American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

However, jewelry and secondhand watches that have not been maintained for a long time depreciate significantly.

I visited several jewelry stores, but the prices weren't ideal.

If Mike had enough time, he could negotiate with a few more stores to raise the price further.

Unfortunately, he was in a hurry to sell the stolen goods.

After comparing prices at several stores, Mike chose the jewelry store with the best price and sold all his secondhand jewelry at once.

As for the large amount of gold he possessed, the jewelry store couldn't possibly buy it all.

Faced with this situation, Mike, who found it troublesome, went directly to the bank and sold all of his gold at a slightly lower price.

Despite incurring a slight loss on the deal, Mike, now back in his pickup truck, still wore a happy smile.

Because of the large volume of this shipment, Mike's bank account received an additional 900,000 US dollars.

He is now a genuine two-millionaire.

Mike checked the time and it was only a little past four in the afternoon. With no other plans, he decided to go and see the abyss altar that had swallowed Jennifer.

Despite being called the Abyss Altar, it is actually just a waterfall with a lake at its base.

Perhaps due to the water flow, there used to be a large bucket-shaped whirlpool in the center of the lake.

Mike drove through the desolate, thorny thicket and arrived at the top of the waterfall.

Looking down, the whirlpool in the center of the lake was gone, and everything seemed quite ordinary.

"It seems that people from the church have also been here..."

Mike, possessing the [Demon Body], didn't sense anything unusual here. But he was certain it hadn't been like this before.

At least that whirlpool in the lake had given people a very ominous feeling before.

It's that terrible feeling of gazing into an abyss, and the abyss gazing back at you.

After sitting atop the waterfall for a while and still not finding anything unusual, Mike seemed relieved.

Not long after, he drove away and headed to the farm.

Chapter 272 Returning Home

As dawn breaks, another day begins.

Although they had already said goodbye yesterday, the Dennis couple still came to Mike's estate early this morning to bid him farewell.

"You little rascal, take good care of yourself over there. Remember to call us if anything happens..."

After a day of adjustment, Dennis reverted to "parental" mode. He was now holding Mike's hand, giving him instructions on what to do when he was out and about.

“I understand,” Mike replied, then looked Denise up and down and said, “You should also take care of yourself and try to have a baby with Aunt Kelly as soon as possible…”

"Huh?..." Dennis, caught off guard, awkwardly touched his increasingly protruding beer belly and retorted stubbornly, "Kid, this isn't your concern. You just need to take care of yourself."

As he spoke, as if to preserve his adult authority, he reached out to ruffle Mike's hair.

As the saying goes, a man's head and a woman's waist are both off-limits.

Mike, on the other hand, naturally didn't have the habit of letting a middle-aged man pat his head.

So the two of them chased and dodged, circling the pickup truck.

Ms. Kelly watched the two playfully interacting with a smile on her face.

Behind the Dodge pickup truck, Kenya and his son Chiri were loading cargo into the back of the truck.

Besides the two large wooden barrels containing fifty kilograms of homemade red wine, the rest consisted of vegetables and fruits grown on the farm.

It's considered a local specialty.

"Young Master Quinn, everything is packed." The Kenyan man, having finished loading, called out to Mike.

"Okay, thank you all." Mike stopped, glanced at the trunk full of groceries, and said.

"It's what we should do..." Kenya smiled and said, "Have a safe journey, young master!"

At this moment, Dennis, who had caught up from behind, dropped his playful expression and said sincerely, "Kid, be careful on the road and take care of yourself~"

“Okay, Uncle Dennis. But you need to work out more too…” Mike glanced at Dennis, who was already sweating profusely after only a few laps, then glanced at Kelly and said meaningfully.

As people reach middle age, they inevitably experience a decline in their physical abilities.

Seeing that Dennis was about to turn red from being hit where it hurt, Mike jumped into the pickup truck first, rolled down the window and waved, saying, "Uncle Dennis and Uncle Kenya, I'm counting on you for the farm from now on."

"Goodbye~"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Dodge pickup truck launched itself into the air, leaving a trail of white smoke in the morning sun, and drove away from the farm.

"This kid seems to have grown a lot in the past year. It seems like we don't need to look after him anymore..."

Behind them, Dennis held his wife's hand and watched the car drive away, a warm expression still on his face.

As evening approached, Mike, who had been walking and stopping along the way, once again arrived at the forest trail on the Texas border.

Driven by curiosity, he drove off the side road and went to the cannibal's former lair.

"It seems the matter of the cannibals has also been deliberately suppressed..."

The wrecked vehicles that once filled the open space have all vanished. Even the cannibal's shack, burned to ashes, has been carefully covered with mud.

No one could tell that such terrible things had happened here.

Two hours later, under the moonlight, Mike arrived at the end of the forest path, at the small inn he had visited before.

By the moonlight, Mike could see that the traces of the small inn around the corner had been cleaned up.

“What Jesse and the others said before was all true…” Mike, back in the pickup truck, breathed a sigh of relief.

The day before, he had received a phone call from Jesse and the other two.

During the call, the three people said that local police officers did not intend to investigate the cannibal incident.

Therefore, the three of them successfully left the town yesterday.

This approach might not be bad news for Mike right now.

Fighting and killing are too dangerous for a sixteen-year-old boy.

Why not enjoy a peaceful and beautiful life?

Next, adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, Mike drove into Texas overnight, found a legitimate hotel along the way, and checked in to rest.

The next day, after sleeping until noon, he had lunch at the hotel before leisurely returning to the town of Deford.

“Hey Mike. What do you think of my car?” Outside Cooper’s yard, little George was wiping down a white campervan.

"Is this the car you bought?" Mike looked at the RV in front of him, which looked about 60 or 70 percent new, and showed a surprised expression.

RVs are large vehicles, unlike regular cars, and can meet people's needs for living and resting.

Some luxurious RVs are even more comfortable to live in than some residential houses.

Therefore, RVs are generally not cheap, and even used RVs are priced in the tens of thousands.

"What do you think? This car is pretty good, isn't it?"

Seeing Mike's surprised expression, little George felt his ego satisfied. He continued, with a hint of pride, "This is a discounted car I got through connections; it cost me a full three thousand five hundred dollars..."

"Want to go up and try it out?"

Three thousand five hundred dollars should be all the money little George has, but that's not enough to buy a motorhome unless there's something wrong with it.

It's highly likely that George Jr. was scammed.

Having reached this conclusion, Mike decided to help the other party make a selection.

But before he could climb into the RV, Connie's grandmother, who had come out after hearing the noise, called him back.

"Mike, what's all that in your truck?" After circling the pickup truck, Grandma Connie pulled Mike aside and whispered, "Don't worry about George's junk, he's having a fight with his family over it."

After giving Mike a knowing look, Grandma Connie deliberately pointed to the two large wooden barrels on the pickup truck and said with surprise, "These might be filled with wine!"

Just as Connie's grandmother interrupted, the rest of the Cooper family and little Peggy all came out.

Missy cheered and jumped into Mike's arms.

"These are all local specialties I brought back from the farm, and those two wooden barrels contain homemade red wine..." After comforting the little girl in his arms, Mike explained to the group of curious people.

"Have some fruit, everyone. It's homegrown..."

Next, Mike shared the fruit he brought with everyone.

After taking a bite of a sweet apple, Connie's grandma, still eyeing the barrel of red wine, suggested, "How about we have a get-together tonight? I happen to have some excellent beef; we can have a steak platter with red wine..."

The suggestion was immediately met with unanimous approval. Afterwards, Grandma Connie pulled Mary aside to discuss the evening's menu.

There's still some time before dinner, but if you're planning a big meal, starting now is just the right time.

"Little George, come help me move the ingredients!"

As George finished eating his fruit and was about to wipe down his campervan, George called out to him loudly.

With abundant ingredients available, we also have people to share the food with.

The Cooper family home was filled with a pleasant atmosphere on this leisurely afternoon.

Chapter 273 Decision to Withdraw from School

"Mike, are you sure this is how you open a barrel of red wine?" George asked uncertainly in the living room, a hammer in one hand and a specially made "faucet" in the other.

"Believe me, that's exactly what the Kenyan guy on the farm did..."

Mike instructed, "First, find a good spot under the barrel, then just knock the switch in."

"Okay, you said it, I'm not responsible if anything goes wrong~" After saying that, little George installed the switch on the wooden barrel of red wine in front of everyone.

Boom ~ boom ~ boom ~

With the sound of the small hammer striking, the specially made "faucet" was soon wedged into the wooden bucket.

"Oh, that's amazing! There wasn't a leak!" Little George exclaimed in amazement after finishing his work.

The tap on the wine barrel was a specially made switch that Mike brought from the farm. The inlet end features an expansion design, and there's also a sealing ring at the connection point.

With double protection, the red wine in the wooden barrel will naturally not leak out.

"Alright, little George. Let's have a taste first," George urged, having prepared three wine glasses.

He enjoys drinking beer, but he's not averse to red wine either, especially since this is Mike's homemade red wine.

The rich aroma of wine emanating from the wooden barrel almost made George's mouth water.

"As a worker, I have the right to be the first to taste it..." Little George, in his excitement, proudly defended his right.

Then he took a cup from his father and went to the barrel.

As the crimson wine flowed out, the aroma in the room became even more intense, with a slightly fermented, sour scent that made one's mouth water.

Next, under everyone's watchful eyes, little George pretended to swirl the red wine in his glass, and then, imitating the actions of a "successful person," "elegantly" took a small sip of the wine from his stemmed glass.

"Tsk tsk~ It tastes really good..."

Little George, smacking his lips, seemed to be enjoying the feeling, saying with delight, "It's a little sweet... and it tastes like grapes..."

Listening to the Lord's words is like listening to the words.

Wine definitely tastes like grapes...

Finally, unable to bear his eldest son's dawdling any longer, George pushed him aside and went over to pour half a glass of red wine for both Mike and himself.

It's worth noting that the legal drinking age varies from state to state in the US; in some places, you have to be 22 to be eligible to buy and drink alcohol.

Of course, this specifically refers to the age at which minors are prohibited from drinking alcohol in public places.

As for drinking at home, there aren't as many rules.

Given this situation, after Mike and George turned sixteen, their grandmother Connie and George's parents relaxed their rules regarding their drinking habits considerably.

Just like now.

"Mike, is the wine good?" While Mike was tasting the wine, Missy came up to him with the look of a curious child.

“Well…” Mike organized his thoughts and said, “This is red wine that we keep for ourselves on the farm. It’s not very strong, and it tastes a lot like grape juice…”