The next morning, when Mike walked out of his room, he saw George in the living room, fiddling with the beef.
Connie was standing by, holding a wine glass and watching.
'What's going on?' Mike wondered. These two were still looking at each other with disdain yesterday, but now their relationship looked so harmonious.
Mike walked over and whispered, "Connie, did you give George the secret recipe?"
"Uh-huh—" Connie nodded. Seeing the smile on George's face, she unhappily 'tsk'ed and whispered contemptuously, "What an easily satisfied fool."
It was clear that Connie still looked down on her son-in-law, but she had learned to hide this emotion so that he wouldn't notice.
Mike looked at George, who was grinning foolishly, and shook his head. In terms of scheming, Georgie was still several streets behind Connie.
However, it was George's own fault for getting Mary without his mother-in-law's consent back then.
The current treatment was what he deserved.
George, who was busy, looked up and saw Mike. He smiled and said, "Mike, you're in for a treat today. I'm going to make the most authentic Texas secret brisket."
From George's way of gently caressing the beef, his mood was excellent right now.
"Okay, I'll definitely enjoy it then," Mike replied with a smile, not saying anything to spoil the mood.
Afterward, he went to the washroom.
By the time Mike had finished washing up and changed into a refreshing summer outfit, and returned to the living room, George had also finished marinating the beef that needed to be grilled.
A whole portion of beef, about ten pounds, was neatly placed in a transparent box, looking very professional.
"OK, we can set off now." George contentedly picked up the box. He couldn't wait to make the brisket immediately and let everyone taste his cooking.
"Wait..." Connie put down her wine glass and quickly went to the coat rack, took down a wide-brimmed hat and a pair of sunglasses, put them on, and then turned around and asked, "How do I look?"
It was September, and the hottest weather hadn't passed yet. Although Connie was old, she still paid great attention to her appearance.
Her current outfit, besides being fashionable, could also protect her well from the scorching sun.
"Very beautiful—" Mike praised sincerely.
Meanwhile, George, looking at his mother-in-law's exaggerated attire, secretly rolled his eyes and said nothing.
"Thank you—" Connie smiled in response to Mike, then put away her smile and said to George, who was standing by, "Let's go!"
Today's picnic was organized by the church, and Pastor Jeff had already informed everyone of the location, which was a farm about ten kilometers outside of town.
This distance was neither too close nor too far, just enough to satisfy the curiosity of the church members for an outing without tiring everyone out.
At the Cooper family's doorstep, George put the marinated beef into the car's trunk and shouted into the house, "Mary, tell the children to come out, we should be leaving."
"Coming..." Mary's anxious voice came from inside the house: "...Sheldon, hurry up—"
Then, a series of clanging and crashing sounds came from the house.
Clearly, taking care of three children was not that easy.
After a long while, Mary finally came out with Missy and Georgie.
Because Pastor Jeff had asked her to be responsible for everyone's food, Mary carried a lot of cooking utensils and seasonings, which was a good precaution.
When Missy saw Mike, her eyes lit up, and she pounced on him playfully: "Mike, you're so handsome today—"
As mentioned before, children are most sensitive to changes in the family atmosphere.
Last night, George, who had gotten the brisket secret recipe, stopped arguing with Mary. Missy, having noticed this, naturally returned to her usual lively self.
Mike caught Missy, lifted her up, and spun her around twice in the air, making the little girl giggle.
Indeed, soft and cute little girls are much more likable than arrogant and annoying little brats.
Of course, this only applied to Missy and Sheldon.
After smiling and putting the little girl down, Mike deliberately teased, "What, was I not handsome before?"
Mike was wearing a stiff white shirt today, looking both fresh and handsome.
However, to say he was more handsome today wasn't entirely true.
"No, no, Mike, you've always been handsome," Missy quickly explained, her little face turning red.
The little girl's anxious and urgent look made Mike laugh again. Then, he stopped teasing her, said thank you, and also praised, "Missy, you're also very pretty today."
The little girl was wearing a pink floral dress today, with a butterfly hair clip on her head, whose wings would gently flutter when she walked.
This outfit made her look even cuter, like a little flower fairy.
"Really?" Missy got praised and happily spun around twice, showing off her cuteness.
Then, she put away her cheerful expression, curtsied like a lady, and said softly, "Thank you—"
On the other side, George helped Mary put away the cooking utensils and looked around: "Where's Sheldon? Why hasn't he come out yet?"
Before Mary could explain, a figure wearing a small-sized "spacesuit" slowly walked out of the house.
Sheldon looked at everyone and said, "I hope I'm not late. Alright, we can set off now."
Seeing Sheldon's strange attire, Mary's anger flared up again: "Shelly, didn't I prepare clothes for you? What's going on with you?"
Facing his mother's roar, Sheldon took off the resin helmet on his head, took two breaths of fresh air, and seriously explained, "The wilderness is too dangerous. There are all kinds of animals, and also fungi, bacteria, viruses... The clothes you prepared for me can't protect me at all."
"Luckily, I prepared my own protective suit. It can keep me safe from external harm..." Saying that, Sheldon gestured to the small-sized "spacesuit" on his body, looking arrogant and as if asking for praise.
Sheldon hated animals; even a chicken could make him uncomfortable.
Therefore, going on a picnic was a difficult test for him.
However, whether the equipment Sheldon was wearing could protect his health was debatable.
But in September weather, wearing such a thick, sealed "spacesuit" for a day out would definitely lead to heatstroke due to the stuffiness.
"Haha, Moonpie, aren't you hot?" Connie looked at Sheldon's clumsy clothes and laughed happily.
"Not at all—" Sheldon wiped the sweat from his forehead, stubbornly insisting.
Mary went over and measured her son's forehead temperature, exclaiming, "God bless, you're almost having heatstroke! Go back and change your clothes immediately."
Between heatstroke and being infected by bacteria, Sheldon would rather choose the former.
He remained stubbornly in place, refusing to move his feet.
"Go quickly—" George snapped with a cold face.
At home, although Mary seemed stricter, in Sheldon's heart, he was actually more afraid of George.
Hearing the reprimand, Sheldon looked at Connie for help.
Connie only shook her head slightly this time, indicating she couldn't help her Moonpie. In this situation, Sheldon could only obediently walk back into the house.
Mary, to be on the safe side, also followed him back into the house.