CH28 - Surprise

After getting the first bucket of gold through time travel, what should Ethan do?

Ethan admitted that, apart from the phrase "Thirty years on the east bank of the river, thirty years on the west bank of the river, don't bully the young and poor," he couldn't recall the content of the web novels he had read in his previous life. Therefore, drawing on the successful experiences of his fellow villagers became a luxury.

However, that wasn't important because, after receiving the check, he already had a plan in his mind.

When Ethan spent forty minutes walking back home from the Atari factory area, it was already six in the evening.

Thomas, Linda, and Evelyn were already having dinner at the table.

Ethan's appearance surprised Aunt Linda, who greeted him, "Oh, Ethan, you came back just in time. We just finished eating. Hurry, wash up and join us." She added with a smile, "Thomas was just talking about you. He has been wondering if you'll come back tonight. If you had arrived a bit earlier, you might have seen him preaching."

As Linda spoke, Evelyn nodded, "Yeah, yeah! Dad is like a fly! Buzzing around, saying Ethan must come back tonight! I need to use the Ford tomorrow!"

"What's going on? What's going on?"

Evelyn's words made Thomas speak up suddenly.

Initially smiling when his wife was talking, Thomas suddenly wore a serious expression, saying, "Evelyn! You can't talk nonsense! I was clearly concerned about Ethan's safety! Worried he might have trouble outside! It has nothing to do with whether he needs the car or not, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah~ It's my fault for being talkative."

"Oh! What's with this attitude, Evelyn? Do you talk to your father like that?" Thomas was a bit angry.

Ethan enjoyed watching their banter. He knew they weren't really arguing; their intense reactions were just their normal way of communicating as father and daughter.

As for the pickup truck Thomas mentioned?

The Ford F-150 that Ethan drove was Thomas's treasure. As a farmer, Thomas often roamed fields and forests with it. If it weren't for Ethan's urgent need, he wouldn't lend it out under normal circumstances.

Because Thomas cherished it so much, every time Ethan took it, he would mutter about it for a long time, as if he had lost his soul. And now...

Ethan rubbed his face and sat at the dinner table in a low mood.

"Thomas, I'm sorry."

Ethan said, "Something unexpected happened today. You might not see your Ford for a short time."

"!!!"

The sudden words made the three at home turn their heads abruptly.

"What?!!!" Aunt Linda raised her voice, stood up anxiously, and walked to Ethan, "Ethan, what happened? Did you have a car accident? When did it happen? How are you?!"

She waved her hands as if trying to find any signs of injury on Ethan.

"You were supposed to go to an exhibition in San Francisco today, right?" Evelyn widened her eyes, "Did something happen on the way? No! I didn't hear any car sounds just now!"

Her bright eyes stared at Ethan, seeking answers.

"What did you say?" Thomas was also confused, "My car had an accident?"

"Oh! My old Ford is not sturdy! Are you okay?" As soon as he said this, he felt something was wrong and added, "Wait a minute! When did the accident happen? Why didn't you call home? Sxxt! How many times have I told you? As long as you encounter something you can't handle, tell us directly! Don't wait until after the incident to inform us!"

"What's the situation now? Did you call the police? What's the outcome? Should I find someone?" The sudden concern made the air around them seem stagnant.

Ethan enjoyed the atmosphere and suddenly looked up.

"Dang dang dang dang!" He added his own background music.

At the same time, he took out two checks from his pocket, waved them in the air, pushed $3,000 towards Evelyn, handed $2,000 to Thomas, and laughed, "Hahaha~ You both got fooled by me~"

"???"

The abrupt change left the three people present bewildered.

As Ethan explained his encounter today, they, who understood, were even more speechless.

"Ethan, are you saying that you sold the game, sold it to Atari, and because of the celebration, you had a drink? Since you remember not to drink and drive, you walked back. And you wanted to celebrate with us, but when you saw me thinking about the car, you wanted to surprise us by scaring me?"

Thomas furrowed his brow and summarized Ethan's description.

"Yeah!" Ethan vigorously nodded, clapped his hands, and shouted, "Surprise!!!"

"You're the surprise!!!" Ethan's shout earned him a slap from Linda.

"Ah~" Ethan winced and shouted.

Linda didn't show mercy, giving Ethan a big thump, loudly saying, "Celebrate if you want, but why scare us?"

"I thought you had a car accident!"

Linda glared at Ethan without mercy, then clenched her fists, knocked a few times on Ethan's arm, and loudly said, "If you dare to do this again, I'll directly take the broom from the kitchen and beat you! I swear! I swear to God!"

"Alright, alright. Linda, don't hit him."

Seeing his wife's volcanic eruption, Thomas quickly stopped her.

Although he also felt that Ethan's joke wasn't that funny, watching his nephew, beaten by his wife, he let it go, put away his worries, expressed curiosity, shook the checks in his hand, and revealed joy on his reddened cheeks.

"Ethan, is this $2,000 for us?"

Thomas's question made Ethan crane his neck. Seeing that Linda had returned to her seat, feeling that he wouldn't be threatened by an iron fist anymore, he became spirited again, "Of course!"

Ethan twisted his body, "A little token of appreciation. Thank you for taking care of me."

"Hahaha~"

Thomas leaned back, rubbed his belly, and laughed heartily.

"Yeah~Yeah~Yeah~ I like your thanks. As for the gift..."

Thomas hesitated for a moment but eventually accepted, "Put it with us first, and I'll have Linda hold it for you."

At the same time, he added, "If we ignore the recent scare, this is indeed a surprise!"

"I admit, I'm happy for you right now!"

Thomas's acceptance brought joy to Ethan. When he turned his gaze to Evelyn, the girl who was examining the check kicked him, muttering, "Surprise, huh?" Then she shook the check and asked, "Why do I have a thousand more than you? Wasn't it agreed to split it in half?"

Evelyn's venting made Ethan twitch at the corner of his mouth, but after catching the hidden smile on the girl's face, Ethan also sat down, enjoying dinner while saying, "Oh~ Evelyn~ This thing is a long story..."

Yes, after receiving the check from Nolan Bushnell, Ethan's most desired thing to do was to spend it all!

He didn't want to buy anything; he just wanted to give these checks to Thomas and Linda purely!

As he said, it was to thank them for taking care of him these days!

Or, in other words, the Johnson family atmosphere made him very happy.

He liked this relaxed environment, liked the feeling of being loved.

And he was willing to contribute his strength to maintain all of this.

As for the behaviour of earning money to support the family being somewhat Easternized?

Oh!

Ethan was never worried about this.

Because in his past life, when he first set foot on American soil, he found that the family here was different from what the media portrayed.

Throwing children out once they reach adulthood and not caring, where everything had to be self-reliant?

Nonsense!

Family first is the core value here!

Driving a pickup truck to send children to college, helping with tuition and living expenses, there's so much of that! Even Hollywood productions must follow this trend!

Take "Fast & Furious" for example, even though the plot has started with space racing, Vin Diesel still has to hug his family when he comes back.

All kinds of American TV series are the same. Protagonists who are positive and upward always have a bunch of dragging family members, yet even so, the protagonist has to sing, "We are a family~"

Wow, that kind of tolerance is simply saintly!

People watching it can't help but roll their eyes!

So, after discovering that he had travelled through time, what Ethan most hoped for was not to fall into the underground.

He really couldn't imagine being entangled with a bunch of lousy relatives while working hard.

Now, living in a harmonious environment was like heaven for him!

And with Ethan's narration, Thomas and the others also understood Ethan's experience today.

Knowing that the six thousand was just the down payment and that there was more to come later, Thomas opened two bottles of wine, wanting to have a good drink with Ethan.

For such a proposal, Ethan, who was equally happy, naturally wouldn't refuse.

After a few bottles of "glug glug," when he woke up again, it was already noon the next day.

The sunny weather made him feel relaxed.

After taking a shower, and preparing some food casually, he lounged in the backyard, basking in the sun and reading a book.

It's not that he didn't want to entertain himself, but there wasn't much entertainment in this era.

When a person is used to the Internet age, where opening a short video can enjoy a life without early court sessions, the old-fashioned activities of this era, like billiards, bowling, and disco, just aren't that interesting.

As for working hard to make money?

This wasn't playing "Era," and the consumption capacity of the market is limited.

An unlimited supply of creativity will only cause an industry to collapse instantly.

And while Ethan was contemplating whether, in the days before the game's launch, he could go and play in the orchard at home, he hadn't lain down for a while when Evelyn, who was resting at home for the weekend, found him some fun.

"Get up."

Wearing a floral shirt and black pants, Evelyn kicked Ethan's foot.

"What are you doing?"

Ethan moved away from the book, somewhat puzzled.

"Taking you to a place."

"What place?"

"A fun place. Remember to bring your driver's license."

Evelyn's ambiguous words confused Ethan.

But he still followed.

After about half an hour, Evelyn, driving the car, stopped in front of a store in San Jose.

At this point, a huge logo appeared in front of Ethan —

Big 5 Sporting Goods.