"Mike, are you sure this is how you open a barrel of red wine?" Georgie, holding a hammer in one hand and a special "faucet" in the other, asked uncertainly in the living room.
"Trust me, Uncle Kenya on the farm does it this way…"
Mike directed, "Just find a good spot at the bottom of the wooden barrel, then directly hammer the tap in."
"Alright, you said it. I'm not responsible if anything goes wrong." After speaking, Georgie, under everyone's watchful eyes, began installing the tap on the barrel of red wine.
Thump Thump Thump—
With the sound of the small hammer striking, the special "faucet" was soon wedged into the wooden barrel.
"Oh, it's amazing, it didn't leak!" Georgie, who had finished his work, exclaimed in surprise.
The faucet on the red wine barrel was a special tap Mike had specifically brought from the farm. The inlet end had an expanding design, and there was also a sealing ring at the connection.
With this double protection, the red wine in the wooden barrel naturally wouldn't leak out.
"Alright, Georgie. Let's taste it first." George, who had prepared three stemmed glasses nearby, urged him.
He, who liked to drink beer, wasn't averse to red wine, especially since this was Mike's homemade red wine.
Smelling the rich aroma of wine emanating from the wooden barrel, George could hardly stop himself from drooling.
"As the laborer, I have the right to taste the first sip…" Georgie, excitedly, arrogantly defended his right.
Then, he took a glass from his father's hand and went to the wine barrel.
As the magenta wine flowed out, the room's wine aroma became even richer, that slight fermented sourness made people salivate uncontrollably.
Next, under everyone's gaze, Georgie pretentiously swirled the red wine in his glass, then, imitating the actions of "successful people," he "elegantly" took a small sip of the wine from the stemmed glass.
"Tsk tsk! The taste is really good…"
Georgie, smacking his lips, seemed to really enjoy the current feeling, saying intoxicatedly, "It's a bit sweet… and it has the taste of grapes…"
Listening to his words was like listening to words.
Wine definitely has a grape taste…
Finally, George, unable to bear his eldest son's dawdling, pushed him aside and went to pour half a glass of red wine for Mike and himself.
It's worth mentioning that the legal drinking age varies across different states in America; in some places, you can't buy or drink alcohol until you're twenty-two.
Of course, this specifically refers to the age at which minors are not allowed to drink in public places.
As for drinking at home, there aren't as many regulations.
Based on this situation, after Mike and Georgie celebrated their sixteenth birthday, Connie and the George couple significantly loosened their rules regarding their drinking.
Just like now.
"Mike, is the wine good?" While Mike was tasting the wine, Missy leaned close to him, looking like a curious baby.
"How should I put it..." Mike organized his words and said, "This is red wine kept for personal consumption on the farm. The alcohol content isn't high, it's very much like grape juice…"
Well, Mike didn't have the skill of wine tasting. Like Georgie, he could only taste that the red wine had a grape flavor and was a bit sweet.
There should have been some honey added to it…
"Do you want to try it?"
Ignoring Sheldon's gaze, Mike asked the two little girls in the room.
While Mike and the other two were tasting red wine, the three children were influenced by the atmosphere, and their faces showed some longing.
Compared to adults, children's curiosity is clearly stronger.
Mike, after consulting the two little girls, went to the dining room to get two straws, then, along with the wine glasses that only had a bit of wine at the bottom, handed them over.
"It's a little bitter… and there's a strange fruity fermented taste…"
Paige, after taking a small sip of red wine, put down the straw and gave her final evaluation: "Milk suits me better compared to this."
Missy, on the other hand, was different. After sucking down the remaining red wine in one gulp, she held the empty wine glass and came eagerly to Mike, seemingly not having had enough.
"You're still young, wait until you grow up…"
Feeling George, the old father, glaring at him, Mike rubbed Missy's head and refused her request.
"Ho, I can already smell the wine!"
At this moment, Connie, who had prepared the steak feast, poked her head out from the dining room and called out with a smile, "Dinner's ready, everyone come and try the special steak Mary and I made."
"Oh, Mike. Remember to bring that barrel of red wine."
In the dining room, the center of the dining table was filled with colorful salads made from various vegetables and fruits.
And in front of everyone's seats, there were individual large dinner plates, piled with pan-fried bone-in steaks, adorned with sweeteners like ketchup, black pepper, and lemon slices.
Overall, this feast looked very formal.
"Thanks to Mike and Connie for contributing the ingredients… and thanks to God for bringing us together to enjoy this meal. Amen."
After the pre-meal prayer, Mary enthusiastically proposed, "Let's raise our glasses and celebrate this wonderful day!"
Clearly, making such a feast gave Mary a great sense of accomplishment.
And the ability for the family to gather together and enjoy a meal made this housewife feel very happy.
"Cheers!"
Amidst the crisp clinking of glasses, the adults held red wine, while the children held freshly squeezed fruit juice.
"Mike, was your trip back smooth this time? How did you arrange things at the farm?"
After tasting the red wine and eating a piece of steak, Connie, in a joyful mood, started chatting.
"It was quite smooth, and things at the farm are pretty much arranged…" Mike smiled and told everyone about his trip.
Of course, he omitted the cannibal's matter, mainly talking about the farm's restructuring.
"That's truly remarkable, the approach of distributing small shares of profit is very clever." After listening to Mike's narration, Connie couldn't help but praise him.
With her rich life experience, she immediately saw Mike's intention in doing so.
To attract 'talents' with small shares of profit, creating a community of shared interests.
Being able to make such a decision independently at sixteen years old at least proves that Mike is decisive in his actions and has considerable talent in business.
At the dining table, except for Missy and the other three children who didn't understand much about business management, the other adults all recognized Mike's excellence.
Compared horizontally, Georgie, who had used all his savings to buy a broken RV a few days ago, was far inferior in terms of vision and foresight.
"Georgie, school starts in a couple of days. You won't use that RV at all, listen to me and sell it…"
George looked at Mike, then shifted his gaze to his eldest son, trying to persuade him.
For someone who doesn't travel far, an RV is indeed useless, even a burden.
Such a big vehicle is not only troublesome to maintain but also unsuitable for daily commuting.
However, Georgie clearly didn't accept his father's good intentions. He stopped eating, lowered his head and remained silent for a while, then, as if having made up his mind, he said sullenly, "I want to drop out of school. Anyway, with my grades, I won't get a diploma."
Dropping out of school, this was no small matter.
"Why?"
George, who didn't understand his eldest son's thought process, maintained a degree of rationality. After calming his angry wife, he asked in as gentle a tone as possible.
They were just talking about the RV, why suddenly drop out of school?
"Isn't it obvious? I don't have a talent for studying. Even if I go to high school for another year, no university will want me…"
Georgie explained somewhat dejectedly.
The family already had a super genius like Sheldon, and now there were Mike and Paige, who were also super geniuses.
Compared to them, Georgie, who could only pass by cheating, clearly felt immense pressure.
"Grades are not an issue. Don't forget you're still a member of the football team. As long as you work hard, you have a great chance of getting into a good university next year as a sports scholarship student." George patiently tried to persuade his eldest son.
Mainly, Georgie was only sixteen years old now. If he didn't go to school and just idled around outside, there was a high possibility he would be led astray by bad youths in society.
"Football team?" When the school's football team was mentioned, Georgie seemed even more frustrated: "You know my situation on the team. With the current rotation system on the team, I won't even have many chances to play in the future. Moreover, my athletic talent isn't enough to become a professional player…"
"Since that's the case, why should I waste my time?"
The Medford Team underwent a major restructuring after achieving good results earlier this year.
It's roughly similar to competitive employment, where the capable rise and the incompetent fall.
Although Georgie really loved football and had put in a lot of effort for the sport.
But from the current situation, he indeed lacked some talent.
His athletic ability was not as good as Sam's, his organizational ability was not as good as Aaron's, and his overall strength was miles behind Mike's.
In addition, after the Medford Team gained fame, many talented new players joined this year.
In this situation, Georgie had even less competitiveness on the team.
"This…"
As the team coach, George naturally knew his eldest son's situation. On the other hand, the team's restructuring was first proposed by him, the coach.
Therefore, at this moment, George didn't know how to persuade his eldest son.
Competitive sports, which rely heavily on talent, are also very cruel.
"Georgie, I don't agree with you dropping out of school—"
Over there, seeing her husband speechless, Mary immediately launched a second wave of attack. She stared at her eldest son with wide eyes and commanded, "No matter what, sell that damn broken RV of yours first, and then go to school and study hard—"
Clearly, Mary harbored a great deal of resentment towards her eldest son's RV.
"I've already decided. After dropping out, I want to drive that RV and go see the world. You know I've never been outside of Texas…" Georgie, uncharacteristically, was not intimidated by his mother's aura. Instead, he calmly began to talk about his plans.
"I don't agree!"
Mary, with wide eyes, was infuriated by her eldest son's words. She slammed the cutlery onto the table and scolded, "If you dare to leave this home, don't ever come back!"
However, the forceful Mary was not successful this time.
Georgie seemed to have entered a rebellious phase. He stood up and stiffened his neck, "Then I won't come back!"
After speaking, he turned and left the house.
After this commotion, the previously warm atmosphere at the dining table was completely ruined.
"Mary, you went too far this time. Why can't you discuss things properly…"
Connie stared at her daughter and shook her head, then stood up and said, "I'll go see what's going on with Georgie, I hope he doesn't do anything foolish—"
After speaking, Connie also hurried out.
With two people leaving in quick succession, there was even less of a dining atmosphere at the table.
"Let's go out and see too." Mike gestured with his eyes to Paige and the other three children to come out with him.
Clearly, Mary needed to calm down now, and also needed her husband's comfort.
Mike leading the others out conveniently left space for George and his wife to talk alone.