenyu was stunned for a moment, thinking to herself, "This is bad!"
Sure enough, the three roommates looked at each other in a panic, and then one of them said somewhat awkwardly, "Haha, Wenyu, what a coincidence, you're here to eat too? We've already eaten, we're leaving now."
Ye Wenyu knew that if her roommates found out about her embarrassing decision to order only one dish, it would definitely be spread around and become known throughout the school. However, there was nothing she could do about it; people could talk, and she couldn't stop them from talking even if she wanted to. Therefore, she could only try to be strong-willed and let things take their course. So, she smiled and nodded, and after watching her roommates leave in a hurry, she found a place to eat quietly.
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