American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

In young George's mind, he even began to fantasize about how wonderful it would be if his life were without Sheldon.

"Stop~"

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Mike spoke up to stop the two brothers from arguing. He reassured them, "Sheldon, you're being too sensitive. George and Mary won't get a divorce."

With Sheldon still somewhat skeptical, the three of them walked back to Cooper's house.

With Mike's encouragement throughout, Sheldon seemed to be in much better spirits.

Every weekend, if nothing else is going on, the Cooper family has a family dinner with Grandma Connie.

This is a time of leisure for the family.

Of course, before this week's dinner, there was another activity: watching the local sports channel.

As prime time arrived, the whole family gathered around the television.

On the television, a highlight reel was playing of Mike dribbling past an opponent, violently knocking down the opposing safety, and scoring a touchdown.

"Hail Mike!!! Hooray!"

Seeing Mike's heroic performance on TV, Missy excitedly ran around the house.

"Mike, you're going to be a big star..." Grandma Connie said happily, very proud of Mike.

Then the others, like family, all congratulated Mike.

Of the family members, only Coach George seemed to be in low spirits at this moment.

“George, don’t you want to say something? Mike is your teammate,” Mary noticed her husband’s unusual behavior and reminded him.

"Mike, congratulations," Coach George said, hiding his face behind a magazine.

"Can't you just put the magazine down?" Mary asked, sounding a little annoyed.

“No, I don’t want to see someone,” George said, blocking Grandma Connie’s view with a magazine.

Chapter 51 Hurt each other

Coach George has unilaterally initiated a "cold war" to express his dissatisfaction with Grandma Connie.

He covered his face with a magazine, his meaning was clear: he didn't want to see Grandma Connie anymore.

However, George's childish behavior did not cause any trouble for Grandma Connie; on the contrary, it made her watch the show with amusement.

Grandma Connie was delighted that George was unhappy.

However, the children were very sensitive to the "war" between the adults: Missy stopped running around and sat back down next to Mike, her eyes darting back and forth between George and Grandma Connie.

Suddenly, she felt that she wasn't as happy as before.

As for Sheldon, he was looking at his parents with a serious expression, and began to analyze the probability of their divorce.

And then there's little George... well, except for the oblivious little George. He was completely oblivious to the change in the atmosphere at home, still intently watching TV.

On TV, the "Top 10 of the Week" segment has finished airing, and now they are showing highlights from the league matches.

Mike, his face glistening with sweat, gave an interview clip, which was also broadcast to households throughout Texas in the form of behind-the-scenes footage.

As Jack said, Mike's handsome face attracted the attention of women as soon as he appeared on TV.

Grandma Connie turned to look at Mike's still handsome face and suggested, "Mike, you should consider going to Hollywood. Your face is absolutely a work of art."

Mary and Missy nodded in agreement.

From a woman's perspective, rugby is tough, tiring, and prone to injury; it's nothing compared to the prestige and glamour of being a big star.

However, George was not happy about what Connie's grandmother said. As a football coach, he would not allow anyone to disparage the sport.

"Heh~" Coach George curled his lip and retorted, "With Mike's talent, he can win everything on the football field. Why should he sell his looks, be a pretty face, and pander to the audience?"

In Coach George's view, rugby symbolizes struggle, hard work, unity, and honor, which is much more respectable than entertainment stars who only sell their looks to please the audience.

“Okay, okay, Mike can choose whatever he wants.” Grandma Connie stated the facts first, and then, deliberately provoking George, she said, “Unlike some people who can only make a living as a football coach in a small town.”

George had his moment in the spotlight in his youth, having been a professional football player for a while.

After retiring, he even went on to coach a university rugby team.

It was simply his personality that made him intolerant of the college football team coach's bribery, leading him to report him.

However, to George's surprise, his whistleblowing was seen as "traitorous" by the team and the school, resulting in his expulsion.

Therefore, George's life can be described as a series of ups and downs...

However, George remained unconvinced by Connie's grandmother's provocation. He said sarcastically, "Yes, I may be a failure, but I've managed to support my family through my own efforts. Unlike some people who don't even care about their own daughters and only care about gambling every day."

More than a decade ago, Connie's grandmother was indeed too addicted to gambling to care for Mary, which gave George the opportunity to get to know her.

George brought the matter to the forefront, essentially accusing Connie's grandmother of not being a good mother.

Just as the two were about to escalate their argument, Mike interrupted, saying, "Alright, we've finished watching TV, shouldn't we eat now?"

“Yes, let’s eat!” Mary chimed in.

George's words reminded the housewife of some unpleasant things that happened in the past.

However, deep down, she still loved her mother. So, she found an opportunity to whisper a reminder to her husband, "George, try to keep your mouth shut..."

As the saying goes, good food is the best comfort.

After the family sat down at the table and enjoyed the meal, the atmosphere at home warmed up again.

As the dinner party was drawing to a close, Mary had also adjusted her mindset. She smiled and said, "Tomorrow is the day for the church picnic. There will be some small activities, which is a good opportunity for us to relax."

The church-organized gatherings are more like a way of giving back to the believers. They can bring their families and enjoy a paid trip.

Mary brought up this good news at this time, hoping to ease the tension between George and his grandmother Connie.

“I refuse. I don’t want to spend a beautiful weekend with someone,” George said defiantly.

"Oh, that's a real shame. Grandma's bringing some delicious roast meat tomorrow; looks like someone's missing out," Grandma Connie teased George. Then, before he could retort, she stood up, smiling, and said goodbye, "I'm full!"

“I’m full too.” Mike got up and followed Connie’s grandmother, feeling he needed to persuade her further.

Connie's grandmother's current behavior has already caused trouble for the Cooper family.

After the two left, Mary's face turned cold: "George, can't you be a little more considerate of Connie?"

"How can I give in? She tricked me first!" George grew angrier and angrier, slamming his knife and fork on the table and yelling, "It's all that damn roast meat's fault!"

“Calm down, George. She is, after all, my mother.” Mary was also angered by her husband’s rude behavior.

“Yes! She’s your mother, you’re family, and I’m an outsider.” George vented his frustration, then got up and left the table.

Mary hadn't expected her husband to react so strongly. Watching him walk away, she looked disappointed.

"Mom~" Missy asked cautiously, "If you divorce George, can I live with you?"

Nearby, Sheldon Jr. and George Jr. also perked up their ears.

Seeing her three children's reactions, Mary realized she had behaved poorly. Suppressing her emotions, she forced a smile and reassured them, "Don't worry, children. Your father and I won't divorce. What we were just having a normal discussion was just a bit loud."

While Mary comforted the three children, Mike was also trying to persuade them.

“Grandma Connie, you and George are family, and your relationship shouldn’t continue to be so strained,” Mike revealed. “You know, your conflict with George has already affected the normal life of the Cooper family. Sheldon even thought George would divorce Mary because of this.”

"Oh, really?" Grandma Connie frowned and pondered for a moment, then regained her composure and said, "George can't even handle family relationships. I should consider whether Mary should find someone else..."

“Connie!” Mike interrupted her sternly to prevent her from continuing.

“Okay, I was just kidding. George may not be the best person, but he’s a decent husband and father.” Connie shrugged, indicating that she had no intention of ruining her daughter’s marriage.

Seeing that the other party's attitude had softened, Mike seized the opportunity to suggest, "Then what do you think? Could you give the barbecue recipe to George? That could ease the tension between you two."

Connie's grandma's secret barbecue recipe was a good starting point; if she wanted, she could easily use it to "bribe" George.

Chapter 52 The Bet and the Reconciliation

"No, no, no, personal matters are personal matters, and the barbecue recipe is the bet." Grandma Connie became serious when the barbecue recipe was mentioned: "There are still two days left in the week, wish that little fat boy good luck!"

In terms of mindset, Connie's grandmother is still in a position of looking down on George.

This is probably what happens when the mother-in-law and son-in-law don't get along.

Seeing that Mike seemed to still want to persuade her, the shrewd grandmother continued, "I have things to do tomorrow, so I'll go and rest first. You should rest early too."

The church in America has a great influence, and Mary and Grandma Connie will be in charge of the parishioners' meals tomorrow, which is considered an important and sacred task.

After saying that, Grandma Connie didn't give Mike a chance to refute her and quickly went back to her room.

Watching the other person's departing figure, Mike shook his head helplessly. He secretly planned to write down the secret recipe himself and, posing as Connie's grandmother, deliver it to George.

This should alleviate the conflict between the two.

However, Mike ultimately rejected the idea.

Not to mention that doing so would easily expose the truth, once the matter is exposed, you might end up pleasing neither side.

"Sigh~" Considering all the downsides, Mike sighed, lamenting that he was ultimately a "selfish" person.

He was unwilling to do things that were thankless and difficult.

Meanwhile, George, ignoring Mary's objections, took two bottles of beer from the refrigerator, sat down in a deck chair in the backyard, and enjoyed the cool air while drinking his beer.

However, this leisurely enjoyment that he used to experience was something he couldn't find any comfort in today.

He was still thinking about the conflicts at home. Actually, he didn't want to argue with Connie and Mary, but he just wanted his family's approval and attention.

"Damn barbecue!" George slammed his fist on the small table next to him in frustration.

Amid the loud noise, George, who hadn't had any training to withstand blows in a long time, folded his arms and blew on them to cool them down.

The area where my palm and wrist meet is a large red patch.

“George, what happened?” Mary, who was tidying up the kitchen utensils, asked when she heard the noise.

"It's okay~" George righted the overturned small table and replied to the other person.

"Phew~" After setting the table, George threw the broken beer bottle that had rolled onto the floor into the trash can. After working for a while, he lay back down in his chair.

After calming down, he could feel his wife's concern for him. He also realized that the conflict at home all stemmed from that damned "barbecue."

"That's it, barbecue!" George had a sudden inspiration and started thinking about the secret recipe for barbecue.

The more Connie's grandmother was reluctant to give it up, the more George wanted the secret recipe.

In the end, he decided to sneak into Connie's grandmother's house and secretly find the secret recipe.

Thinking about how this situation would definitely anger Connie, George couldn't help but grin mischievously.

Before it got completely dark, George arrived at Connie's grandmother's house. Seeing that the lights in Connie's living room were off, he first tried knocking gently on the door.

As expected, no one responded.

This was exactly what George wanted. He skillfully took out the spare key from under the doormat and cautiously entered the house.

Then, he went to Connie's grandmother's kitchen in the dark.

……

"Karen, are you free tomorrow?" Mike was on the phone with Karen in their private room.

To facilitate communication, Mike bought a mobile phone. This wasn't difficult for him, as he had some money.

"I'm afraid that won't work..." Karen hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone, then continued, "Regina seems to have discovered something and is keeping a close eye on things. The 'Devil Body Group' has events tomorrow and the day after..."

"Okay, let's meet up sometime." Mike hung up the phone, accompanied by a kiss from the other end.

Karen is a good girl; she knows when to advance and when to retreat, and she's not clingy, which is a good quality.

Just as Mike was about to rest, he suddenly heard a faint sound outside.

Mike's first thought was, "There's a thief."

He then picked up a wooden stick from the doorway, carefully pushed the door open, and followed the sound to the kitchen.

In the dim light, a chubby figure could be seen rummaging through something on the kitchen table.

Mike recognized George immediately because of his familiarity with him.

“George, what are you doing?” Mike asked, turning on the light.

"I...I..." George covered his face with his hands and stammered, "I came to get coffee. Yes, we're out of coffee."