Chapter 334: Shocked Little Sheldon: My Meemaw's Older Sister Did Adult Films?
"Really?"
Little Sheldon looked at his meemaw.
"Impossible!"
Little Sheldon's meemaw's face turned pale.
"Nothing is impossible."
Beverly adjusted her glasses and said calmly.
"Mom."
Little Leonard had already noticed Little Sheldon's meemaw's distress and couldn't help but tug at his mother's clothes to remind her.
"What?"
Beverly frowned, completely oblivious to the situation.
"Nothing."
Little Leonard immediately fell silent.
"Shouldn't we go?"
Little Sheldon's mother tried to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Okay."
Little Sheldon nodded: "Mom, Meemaw, you ride in their car."
"What about us?"
Missy couldn't help but ask.
"The car can only seat five people, so you and Dad will take an Uber!"
Little Sheldon said matter-of-factly.
"Missy, I'll ride with you in Chuck's car."
Little Leonard immediately smiled and made the suggestion before looking at Chuck: "Chuck, can you give us a ride?"
"Sure."
Chuck naturally wouldn't refuse Little Leonard's request.
Especially in front of young Sheldon.
"Yeah!"
Missy immediately perked up, ignoring young Sheldon who was shuffling around awkwardly as he rushed into the passenger seat.
"I should go."
Hailey shrugged self-deprecatingly, waving goodbye and getting in without Chuck seeing her off.
"Mr. Cooper, let's go!"
Chuck, seeing this, didn't bother to see her off and directly called to young Sheldon's father, who was standing there.
"Okay, okay."
Young Sheldon's father forced a smile on his chubby face.
He had always felt a little uncomfortable facing Chuck, the ultimate adult version of his son, especially after learning that his nephew at Leonard's school, who looked a lot like his brother, had been severely disciplined by Chuck. This discomfort was even stronger.
"Passenger seat reserved!"
Missy also ran to the passenger seat immediately.
"Mr. Cooper."
Young Leonard could only follow young Sheldon's father into the back seat, exchanging reserved and somewhat awkward smiles.
For him, although Chuck's help had finally freed him from the bullying and torment of being called 'Nancy' at school, the chubby face of the man before him, so similar to that of the former bully Jimmy Speckerman, still made him incredibly uncomfortable.
Especially considering this man was Missy's father, this unease escalated into a bizarre, absurd feeling.
What was this?
Leonard's IQ of 173, and the imagination about his future partner and family that even Sheldon, who never praised him, repeatedly admired, had already flashed through his mind countless times.
One of them was that if this face, identical to the school bully Jimmy's, and the confirmed blood connection, meant that the past bullying was a test that could secure his and Missy's future, then he would definitely say, "I'm willing!"
If, however, countless more tests had to be added to this future, such as enduring Missy's twin brother, he... would consider it, and then, looking at the graceful young woman in the passenger seat, his eyes immediately hardened.
He was still willing!
"So, how are Mr. and Mrs. Weaver doing lately?"
A while after the car drove away from the airport, Sheldon's father noticed the quiet in the car, especially when he occasionally caught sight of Leonard's odd gaze. He took the initiative to greet Chuck.
"Even balder,"
Chuck said succinctly. "My mother's fine."
"...That's good, that's good."
Sheldon's father touched his thick head of hair, feeling much better.
Although he had a heart condition and had been dismissed from his school football coaching position, only able to work odd jobs, he showed no signs of balding.
This put him ahead of 60% of his American peers and 90% of his British peers.
"But, Dad, your belly's even bigger,"
Missy, who had been glancing at Chuck from the passenger seat, teased him immediately upon hearing this.
"Missy!"
Sheldon's father's face darkened at his daughter's remark.
"That's normal in Texas,"
Chuck said calmly.
"Exactly!"
Little Sheldon's father laughed immediately, glaring at his daughter. "Don't forget Chuck is also a Texan! He knows better than you!"
"This highlights loyalty to the Lone Star State."
Chuck glanced at Missy and explained seriously.
"Pfft!"
Missy burst out laughing.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Little Leonard wasn't from Texas and hadn't reacted immediately.
"My dad's favorite beer is Lone Star, and he's contributed so much to Lone Star's bottom line over the years."
Missy immediately clutched her stomach and explained with a laugh, "If loyalty to the Lone Star State is determined by this, then my dad is definitely among the most loyal. Chuck's description is so perfect, haha."
"Oh, I see."
Little Leonard understood the joke and grinned, but glancing at his 'future father-in-law's' dark face beside him, he could only forcefully suppress his laughter.
Texas is known as the Lone Star State, and there has always been talk about independence.
Lone Star beer is Sheldon's dad's favorite, and it's so popular in the Lone Star State of Texas, so using Lone Star beer to represent the Lone Star State is quite reasonable.
The atmosphere in one car is cheerful, while in Beverly's car, the atmosphere is oppressive.
Sheldon's meemaw sits in the back seat with her arms crossed, looking out the window, seemingly not wanting to talk to anyone.
Sheldon's mother looks at her own mother, hesitant to speak.
Beverly drove quietly.
Young Sheldon, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look at the three most important women in his life, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Meemaw, how much money do you have now?"
Young Sheldon asked the question that concerned him most.
"Shelly!"
Young Sheldon's mother gave him a reproachful look: "How could you talk to your meemaw like that!"
"What's wrong?"
Young Sheldon asked, puzzled.
He genuinely didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Back when he was consulting with NASA scientists, he once wanted to buy a computer to perform mathematical calculations for rocket recovery. Since his family didn't have the money, he simply knocked on his meemaw's door across the street and bluntly asked her, "Meemaw, how much inheritance did you leave me?"
He was immediately chased away by his meemaw.
Compared to that, this question was much more reasonable and normal.
"It's nothing,"
Sheldon's mother said helplessly. "Didn't you tell us the school was going to invest? Why are you asking your meemaw now?"
"...The school's conditions are rather strict."
Sheldon opened his mouth, his previous straightforwardness gone, his frustration masking the real reason.
"It's alright, your meemaw has the money to hire a lawyer for you,"
Sheldon's mother smiled. "I believe with a lawyer, the school will give you a fairer and more reasonable deal."
Saying this, she glanced at Beverly, who had remained silent in the driver's seat, a hint of pride and satisfaction in having truly helped her son: "Dr. Hofstadter, I heard your sister is a lawyer?"
"Yes!"
Beverly's answer was concise.
"..."
Seeing that Beverly showed no sign of offering help, Sheldon's mother, somewhat annoyed, reminded her, "Then could you ask her to help Sheldon negotiate with the school?"
"No."
Beverly shook her head.
"I knew it!"
Sheldon's mother showed no sign of being rejected; instead, she was overjoyed, unable to resist smiling at Sheldon, her eyes conveying, 'See? Who truly loves you.'
Unfortunately, Sheldon completely missed the implication.
"What do you know?"
Sheldon asked bluntly.
"It's understandable that Dr. Hofstadter's sister doesn't want to help,"
Sheldon's mother said.
"It's not that she doesn't want to help, it's just not appropriate,"
Sheldon shook his head. "Diane is one of Chicago's top lawyers, charging $1,000 per hour. A flight from Chicago to New York would cost even more. Are you sure Meemaw can afford it?"
"What?!"
This time, not only Sheldon's mother exclaimed, but even Sheldon's meemaw, who was sulking and looking out the window with a disgruntled expression, exclaimed in unison.
"$1,000 an hour? She's robbing us!"
Sheldon's meemaw complained.
"That's just basic consultation fees, not her main income,"
Beverly explained calmly. "Top lawyers like Diane make their money from commissions on deals worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. That's her main income, so I told you she wouldn't come."
"..."
Sheldon's meemaw and mother were speechless.
Especially Sheldon's meemaw.
At the last minute, she had turned down her boyfriend's proposal to travel the world together. At her age, she rekindled her passion and started a new business.
First, she bought a laundromat and the gambling machines behind it, working hard to run it, only to be shaken down by the police for protection money.
She ran it with her eldest grandson, who had dropped out of high school and started working, striving to make the business thrive.
Not long ago, she even bought the video store next door and risked driving to the next state with her ex-boyfriend to buy illegal gambling machines, preparing to expand her business.
After making the purchase, she was stalked and blackmailed by the seller. She secretly slashed all four of the bastard's tires to escape.
Her eldest grandson got a woman ten years his senior pregnant and was clamoring to earn more money to support her future great-grandson, so he went to Mexico to smuggle goods.
She had no choice but to go with him, only to be arrested in New Mexico on the return trip. She was not only detained overnight and forced to pay a fine, but also embarrassed in front of her ex-boyfriend.
Keep in mind, she had rejected his marriage proposal precisely because she wanted to make money for her business.
Having that mess seen by him was awful.
After so much trouble and ups and downs, her business finally achieved some success. Even her grandson's pregnant girlfriend, upon discovering the truth, exclaimed happily, "My child can go to private school now!"
Even so, her numerous gambling machines now only average a little over a thousand dollars in profit per day.
For Americans with an average income of forty to fifty thousand dollars, this is already a high income.
But now, hearing that Beverly's sister Diane charges $1,000 an hour, and that's just a small fraction—the real money comes from million-dollar commissions per case—
it blew her mind as a true Texan!
She couldn't make as much as these lawyers earn even if she robbed someone at gunpoint.
No wonder she'd heard so many jokes about lawyers.
One of the simplest and most widespread is about a man who got on the subway with a gun. There were only two people in the car: his enemy and his enemy's lawyer. The gun only had one bullet.
So the man decisively shot and killed the lawyer.
Later, someone asked him what he would do if he had two bullets.
He said he would shoot the lawyer twice.
That shows how hated lawyers are in America.
Now she understood even more.
"Meemaw, you haven't told me how much money you have yet?"
Sheldon reminded her.
"I have no money!"
Sheldon's meemaw snapped.
She used to think she was doing quite well, but now, compared to others, she truly felt she had nothing.
Although her business was lucrative, it was ultimately illegal, and there were limits. Expanding further after the initial expansion would inevitably attract unwanted attention.
Especially given the friction and conflict between her and her daughter, a devoutly religious woman, over the adult video incident, further expansion was virtually impossible.
"Chuck isn't here,"
Sheldon said, turning to remind her, though he was about to accept this explanation.
"Shelly, don't worry, a lawyer will handle it,"
Sheldon's mother reassured him.
"The lawyer might be able to handle the school, but can they handle Chuck?"
Sheldon exclaimed, frustrated.
After learning the details, Sheldon's mother found her son's fear of Chuck both amusing and heartbreaking.
"So that's why you want the family to invest,"
Sheldon's mother said thoughtfully.
"Yes!"
Sheldon said proudly, "This is a great opportunity, I just lack the funds. If Meemaw can invest, I can give you 30% of the profits! That's definitely more profitable than running a laundromat!"
"Mom,"
Sheldon's mother looked at her expectantly.
Sheldon's meemaw was tempted. This would not only help her grandson but also indirectly make her money, allowing her to start a new career path.
And it was related to science, after all, she was admired by elderly scientists, which indirectly gave her a genuine interest in them and science.
"Don't look at me, I don't have any money!"
But when she thought of Chuck's involvement and the generous offers, she immediately wisely abandoned the idea of helping her grandson.
She didn't want to get herself involved.
"Mom, I remember I have a relative named Connie Tucker, someone else with that name!"
Seeing her mother's refusal and her son's disappointed expression, Sheldon's mother couldn't help but look at her mother and tentatively ask,
"You don't!!!"
Sheldon's meemaw immediately shouted in a shrill voice.
"That Connie Tucker is your sister?"
Beverly glanced at Sheldon's meemaw in the rearview mirror knowingly: "No wonder!"
"I don't have a sister who did adult films!"
Sheldon's meemaw firmly denied it.
"That Connie Tucker is your biological sister?"
Sheldon became interested: "Is she rich?"
"Rich."
Beverly said bluntly: "That Connie Tucker was a top adult film actress in the 1970s. As one of the pioneers, she must be rich!"
"Meemaw!"
Sheldon immediately looked at his meemaw.
"You want me to go and ask her for investment for you?"
Sheldon's meemaw stared at her grandson with a dark face.
"Yes."
Sheldon nodded.
"Do you know what she's famous for in those films?"
Sheldon's meemaw sneered. "She's known for a scene with a rooster, so are you still sure?"
Sheldon, who had been chased by a rooster and climbed a tree to escape, was speechless.
(End of Chapter)
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