American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

"Really? That's great!" George's face lit up with surprise, and then he looked at Mike.

After all, both girls were close friends of Mike, and their willingness to help was probably out of consideration for the other party.

Knowing this, little George was waiting for Mike to make a decision.

“Wait a minute, you two,” Mike said to the two girls, then turned to little George and said, “Herschel next door works at the repair shop. Go to their house and see if you can borrow some tools. If not, we’ll drive to Katie’s house.”

Katie's house is closer to here than Lina's.

If we can't get help from Herschel, having Lina drive to Katie's house to get the tools would be the best solution.

“Yes, I can go find Herschel…” Reminded, little George also came to his senses: “I’ll go next door to borrow some tools right now!”

After saying that, he left Connie's grandma's house in a hurry.

"Let's go out and see if there's anything else we can help with..." Mike, who had been playing poker all morning, also wanted to go out for some fresh air.

Moreover, the Cooper family has taken good care of him.

So, Mike genuinely wanted to see if he could be of any help.

"Mike, you're here!" George greeted him from in front of Cooper's broken-down car.

The car wasn't in any major trouble, except that one of the front tires was flat.

Without a spare tire and professional tire repair tools, even small problems can be difficult to handle.

Fortunately, Herschel, carrying professional car repair tools, arrived shortly after, led by little George.

As a professional, Herschel quickly inspected the car and said, "Nothing serious, just a flat tire. Luckily, I have the tools I brought, so I can fix it..."

"Then I'll have to trouble you," George said politely.

Having had a heart-to-heart talk in the chicken coop before, Herschel and George, two middle-aged men who were both having a rough time in life, actually had a pretty good relationship.

Moreover, Herschel was a straightforward person.

With professional repair tools and the problem located, Mike and several other men, with Herschel's help, soon removed the broken tire.

"Can I try?" George asked with interest as Herschel was about to start repairing the tire.

"Of course~" Herschel smiled as he looked at the enthusiastic little George, and then told him the steps for repairing the tire.

The first step is to find the source of the tire leak.

Following the steps, little George inflated the tires and instantly located the leak using only his hearing.

Then, following Herschel's instructions, he removed the inner tube from the wheel...

After learning all the steps involved in repairing a tire, little George repaired it all by himself without any help and put it back on the car.

His impressive hands-on skills are truly astonishing.

“George, have you ever thought about letting little George learn to repair cars? He’s really talented at it…” Herschel suggested with admiration.

"Really?" George looked at his eldest son's achievement and was also somewhat surprised.

“Of course, he’s better than many people at pinpointing tire leaks just by listening,” Herschel said earnestly. “If you’d like, he can come to my repair shop and start as an apprentice.”

“What do you think, little George?” George asked, turning to his eldest son.

“I do!” George immediately declared.

Despite having no particular skills, he was very excited when he discovered his talent for car repair.

After consulting with his eldest son, George solemnly said to Herschel, "From now on, I'm entrusting little George to your care."

"Sure," Herschel nodded, then reminded little George, "Learning to repair cars will be tough. Can you handle it?"

“I can,” George answered firmly.

……

George looked pleased to see that his eldest son had finally shown some ambition.

Then he invited, "Herschel, would you like to come to my house for a drink?"

In fact, Herschel has recently had a lot of disagreements with his wife because of work.

He was naturally going to take advantage of this excuse that allowed him to relax without having to go home.

The two middle-aged men quickly reached an agreement.

"Mike, would you like to come to my house for a bit?" George asked, glancing at Mike and the other two who had also come out to help, as he greeted Herschel.

"No, we've already had lunch," Mike politely declined the invitation.

"Alright then, I won't bother you any longer~" George had been young once too, and judging from the state of Mike and the other two, he knew they had plans for the afternoon.

So I didn't insist.

Chapter 217 Peggy Arrives

After Mike and his two friends went back to continue playing poker, George and Herschel also started having a few drinks at the Cooper's house.

Perhaps because he had been holding in too much resentment at home, Herschel soon became somewhat drunk.

"You know, my dream is simply to open a farm in the countryside and live a comfortable rural life. But Brenda doesn't support me at all..." Herschel, slightly drunk, couldn't help but complain about her situation at home.

As a typical Texan, Herschel's ideal was to own his own ranch and live a leisurely, pastoral life.

Raising chickens and fishing—that kind of life sounds wonderful.

However, Brenda, who is allergic to animals, was very reluctant to go to the countryside with her husband.

In her view, the small town is much better than the rural areas in terms of medical care, educational resources, and living facilities.

Therefore, in the long run, Brenda preferred to live a harder life in the small town rather than go to the countryside where there was no prospect of development.

This is a difference in lifestyle.

Therefore, Herschel and his wife argued about this many times at home.

George, whose family life was also unhappy, felt some empathy for Herschel's situation.

The two middle-aged men were in very similar situations. Both were prevented from living their ideal rural life in the countryside by their wives' strong opposition, while the other lost a great opportunity to teach a football team at a university.

So, with George occasionally chiming in, the two equally disheartened middle-aged men drank more and more.

The drinking party continued until after 5 p.m., when Billy came to look for someone, and Herschel, with unsteady steps, followed his son home.

“If Herschel hadn’t said that, I would have thought Brenda’s family was living a very happy life…” Mary, who had been listening to Herschel’s complaints all afternoon in the side room, came out with a gloating expression on her face.

Clearly, she hadn't forgotten the unpleasantness she had with Brenda last time.

Knowing that the other person was not doing well made Mary feel happy.

As the saying goes, happiness is always relative.

“This is someone else’s family matter, let’s not discuss it.” George frowned slightly at his wife’s gossipy look, and then said, “I need to rest for a bit, don’t bother me before dinner.”

"Honestly, why did you drink so much with Herschel for no reason..." Mary scolded her husband while cleaning up the mess he left behind, as he returned to the room reeking of alcohol.

……

For the next period of time, having gained Herschel's approval, little George began a life of going to the repair shop early in the morning and returning late at night to learn car repair skills.

Before dinner that day, when Mike saw the two girls off and arrived at Cooper's house, he noticed that the atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit off.

“What happened?” Mike asked.

“It’s Herschel… He divorced Brenda and has now taken his youngest daughter to the countryside…” George, unable to keep the secret any longer, explained.

Clearly, Herschel, who longed for the leisurely life in the countryside, abandoned his wife and son for his ideals.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, George, who had no guarantor, also lost his status as an apprentice at the repair shop.

Normally, without someone to guide you, if you want to learn technical skills at a repair shop, you not only need to do heavy physical labor for the shop, but you also need to pay a certain tuition fee.

It was for this reason that, after discussing it, the Cooper family decided to abandon the plan for little George to continue learning car repair.

George, who had finally found his passion, was also feeling frustrated about his current situation.

"Little George, school starts in a few days..." Seeing that his eldest son wasn't very enthusiastic, George comforted him, "It's good that you don't have to go to the repair shop. You can use this time to prepare for your studies."

From the parents' perspective, the student's most important task is still studying.

However, compared to studying, which he was not good at, little George clearly preferred the job of a repairman.

After all, he has a strong talent for hands-on skills, and only when repairing cars can he feel that he is no worse than anyone else.

This sense of satisfaction is enough to immerse any young person in it.

It's a pity that little George didn't receive enough attention at home.

Hearing his father's words, the light in his eyes disappeared, and he lowered his head in silence.

And that was indeed the case; for George and his wife, their eldest son's emotions were not as surprising as the Herschels' divorce.

Mary, overflowing with sympathy, had previously disliked Brenda, with whom she had a conflict.

But when Mary learned that her husband had been divorced and would be struggling to raise their son alone, she began to feel sorry for him.

“George, if you have time tomorrow, go to Brenda’s house and see if there’s anything you can help her with,” Mary instructed.

Brenda's salary at the Bowling alley isn't high, and she also has a nine-year-old son to support. Her future looks bleak.

“No need,” George declined. “Brenda seems like a strong woman; she should be able to handle any trouble herself.”

Although he felt some sympathy for Brenda's family situation, his aversion to trouble made him unwilling to have much contact with Brenda, a newly divorced young woman.

It can be said that George still has a very positive view of family and does not want to disrupt his peaceful life because of any special events.

“Go help Brenda. I remember she’s allergic to animals, and her chicken coop must need a lot of care.” Connie’s grandmother, with her richer life experience, knew even better the hardships of a single mother.

So she said, "I'll go with you tomorrow."

As neighbors and fellow bowlers, Connie's grandmother and Brenda, who worked at the bowling alley, had always had a good relationship.

Within her means, Grandma genuinely wanted to help Brenda.

“Alright, I’ll go tomorrow.” Having said that, George agreed to the two ladies’ request.

With Brenda's situation settled, Connie's grandmother, who was feeling relaxed, seemed to remember another important matter.

She turned to Mike and said, "Peggy's parents have already spoken with the school about transferring her to Melford High School. She'll be living here tomorrow, so please take care of her for me."

"So fast?" The girl had considered transferring to Melford School, and Mike knew a little about it, but he didn't expect them to be so quick.

However, it's understandable; as a super genius, it's an honor for the school to transfer Peggy to Melford.

In this situation, giving geniuses some leeway is not a big deal.

"Okay, I'll take good care of Peggy," Mike said, having figured out the reason.

After receiving Mike's assurance, Grandma Connie smiled and didn't say anything more.

The next day, George, now with nothing to do, took his eldest son, who was also idle, and accompanied Connie's grandmother to Brenda's house.

The arrival of the three people was a great help to Brenda, who was in a lot of trouble.

"Connie and George, thank you for coming to help." Brenda, who had just gone through a divorce, was in a vulnerable emotional state, and the help she received was both comforting and incredibly touching.

“As a token of my gratitude, I would like to give you the chicken coop in the yard…” Brenda said, “You know I’m allergic to animals, and I can’t take care of the chicken coop if I leave it here.”

"No, no, no, we appreciate your kindness, but we can't accept the chicken coop." Grandma Connie resolutely refused the other party's offer.

As a single mother, Brenda's life will definitely not be easy from now on.

Having a small chicken coop at home would make her financial situation a little easier, even if she sold eggs in the future.

“Yes, Brenda. We can’t keep the chicken coop…” George said softly, “How about this, when little George and I have time, we’ll come over and help you take care of the chicken coop. You don’t have to worry about allergies.”

"Thank you so much." Brenda had acted impulsively, but after calming down, she realized her situation.

There's a child at home to take care of, and life has to go on.

Moreover, putting aside personal preferences, selling eggs is a decent skill.

After calming down and considering the matter further, Brenda once again proposed using half an egg as payment for George and his son's help.

After all, personal relationships fade away; mutual benefit is the only long-term solution.

After George declined twice, he agreed to the offer of payment to reassure Brenda.

Meanwhile, the Barry couple were driving a large pickup truck loaded with luggage, bringing their daughter to Connie's grandmother's house.