"Well, Rajesh, introduce me to this Penny. How old is she, where is she from, what does she do, when did you get together, and when did you think about getting married?" Mrs. Koothrappali asked repeatedly.
"Mama, Penny is the same age as me, both 26 years old. She is an actress from Omaha. We have just been together for a short time, and we haven't considered getting married yet," Raj explained.
"Omaha?! Where is that? She is not Indian? Rajesh, you must know that you are going to marry an Indian," Mrs. Koothrappali said anxiously when she heard that.
"I'm sorry, Mama, I want to make my own decisions about my relationships and my marriage," Raj refused firmly. Mrs. Koothrappali was suddenly a little unhappy.
"Rajesh, you must be cautious about getting married," Dr. Koothrappali answered the phone and persuaded him earnestly. "Just try the local snacks in the United States, and don't treat them as a meal."
"OK, Papa, it's four in the morning; I'm really going to rest." Raj quickly hung up the phone. "Always remember, I love you all. Goodbye!"
"Honey, what did your parents mean?" Back on the bed, Penny stared at him and asked.
It was really disrespectful to compare her to a snack.
"Don't worry about them. Their thinking is relatively backward, and they always want to interfere in their children's marriage, but I won't listen to them," Raj comforted.
"Okay," Penny nodded, but still reluctantly said, "But the next time you talk to them, you have to tell them for me that it is their blessing that I marry you."
"Okay, don't think too much; go to sleep," Raj nodded and said.
Woke up in the morning, and after breakfast, Raj began to prepare for the evening party.
In addition to alcohol, drinks, snacks, fruits, etc., he also bought some game props.
Parties in the United States are not always as passionate and unrestrained as described in movies and TV dramas. The most common parties are just drinking, chatting, listening to music, and dancing.
In the afternoon, Raj started to arrange the party, hanging up colorful flags, tying balloons, and serving food. After the arrangement was complete, the atmosphere of the party had been set.
The party was scheduled to be held at six o'clock in the evening, and Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard arrived at six-oh-five.
"Welcome." Raj opened the door and smiled.
"Happy birthday, Raj!" Leonard smiled and presented a big gift bag with both hands. "This is a gift from me."
"Happy birthday, buddy, this gift is from me." Howard also smiled and handed over a gift.
Only Sheldon stood there, making no expression.
"Sheldon, we agreed when we came." Leonard saw this and quickly reminded him.
"Oh, I hate exchanging gifts the most. The whole gift-giving mechanism is meaningless." Sheldon frowned and said, "For example, if I want to give you a gift worth fifty dollars, you will give me a fifty-dollar gift in return in the future. Repeatedly, until one of us dies and leaves an old man with fifty dollars.
Besides, when I give you a gift, I have to try my best to guess what you want, and you already know the answer. This creates a lot of wasted brainpower.
In the end, the gift I gave may not be what you need, and the gift you gave may not be what I need, which also causes a lot of waste of money."
Raj nodded after hearing this. "Thank you, Sheldon; your high-level remarks have inspired me a lot. I think you can write a paper on this, and it will definitely change the social mode of the world."
"You are right, I should do this." Sheldon's eyes lit up when he heard it, and he said eagerly.
Howard couldn't help covering his mouth and giggling when he saw this.
"Sheldon, Raj is joking," Leonard sighed. "Take out the gift you prepared."
"Okay, but let me state in advance that Leonard forced me to buy this gift. If you don't like it, don't look for me; go find Leonard." Sheldon handed the gift from behind.
"It doesn't matter what the gift is; the heart is the most important," Raj said with a smile. "In short, thank you, everyone; please come in!"
"Wow, the layout is not bad." After entering, Howard grabbed a handful of pretzels and looked around while eating.
"Thank you, I arranged this myself." Raj smiled.
"What about Penny? She has an appointment with a friend. Won't she miss it?" Howard worried.
"Penny has to go to work today, so she won't bring her friends here until later. Don't worry, I won't forget what I promised you." Raj explained and then frowned, "However, are you two really going to wear those clothes?"
Although Howard wore a suit, he still had on leggings, a turtleneck sweater, a Beatles hairstyle, and a garish belt buckle.
Leonard was wearing an old-fashioned corduroy suit that made him look like an unearthed cultural relic, at least a hundred years old.
"What's wrong? This is my best outfit," Leonard wondered.
"I've changed too. I'm wearing a suit." Howard also explained, "I can't change too much at once—it'll give my mother a heart attack. But thinking about it, I probably should change a little more."
"Okay, it's too late to change now." Raj nodded and said, "If tonight goes well, you can invite your girlfriends to go shopping with you tomorrow. If things don't go well tonight, I'll ask Penny to take you both shopping for clothes tomorrow. You really can't keep dressing like this."
Hearing what he said, Leonard and Howard nodded.
If they both failed tonight, it would be time for a change of look.
After nearly half an hour, other guests arrived one after another, most of them university colleagues. Everyone gathered together, talking and chatting, and it was quite lively.
When Penny arrived with a dozen of her female friends, the atmosphere at the party reached its peak.
"Raj, help us." After seeing these beauties arrive, only to be quickly snatched up by other guests, Leonard and Howard hurriedly found Raj.
Neither of them was good at picking up girls. They could only watch other people flirt, unable to do anything themselves.
Raj nodded and quickly found Penny. "Penny, which two are you going to introduce to Leonard and Howard?"
"Leonard, let me introduce you. This is Gretchen." Penny introduced a tall, long-legged black-haired beauty to Leonard.
This made Leonard almost have an asthma attack. He quickly took out his inhaler and sprayed it a few times, a move that surprised Gretchen.
"Howard, let me introduce you. This is my friend Carol." Penny introduced another beautiful woman with curly blonde hair to Howard.
"Honorable Madam, it's wonderful to meet you." When Howard saw her, he immediately stepped forward and bowed, speaking in French.
This move made Carol frown.
"Howie, I warned you not to do this." Seeing this, Raj couldn't help feeling a headache.
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