"No, no, no, personal matters are personal matters, but the brisket recipe is the wager." When the brisket recipe was mentioned, Connie became serious: "There are still two days left until the end of this week. Wish that little fatty good luck!"
Mentally, Connie was still looking down on George.
This was probably the situation where a mother-in-law and son-in-law couldn't stand each other.
Seeing that Mike seemed to want to persuade her further, the shrewd Connie continued, "I have something to do tomorrow, so I'll go rest first. You should also rest early."
The church in America has a significant influence. Mary and Connie are responsible for the meals of the believers tomorrow, which is considered an important and sacred matter.
After speaking, Connie, without giving Mike a chance to refute, quickly returned to her room.
Looking at her retreating figure, Mike shook his head helplessly. He thought about writing down the recipe himself and then, in Connie's name, sending it to George.
This way, it should alleviate the conflict between them.
However, in the end, Mike still rejected this idea.
Not to mention that doing so would easily expose him, and once the matter was revealed, he would likely end up pleasing neither side.
"Sigh—" Considering all the drawbacks, Mike sighed, lamenting that he was, after all, a "selfish" person.
He was unwilling to do something thankless.
Meanwhile, George, despite Mary's objections, took two bottles of beer from the refrigerator and sat in a lounge chair in the backyard, enjoying the cool air and drinking beer.
However, this usual leisurely enjoyment somehow failed to bring him any comfort today.
He was still thinking about the conflicts at home. In fact, he didn't want to argue with Connie and Mary either; he just wanted to gain his family's approval and attention too much.
"Damn brisket—" Thinking of the depressing situation, George forcefully slammed the small table beside him.
With a loud bang, Georgie, who hadn't had any impact resistance training in a long time, held his hand and blew on it.
The area where his palm connected to his wrist was a large red patch.
"George, what happened?" Mary, who was tidying up kitchen utensils in the kitchen, heard the sound and asked.
"Nothing—" George righted the overturned small table and replied to her.
"Phew—" After setting the table, George threw the fallen and shattered beer bottle into the trash can. After being busy for a while, he lay back in the chair.
Then, having calmed down, he could feel his wife's concern for him. He also realized that all the conflicts at home were caused by that damn "brisket."
"Oh, right, the brisket." A light bulb went off in George's head, and he started thinking about the brisket recipe.
The more Connie didn't want to give it, the more George wanted to get the recipe.
Finally, he decided to stealthily sneak into Grandma Connie's and secretly find the recipe.
Thinking of this situation, which would surely infuriate Connie, George couldn't help but reveal a mischievous smile.
Before it was completely dark, George arrived at Grandma Connie's doorstep. Seeing that the lights in Connie's living room were off, he first tried gently knocking on the door.
As expected, there was no response.
This was exactly what George wanted. He skillfully took out the spare key from under the doormat and cautiously entered the house.
Then, he fumbled in the dark and went to Connie's kitchen.
...
"Karen, are you free tomorrow?" In his private room, Mike was on the phone with Karen.
To facilitate communication, Mike specially bought a mobile phone. This was not difficult for him, as he had some money.
"I'm afraid not..." Karen on the other end hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Regina seems to have discovered something and is watching very closely now. The Plastics has activities tomorrow and the day after tomorrow..."
"Alright, let's make plans when you're free." Accompanied by the sound of a blown kiss from the phone, Mike hung up.
Karen was a good girl; she knew when to advance and retreat and wasn't clingy, which was very good.
Just as Mike was about to rest, he suddenly heard a faint sound from outside.
A thief, that was Mike's first reaction.
Immediately, he picked up a wooden stick from the doorway, carefully pushed open the door, and followed the sound to the kitchen.
In the dim light, a plump figure could be seen rummaging through something on the kitchen table.
Based on his familiarity with George, Mike immediately recognized him.
"George, what are you doing?" Mike turned on the light and asked.
"I, I..." George covered his face with his hand and stammered, "I came to find coffee, yes, we're out of coffee at home."
George's peripheral vision caught sight of the coffee powder on the table, and he immediately picked it up.
"Is that so?" Mike asked with a half-smile.
"Yes, that's it!" George said with a flustered expression, "Alright, I got the coffee, I should go now."
"Oh, and don't tell Connie I was here." George pleaded as he was leaving.
He realized that his clumsy performance probably couldn't fool Mike at all.
"Mmm, got it." Mike smiled. Even if the other party didn't say it, he wouldn't tell Connie about this.
Although it was a bit despicable to do so, Mike still hoped that George would win the "bet."
However, when Mike saw George out the door and turned around, he saw Connie leaning against the doorframe of the hallway, looking at him with a half-smile.
Mike was all too familiar with this scene; he had just looked at George the same way.
"Connie, why aren't you asleep yet?" Mike blocked Connie's gaze with his body, making small talk.
"That was George just now, wasn't it? What did he come for?" Connie didn't buy it and asked.
"Uh, it was indeed George." Mike explained, "He ran out of coffee at home, so he came to get some."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Grandma Connie's eyes revealed a look of inquiry.
Then, she went to the kitchen and straightened the small box where she kept her menus.
"Was he looking for this?" Connie took out a menu from her collar.
From the looks of it, the shrewd Connie had already anticipated that George would come to her house to steal the recipe, so she hadn't put the brisket recipe in the kitchen at all.
"Alright, George did indeed come looking for the recipe. But I think his behavior is understandable." Mike didn't try to deny it and chose to lay his cards on the table.
"So, about the bet?" Connie asked with a smile.
"You win." Mike admitted defeat.
He wondered if he should honestly tell her about his romantic life.
After all, it was a bit difficult for Mike to talk about such private matters.
"Alright, you go back and rest." Connie enjoyed the betting process and did not force Mike to reveal his private life.
Mike, relieved, still added, "I think you can reconsider the brisket recipe."
"Mmm, got it." Connie replied, her gaze towards the door becoming profound.
...
George, on his end, having failed to steal the recipe, took another bottle of beer from the refrigerator and went to the backyard.
Just as he was drinking sullenly, Connie walked over, carrying two bottles of beer.
"Here—" Connie handed a bottle of beer to George.
"Even if you hand me beer, I won't like you." George took the beer, speaking honestly.
"What about this then?" Connie smiled and took a recipe from her neckline.
Between the two of them, to be frank, there wasn't much of a major conflict. And, after all, they were family.
After George verified that this time the recipe was real, all his previous grievances were released at that moment.
Then, he got up and hugged Connie.