American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

George vaguely understood the implication in their words. Although he was very annoyed, he suppressed his emotions and said, "Did you bring Peggy here last year? Think about where she went last year."

George's meaning was clear: in this relatively unfamiliar place, Peggy would likely go to some places she was more familiar with.

“We took Peggy to a dessert shop last year, and she seemed to really like the food there…” Mr. Barry said after a moment’s thought.

George's words gave him inspiration.

So, the two parents eventually found the little dessert shop where Mike and his two friends were.

“Peggy, you…” Mr. Barry was about to go over to his youngest daughter, who was sitting perfectly fine in the shop.

But someone was a step ahead of him. Ms. Linda rushed into the store from the back, stood in front of her youngest daughter, and scolded, "Peggy, why are you so disobedient? What if you get lost...?"

Seeing the worried and angry look on her mother's face, Peggy quietly lowered her head and listened to the scolding.

On the other side, George walked past Mr. Barry, who had stopped. He approached and asked, "Shirley, Mike, are you alright?"

Compared to Ms. Linda, George's emotions were clearly more stable.

Moreover, his expression did not show any blame towards Sheldon and his companion, and his words were mostly filled with concern.

“I’m fine, dad.” Young Sheldon even had time to comment, “The desserts at this shop are pretty good.”

"Really?" George smiled when he heard his youngest son say that.

The fact that his youngest son still had time to care about the dessert confirmed to him that the other party was indeed alright.

Relieved, George asked Mike about the situation here again.

He didn't show any displeasure after learning that Mike had brought his youngest son there.

Instead, seeing Ms. Linda still scolding her daughter, George shook his head slightly and stepped forward to advise, "Linda, it's not wrong for a child to have her own ideas. Nothing serious has happened yet, so please don't scold her."

Knowing some of Linda's family situation, George felt some sympathy for Peggy.

“You don’t understand, George,” Linda said angrily. “Peggy is still young; she doesn’t know what she should or shouldn’t do. As her parents, I have to correct her mistakes in time.”

Seeing Ms. Linda's firm stance, George knew he couldn't persuade her in a short time. So, finding it troublesome, he quickly took his leave, saying, "Alright, Ms. Linda. See you next time!"

After saying that, he beckoned to Sheldon and Mike and walked outside.

As George passed Mr. Barry at the door, he politely nodded to him as a farewell.

Mike, on the other hand, also secretly exchanged a glance with Peggy as he left.

Clearly, the plan to help the girl still needs to be improved. The two will need to continue to stay in touch by phone.

Chapter 177 Solutions and Sales Events (Continued)

On the way back, Sheldon thought about the promise he had made to Peggy and asked, "Dad, do you know that Peggy's parents are getting a divorce?"

George, who had listened to the Barry couple's nagging all morning, knew all too well about it.

However, gossiping about other people's family affairs behind their backs is never a good thing. So George instructed, "Shirley, don't spread this kind of thing around."

“I know,” Sheldon replied casually, then continued, “Mike and I want to help Peggy…”

Next, Sheldon briefly explained Peggy's situation and the solution Mike had come up with to his father.

“That little girl is really pitiful…” George thought of the scene when Peggy was scolded by her mother.

Logically speaking, having a child prodigy in the family should be something to be proud of.

It's not about giving child prodigies special treatment, but the way Peggy's mother scolded her daughter harshly for the smallest mistake was really going too far.

In any case, George never scolded his youngest son like that.

"Mike, are you serious?" George asked, looking at Mike through the rearview mirror after listening to his youngest son's story.

As an adult, George thought further ahead than his youngest son.

He knew that helping Peggy wouldn't be so simple, and there would definitely be a lot of trouble ahead.

“Yes, I want to help Peggy within my capabilities,” Mike nodded and said. “In fact, she’s almost suffocating under the pressure, and has even thought about running away from home.”

After listening to the Barry couple's ramblings all morning, George had gained some understanding of their family situation.

One can imagine how much pressure Peggy had to endure in such a complicated family environment.

“Alright, I’ll discuss this with Mary. I believe it can help that little girl.” George accepted the task.

In some ways, George is a very good person.

……

Not long after, the three returned to the town of Deford.

As soon as Mike got out of the car, he saw a bustling scene in front of Connie's grandma's house.

In the afternoon, the flea market attracted a large number of local residents to come and watch.

And because of the two unreliable salesmen, George and Missy, the scene became very chaotic.

"Mike, you're finally back! Come and help!" Connie's grandmother, who was almost overwhelmed with work, exclaimed with joy when she saw Mike.

"OK~" Mike, who still had something to ask for in a moment, immediately joined the ranks of the salespeople.

Missy and Billy, the neighbor's kid, were locked in a standoff in front of a raccoon specimen.

Billy, who is only five centimeters tall, wants to buy the raccoon specimen that is priced at five centimeters.

As for Missy, she couldn't calculate the median price because of her poor math skills.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Mike asked as he approached Missy, who was looking troubled.

“I can’t calculate the middle price,” Missy answered honestly.

Then, she briefly explained the situation to Mike.

“Billy, this specimen costs at least one dollar. You can go back and ask your father if he'd be willing to buy it for you,” Mike said to Billy, the neighbor’s child, after understanding the general situation.

Connie's grandmother priced ordinary animal specimens at five yuan, which was clearly an inflated price.

This kind of thing only has value if you hunt and process it yourself; it doesn't have much appeal to others.

Perhaps only a simple-minded Billy would want to buy it as a toy.

“Okay, I’ll go ask Dad,” Billy said reluctantly, putting down the raccoon specimen.

After Billy left, Mike said to Missy, who was standing next to him, "Go and rest for a while, leave this to me."

Missy, who had been tormented by "work" all morning, was overjoyed to hear Mike's words. She exclaimed with relief, "That's great!"

After giving Mike a hug, the little girl happily ran home.

Meanwhile, at the flea market, Mike's involvement made the sales process much smoother.

As evening approached, more than half of the secondhand goods at the flea market had been sold.

The rest were pipes, clothes, and other more personal items that weren't easy to sell.

It's worth mentioning that the rather unremarkable raccoon specimen was later bought by Billy, who returned later, for one dollar.

After a long day's work, Connie's grandmother, who had earned a good amount of small change from selling her wares, was in a very good mood.

"Mike, put the rest of the stuff in the basement. I'll treat you to a big meal later." Connie's grandmother, now with money in hand, seemed very generous.

Just then, Professor John, who had finished his weekend work, rode over on his bicycle.

"Connie, I hope I didn't miss your sale," Professor John greeted her from afar.

"You've come at the perfect time." In a good mood, Grandma Connie greeted her with a smile, "Feel free to look around, I can give you an insider discount."

At this point, apart from Professor John, there were no other customers in the flea market.

After looking through the remaining items for a while, Professor John suddenly picked out a vintage brown coat.

Now that the weather is starting to cool down, this brown coat comes in just the right place.

The brown coat was clearly a bit too big for Professor John. But he seemed to like it, enjoying the loose fit.

Professor John, after putting on his coat, moved around a bit and then unexpectedly found a pack of cigarettes and chewing gum in his coat pocket.

Although Professor John doesn't smoke, he really enjoys these unexpected little "surprises".

This made him decide to buy the coat.

"Connie, how much is this coat?" Professor John asked after showing Connie's grandmother the coat he was wearing.

Connie's grandmother, who was happily counting her change, noticed Professor John's coat, and her expression gradually became complicated.

This coat was her deceased husband's, and now it was being worn by Professor John, which made Grandma Connie feel very uneasy.

"What's wrong, Connie?" Professor John, who was still unaware of what had happened, said with a smile, "I really like this dress, you don't have to give me a discount."

"You can't wear this dress!" Connie's grandmother, lost in her memories, became somewhat emotional.

"Why?" Professor John asked, puzzled.

"Anyway, it's not allowed." Grandma Connie didn't know how to explain it to the other party, so she could only say firmly, "This is not for sale."

After saying that, Connie's grandmother seemed to have lost all her energy and went back to the house alone, looking dejected.

"There's a price tag clearly on this, so why is it said to be not for sale?" Professor John, oblivious to the atmosphere, looked puzzled.

"Maybe it's because these belong to Connie's grandmother's ex-husband," Mike suggested as he was tidying up the items.

Judging from Connie's grandmother's reactions before and after, as well as the style of the dress, its origin is easy to guess.

“I don’t mind~” Professor John’s thought process was clearly unusual. Then, he asked, “And why is Connie angry?”

The key issue now is clearly not whether Professor John minds or not, but that Grandma Connie minds a lot.

Seeing Mike's strange look, Professor John put down his coat and said, "Never mind, I'll go check on Connie."

Fortunately, Professor John's current reaction is still salvageable.

“Remember, don’t mention the clothes later, and don’t ask about Grandma Connie’s ex-husband…” Mike reminded Professor John as he left.

……

Chapter 178 Creating Romance

At dinner time, Connie's grandmother, who went to Cooper's house with Professor John, seemed to be in much better spirits.

Before dinner ended, Mike and Sheldon also told Grandma Connie and Mary about Peggy.

The two men had a good impression of the clever little girl who had visited before, so they both agreed to help.

“Perhaps I can be of some help.” After hearing about Peggy’s situation, Professor John said, “My research project starts in two weeks, which can be used as a reason to persuade Peggy’s mother.”

After hearing Mike's explanation, Professor John also understood how difficult Peggy's mother was.

For the little girl's sake, he decided to join Mike's program. And personally, Professor John also really thought highly of Peggy, this little prodigy.

"With your help, our plan is even more perfect," Mike said with a smile.

Mike's previous plan for Linda, a mother with an insatiable desire for control, was to use the excuse of studying to give Peggy free weekend time.

However, this excuse, based solely on Connie's grandmother and the Cooper family, is probably not convincing enough.

Now that Professor John is an authoritative figure, the chances of persuading Ms. Linda are much greater.

Next, at the end of dinner, the group drafted a specific plan to help Peggy.

……

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and before another weekend arrived, Mary and Grandma Connie made a phone call to Ms. Linda as planned.

After explaining the situation, Connie's grandmother, acting as her representative, arranged for Ms. Linda to meet with her on Saturday.

In the café, Connie's grandmother, Professor John, and Mike finally met Ms. Linda, who had come with her daughter.

"What was that university research project you mentioned earlier?" Ms. Linda asked shortly after entering the room.

It is clear that Ms. Linda is very attentive to her daughter's upbringing.

“It’s a physics research project that I started with my colleagues,” Professor John said.

Hearing that such a research project truly existed put Ms. Linda at ease. Then, she asked curiously, "Is Peggy really qualified to participate in that kind of research project?"

You should know that Professor John has a doctorate, so his research projects are definitely not simple.

“Peggy is very smart and absolutely qualified to be my research assistant,” Professor John said. “Of course, if she can keep up with my pace, she also has a good chance of becoming a researcher.”