The discussion happening two thousand miles away was unknown to Ethan at this moment because, at this very moment, he was enjoying a wonderful life in San Francisco.
Today, with nothing else to do, he went to Fisherman's Wharf to rent a boat and went fishing at sea.
Tomorrow, with nothing else to do, he would sneak off to Twin Peaks to witness what the Spanish immigrants referred to as the 'Indian maiden's **.'
The day after tomorrow, with nothing else to do, he would simply close Frank's shop, buy two tickets to Honolulu, and snap off to see whales.
It wasn't until the guy who acted like a dog cried, saying he couldn't afford rent without the shop open, that Ethan reluctantly flew back to San Francisco.
After landing, he received a surprise.
Although Nolan Bushnell shamelessly revealed his capitalist nature during the negotiations, when it came to fulfilling the contract, he was quite efficient.
He promised the payment within two weeks, but in less than a week, on June 15th, when Ethan Jones checked his account at Bank of the West, he found an extra $190,000.
This sensible behaviour pleased Ethan greatly.
At the same time, with a huge sum in his hands, he became even happier.
Every day, it was either indulging in food, drinks, and fun or on the way to indulge in them.
As for why he wasn't doing anything productive?
Quite simple～
Because there's no rush～
Although the gaming market in the entire United States is vast and can withstand the impact of multiple games in the short term, acting against oneself seems a bit brainless.
He just released "Snake Game" in May, and now in mid-June, he's supposed to design a new game?
Players might accept it, but those businesses who bought gaming boards and arcade machines for hundreds or thousands of dollars just a few months ago – Ethan wanted them to be eliminated?
Even if it's about exploiting the market, it shouldn't be done this well!
So, let "Snake Game" grow for a while. When it officially dominates America and foreign manufacturers come for cooperation after hearing the news, that would be the best time to launch a new game.
At that time, he would consider what game to make, whether to do it himself or find someone for distribution.
Apart from games, the second thing Ethan considered as productive was the true blue ocean market of personal computers.
But even if Ethan wanted to get into it, he had to wait for his tech supporter, Evelyn Johnson, to return.
That girl is still on a graduation trip, and she won't be back until July.
Therefore, in this vacuum period of several weeks, Ethan, with no support to lean on, had to reluctantly combine work and leisure.
And just when Ethan was pondering what kind of fun he could have in these few weeks, one evening, Frank, who had gone out for dinner with friends, came back and approached him excitedly, saying, "Bro, do you have time tomorrow night? How about we go watch a movie together?"
"Huh?"
This question made Ethan blink his eyes and say oddly, "Frank, are you asking me out for a movie, at night?"
"Yeah, any problem?" Mr. Foster asked in confusion.
"Big problem!" Ethan said, "Bro, we are both guys! This is still San Francisco!"
"After bringing these two scenarios into consideration, think about whether your words just now have a problem or not."
'...'
Frank was stunned for a moment, suddenly realizing something was off. "Oh~Fxxk! Seems like there's a problem!"
But the next moment, he said, "But it doesn't matter because I'm not inviting you to watch a romantic film."
"I heard Universal has an amazing disaster movie. It had a great response during the premiere in Los Angeles! It's officially released tomorrow the 20th. How about it, after I close the store tomorrow night, we go together?"
At the same time, he patted his chest and said, "I'm treating you!"
Honestly, Ethan wasn't interested in the disaster movie Frank mentioned.
For one simple reason – living in the 21st century, he has seen countless classics.
He experienced the dinosaur era triggered by "Jurassic Park," witnessed the century-old love on the "Titanic," tasted the visual feast that changed the world in "Avatar," and played with the masterpiece on the assembly line of the film industry, "The Avengers."
So, when CGI technology hadn't appeared yet, and the special effects field in the film industry was still a blank canvas, what's so good about disaster movies popular in this era?
Can it surpass "Titanic" in disasters?
Impossible!
"Not interested."
Thinking of this, Ethan waved his hand and said, "If you invite me to watch MJ's concert, maybe I'll be interested. But a movie? Disaster film? And in the late evening? Oh~My~God~ Don't you think that every word you say is a disaster?"
"MJ? Are you talking about Michael Jackson from the Jackson brothers? Wow~ I didn't expect you to like his songs," Frank was surprised. "Are his songs really good? I can't appreciate them."
Ethan made no comment on Mr. Foster's opinion.
After all, MJ of this era had not yet truly become a superstar. The latest album was still "Forever, Michael," and it would be several years before the music industry-shaking "Thriller" was released.
For other time travelers, this time might feel awkward, but Ethan felt it was just right.
To witness the rise of the king of pop with his own eyes?
Wow~ There's nothing cooler than that~
However, even though Ethan refused outright, the next night, he still went to the movies with Frank.
The reason? Purely because when he went out to buy some food that morning, he saw a huge poster at the cinema entrance.
It was a deep blue poster with a large shark depicted, opening its jaws wide as if trying to break through the sea surface.
Above the sea surface was a red title, "JAWS."
When Ethan saw this poster, he was utterly astonished.
Only then did he realize that the disaster movie Frank mentioned was actually "Jaws"?
In the future, the globally renowned director Steven Spielberg became famous later than him.
Damn! He travelled pretty early!
The appearance of "Jaws" made Ethan, who thought movies were boring, enter the cinema.
He admitted that he had indeed not seen the first-ever billion-dollar box office movie in world cinema history.
But when he got to the cinema, he regretted it.
Not because the movie was bad, but because Frank was too scared.
As soon as the shark appeared, he was screaming! People who knew he was watching a movie understood, but those who didn't might think he got shot!
Especially when the movie reached the point where the great white shark emerged from the sea, opening its jaws towards the camera...
The ultimate terror of the pre-special effects era made Frank grab Ethan's arm in fear.
The sudden iron grip almost made Ethan pass out from pain.
"Why the hell are you so scared? Then why are you watching a thriller?" Ethan said angrily.
"I'm watching precisely because I'm scared. That's why I asked you to accompany me to the movies!" Frank justified, "If I weren't scared, wouldn't I just directly ask a pretty girl out?"
'???'
Ethan heard the ambiguity in his words.
"You asked me to watch a movie to mentally prepare yourself? So after you know the plot, you'll go out and date other pretty girls?" Ethan's face was full of suspicion.
"It's not me! Don't talk nonsense! I don't know!"
And Frank shook his head like a helicopter taking off, almost taking off right there.
'...'
This reaction made Ethan roll his eyes.
Because he felt like he was being played by Frank again.
And the next day, this guy Frank didn't even bother to act.
Early in the morning, he asked Ethan to watch the shop all day for him, then put on a flashy floral shirt, slicked his hair shiny, and went out to date girls.
Watching his carefree figure leaving, Ethan just wanted to kick him!
What kind of person is he, moving houses?