A Month of Running Around

Chapter 34 A Month of Running Around

Upon returning to Atari, Steve Jobs approached Nolan Bushnell and shared his thoughts.

When the Atari owner learned that Ethan Jones intended to lead a team on interstate deliveries, he simply discussed it with Don Valentine and then agreed.

Walking up to Ethan, he said, "Since you're willing to help Steve make money, Tang and I naturally won't have any objections, because with you joining, we can sell more gaming motherboards in the same amount of time."

"But there's one thing I need to make clear beforehand: the delivery fee is the same for everyone. Seven dollars per circuit board. Tang and I won't take more, and we can't give you more either. I know this will be very hard work, and compared to taking a direct cut, there's hardly any profit. But without the delivery step, we wouldn't have any more profit to earn. We're making money for ourselves. I think you understand what I mean, okay?"

Nolan Bushnell extended his right hand toward Ethan Jones.

"Okay," Ethan accepted with a smile. "I have no problem with that."

"Very good, Ethan, welcome to the team."

Nolan Bushnell laughed, patting Ethan on the shoulder and saying, "You need to rest well these next few days and get plenty of rest, because in a few days you'll experience what a truly modern nation on wheels is like!"

Ethan admitted that he did not understand what Nolan Bushnell was saying.

But he did as instructed, and for the next few days he stayed home to rest and did not do any physical work.

When May 10th arrived, Steve Jobs came to call him. After Ethan followed him to Atari, he had just entered Nolan Bushnell's office when he saw a map of the United States hanging on the wall.

There are three lines drawn in red on it.

The first route starts in San Jose, California, and heads south through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, then north, eventually stopping in Oklahoma.

The second route also starts from San Jose, heading east, first to Nevada, then to Utah, passing through Colorado, reaching Kansas, and finally turning north to stop in Nebraska.

The third route also starts from San Jose, but goes directly north, first to Oregon, then to Washington, then east to Idaho, then uphill to Montana and North Dakota, finally turning towards South Dakota and ending in Wyoming.

Once everyone was present, Nolan Bushnell patted the planner on the conference table and said with a smile, "Brothers! After a week of testing, the market response to 'Snake Game' is excellent. More than 80 percent of the entertainment venues in the state have at least one 'Snake Game' machine. Some owners have even told us that at the peak, a single machine can earn $150 a day. Those customers are eager to get higher scores and control faster speeds."

"Because of the immense popularity of Snake Game, stores in Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon, which were near California, called us hoping we could send the game motherboards over as quickly as possible."

"So starting today, we'll be very busy for the next month."

"Because according to the normal speed of news spread, at most a month, the news that 'Snake Game' made casino owners crazy profits will reach the central region of America. So I drew this delivery map according to the fastest route. The bottom one, which is also the simplest one, belongs to Ethan, the central region belongs to me, and the northern region will have to be handled by Tang."

At this point, Nolan Bushnell also handed out a delivery list to everyone.

Then he clenched his fist and slammed it on the table, shouting, "Come on, brothers! It's time to make some money!"

When Ethan opened the list Nolan Bushnell handed him, he finally understood what Bushnell meant by "experiencing a country on wheels" in a true sense.

The frequency of trips listed in the delivery directory can only be described as terrifying!

On the first day, Ethan and Jobs will set off from San Jose with one hundred gaming motherboards, heading to Arizona. Their first destination is Yuma County, which borders California.

The journey is nearly 350 miles and takes about six hours. If you leave at 8 a.m., you can arrive at 2 p.m.

Since the population here is small, they only need to replace twenty-four circuit boards for the merchants who have already placed orders.

If two people work together, they can finish it that same night if they're quick.

then……

The slut is here.

After replacing the motherboard, they needed to travel overnight to Tucson, Pima County, which is located on the outskirts of Yuma County.

The remaining gaming motherboards were supplied to Arizona's second-largest city.

If they set off at night, they would definitely be able to see Tucson at four in the morning.

Replacing the remaining motherboards will take at most one to two days.

The drive from Tucson back to San Jose takes only ten hours.

Therefore, the plan suggested that, if possible, Ethan and his group should return to Los Gatos on the afternoon of the fourth day.

After a short rest overnight, and based on the orders placed in the past few days, I took the corresponding number of gaming motherboards and headed to Phoenix, the capital of Arizona.

Ethan's teeth started to hurt after seeing this!

Because Nolan Bushnell didn't schedule any rest time at all!

Or rather...

All the rest was done on the road!

The six-hour journey from San Jose to Yuma was the engineers' rest time.

Upon arrival, the engineers would work for a few hours while the drivers rested.

While the driver took everyone to Tucson, the engineers could rest again.

After moving to Tucson, the engineers' working hours became the drivers' rest time.

Although this operation has been stretched out for a long time, as they will be staying in Tucson for eighteen to twenty-four hours, it doesn't matter, because the engineers can get a good rest in the car during the ten-hour drive back by the driver.

To be honest, this kind of non-stop work schedule is truly insane!

If you complain to the union, you'll definitely be fined to death!

But when Ethan left with Jobs and another Atari employee, the remaining unselected people looked disappointed.

There's nothing we can do about it; Atari just gave us too much.

They can earn almost two months' income for an average person by going on a four-day business trip!

This kind of treatment is truly incomparable to that of ordinary jobs!

As for whether I'm tired or not...

That's a matter of opinion.

Ethan felt fine after driving for six hours on the first day, joking and bantering with Jobs and the others along the way.

But when I drive at night in the early hours of the morning, my butt hurts so much that it doesn't feel like it belongs to me.

When they returned after delivering the goods, Ethan felt as if his body was sitting in the car while his soul was chasing after it.

The numbness that came from the depths of his heart made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

But at the same time, he was also very excited.

In just three days, a hundred gaming motherboards were sold. This kind of business, which doesn't require any direct contact, is a breeze to do!

More importantly, while he was delivering goods, Nolan Bushnell and Don Valentine were also on the run!

Three hundred yuan for three days!

Seventy-two per block!

A simple calculation shows that you can earn $21,600 here!

For the next month, Ethan lived this bittersweet life. He went to Phoenix but didn't experience its vibrancy; he went to Albuquerque but didn't have time to admire the ruins of the Spanish Armada; he came to Houston but didn't catch a glimpse of the Space City's charm; he visited Oklahoma City, and here…

Well, there are indeed no large areas of Native American footprints here anymore.

(laugh~

Although he didn't get to experience the beauty of these cities, Ethan was still very satisfied.

After a month of traveling, he felt as if he had spread a green ocean across the world.

After finishing his last trip, all he wanted to do was rush back, back to Los Gatos, back to Atari, to find out exactly how many copies of Snake Game had been sold in the past month.

However, when he drove into Las Vegas and dropped Steve Jobs off to use the restroom because he needed to, the guy who went to the gas station came right back a few minutes later, pulling up his pants.

He was also waving a newspaper in his hand.

"Ethan! Ethan!! We're in the newspaper!!! We're in the newspaper!!!"

"They reported on Snake Game! They reported on Snake Game!!!"

Such a call made Ethan Jones raise his eyebrows.

Upon taking a look, the first thing that catches the eye is the logo of the Los Angeles Times.

On the newspaper's side page, a headline was displayed in bold black font—

Green snakes sweep across the west coast

(End of this chapter)