Chapter 14 Part 1 Chapter 1 Brooklyn (6)

At the bakery, she carefully selected four sweet buns, all of which had the most sugar.She met Neeley outside the store.Neeley peeped in his net bag, and jumped for joy at the sight of the sweetbread.He ate the four-cent candy this morning, but was still hungry and urged Francie to run all the way home. Dad didn't come home for lunch.His occupation is as a restaurant singing waiter, and he has no fixed employer. In other words, he doesn't often have things to do.Usually, on Saturday mornings, he would go to the union headquarters and wait for the workers to come. Francie, Neeley, and Mama had a nice meal together.Everyone ate a thick slice of "tongue meat", two slices of sweet-smelling rye bread (with light butter on top), a sweet roll, and a cup of strong, hot coffee with a spoonful of sugar on the side of condensed milk.

This coffee is a special creation of the Nolan family, and it is also a great luxury they enjoy.Mom would fill up a large pot of coffee every morning, and then heat it up for lunch and dinner, so that the coffee would get stronger and stronger throughout the day.In fact, there was more water in the pot than coffee, but my mother put a large piece of chicory in it, which made the coffee taste strong and bitter.Each person in the family can drink three cups of coffee with milk every day, while black coffee can be drunk at any time.Sometimes there is nothing to eat, and it’s raining outside, and you’re relieved to be alone at home, after all, there’s something in the house, even if it’s just a cup of dark, bitter coffee.

Both Neeley and Francie loved coffee, but they didn't drink much.As usual, today Neeley left the black coffee undisturbed, but spread the condensed milk on the bread.He took a sip of coffee out of politeness.Mom poured Francie coffee and milk, even though she knew Francie wouldn't drink it. Francie liked the smell of coffee and the heat of it.When eating bread and meat, she always holds the coffee cup with one hand and enjoys the warmth of the coffee.From time to time, she smelled the bitter and sweet smell.This is better than drinking down the coffee.After meals, coffee is poured into the sink.

Mom has two sisters, Sissy and Ivy, who often come to the apartment.Every time they saw their mother pouring coffee, they couldn't help but tell her about the waste. Mom explained: "Francie, like everyone else, can have a cup of coffee with each meal. If she thinks it's better to dump than drink, then she has to let her. I personally think that people like us can have something once in a while." Waste is not bad, at least I can experience what it feels like to have money in hand and not have to make things up." Mom was pleased with the strange perspective, and so was Francie.This connects the destitute poor with the lavishly rich.The little girl felt that even though she was poorer than everyone in Williamsburg, she was somehow richer than everyone in Williamsburg.What she has is wasted, so she is rich.She ate the sweetbread slowly, not wanting to kill the sweetness all at once, and the coffee grew cold.She enjoyed pouring it down the sink drain, and she felt chic and luxurious at the moment.After that, she was going to go to Roche Bakery to buy moldy bread for the whole family for half a week.Mom told her she could get a moldy pie for a nickel, if it wasn't too crumbled.

Roche Bakery is a producer that supplies nearby community stores.The bread here is not wrapped in wax paper, so it gets moldy fast.Rosh would take back the moldy bread from the merchants and sell it to the poor at half price.The facade of the bakery is next to the baking room.On one side of the bread facade is a long and narrow counter, and on the other side are two rows of narrow and long stools.Behind the counter there are two doors facing each other, which are now open.The bakery cart reversed and unloaded the bread directly on the counter.Bread costs two dollars for five cents, and when it is unloaded, people rush to buy it.It's sold out every time I come.Sometimes, people have to wait until three or four cars are unloaded before they can be bought.Due to the low price, customers bring their own wrapping paper.Most of the customers are children.Some children tucked bread under their arms and walked home without hesitation, letting the world know how poor they were.Some kids with a bit more self-esteem will wrap the bread.Some are wrapped in old newspapers, some are wrapped in clean or dirty flour sacks.What Francie brought was a big paper bag.