Chapter 2: Ethan Jones

Time travel, when you think about it, is quite fantastical.

Because even Ethan himself isn't clear why a Chinese guy, making a living in New York in 2023, found himself in America in 1975, two months ago, becoming the guy known as Ethan Jones.

Ethan only remembers that on the day of the time travel, he was walking to work.

Suddenly, he heard a cry, something about a bank going bankrupt, unable to withdraw money, and someone threatening to jump off a building.

This juicy gossip excited Ethan; he wanted to know which unlucky person had put money in the Silicon Valley bank that only accepted institutional deposits.

But...

As he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw a shadow descending from the sky, growing larger.

Then everything went black, and he found himself here.

Encountering such a blink-and-a-lifetime-passes event for the first time, Ethan was somewhat excited.

After all, it was like a reset! The dream of countless people!

But after merging with the memories of the original owner of this body, he couldn't be so happy.

The reason was simple: the story of the child was genuinely tragic.

Ethan Jones, born in 1955 in Santa Clara County, California. His mother, a university teacher with a lifelong position, and his father, a professional soldier.

Logically, with such a family structure, life should have been very happy.

Unfortunately, when the original owner of the body was nine years old, due to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, his father was forced to go to the battlefield in Indochina. When he was ten, his father, while covering the retreat of comrades in the Delang River Valley, stayed there forever. His mother, after receiving news from the front, fell into depression and eventually passed away.

Of course, if that was all, it would be bearable.

What was truly disgusting was the compensation Ethan Jones received.

Since Ethan's father did not die directly on the battlefield but due to infection in the wound while receiving treatment after leaving the front line, his name did not become one of those 58,315. Therefore, he couldn't enjoy the highest standard of compensation from the beautiful country.

Confirmed soldiers could bring nearly a thousand dollars in burial funds, a one-time compensation of nearly thirty thousand dollars, and a life insurance payout from the insurance company, ranging from eighty to ninety thousand. In addition, family members could enjoy excellent welfare benefits, such as around a thousand dollars per year for underage children for living assistance, and monthly subsidies based on national income standards for all family members.

But for the unconfirmed?

Ethan Jones received only a few thousand dollars as compensation, which was a fraction compared to others. The life insurance payout from the insurance company also decreased accordingly due to the cause of death.

Fortunately, even though the original owner of the body suffered the double blow of losing both parents and a different kind of blow from the compensation, he did not join any hippie anti-war organization. He didn't mingle with those guys protesting the war on drugs. Instead, he continued and completed his middle and high school education. He even found a marketing job at the California branch of Magnavox.

His first task was to, under the leadership of his boss, send invitations to colleagues in the electronic gaming industry to attend the new product launch event in Magnavox. At that time, Magnavox would announce to the world that they had produced the world's first commercial home video game console, Odyssey.

But unfortunately, while writing the invitation, Ethan Jones sent a letter to a person named Nolan Bushnell. After watching Magnavox's new product launch, this guy directly copied the built-in ping-pong game and created an arcade game called "Pong."

Then this guy went on to establish a company that would have a groundbreaking significance in the history of video games, Atari.

In just two years, this company went from nothing to earning millions of dollars!

Faced with such facts in front of the original owner's body, worried about being held accountable, he depressed himself to death.

And now, it's Ethan who came across cheaply.

Why say cheap?

Isn't it because Ethan experienced the baptism of the Internet age!

Coming from the era of information explosion, Ethan knows that the pressure on the original owner of the body is purely the result of capitalist pick-up artistry!

Sending an invitation could lead to accountability? Atari's profits are evidence of infringement?

What a joke!

If this kind of thing works, then those who claim their gender is an aircraft carrier would all become aircraft carriers?

In that case, why bother building the USS Ford in America!

Just slap the mouth, and the world will have countless nuclear-powered money-printing machines!

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In the process of reminiscing, Ethan Jones also found his Chevrolet in Magnavox's parking lot. He drove the second-hand car, bought for $500, to the most powerful Bank of the Rich Country in the area, depositing the just received $2320.

Although this money is compensation, it still needs to be declared for taxes. In America, this type of punitive compensation paid by the employer is exempt from social security taxes but subject to income tax. However, the tax filing process in America is to declare the income for the previous year before April 15, and since the original owner of the body had already handled last year's, the rest could be dealt with next year.

Getting back into the car, turning around, passing by the current largest supermarket in America, Kroger, Ethan stopped.

He went in and bought four dozen eggs, $0.77 per dozen, five pounds of bread, $1.28 per pound, six pounds of beef, $1.39 per pound, two gallons of milk, $1.57 per gallon.

Adding California's 6.5% sales tax, he paid a total of $17.

He loaded the items into the car and then sped towards Los Gatos.

Because Ethan's home is there.

Magnavox's branch in California is located in Fremont, Alameda County, just thirty miles from Los Gatos, Santa Clara County. Taking the 880 highway, it would take a maximum of forty minutes to reach.

Around noon, Ethan Jones' Chevrolet stopped in this town of only twenty thousand people. Carrying the items, he walked into a two-story country villa. As soon as he entered, the fragrance of butter and steak hit his nose.

"Oh! Aunt Linda! Are you frying steak?"

Smelling the aroma, Ethan walked into the kitchen.

The movement behind him made a middle-aged woman busy at the gas stove turn her head.

Then, she waved the tongs frying the steak and smiled.

"Yeah! Ethan! Your nose is good! I'm searing steak! Today, I bought a new kind of beef, a crossbreed of Wagyu and Angus cattle. It's still in the breeding stage and not yet in mass production. I don't know if it's true, but when I picked it, the marble patterns were stunning. Of course, it comes with a beautiful price too—$15 for a five-pound fillet! That's fifteen dollars! Oh my God! Why don't they just rob us?"

Ethan chuckled at Linda's lively tone and raised what he had in his hand, saying regretfully, "Aunt Linda, if I had known you could get such good beef, I wouldn't have gone to Kroger."

"Hey, kid! What are you saying?" Linda Aunt glared at Ethan without hiding her displeasure, then eagerly took what he had.

"Beef is a good thing, no matter how much! Because of the oil situation, everything on the market is crazy expensive now. Buying early is like buying cheap! What? You also bought eggs and milk? Oh! You're doing great with the household stuff, my darling!"

Linda Aunt stuffed the items into the refrigerator and then seemed ready to hug Ethan.

But before she could, a robust voice interrupted, "Ethan, what did you do today to make Linda so happy? I haven't even pulled the car into the yard, and I can already hear the excitement from the house. Do you know what that feels like? It's like Henry Fonda finding gold!"

Both turned their heads at the loud voice, revealing a middle-aged man in a linen shirt and jeans.

This man had a red nose and a belly that mature men couldn't escape. As he spoke, he swayed a bit.

"Oh, dear, you're back." Linda Aunt opened her arms upon seeing him.

"Yes, I finished my work."

The middle-aged man smiled and embraced her.

"Good afternoon, Uncle Thomas."

Ethan Jones greeted too.

"Good afternoon, Ethan."

Uncle Thomas patted his nephew's back a few times.

After exchanging pleasantries, he also learned the reason for the excitement from his spouse.

At the same time, he noticed something.

"Ethan, didn't you go to work this morning? How did you have time to go to the supermarket so early?"

"Isn't it because what I told you guys earlier came true?" Ethan didn't hide it and casually explained, "I got fired; I received the notice as soon as I started working."

Thomas Uncle was momentarily surprised by his nephew's words, then immediately laughed and said, "So that's it? No wonder! I was wondering why you came back for lunch today. Usually, you come and go late."

In the midst of the conversation, he took out a pack of Winston from his pocket, picked one, offered it to Ethan, and when declined, he regretfully lit it himself.

"Not liking cigarettes is good," he muttered.

Amidst the smoke, he continued, "Ethan, don't be sad. Getting fired is a good thing. Magnavox may be a good company, but the management inside is as rotten as dog shit! You sent the invitation letters according to the list given by the leader, didn't invite anyone without permission, and didn't miss any important people. But in this situation, after something went wrong, they blame it on you? Damn! Such bastards will go to hell!"

"But now, you've left that damn place! Even if you don't get compensation, you can look for a better place. It's a relief for you, a blessing from God!"

Uncle Thomas made the sign of the cross in front of him.

"But I got compensation," Ethan said.

"What?" Uncle Thomas was surprised, "You got compensation?"

"Yes, 2N+1 compensation and this week's salary." Ethan pointed to his temple with a smile, "Just used a bit of brain and a bit of 'Magic must defeat magic' technique."

"Oh! That's fantastic!" Uncle Thomas happily patted Ethan's shoulder, then loudly said to his wife, "Linda! Do we have Galo Vineyard's white wine at home?"

"Yes, why?" Linda Aunt, who had been listening, immediately replied.

"I want to have a few drinks with Ethan! Celebrate his departure from that damn company!" Uncle Thomas put his arm around Ethan, laughed, and said, "I believe this means he has a fresh start! Those fools at Magnavox will surely regret today's decision!"