American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

In the living room, little George, knowing he had done something wrong, lowered his head guiltily under the stern gaze of his parents.

Beside him, the rebellious girl Erica turned her head toward the window, adopting a "what's the use of trying" attitude.

"I'm so sorry this happened. I'll discipline little George properly from now on..." George awkwardly apologized on behalf of his eldest son.

“It’s not your fault.” Ms. Linda glared at her rebellious eldest daughter, already indicating she was about to leave. So he continued, “Thank you for your hospitality, but I think we should go now.”

Then she said to her husband, "Go and call Peggy too."

This incident involving the two children, caught red-handed by their parents, clearly made both sets of parents lose the will to continue the conversation.

……

At Connie's grandma's house, Peggy, hearing her father call her, put down her chess piece and said, "Looks like I should go. By the way, it was a pleasure chatting with you!"

After Peggy finished speaking, she smiled.

In fact, the two of them had been chatting the whole time. As for the chessboard in front of them, they hadn't made more than a few moves even after all this time.

“I’ve learned a lot from chatting with you…” Mike smiled, crushing the orb of light that he had just taken from the other person, which granted him +1 Intelligence. Then, he continued, “If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime. I promise I’ll be a good listener.”

"Thank you~" Peggy glanced at Mike again before getting up and walking outside.

……

After the Barry family left, Mary glared angrily at her eldest son.

Clearly, this family gathering was a failure. This was a significant blow to Mary, who values ​​family very much.

George Jr. bears a significant portion of the responsibility for this failure due to his previous actions.

Seeing his wife about to explode, George quickly scolded his eldest son: "Little George, you really went too far this time!"

As he spoke, George winked at his eldest son and continued shouting, "Go back to your room and reflect on your actions. You can come out again when you realize your mistake."

"I'm going right now!" Understanding his father's meaning, little George quickly slipped into his room, avoiding his mother.

"You're just going to protect him..." Mary, having lost her target for anger, naturally vented her rage on her husband.

……

On the other side, the Barry family, driving back home, also had a very somber atmosphere.

With no outsiders present, Ms. Linda's gentle expression vanished. After glancing at her eldest daughter in the rearview mirror, she scolded, "Do you know what you've done today? You've completely disgraced our family."

Linda's face was full of disappointment.

“What I do is none of your business. In your heart, Peggy is your only daughter,” Erica retorted.

"You think I want to control you..." Linda was clearly furious at her eldest daughter's disobedience: "Look at what you're wearing, your hair is a mess, you don't look like a decent girl at all. You look like a streetwalker..."

"Enough, Linda!" Mr. Barry called out to his wife as she spoke more and more offensively.

However, Mr. Barry's attempt to reconcile the couple only caused his wife to turn her anger towards him again.

“You’re always busy with work and don’t care about your family at all. Otherwise, our daughter wouldn’t be like this now…” Linda was clearly furious.

Mr. Barry's exceptionally high income meant that his small clinic would be very busy.

In providing a solid financial foundation for the family, Mr. Barry did what a husband should do.

Mr. Barry, who was about to defend himself, suddenly lost interest in speaking when he saw his wife's assertive demeanor.

Meanwhile, after scolding her husband, Linda turned to her youngest daughter and asked, "What's going on with Cooper's youngest son today?"

Peggy, who was lost in thought, replied, "I just played a game of chess with him. I don't know the specifics."

Seeing her youngest daughter's distracted state, Linda said earnestly, "Peggy, you really need to make more friends right now. Sheldon is a child prodigy just like you, you two should get along well..."

Clearly, Linda was also worried about her youngest daughter, a child prodigy, not being able to make friends.

However, Peggy had her own judgment, and she wanted to tell her mother that she could handle her own affairs.

Seeing the other person's concerned expression, Peggy ultimately couldn't bring herself to say it.

Then, she also turned her head to look out the car window in frustration, looking somewhat like her sister next to her.

……

Two more weeks have passed, and Halloween on November 1st is getting closer and closer. As a major holiday, Halloween holds great significance.

It allows people to recognize the preciousness of peace amidst elements of terror.

Of course, for the church, this day is also a good opportunity to spread its doctrines.

Proclaim truth, goodness, and beauty; God loves the world!

Before dinner that day, Mary gathered everyone together and played a video for them.

The video shows Pastor Jeff being interviewed not long ago.

The host asked, "Do you think the 'House of Hell' event was too bloody?"

In the video, Pastor Jeff explains hesitantly, "No, actually, the 'House of Hell' event can make people feel pain and thus realize the greatness of God..."

Then, the television showed footage of the Deford town church's Halloween preparations from previous years.

To be honest, the "realistic" footage of the "House of Hell" show on TV made even someone as easygoing as Mike feel that it was somewhat unsuitable for children.

Finally, the host gave the Deford Town Church's feedback on past Halloween activities, stating that they would frighten children.

"Alright, everyone's finished watching. What are your thoughts?" Mary asked.

For churches, Halloween activities are not only about proclaiming God's love for the world, but also about securing sponsorships.

The Deford town church, after being criticized on television, may struggle to attract sponsorships if it doesn't make changes this year.

Mary's task this time is to organize a different kind of Halloween event for the church.

“I think the activities from previous years were pretty good, there’s no need to change them,” Missy said first. It was clear the little girl was quite bold.

“No, things have to change,” Mary rejected her youngest daughter’s suggestion.

“How about this…” Mike thought for a moment and suggested, “Isn’t the goal to promote God’s love for the world? The church could create a comparison based on ‘The House of Hell,’ and then have a ‘The House of Heaven’ or something. With comparisons, people can more intuitively recognize truth, goodness, and beauty, these wonderful qualities.”

In fact, it is through comparison that the value of truth, goodness, and beauty is highlighted; simply showing the "evil" side is a poor choice.

Moreover, content that emphasizes "goodness" will certainly not include any bloody scenes. This can be considered a solution to the predicament that the Deford town church had faced in previous years.

Chapter 158 Halloween (Continued)

Upon hearing Mike's suggestion, Mary's eyes lit up, and she had an idea.

By dinnertime, Mary's plan had begun to take shape.

After the pre-meal prayer, she solemnly announced, "I've already made plans for the church's Halloween activities this year. Incorporating Mike's ideas, I intend to hold two exhibition halls. One will highlight 'evil' in 'The Haunted House,' and the other will promote good in 'The House of Angels'..."

After Mary's explanation, everyone realized that she had simply changed the name of the previous year's "House of Hell" to "The Haunted House," and the content was actually not much different.

"House of Angels" is a variation of "House of Heaven," which Mike had previously proposed.

In summary, Mary was simply repeating Mike's previous suggestion.

"What do you think of my new plan?" Mary asked the group expectantly after explaining her proposal.

However, after hearing Mary's plan, everyone's expressions were strange, and their eyes "secretly" glanced at Mike.

Clearly, everyone realized that Mary's plan was not "new".

She completely "stole" Mike's idea.

Seeing the atmosphere at the dinner table gradually becoming awkward, George said against his will, "It's a very good plan, Mary."

It's clear that George is very considerate of his wife's feelings.

However, the straightforward Sheldon couldn't stand his father's behavior. He immediately asked, "How is it not good?"

"Uh..." George, who had only intended to smooth things over for his wife, was momentarily stumped by his youngest son's question.

Grandma Connie, seeing George's embarrassed expression, couldn't help but burst out laughing, which was quite impolite.

This completely created an awkward atmosphere.

George, who had been teased, glared at his youngest son with great displeasure.

"I get it~" Young Sheldon, who had been glared at, said knowingly, "Hello, hello, hello everyone~"

Clearly, the clever young Sheldon was "sarcastically" mocking his father for unconditionally supporting his wife's actions.

Mary, feeling a little embarrassed by her youngest son's actions, forced herself to say, "Alright, now I'd like to hear your suggestions for these two exhibition halls."

“I think Mr. Randy would be perfect for overseeing ‘The Haunted House.’ The performance of the last ‘Annie’ stage play was really ‘terrifying’…” Sheldon Jr. immediately suggested.

Clearly, Sheldon Jr. also saw Mr. Randy's hairy leg performance from the best viewing area backstage last time.

The House of the Haunted can be considered a variant of The House of Hell, and what it needs most is horror elements.

Mr. Randy earned this opportunity for himself with a "dedicated" performance.

Reminded by her youngest son, Mary recalled her previous experience watching the stage play and couldn't help but show a look of disgust.

“No, Randy is not a good choice; he will ruin the church’s activities,” Mary immediately objected.

It's clear that Mary takes this Halloween event at the church very seriously; she doesn't want Randy's vulgar performance to appear in her planned activities.

“Why not? Isn’t religion about collecting faith through intimidation and punishment?” Sheldon retorted.

As mentioned earlier, Sheldon Jr. once attempted to establish a "Mathematics Education", although he ultimately failed.

However, that experience also led him to conduct in-depth research on religion.

He discovered that people's need for religion was greater during times of disaster. It can be said that religion fulfilled people's spiritual needs.

To instill strong loyalty among believers, some intimidation or punishment is necessary.

For example, rumors such as "If a certain believer makes a mistake, he will go to the eighteenth level of hell" can effectively regulate the behavior of believers.

Hearing her youngest son's words, Mary retorted with strong disagreement: "Christianity is different from other religions. Its core is 'God loves the world.' Therefore, God does not use methods such as 'intimidation' and 'punishment' to collect faith."

As a devout believer, Mary firmly believed that God was the embodiment of "goodness".

“Really?” Sheldon Jr. clearly had a different understanding. He casually asked, “If a Christian commits an unforgivable sin, what will God do to him?”

“Of course, he should be sent to hell to suffer the scorching flames…” Mary realized what she had said only after she finished speaking.

It is clear that 'God loves the world,' but there is also a thunderous side.

After a long silence, Mary finally realized that perhaps entrusting the preparation of "The Haunted House" to Mr. Randy was a good choice.

After all, the other party's performance was indeed "scary" enough.

“Alright, I’ll discuss the ‘Haunted House’ thing with Mr. Randy.” After some thought, Mary agreed to her youngest son’s suggestion.

Then she continued, "Now let's talk about 'Angel's House.' I already have a pretty good plan..."

Next, Mary revealed her plan: she intended for her entire family to dress up as angels and stay in the activity hall of "Angel's House" to guide lost souls.

“Sorry, I have an appointment that day,” Grandma Connie said with a smile. “John supposedly has a surprise for me.”

These past few weeks, Grandma Connie and Professor John have been getting along really well, and the two are increasingly developing feelings for each other.

Seeing her mother's happy expression, Mary did not stop her from leaving.

“I have a plan too. I’ve invited Dan to go trick-or-treating with me,” Sheldon raised his hand.

Trick or treat!

This is the most popular activity for American children on Halloween.

It was rare to see her youngest son so lively, so Mary smiled and didn't stop him from leaving.

“I also had an appointment that day,” George Jr. then added.

Actually, little George hadn't made any plans or had any activities planned. He just thought the church's Halloween activities would be boring, so he really didn't want to participate.

Mary, on the other hand, didn't have high expectations for her eldest son dressed as an angel. Therefore, she tacitly accepted his withdrawal.

“Mary, I don’t think I’m suited to dressing up as an angel, so…” George patted his beer belly, clearly aware of his own limitations.

Since losing his job as a football coach, George has been drinking beer more and more frequently.

Without managing his physique, his beer belly has visibly grown significantly. Furthermore, due to stress, his gray hair has become increasingly noticeable.

This made him look like he wasn't in a good state.

Mary glanced at her husband and then agreed, "You're really not suited to play an angel... How about you act as the angel's guard at the door?"