American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

George didn't react to his eldest son's lukewarm advice. But when he saw the boy trying to sneak a sip of beer, George stopped him, saying, "Stop, you're not old enough to drink."

When his little trick was discovered, George said ingratiatingly, "There's so much beer at home, it's no problem for me to help you finish some."

In an act of defiance against his wife, George spent 300 US dollars on a large quantity of beer, which was piled up all over the house.

“No way!” George answered decisively; he didn’t want to see his eldest son become an alcoholic.

Seeing that there was no room for negotiation, little George put down his beer in disappointment. Then he said, "Let's get back to our previous topic. When are you going to ask Mom to come back?"

On this issue, little George shares the same view as his grandmother Connie. He believes that his parents will reconcile sooner or later.

For the sake of his own belly, little George felt he needed to speed up the process.

“No, I’m not wrong this time, Mary is the one who’s wrong…” George began to recount his wife’s faults.

Mary had previously neglected the rest of the family because she was too focused on young Sheldon. This became even more apparent after she started working at the church.

After all, human energy is limited.

It could also be said that George's conflict with his wife this time was an attempt to gain her attention.

With her strong personality and now a job at the church as a source of income, George is worried that Mary might leave him because of this.

Of course, this situation is also because George has been having a lot of trouble at work and in life lately, which has made him feel insecure.

In other words, George is experiencing a midlife crisis.

Listening to George's story, little George realized for the first time how hard his father had worked.

"Married life is so hard!" George exclaimed.

“That’s just how it is.” George nodded in agreement, and then he advised his son, “Little George, I think you need to be mature enough before you look for a partner. Getting married after you’re twenty-five would be perfect.”

George took this opportunity to impart his life experience to his eldest son.

"Twenty-five years old?" George was now a little afraid of marriage because of his father's influence. He thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't seem that difficult."

“Great!” George pressed on, “It’s settled then. If you can get married after you turn twenty-five, I’ll give you two thousand US dollars.”

Upon hearing that such a large sum of money was available, George confidently declared, "Don't worry, I'm definitely taking these two thousand dollars."

……

Meanwhile, Connie's grandmother, who had failed to persuade them, had already begun assigning rooms for everyone to rest in.

Because this is an old house, there are only two rooms available for rest.

So Mary and Missy were assigned to Grandma Connie's room, while young Sheldon was to stay with Mike.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Mary didn't go home again except to get a change of clothes.

On the other hand, because he is not used to sleeping in the same bed as his maternal grandmother Connie, young Sheldon did not feel comfortable staying at her maternal grandmother Connie's house.

In addition, his recent repeated calls to NASA have been rejected, which makes him seem to be getting worse every day.

And then there's Connie's grandma. She's long been used to living alone, and now that there are two more people resting in the room, she's finding it very difficult to adjust.

Connie's grandmother, who hadn't had a good night's sleep for several days, was getting weaker and weaker every day.

On Friday evening, during dinner, Grandma Connie finally couldn't hold back any longer and urged Mary again, "Mary, when have you decided to make up with George?"

Connie's grandmother originally thought Mary was only coming to stay for two days, but she ended up staying for a week, which seriously disrupted her normal life.

Mary understood the implication in Connie's words and said dejectedly, "Are you going to kick us out too?"

"No, no, no... that's not what I meant..." Seeing her daughter's sad expression, Grandma Connie quickly said, "You can stay as long as you want. I'm just worried that you and George lack communication and your relationship will get worse and worse."

……

Meanwhile, without Mary keeping an eye on things, Cooper's house was a complete mess, with dirty clothes, smelly socks, and beer bottles scattered all over the place.

Feeling he was going crazy if things continued like this, little George put down the cold bread in his hand and advised, "Dad, I think it's time for you to apologize to Mom."

After a week of hardship, George also began to miss his wife. He hesitated for a while before saying, "Alright, I'll go and invite them back."

"Come on, dad!" For the sake of his own belly, little George clenched his fist and cheered his dad on.

George, who had just put on his coat and was heading out, happened to run into Mary on the street, who was on her way home to get a change of clothes.

The couple gazed at each other for a long time with a tacit understanding, before George spoke first: "How have you been lately?"

“It’s just so-so…” Mary shook her head, thinking of all the inconveniences of living at Grandma Connie’s house. Then she asked, “And you?… I mean, how is little George doing?”

“We’re not doing well,” George shook his head and said, “Little George misses your cooking…and of course, I miss your delicious food too…”

Actually, it wasn't just little George who was about to throw up from eating bread; George felt the same way.

At this moment, the couple, who had a strong emotional foundation, understood each other's feelings through eye contact.

"The moon is so beautiful tonight, would you like to go for a walk?" George invited.

“Of course~” Mary glanced at the dim moonlight in the sky and said with a smile.

So the middle-aged couple strolled hand in hand under the moonlight.

"Great! We can finally go home!" Little Sheldon, who was observing the situation from the window, cheered when he saw his parents reconcile.

"I'll go help you pack your luggage right away," said Connie's grandmother with a smile, having also noticed the situation outside.

Young Sheldon was happy because he could finally go home and get a good night's sleep. Grandma Connie, on the other hand, had the same reason as her grandson.

"Mike, can I still come to play on the computer in the future?" Missy asked Mike reluctantly, sensing that they were about to part ways.

If anyone had the most comfortable week, it would definitely be Missy.

She not only had more time to spend with Mike every day, but also enjoyed playing games together with him.

Chapter 138 Come to the door

After a heart-to-heart talk between the couple, and with Mary's persuasion, George was willing to decline the request to work overtime at the sporting goods store on weekends.

On the one hand, the all-day work intensity was too much for him, and on the other hand, there was the issue of salary.

The disproportionate effort and reward of the sales job, coupled with a lack of career prospects, made George more inclined to return to his family and spend more time with his children on weekends.

After all, Mary's job at the church was busiest on weekends, leaving her little time to take care of Sheldon and the others.

After this heart-to-heart talk, the couple has temporarily found a balance between family and work.

Time flies, and another week has passed.

During this week, Mike and Sheldon still hadn't received a reply from Dr. Ronald, and even their calls to NASA were immediately hung up on by the female customer service representative.

Clearly, Mike and Sheldon have been unilaterally blocked by NASA's female customer service representative.

Given this situation, Sheldon, unable to get effective communication, developed gastrointestinal problems due to his depressed mood.

Mary, noticing that her youngest son was not feeling well, quickly took him to the hospital.

……

"What did the doctor say?" George, who was preparing dinner, asked with concern as soon as his wife and youngest son returned.

“The situation isn’t good.” Mary shook her head and continued, “The doctor said that Shirley’s gastrointestinal problems are caused by long-term emotional distress. Medication is unlikely to be effective in this condition…”

Indeed, in cases like Sheldon's, one must first adjust oneself and resolve the underlying emotional distress before the condition can be fully cured.

Otherwise, if you only treat the stomach and intestines without addressing the underlying psychological issues, the illness is very likely to relapse.

"How could this happen?" Listening to his wife's explanation, George realized the seriousness of the problem.

“I don’t know either. I asked Shelley why, but he wouldn’t tell me.” Mary felt both heartbroken and helpless about her youngest son’s current situation. She had decided to take him to see a psychologist again tomorrow when she had time.

A mental illness requires a mental cure, and this was the best solution Mary could think of.

Just as the couple was getting anxious, Mike, who had come over with Connie's grandmother to mooch dinner, said, "Perhaps I know why Sheldon is sick."

So, under the expectant gazes of George and his wife, Mike recounted in detail the whole story of how little Sheldon waited for NASA's reply.

"How could they do this?" Mary hugged her husband tightly after hearing the reason for her youngest son's illness.

The others in the room also wore expressions of indignation after hearing Mike's story.

Everyone witnessed the enthusiasm Sheldon had when he was writing the proposal.

The feeling of putting in a lot of effort but getting no feedback is easy for others to empathize with.

After finding out the cause of his son's illness, George immediately offered to stand up for the other party.

So he called NASA to reprimand their inappropriate behavior.

"Hello, how can I help you?" The phone was answered, and a clear voice came from the receiver.

Hearing that the other person was a woman and so polite, George's anger subsided considerably. He replied politely, "Hello, I'm Sheldon's father. I'd like to ask..."

Before George could finish speaking, the other party hung up the phone.

Clearly, because of the "harassing" calls this week, NASA's female customer service representative has come to regard all calls related to Sheldon and Mike as harassing calls.

"This..." George was a little confused, not quite understanding the situation yet. Under the watchful eyes of his family, he still refused to give up and dialed the number again.

This time, the female customer service representative was even more decisive; she hung up the phone immediately after recognizing George's familiar voice.

Now, there's another person who's been driven to despair by a female customer service representative.

Seeing her husband's discomfiture, Mary, refusing to believe it, immediately took the phone.

“I am Sheldon’s mother. I want to ask you why you did this to him. Your actions have hurt a child’s young mind and physical health…” As soon as the call connected, Mary launched into a tirade before the other party could even speak.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

However, the busy tone on the phone indicated that Mary's words had not been effectively conveyed to the other party.

The NASA customer service representative may have hung up the phone the moment she identified herself.

Mary felt like she'd punched cotton, and her mood immediately soured.

"Let me do it," said Connie's grandmother, who has a wealth of life experience, indicating that she also wanted to give it a try.

"Hello, we sent a document to you earlier, could you help me check it?"

"Oh... my name is Connie... the name of the file... wait a minute..."

Sure enough, Connie's grandmother, who had more life experience, struck up a conversation with the other party.

She then looked away from the receiver, asked Mike for the file name, and then spoke back into the microphone, saying, "The file name is 'Rocket Launch Plan 2.0'..."

"Hello...Hello...Are you still there?" Grandma Connie looked confused as she listened to the busy tone on the receiver.

Clearly, the female customer service representative was not only sensitive to the names Sheldon and Mike, but also blacklisted the filenames they sent.

“They’ve really gone too far…” George saw that Grandma Connie had also been hung up on, and suddenly he could understand why his youngest son was sick.

So he said, “I happen to be free tomorrow, so I’ve decided to take Shelley to Houston myself and ask them for an explanation.”

George has already negotiated with the sporting goods store owner, Dale, to get weekends off in exchange for a pay cut.

"Really?" Hearing his father's words, young Sheldon perked up. "I'll go prepare the documents right away!"

Young Sheldon is preparing to organize the paper documents so he can confront Dr. Ronald face-to-face tomorrow.

Seeing her youngest son regain his usual energy, Mary's expression relaxed. Heaven knows how worried she was when she left the hospital today.

Then, she thought of the infuriating female customer service representative on the phone earlier, and immediately told her husband that if they could see her tomorrow, he must help her get revenge.

Clearly, Mary also harbored resentment towards the female customer service representative at NASA because of her youngest son's situation.

Saturday morning arrived, and since Mike also had the right to be named on the documents, he accepted Sheldon's invitation to join him in the car to NASA in Houston.

After driving for most of the day, the car arrived at the gates of Houston Space Agency.

Looking at the towering NASA buildings and thinking about the highly skilled people working inside, George couldn't help but feel a little guilty, even forgetting his wife's words of advice.

He carefully led Sheldon and Mike through the door, found the receptionist, and asked, "Hello, is Dr. Ronald here?"

"Do you have an appointment?" asked a smartly dressed staff member at the front desk.

“That’s the voice…” With his extraordinary memory, Sheldon immediately recognized the voice as that of the female customer service representative from before. He said indignantly, “I’m Sheldon, we’ve spoken many times before…”

The female customer service representative also realized who the people in front of her were. After all, not many people would persist in making harassing phone calls every day.

"You're Sheldon, so you must be Mike?" The female customer service representative completely ignored George and then looked at the handsome Mike standing to the side with a look of surprise.

"Yes, I'm Mike." Mike was very familiar with the look in the other person's eyes; it was probably the same look many girls in school had when they were infatuated.

"Could you transfer us to Dr. Ronald's private call? We know him," Mike said with a smile.