Ethan Jones

Chapter 2 Ethan Jones

Time travel is actually quite a fantastical concept.

Even Ethan himself didn't know why he, a Chinese man making a living in New York in 2023, had ended up in America in 1975 two months ago and become the guy named Ethan Jones.

Ethan only remembered that he was walking to work on the day he traveled through time.

Suddenly, a scream was heard, saying that a bank had gone bankrupt, people couldn't withdraw their money, and someone was going to jump off a building.

This juicy gossip thrilled Ethan; he wanted to know which unlucky guy had deposited money in Silicon Valley Bank, which only accepted institutional deposits.

but……

As soon as he looked in the direction the voice was pointing, he saw a shadow descending from the sky, growing larger and larger.

Then everything went black before his eyes, and he found himself here.

Ethan was somewhat excited when he first encountered something like this: a lifetime could pass in the blink of an eye.

After all, this is a reopening! It's the dream of countless people!

But after he merged with the memories of the original owner of the body, he was not so happy.

The reason is simply because the child's story is truly tragic.

Ethan Jones was born in 1955 in Santa Clara County, California. His mother was a tenured college professor and his father was a career soldier.

Logically speaking, families with secure jobs like this should have very happy lives.

Unfortunately, when the original owner of the body was nine years old, his father was forced to go to the battlefield in the Gulf of Tonkin due to the Gulf Incident. When he was ten, his father was killed while covering the retreat of his comrades in the Delang River Valley. His mother, after receiving news from the front lines, fell ill with grief and eventually passed away.

Of course, if that were all, it wouldn't matter.

What's truly disgusting is the compensation Ethan Jones received.

Because Ethan Jones' father did not die directly on the battlefield, but died from an infection of his wound during treatment after being discharged from the front lines due to injury, his name was not among the 58315, and therefore he did not enjoy the highest standard of sacrifice compensation from the United States.

Those confirmed as veterans can bring their families a funeral allowance of nearly $1,000, a one-time death benefit of nearly $30,000, and a life insurance payout of $80,000 to $90,000 from an insurance company. In addition, their families can enjoy excellent welfare benefits, such as an annual allowance of about $1,000 for minor children and a monthly allowance for all family members based on national income standards.

But what about those that haven't been confirmed?

The compensation Ethan Jones received was only a few thousand dollars, which is several times less than the tens of thousands of dollars others received. The life insurance payouts from insurance companies were also reduced accordingly due to the circumstances of his death.

Fortunately, even though the original owner of the body suffered the loss of both parents and different blows, he did not join any hippie anti-war organizations or get mixed up with those who were anti-social. Instead, he continued to complete his junior high and high school education and found a marketing job at Milroyal's California branch.

The first task I received was, under the leadership of my superiors, to send invitations to colleagues in the video game industry, asking them to arrive at Mirova's new product launch event on time, because at that time, Mirova would announce to the world that it had created the world's first commercial home video game console, the Odyssey.

Unfortunately, while writing the invitation, Ethan Jones sent a letter to a man named Nolan Bushnell, who, after watching Mirova's new product launch, directly copied the built-in billiards game and created an electronic arcade game called "Pong".

Then, this guy went on to found a groundbreaking company in the history of video games: Atari.

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

When this fact was presented to the original owner of the body, he was afraid of being held accountable and, feeling unlucky, died of depression.

Now, the only one left is Ethan, who traveled here cheaply.

As for why it's cheap?

That's because Ethan experienced the internet age!

Ethan, who came from the era of information explosion, knew that the pressure on the original owner of the body was purely the result of capitalist PUA!

Is it possible to hold someone accountable simply by sending an invitation? Does Atari's profit justify its losses?

Are you kidding me!

If that's acceptable, then wouldn't all those who claim their gender is an aircraft carrier become aircraft carriers themselves?

In that case, what's the point of America repairing the Ford?

Just by making a comment, countless nuclear-powered money-printing machines could be created around the world!

cut~

During his recollection, Ethan Jones also found his Chevrolet in the parking lot of Milwaukee. He drove the used car, which he had bought for $500, to Wells Fargo, the most powerful bank in the area, and deposited the $2320 he had just received.

Although this money is compensation, it still needs to be declared and taxed. In America, this kind of income is considered punitive damages paid by the employer and is not subject to social security tax, but it is subject to income tax.

However, the American tax filing process requires filing the previous year's income before April 15th each year, and his income for last year has already been taken care of by the original owner of the body, so the rest can be dealt with next year.

Ethan got back in the car, turned around, and stopped as he passed Kroger, currently America's largest supermarket.

I went in and bought four dozen eggs, 77 cents a dozen; five pounds of bread, 28 cents a pound; six pounds of beef, $1.39 a pound; and two tubs of milk, 2 gallons each, $1.57 a gallon.

With the addition of California's 6.5% sales tax, the total came to $17.

They loaded their things into the car and then sped off towards Los Gatos.

Because Ethan's house is there.

Milrova's California branch is located in Fremont, Alameda County, just 30 miles from Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, a 40-minute drive from Highway 880.

Around noon, Ethan Jones' Chevrolet stopped in this small town of only 20,000 people. Carrying his things, he walked into a two-story country house, and as soon as he entered, a creamy, buttery aroma filled his nose.

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

Ethan followed the aroma into the kitchen.

The noise behind her made a middle-aged woman who was busy in front of the gas stove turn around.

Then, she waved the steak tongs and laughed.

"Yeah! Ethan! You have a good nose. I'm grilling steak! I bought a new breed of beef today, supposedly a cross between Wagyu and Angus, not yet in mass production, just in the breeding stage. I don't know if it's true or not, but when I was picking it out, the marbling was absolutely gorgeous. Of course, the price was also outrageous—five pounds of filet mignon cost me fifteen dollars! Fifteen dollars! My God! They're practically robbing people!"

Ethan laughed at the woman's almost effeminate way of speaking. He held up what he was holding to show it, then said regretfully, "Aunt Linda, if I had known you could buy such good beef, I wouldn't have gone to Kroger."

"Hey! Kid! What are you saying!"

Aunt Linda glared at Ethan with annoyance, then took the things from Ethan's hands like they were precious treasures.

"Beef is a good thing, you can never have too much! Because of the oil situation, everything on the market is going up in price like crazy, so buying it a day earlier is like getting a bargain! What? You also bought eggs and milk? Oh! You're doing a fantastic job taking care of the family, my darling!"

Aunt Linda put the things in the refrigerator, and then wanted to hug Ethan.

Before she could even reach out, another gruff voice rang out, "Ethan, what did you do today to make Linda so happy? I hadn't even driven the car into the yard yet when I heard the excited sounds coming from inside the house. Do you know what that feels like? It feels like Henry Fonda seeing gold!"

The loud voice made the two turn their heads.

Then they saw a middle-aged man wearing a linen shirt and jeans.

The man had a bulbous nose and a large belly that no mature man can escape, which he also puffed out as he spoke.

"Oh, darling, you're back."

Upon seeing him, Aunt Linda immediately opened her arms wide.

"Yes, I'm done."

The middle-aged man smiled and hugged her.

Good afternoon, Uncle Thomas.

Ethan Jones was no exception.

Good afternoon, Ethan.

Thomas's uncle also patted his nephew's vest a few times.

After exchanging greetings, he also learned from his partner the reason for her excitement.

At the same time, his keen mind also noticed a problem.

"Ethan, didn't you go to work this morning? How come you had time to go grocery shopping so early?"

"Isn't that because what I told you before came true?"

Ethan didn't hide anything, and casually shrugged, "I was fired. I received the notice as soon as I started work."

Thomas's uncle was taken aback by his nephew's words for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, "Oh, is that so? No wonder! I was wondering why you came back at noon today. You usually leave early and come back late."

In the meantime, he took out a box of Winston cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Ethan. Seeing his nephew wave his hand, he regretfully put it in his mouth and lit it with a lighter.

"It's good that you don't like smoking," he muttered.

Between puffs of his cigarette, he continued, "Ethan, don't be sad. Being fired is a good thing. Mirova might be a good company, but its management is as rotten as dog shit! You clearly sent out invitations according to the list given by the management; you didn't invite outsiders on your own initiative, and you didn't omit any important people. But in this situation, after something went wrong, they actually pushed the blame onto you? Damn it! These kinds of scum will go to hell!"

"But now it's all good, you're away from that awful place! Even if you don't get compensation, you can find a better place to go. For you, it's actually a relief, thank God!"

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

"But I received compensation," Ethan said.

"What?" Uncle Thomas asked, somewhat surprised. "You received compensation?"

"Yes, 2N+1 compensation, plus this week's salary." Ethan smiled and pointed to his temple. "I just used a little brainpower and a bit of the 'magic must defeat magic' technique."

"Oh! This is wonderful!" Uncle Thomas patted Ethan on the shoulder happily, then called out to his wife, "Linda! Do you have any more white wine from Gallo Winery?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Aunt Linda, who had been listening, replied immediately.

"I'm going to have a few drinks with Ethan! To celebrate him leaving that damn company!" Uncle Thomas put his arm around Ethan, laughing loudly. "I believe this will mean a fresh start for him! Those clueless guys at Milward will definitely regret their decision today!"

(End of this chapter)