American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

"Okay, regular coffee from the staff coffee shop will do." Manager James, whose face was already pale, was starting to show signs of darkening.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Seeing the boss's dark expression, the secretary pursed her lips and turned to leave the office.

……

After leaving the office, Mike ran into his old friend, reporter Jack.

Clearly, this poster shoot was once again handed over to the other party.

It was past lunchtime. Jack glanced at his mechanical watch and invited, "Want to try our staff meal? It's just so-so, but it's cheap."

It's easy to see that, due to work commitments, reporter Jack also missed his lunch.

"Let's have lunch another time. Today, I'll treat everyone to a meal out." Mike, who was about to receive some extra income, generously took on the treat.

After all, Grandma Connie and her group had accompanied her for half a day, so she should be treated to a reward.

Moreover, Jack had previously apologetically given him some inside information, so it was only right that Mike reciprocate by treating him to lunch.

“That’s perfect. I know a great restaurant nearby that serves good food and the portions are generous. It’s the perfect place to go right now.” Jack smiled and didn’t refuse Mike’s offer.

So, along with Jack's two men, a group of more than a dozen people marched out of the state radio station office building.

As a long-time employee, reporter Jack is very familiar with the area around the radio station.

He led the group to the humble restaurant quickly. The restaurant's decor didn't look very nice, but the food smelled delicious.

Moreover, because of its affordable prices, the restaurant is still very busy even after mealtimes.

Large portions of grilled meat, fruit pizza, vegetable salad...

After skillfully taking orders for everyone, Jack asked the restaurant for a few cans of local specialty beer.

With Grandma Connie and George, both heavy drinkers, the atmosphere at the later meal was very harmonious.

After a few beers, reporter Jack and his two staff members became fast friends with the Cooper family.

During lunch, reporter Jack also took the opportunity to discuss the poster shoot with Mike.

But as Jack drank more and more beer, he seemed to have drunk too much and unconsciously started complaining about his current situation.

He originally wanted to develop his career in the television department, but for some reason he was transferred to the newspaper department.

Although he was promoted to team leader, Jack, who had some ideas, was still planning to return to the television department.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to give up the profits from poster distribution, focusing solely on his "star-making plan".

He swallowed his anger so that he could quickly achieve something and create an opportunity for himself to return to the television department.

Given this situation of being physically in Cao Cao's camp but mentally in Han's, it's not hard to understand why he betrayed James before.

"He's incompetent yet loves to pretend. I've disliked that James guy for a long time. Now that I can speak my mind, I feel much better..."

As the meal was drawing to a close, Jack, the reporter who had been venting, came to his senses. He promised the two employees beside him, "Don't worry, you two, I'll definitely take you with me when I go back to the TV department."

The television department's prospects will inevitably surpass those of the newspaper department.

The two TV station employees, who shared this understanding, immediately expressed their willingness to work hard with Jack.

Although it's frustrating, forming cliques is unavoidable when it comes to getting promoted within the system.

Having bribed a group of his men, Jack seemed to be in a much better mood.

Afterwards, seeing that Mike and the others had stopped eating, he suggested, "Alright, let's go back to work and finish early so we can get off work early."

……

A sumptuous lunch for a dozen or so people cost less than 200 yuan.

This down-to-earth restaurant truly lives up to the name, focusing on affordability.

Later, in the TV station's professional studio, Mike shot several posters in various styles, including sporty, student-style, and Western cowboy style, as requested.

"You're really enviable. Even if you don't have a job in the future, you won't starve if you become a model..." Jack said with a smile as he watched the finished product.

It has to be said, professionals are professionals.

The camera is currently showing a series of sporty photos.

Mike's clean and sunny demeanor in the photo makes him look like a vibrant sunflower, radiating youthful energy.

"My mission should be complete, right?" Mike breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the good quality of the finished product.

Changing clothes and posing for more than an hour is actually quite tiring.

"OK, these photos of yours will definitely stun a lot of young girls." Jack was in a great mood because the work was completed so quickly and smoothly.

He then suggested that Mike and the others take a stroll around the state television building.

After all, such an opportunity is rare.

Having spent half a day here, Mike and his friends had no interest in exploring the TV building anymore.

So the group said goodbye to Jack and started their journey back.

Around 6 p.m., the group finally returned to their home in the town of Deford.

"I should head back now." Arriving at Cooper's door, Professor John, looking somewhat weary, announced his departure to the group.

He was focused on scientific research and was not as active as his grandmother Connie.

The professor first went to watch a football game that day, and then spent half a day with everyone at the state television station. This amount of activity must have been quite strenuous for the old professor.

Before leaving, the old man looked at Mike, Sheldon Jr., and Page and said, "I'm planning to start a space research project and try to win the Nobel Prize again. I wonder if you would be interested in joining my research team."

Well, it seems Professor John had his own purpose in spending the whole day with Mike and the others.

With the success of the lunar landing program, the aerospace field and outer space exploration are now the hottest projects at the forefront of science.

Clearly, Professor John wants to ride this wave of change and make one last push before he retires.

As a cutting-edge researcher, who could resist the allure of the Nobel Prize?

"What specific areas does your space program team research?" Sheldon Jr. showed great interest in joining the Nobel team.

“I’m researching a completely new flight formula for aircraft. It was inspired by your and Mike’s previous paper, ‘Multi-Stage Rocket Propulsion,’” Professor John explained with a smile.

"I'll join!" After hearing the explanation, Sheldon Jr. couldn't wait to express his willingness.

“Very good.” Professor John nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Mike and Peggy beside him and asked, “And you two?”

“I’ll listen to Mike…” Peggy didn’t seem too excited.

Judging from her demeanor, it was clear that she followed Mike's lead.

"I need to think about it some more," Mike replied cautiously, facing the old professor's expectant gaze.

Knowing that extraterrestrials exist, he wasn't very optimistic about Professor John's research project.

After all, compared to some alien technologies, human research in the field of space exploration is not particularly outstanding.

This is an example of the disadvantage that information asymmetry brings to ordinary people.

On the one hand, blocking information from the mystical side has indeed brought stability to society. But on the other hand, it has also kept ordinary people living in a dream world.

This can be considered a kind of alternative "The Truman Show".

“That’s alright, my research project probably won’t be approved until the second half of the year. You have plenty of time to consider it…” Professor John said patiently.

After saying goodbye to everyone one last time, the old professor rode his bicycle away from Cooper's house.

……

"Mike, you look really cool today."

In the Cooper family's living room, little George, waiting for dinner, discussed what had happened that day: "That was a contract worth tens of thousands of US dollars. If it were me, I probably would have agreed when the manager offered 10% profit."

Yes, for the average person, the rice they can actually touch is much more interesting than researching space projects.

Everyone has different priorities. George, whose vision is not broad enough, naturally focuses on different issues than a super genius like Sheldon.

“Mike, I did underestimate the situation before. Even with newspaper support, we might not be able to secure an invitational tournament with Houston high schools…” Coach George, sitting on the sofa, also reflected on his actions.

As the top team in the state league last year, Houston High School naturally has its own pride.

Those players, even if they had to choose opponents from their own region, would only pick the runner-up team.

As for a little-known team like the Melford rugby team, they probably never even came into the other side's sights.

Coach George was just too excited before, so he didn't consider the issues comprehensively enough.

"It's okay, just do your best. If it doesn't work out, the league in the second half of the year will also be a chance for us to show ourselves." After ignoring George's pointless chatter, Mike comforted him.

And that's exactly what happened; the Melford football team has now established a formidable presence. With Mike as their ace, Melford is fully capable of taking first place in this year's summer state league.

From this perspective, Houston High School isn't really that great.

Chapter 251 Development

As it turns out, the Houston football team, ranked number one in the state league, had indeed not paid any attention to Melford, this dark horse team.

Even with newspapers pushing for it, the Houston football team, busy exchanging ideas with strong teams from other states, still didn't have time to deal with Medford High School's invitational tournament application.

Fortunately, thanks to their recent excellent performance and the help of the newspaper, the Melford team finally secured a spot in their next invitational tournament against the second-ranked team in last year's state league – the Sideck High School football team.

As the newspapers continued to promote the invitational tournament, the popularity of the two teams continued to rise.

Time flies, and it's the weekend again, the day the invitational tournament begins.

On this day, in addition to the students from the school who came to watch the game, there were also many football enthusiasts from all over the country on the campus of Sideck High School.

When Melford and his team entered the stadium, they were met with a lot of attention and discussion.

"We're really famous now!" George exclaimed with delight, his face beaming as he felt the audience's gaze.

Yes, with Mike's photo with his teammates making the front page of the state newspaper again last week, the other Melford players have also come into the public eye.

Whether it's skepticism, curiosity, or disdain, the feeling of being noticed is generally quite nice.

"Everyone, focus. Siddeke High School is very strong, so don't underestimate them." Unlike the players' smugness, Coach George's expression was very serious.

Clearly, the fact that the invitational tournament couldn't secure a spot with a Houston high school left head coach George feeling quite frustrated.

He desperately needed to prove himself...

The same kind of opponent that the Houston football team can beat, Melford can too.

"Coach George and everyone, we meet again~" When the Melford team finished assembling, reporter Jack also arrived with two of his men.

What opponents Melford invites isn't really that important to the newspaper; as long as the team keeps winning, the "star-making plan" and poster releases can proceed smoothly.

As per procedure, reporter Jack took several close-up photos of Mike and his teammates at the scene.

"Coach George, can you tell us your thoughts on the Houston Football Team?" Reporter Jack, after taking the photos, approached Coach George.

Unlike the previous instance where the importance was emphasized, this time, with the formal cooperation established, the newspaper specifically organized a pre-match interview for the Melford team.

After all, a "star-making project" requires a lot of material.

Moreover, Jack's questions were cleverly designed, bringing in Houston's number one ranked football team, which would obviously create more buzz for Melford.

"I've watched the Houston Football Team's games on TV, and they're undoubtedly a very strong team. Of course, in my mind, my players are no worse than them..." Coach George, with something on his mind, appropriately revealed his ambition.

“Very good~” Reporter Jack quickly jotted down George’s words.

After asking the other person a few more questions about football, he turned his attention to the protagonist of the day: "Mike, what do you think of today's game? Are you confident of continuing to win?"

"Of course, although Sidek is a strong team, victory ultimately belongs to us, Melford!" Mike replied confidently.

"Well said, I'll support you. Good luck in the match later!" After gathering the information he wanted, reporter Jack didn't bother Mike and the others any further.

Afterwards, under the watchful eyes of the away spectators, Coach George arranged for the players to warm up before the game.

……

"This feels so good~" Captain Aaron exclaimed during the warm-up.

Who would have thought that Melford, a relatively unremarkable rugby team, would transform itself in just one season?

Strength, reputation... everything is developing in a positive direction.

Seeing the team getting better and better still makes Aaron, the captain who is about to graduate and leave the team, very happy.

"Do your best in the game later. If there's a chance, I'll cooperate with you," Mike whispered to Aaron.

"You little rascal..." Aaron also noticed the many scouts on the sidelines and understood Mike's good intentions.