Chapter 28 Part Two Chapter Six Saturday Night (1)

Neeley came home and his mother sent him and Francie to buy meat for the weekend.Buying meat is a big event, and my mother always reminds me ten thousand times. "Go to Hasler's for a bone for five cents for soup, but don't get minced meat there. Go to Werner's for the minced meat. For the minced ham, buy a dime, Don't let him take it to you from the plate. Also, take another onion." Francie and Neeley stood at the counter for a long time before the butcher noticed them. "What kind of meat do you want?" he finally asked. Francie began to negotiate with him. "Hump meat for a dime."

"Do you want to chop it up?" "don't want." "There's a woman here just now. Bought a quarter of a ham, and I chopped up some extra and put the rest on the plate. It was a dime. Really, just chopped it." It was this trap that Mom warned about.Whatever the butcher says, just don't buy what's on the plate. "No. My mom made me buy a ham for a dime." The butcher chopped off a small piece of meat in a rage, weighed it, threw it on the paper, and was about to wrap it up when Francie said in a trembling voice, "Oh, I forgot. My mother wants a piece of meat."

"I've seen the hell!" He chopped up the meat a few times and stuffed it into the meat grinder.Got tricked again, he thought angrily.The minced fresh minced meat was twirling down, and he got it in his hand, and was about to slam it onto the paper, when... "Mom asked to chop this onion in." She shyly handed the peeled onion from home over the counter.Neeley stood by and said nothing.The purpose of his coming is to provide spiritual support. "My God!" burst out the butcher.Still, he took two butcher knives and chopped the onion into the meat.Francie watched from the sidelines, enjoying the rhythmic drumming of the butcher's knife as it chopped.The butcher gathered the meat again, flung it on paper, and waited for Francie.She gasped.The last request was the hardest to ask.The butcher also seemed to have a premonition of what was waiting for him.He stood there, trembling inside.At last Francie said it all in one breath:

"And a piece of suet to fry together." "Damn bastard," whispered the butcher angrily.He cut off a piece of white suet, let it fall on purpose in revenge, picked it up, and threw it on the little heap of scraps.In a rage, he wrapped these up, grabbed the dime and handed it to the boss for the bill, while secretly cursing his fate of becoming a butcher. After the meat-cutting song was over, they went to Hasler's to buy bones for soup.Butcher Hassler sells good bones, but not so much ground meat.He closed the door and crushed it, who knows what kind of things he bought.Neeley waited outside with the meat he had bought earlier.If Hassler sees that you bought meat elsewhere, out of self-esteem, he will invite you to buy bones from the place where you bought meat just now.

For five cents Francie ordered a good bone for Sunday's soup.Hassler kept her waiting while he told her the corny joke about a guy who bought meat for two cents for dogs, and Hassler asked him if he wanted to take out or eat at the store.Francie smiled timidly.Satisfied, the butcher walked over to the refrigerator and picked up a glistening white bone with sticky marrow inside and a tinge of red meat smeared at the base.He told Francie to watch. "After your mother has boiled the bones," he said, "tell her to take out the marrow, spread it on the bread, sprinkle it with pepper and salt, and make you a nice sandwich."

"I'll tell mom." "You should eat more, you should grow some flesh with your skinny body, haha, haha." After wrapping the meat and collecting the money, he cut a thick piece of minced liver sausage and handed it to her.Francie suddenly felt guilty, such a good person, but she didn't buy meat from him, but went to other people's house.It's a pity, my mother didn't believe the minced meat he chopped. It was still early and the street lights hadn't come on yet.But the lady who sold horseradish had already sat in front of Hasler's door, fiddled with the horseradish.Francie took out the cup she had brought from home.The old lady filled it halfway and charged two cents.Francie was glad that she had lived up to the task of buying the meat.Then she went to the vegetable store and bought vegetables for soup for two cents.She bought a shriveled carrot, a shriveled celery, a limp tomato, and a bunch of fresh cilantro.These mothers will take them and cook them in soup, making a thick soup with bits and pieces of meat floating on top.Then, she adds homemade wide noodles.These, along with the marrow-smeared bread, make for a great Sunday meal.