Although Ethan Jones was full of complaints, in his heart, he already had an immature plan.
As for what it was?
It was just as his old man said - "Use the law to defeat the law."
For legal issues, of course, he needed to consult a lawyer.
But even if Ethan had a goal, for a while, he didn't want to bother Barbara.
The reason was simple. If the capitalists in modern industry exploit the surplus value of labourers, then financial capital sucks up the hefty profits of these capitalists, focusing on getting something for nothing.
If MOS Corporation promised that after Ethan helped them solve the patent issue, they would authorize the protective rights of the 6502 product to Ethan Jones. For example, in the next year, Ethan Jones would have exclusive production rights for 6502, then when it came to safeguarding his own interests, Ethan Jones would definitely be more proactive than anyone else.
But in accordance with the shared mindset of those people, such a thing was impossible, right?
So Ethan Jones decided to wait, wait for MOS to solve the problem themselves, wait for the dust to settle, and everyone would share the success.
He admitted he was a common person.
He was willing to contribute to changing the world, but before that—
"How about letting me have a bowl of head soup?"
...
Since Woz had nothing to do at the moment, and Jobs' envisioned great project had not made much progress, Ethan Jones decided to leave first. He didn't want to be a third wheel in front of Woz, who was already taken, and certainly not with the perpetually moody old Jobs.
And when he once again sat in his Chevrolet, Ethan felt that the past month was like a dream.
On the surface, he met Woz, took a bite of the Apple, touched the gold mine, and was on track to achieve financial freedom within five years.
But in reality? Woz was a good guy, Apple smelled good, the gold mine looked close, but financial freedom seemed so far away!
He was busy for a month, feeling that he gained a lot, but there was no project finalized.
Although such a fact was frustrating, Ethan thought about it for a while and stopped worrying about it.
Where there's a will, there's a way!
One should be happy in life, why torture oneself?
Even if none of the things above worked out, he could still make games, right!
"Hey! It's great to be a visionary!"
"Many options!"
...
With this in mind, Ethan decided to go home and copy another game.
Oh no, design another game.
And when he returned home with a smile, he was once again overwhelmed with surprise.
"Wow! When did you come back?"
In his line of sight, Evelyn, wearing a white dress, was nestled on the sofa watching TV, her lazy appearance evident with one hand supporting her chin.
The unexpected shout made the girl turn her head at the sound. Upon seeing the dusty figure at the entrance, she exclaimed, "Oh, Ethan, you're finally back!"
As soon as the words were spoken, Evelyn got up and ran over.
With a smiling face, she was about to give Ethan a hug, but the sour smell coming from him made her take two steps back.
Covering her nose with one hand and waving with the other, she exclaimed, "Oh! Shit! Ethan, did you go to MXG for business? Why do you look like a refugee?"
Evelyn's reference to doing business in MXG actually referred to the industrial plan created by the United States and MXG to prevent illegal immigration. During World War II, due to millions of young people enlisting, the United States faced a severe shortage of agricultural labour. To solve this problem, the United States created the "MXG Agricultural Labor Plan," allowing MXG labourers to enter the southwestern United States for agricultural work.
MXG gladly accepted this plan, considering it a perfect "labour for dollars" plan. MXG could benefit from the labourers and solve their explosive unemployment problem. After the war, the return of labourers caused dissatisfaction among local residents. The local people believed that temporary immigrants took away their jobs. Under pressure from anti-immigrant groups, the "MXG Agricultural Labor Plan" was terminated after 24 years of implementation.
Although many temporary immigrants were expelled, the market environment created by cheap labor made the local workforce very dissatisfied. The native workers in the United States could not accept the immoral jobs offered by capitalists, and the capitalists did not want to provide superior, higher-paying positions. Therefore, to ensure the normal operation of the low-end production industry, MXG and the United States created a border industrialization plan.
MXG allowed the United States to invest in low-wage assembly factories along its border, and in return, the United States needed to hire a large number of labourers from MXG to solve MXG's employment issues.
After that, the scenes of paradise and hell in various media photos with half in MXG and half in the United States appeared.
Evelyn's mention of doing business in MXG actually meant that Ethan had a scent of an outsider.
This could be considered discrimination, but who cares?
With such words, Ethan looked down.
Even though he had taken a bath and changed clothes every day for the past month, it was inevitable in the hot summer. Moreover, this body had fair skin and well-developed sweat glands.
"Oh, Evelyn! While I understand what you mean, I still need to correct your mistake! Please pay attention to your words!"
"Get lost!" Evelyn was not indulging him, glared at him, then urged him to go upstairs, "Go take a shower!"
"I don't..." Ethan wanted to say something.
But Evelyn was faster, brandishing a shiny fist, "Want to get beaten up? Huh?"
"...Okay, I'll go wash."
Following the principles of family harmony, Ethan went straight upstairs.
After about twenty minutes, when he reappeared feeling refreshed, Evelyn's face lit up again.
"That's more like it~"
The girl shifted a bit, making space on the sofa.
Although Ethan went over, he had a poker face, almost writing "Do Not Disturb" on his forehead.
This situation made Evelyn grab a bag of snacks and a soda from the table and hand it to Ethan.
Seeing that Ethan didn't take it, she directly stuffed the snacks into his hands, saying, "What's wrong? Angry?"
Ethan still ignored her.
His silent attitude made Evelyn shake her head with a smile and scurry upstairs. She returned with a gift box during this process.
"Here, for you."
"Got it during the trip, I think you'll like it."
Although it was a common practice in the United States to bring gifts for people around you when you go out when Ethan opened the gift box, the clothes inside still made him scream in surprise.
It was a very ordinary T-shirt, with even the promotional slogan of the 1975 Seattle Music Festival printed on the chest. But at the same time, next to the logo, there was an extremely messy signature—Ray Charles.
"Oh shit! Is this a signed T-shirt by Ray Charles?"
"Yeah~"
"How did you get it?"
"I asked for it at the music festival. Although he has mobility issues, he's very enthusiastic. He signed over a thousand on the spot."
Ray Charles, was a national treasure-level singer in the United States, winning multiple Grammys and ranking in the top ten in Rolling Stone magazine's selection of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
Although Ethan hadn't listened much to his songs in his past life, he had watched the movie "Ray" based on his life.
Jamie Foxx portrayed him well, and Ethan liked it.
As for this signed T-shirt—
"Oh, thank you." Ethan accepted it with a smile. "This gift is indeed a pleasant surprise!"
"Not angry anymore?" Evelyn hummed twice.
"Did I ever get angry?" Ethan asked in confusion, blinking his big eyes, trying his best to show sincerity.
This shameless behaviour made Evelyn want to scold him.
But before she could start, Ethan, who sensed the situation was turning unfavourable, shifted the topic directly.
"Evelyn, can you tell me about your trip? I'm curious about your gift."
With a stiff inquiry, Evelyn rolled her eyes.
Not in a good mood, she kicked Ethan, then resumed her seat on the sofa and searched in the display cabinet.
Then, a photo album appeared in front of Ethan.
Touching the cover of the album, Evelyn's face also showed a smile.
Seemingly recalling the joy of the past month, but also telling the joy in her heart.
"Oh Ethan, let me tell you, our trip this time was really exciting!"
"We first went to Seattle and attended the music festival there. Besides Brother Ray, many singers performed!"
"Look! These are live photos! This is the Red Heart Band!"
"Really! The atmosphere there was fantastic! Much better than over here in San Francisco!"
"And after watching the show, we followed the Colorado River all the way south. Look, how beautiful the scenery here is!"
"Here, this photo was taken in Arches National Park!"
"How about it, nice, right?"
The photo Evelyn pointed to was a picture taken in front of a sandstone arch.
The deep orange rocks, born three hundred million years ago, were a magnificent landscape on this American land.
Although the photos of this era could not capture its fine texture and true charm, it didn't matter, right?
Because Evelyn's question wasn't whether the arch was beautiful, but—
"Mmm."
Glancing at the photos, Ethan decisively nodded and said, "Nice, nice, especially this floral dress, it suits you well."
"Oh! I love this dress too!"
Evelyn smiled with narrowed eyes.
"I bought it at Gap, for only $9.9."
The joy of her sister made Ethan nod with a smile, feeling relieved.
Under Evelyn's narration, Ethan also had a glimpse of her travel route.
Starting from San Francisco, heading north, then diagonally south, and finally returning from the coast of Arizona.
The ease of traveling through nearly half of the United States truly made him envious.
After Evelyn shared her joy with Ethan, she curiously asked about Ethan's escape route.
She wanted to know if Ethan really went to MXG.
For such speculation, Ethan naturally denied it vehemently. At the same time, thinking that there was nothing to hide, he directly explained his daily life.
When Evelyn learned about the revenue split for "Snake Game," Ethan went to Hawaii. She let out an unexpected exclamation upon hearing this. She stated that no matter how good the inland was, it couldn't compare to the relaxation of a vacation on an island.
But when Ethan mentioned that he only played for half a month, spending the rest of the time doing computer work with friends, they discovered a CPU with patent issues that seemed usable, but...
The girl, who had been listening with a smile, suddenly frowned.
"What did you say? A $42 CPU?"
The girl widened her eyes, looking at Ethan.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Ethan asked.
"What's wrong?" Ethan's words made the girl pause for a moment.
Then she raised her voice, "Ethan, you ask me what's wrong? I want to ask you what's wrong! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"
"Why are you only telling me about such a big thing now?"
"Why didn't you say it earlier?"