American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

"What's wrong, Mary? Is there a problem with little George?" Looking at her daughter's expression, Grandma Connie had a bad feeling.

“It’s little George… The call was from the police. They said little George has been arrested…” Mary said absentmindedly.

For ordinary people, going to jail is not a good thing.

"What... George has been arrested..."

The bad news Mary brought caused Connie's grandmother and the others to change their expressions drastically. Mandy, on the other hand, clutched her stomach, as if she had a miscarriage.

"Calm down, everyone!" In this critical moment, it's always Grandma Connie who's there.

"Mandy, don't get agitated. We're here, little George will be alright..." After calming Mandy down, Grandma Connie looked at her daughter and asked seriously, "Explain clearly, what exactly happened to little George?"

“I didn’t hear it clearly, I only remember that they said something about smuggling, seizure and so on…” Mary, who was completely at a loss, complained, “I knew it, little George wouldn’t be good.”

"This..." Grandma Connie, who didn't know exactly what little George had done, was at a loss for what to do.

"Don't panic, everyone." Seeing the scene descend into chaos again, Mike calmed everyone down and said, "I'll call Robin and ask what happened."

Having already suspected something about George, he decided to ask Robin for confirmation.

Robin, who works for the Department of Transportation, is essentially the guarantor for George's arcade. Now that George has gotten into trouble, she should have been notified as well.

"I was just about to call you..." Robin's tone was not good after the call connected.

Clearly, as the guarantor, she has also been implicated in George's current predicament.

However, considering Pastor Jeff's relationship with the Cooper family, Robin still recounted in detail what little George had done.

Finally, she reminded Mike to notify the Cooper family to go to the police station to bail them out.

"Did you find out what happened to little George?" Connie's grandmother asked as soon as Mike hung up the phone.

“I found out…” Mike didn’t keep him in suspense and recounted what little George had done.

It turns out that little George bought the game console through connections with a Mexican guy overseas.

Unfortunately, he was caught by border police on his way back from transporting the game consoles.

Fortunately, the items George was smuggling were not dangerous, which gave him the opportunity to be handed over to the local police.

However, due to the egregious nature of George's behavior, local police, under pressure, followed the trail and subsequently shut down his arcade.

The man is currently being held by the local police station, awaiting final sentencing.

"So, little George is quite capable after all." Grandma Connie, who knew exactly what little George had done, relaxed.

Grandma Connie, with her rich life experience, knew that although George's crime seemed complicated, the punishment would not be too severe.

However, George and his wife, being law-abiding citizens, felt like the sky was falling when they heard about their son's harrowing experience.

“Mary, you stay home and look after Mandy and the children. George, Mike, and I will go to the police station to check on things…” Before long, Grandma Connie made the most reasonable arrangement.

……

Inside the police detention cell, one side was piled high with unopened game consoles, while on the other side sat a dejected little George.

"Do you admit to smuggling game consoles and operating an arcade for gambling?" The middle-aged police officer, holding a stack of documents, interrogated young George according to procedure.

The stack of documents contained all the evidence of George's crimes.

"I admit it," George readily admitted.

Having not been subjected to violence, he is currently in relatively good condition, except for some mental distress.

"Good that you admit it." Seeing that little George was willing to cooperate, the middle-aged police officer didn't make things difficult for him anymore and directly announced the sentence: "Given the serious nature of your crime, as a warning, you will be fined five thousand US dollars, or imprisoned for three months. The choice is yours."

"I choose to pay the fine, but isn't a 5,000 rupee fine too much?" With his girlfriend pregnant, George naturally wouldn't choose to go to jail.

Having just made a big move, he had already squandered all of his and Mandy's savings in one fell swoop.

So, little George simply didn't have five thousand US dollars on him. Then, a brilliant idea struck him: he tried to appeal to his emotions. "My girlfriend is about to give birth. I need a lot of money to take care of her and the baby. So..."

George's intention was clear: he wanted to feign poverty in order to get the other party to reduce the fine.

“That’s really touching.” Sure enough, the middle-aged police officer was drawn in by little George’s story, but he didn’t make an exception: “According to the regulations, five thousand dollars is already your minimum fine. Of course, you can also choose to go to jail.”

Seeing the police officer's ever-changing expression, little George finally became distressed.

Just then, the door to the detention cell was pushed open, and Grandma Connie, Grandpa George, and Mike walked in, accompanied by the receptionist.

"Why are you here?" Little George, who had just done something wrong, was a little ashamed to face the three of them.

"If the police hadn't called, we wouldn't have known what kind of good deeds you've been up to lately." After scolding little George, Grandma Connie went to the middle-aged police officer to find out what had happened.

Knowing that George needed to pay bail to leave, Connie's grandmother promptly took out five thousand US dollars and handed them over to the police.

“Let’s go, little George. We should go home.” Grandma Connie maintained her cool demeanor.

"Thank you, I'll find a way to pay you back." With the matter finally resolved, little George made this promise as he walked out.

"Don't worry about that for now. You should think about how to explain it to Mary and Mandy when you get back!" Grandma Connie, who had made some money in the stock market, wasn't too concerned about the five thousand US dollars.

At this moment, she even had the leisure to "watch the show".

It's important to know that George Jr. not only "failed" in his business venture this time, but he also lost all of his and Mandy's savings.

If I lose my career, how will I support my girlfriend and the baby in her belly?

It's easy to imagine that George's unwise actions this time will infuriate his mother, Mary.

Chapter 328 Crack

“Little George, you have to explain this to me clearly this time. I simply can't believe you actually smuggled yourself into Mexico, using 100,000 US dollars…”

Sure enough, as soon as little George got home, he was met with a barrage of scolding from Mary.

Mary, a Christian, was truly shocked by her eldest son's actions.

Moreover, after learning that her eldest son had not only squandered all the money she had, but also had his arcade business shut down, she was even more furious: "You've lost all the money Mandy's father left her for her pregnancy. Tell me, what are you going to do now?"

Mandy, who was standing nearby, felt sorry for her boyfriend and took his hand, comforting him, "It's okay, I believe little George will cheer up sooner or later."

As it turns out, aside from being a bit older, Mandy is a very suitable wife candidate.

However, the affection shown by Mandy and George did not calm Mary down. Instead, it made her even angrier: "Don't cover for him! I've known since he was little that he's no good at anything..."

Seeing his wife's words getting increasingly outrageous, almost affecting their eldest son's character, George's father also spoke up, saying, "Alright, Mary. Young George is still young, and it's inevitable that he'll make mistakes. As long as he learns from this mistake, that's fine."

Fortunately, George Jr. used cash flow for this smuggling trip. So, apart from losing all his money, he didn't incur any debt.

This means that George Jr.'s public credibility has not been damaged, and naturally it will not affect his future entrepreneurship or job search.

That's pretty good news.

“George, I haven’t even said anything to you yet. The Cooper family almost produced a criminal. How can you be such a father…” Mary, who was still angry, immediately turned her attention to her husband after hearing his voice.

That expression carried a hint of "personal grudges".

"Mary~" Seeing that the situation was escalating, Connie's grandmother, who had been through it all, called out to her "crazy" daughter.

Mutual respect and harmonious relationship between husband and wife are the keys to a lasting family life. Simply getting angry and venting negative emotions after problems arise will not solve anything.

So, Grandma Connie comforted her daughter, saying, "Now is not the time to assign blame; we should think about how to help little George out of this predicament."

Having lost his arcade business and all his savings, young George is due to have his baby in a few months. Before that, he needs to consider marrying Mandy.

Given all these circumstances, little George, who is currently at a low point in his life, really needs the help of his family.

“He caused all of this himself, what can we do?” Mary, still fuming, felt “wronged” after being interrupted several times, as if her family was targeting her.

Moreover, she didn't have any good solutions to the mess she was facing.

Feeling agitated and irritable, Mary chose to escape and turned to walk back into her room.

"This..." Connie's grandmother was convinced that her daughter's strange reaction meant that the other woman was indeed going through menopause.

When dealing with a woman going through menopause, one should naturally be more understanding. Grandma Connie turned to her son-in-law and said, "George, go over and see what's going on, try to be agreeable to her..."

"OK~" Because of what happened at Brenda's house, George felt a little guilty. He shrugged and followed Mary to the room.

"Alright, we'll talk about little George later. Now, let's continue with dinner." After George and his wife left, Grandma Connie called to the remaining people in a relaxed tone.

You see, because of George's situation, Connie's grandmother and the others hadn't finished their dinners.

"You've done something really important today, eat more..." In the restaurant, Grandma Connie jokingly placed a large portion of food in front of little George.

Good food can soothe the soul.

Little George needs this right now.

"Mike, George and Mary aren't getting a divorce, are they? I heard Billy say that his parents' divorce started with an argument..." Missy leaned close to Mike and asked in a low voice.

Children with simple minds are often more sensitive to changes in the atmosphere at home.

Although Grandma Connie was trying her best to liven up the atmosphere at the dinner table, the very emotionally intelligent Missy still sensed the unusual atmosphere at home.

The example she used was of Brenda's family next door, who were getting divorced. Billy was Brenda's son.

"Don't worry, I can assure you, George and Mary won't get a divorce," Mike whispered to comfort the little girl.

"Really?" Missy's mood brightened upon hearing Mike's words.

“Of course~” Mike nodded affirmatively.

The reason why Brenda and her husband divorced so decisively was because both of them had very strong personalities.

The longer two strong-willed people live together, the more conflicts they will have.

The situation with George and his wife was different. Although Mary was also strong-willed, George was gentle and tolerant.

Two people whose personalities complement each other generally won't end up getting a divorce unless there's a major upheaval.

However, Mike underestimated Mary's temper.

Over the next few days, Mary continued her bad temper, especially with the addition of little George as a "conspicuous bag" in the house.

The person most affected by her bad temper was her husband, who was her bedmate.

Although George is mild-mannered to the point of being "cowardly," even an honest man can have a temper when he is bullied too much.

After being scolded by his wife countless times, George finally lost his temper and chose to remain silent.

From this point on, George and his wife began their "cold war".

"Where are Little George and George?" It was dinnertime again, and Mary, who was preparing to pray before cooking, found that two people were missing from the table.

“Little George is in the basement. He says he has no appetite,” Mandy glanced at Mary and answered cautiously.

During this time, while scolding her husband, Mary also didn't let go of her eldest son, who had made a mistake.

In her family's eyes, Mary, who attacks indiscriminately, has become a "big devil".

Mandy, now a prospective daughter-in-law, is a little afraid of her mother-in-law.

“Whatever, eat it or don’t.” Mary complained habitually before asking again, “What about George? I remember he was in the living room earlier.”

“I went to Brenda’s house to help replace the new water pipes,” Grandma Connie replied, looking as if she wanted to say something more but hesitated.

Connie's maternal grandmother has noticed the changes in her daughter recently. She had previously advised her daughter to change her temper, but it hadn't been very effective.

“Brenda?” Mary’s tone was somewhat displeased, but she didn’t say much more about it.

Then, suppressing her anger, she led her family in a pre-meal prayer.

……

“George, thank you so much. How about I buy you a drink to express my gratitude?” Brenda said, handing over a glass of red wine that she had prepared beforehand.

Unlike the oppressive dining atmosphere at Cooper's house, the atmosphere in Brenda's kitchen was quite ambiguous.

George's gentle and reliable personality was very attractive to a single mother who had been living alone for a long time.

Brenda developed some inappropriate thoughts due to her frequent contact with George.

Finally, today, she acted impulsively and launched her "seduction" plan.

To this end, Brenda deliberately sent her son away and changed into a red dress that accentuated her figure.

George, who had had enough of being humiliated at home, could hardly resist such "temptation".

"Then let's have a drink~" George, who didn't want to go home, took the wine glass.

Brenda usually has a capable and assertive demeanor, but when she suddenly becomes gentle, coupled with her voluptuous figure, she really has a certain charm.