Ethan's surprised words made Jobs—dressed in a black T-shirt—swear right back:
"Oh Sxxt! You're asking me why I'm here? I should be asking why you didn't come find me!
MOS has already started producing the 6502 in Mountain View! I heard you're even a shareholder? Dxxn it! Why didn't you tell me something this big? Are we still brothers or not?!"
Because he suddenly remembered—Jobs had indeed talked to him about building computers. At that time, they'd even reached some kind of tacit agreement.
But then MOS's generosity had completely distracted him, and in his excitement he'd forgotten all about it.
"Fuck! How could I forget about Apple?!" Ethan cursed as he thought.
however, his expression hardly changed. In fact he even managed to squeeze out a touch of grievance.
"Oh—Steve—you're really wronging me. These days I've been tied up with MOS: site selection (checking it out), registration (signing papers), equipment purchases (listening to reports), production (well, I know it's happening)… I had to take care of all of that.
My plan was to wait until the first batch of chips came out, then contact you. I wanted to surprise you!
But… you found out in advance? Ah, I'm really sorry—I guess I didn't do a great job keeping it secret…"
Ethan pursed his lips, looking regret.
Jobs froze. "what? You wanted to surprise me?"
"Yeah" Ethan nodded with a smile But the smile only lasted a second before he replaced it with a weary look.
"I was busy until early this morning. I thought the trial production results would be out in the next few days. Don't you want to make computers? That's why I watched things personally, to try and push them to hurry. But… sorry. Maybe my actions were a little inappropriate… You misunderstood."
"…"
Jobs was at a loss for words. "Oh my friend, I'm so sorry…" He waved his hands wildly, flustered. "I didn't know that's how it was. I just heard MOS already had a factory in California and thought you'd forgotten me. I'm sorry, I was too impatient…"
Jobs' softened attitude made Ethan breathe a sigh of relief. He knew his performance had worked.
He waved his hands as if it were nothing, then invited Jobs inside to discuss computer production in detail.
And of course, knowing he was in the wrong, Jobs naturally didn't refuse.
However, just as Jobs was wondering if he'd been too impatient barging in, he followed Ethan through the living room and was about to head upstairs—when suddenly he heard a voice from behind.
"Ethan, aren't you having breakfast? Weren't you screaming about being hungry around nine o'clock last night?
If I remember right, you even asked Evelyn if she wanted fried chicken. If Thomas hadn't kicked you out of the kitchen, you two would've been complaining about gaining weight again today, then blaming us for not helping you control your diet!
Honestly, sometimes I really wonder—when did you learn to shirk responsibility? You were never like this before!"
"…"
"…Thank you, Aunt Linda."
Ethan's slowly turned his head to glance at Jobs. Joe, was momentarily stunned—then he smirked.
At the same time, he rolled up his sleeves and arched his eyebrows.
"Oh Ethan—working until the wee hours of the morning, huh? Aha?"
"misunderstanding, all just a misunderstanding…" Ethan's cheeks stiffened as he scrambled for an excuse. "Maybe I remembered it wrong. I'll think again, … Last night? Ah, I was at home last night! The factory production thing—that was the day before yesterday! Yes, yes, yes! Definitely before… Hey, eh, eh—Steve! Steve! If you have something to say, say it. Don't do anything rash!"
Ten minutes later, in Ethan's room. Jobs, still without breakfast, was chomping on the apple sandwich Linda had made, while Ethan lay on the bed, sipping cereal and mumbling.
"That's how it is… the patent issue with the 6502 was such a huge mess that I honestly forgot to call you and say the chip problem was solved."
When Ethan explained everything that had happened over the past month, steve calmed down. "Ohhhh… so illegal in one state, but legal in California? Is that because California's laws are just lax, or because the Stanford Law professors are good?"
he didn't dwell on the details. After hearing from Ethan that the 6502 chip was safe, Jobs didn't hesitate and asked outright:
"Then can I buy chips now?"
"Of course!"
Ethan nodded, "How many do you want? I'll place the order for you! Inside price—twenty-five dollars each!"
The core purpose of launching the 6502 was to break into the broader business market.
And now that Jobs had told him Woz had a military background—not to mention Jobs was eager to build computers—even if he hadn't wanted to, Ethan would have pulled out a gun, shoved it into his waistband, and forced him to!
Yes, that's right—he, Ethan Jones, was just that influenceable! As for the pricing of the 6502—he'd already discussed it with MOS.
The initial retail price was set at $42 per chip, and it wouldn't drop before the upcoming San Francisco Electronics Show.
After the show, if Motorola and Intel followed suit with price cuts, then the 6502 would fall from $42 down to $25, holding there for a while.
How long it stayed at that price would depend entirely on market demand.
If demand exploded, they'd slash the 6502 to the final target price of $12 per chip within a year.
Although from a strict business perspective, such a proactive price cut might seem stupid, Ethan didn't mind—he was happy to sell in bulk.
After all, the production cost of the 6502 was only $2. Even if the selling price dropped to $12, after deducting other costs, the net profit would still be around $6 per chip.
So really, it was just a question of how much money to make—not whether to make money.
And as a shareholder, Ethan could get access to the next stage pricing in advance.
That was both a token of thanks from Chuck Peddle and a small perk from MOS.
Ethan's good mood made Jobs grin too. He suddenly raised two fingers in front of Ethan. The gesture made Ethan blink, then chuckle.
"Twenty thousand, huh? Sure! Fifty thousand dollars—you'll get the goods shipped!"
But before he could finish, Jobs waved his hand wildly.
"No, no, no! What twenty thousand! I mean two hundred! Two hundred chips! I want two hundred 6502s!"
"…Then…"
Jobs spread his hands helplessly. "…I have no money."
"???" Ethan froze in disbelief. Honestly, the moment Jobs flashed two fingers, Ethan had guessed the guy meant two hundred chips. His "twenty thousand" reply was just a joke to see how panicked Jobs would get.
But—forget panic! Ethan felt himself being overwhelmed by Jobs's shameless instead.
No money to buy chips? Then what's the difference between that and going to a restaurant without your wallet?
This was 1975, not 2020! Wrong timeline! Who the hell starts "zero-dollar purchases" this early?!
And worst of all, the victim of this zero-dollar shopping spree was him, Ethan Jones!
After staring at this scoundrel for a long moment, Ethan finally growled:
"Steve, do you think I've got noble blood running through my veins?"
Jobs was stunned, then burst out laughing.
"Like it? If you want, I can even sing 'Ah! Ça ira, ça ira, ça ira…' for you right now!
"Les aristocrates à la lanterne! (Drive the nobles to the lampposts!)"
"Les aristocrates, on les pendra! (Hang the nobles from the lampposts!)"
"hahahaa " Ethan couldn't hold it in anymore laughing over.
Jobs followed suit, laughing he nearly collapsed onto the table.
After a long while, when Ethan finally calmed down, he said: "Alright, enough fooling around. Steve, let's be serious. If I remember correctly—you're not broke, are you? When you went out replace motherboards, didn't you make over five grand?
It's only been a few months? You've already spent it all?"
Ethan's question made Jobs fall silent. After a moment, with his eyes shifting evasively, he finally pursed his lips and admitted:
"Yeah. I spent all of the five thousand."
"…"
Ethan didn't know what to say. Just as he was about to suspect gambling, Jobs spoke again:
"I used the money to renovate our house. It's an old place, decades old. The renovation itself ate up six or seven grand. Then I used what was left to buy my dad a car— a Ford. He loves it. You know he's a car mechanic, right? With a Ford, he can swap out parts however he likes.
Sure, he had a pickup before, but… who doesn't like a new car?
When my dad asked where the money came from, I told him I earned it with friends. And when they found out one of those friends was the inventor of Snake Game, they were so happy. They said I'd finally stopped messing around.
You might not know this, Ethan, but they've been worried about me for a long time. They never said much while I was chasing fads, but I could tell they were disappointed. And last year, when I went to Asia… they were terrified I wouldn't come back."
Jobs' words made Ethan freeze. Even though the young man leaning against the table was smiling, Ethan could feel the faint sadness beneath it.
"…Is that so? Then I'll give you the money for the chips."
Ethan took a deep breath, walked to the desk, pulled out his checkbook, and wrote out a check for fifty thousand dollars.
He handed it over. "I'll sponsor you with this fifty thousand. Use five thousand to buy the chips, and put the rest into building the computer. Will that be enough?
And no matter whether your venture succeeds or fails—you don't need to pay me back.
I was willing to help Chuck Peddle, someone I hadn't even met, chase his dream. Do you think I'd be stingy with my friend?"
Jobs' face lit up at the sight of the crisp check. Taking it carefully, he smiled:
"Oh, Ethan, you get me. Why should I ever repay money I got with my own abilities?"
Before Ethan could react, Jobs added: "Okay, okay, no joke. If I start a company, this counts as your investment. Twenty percent of the shares, alright? I, Steve Jobs, have never been this generous before!
And—should I throw in a non-dilution clause for your shares? Both a structural anti-dilution and a full ratchet clause? How about that? I do know a little bit about business!"
"Hahaha—" Jobs' adorable, mock-serious look made Ethan burst into laughter. He hugged him warmly and shouted:
"For my own benefit, I have to wish you success in advance, Steven!"
Note:
① The song mentioned in the text has the theme of a capitalist street lamp.
② Jobs had a very good relationship with his adoptive parents. When he was bullied in school as a child, they spent all their savings to transfer him to another school, because they had promised his biological parents that they would support him through college.
Jobs later attended Reed College—certainly not a "rubbish" school. In fact, when U.S. colleges were first ranked in 1983, Reed was listed among the top ten in liberal arts and sciences. Naturally, the tuition was expensive: in 1971, it cost nearly $2,500 per year. Steve Jobs' adoptive parents truly invested a lot in him.
③ A structural anti-dilution clause gives investors the right of first refusal to purchase additional equity in proportion to their current holdings whenever the company raises new financing. This prevents their ownership percentage from being diluted by future capital increases.
④ A full ratchet clause means that if any future financing occurs at a lower valuation than the one at which an investor originally invested, the investor's equity will be adjusted downward to match the new price—essentially guaranteeing that the investor never loses value. In simple terms, if the company performs poorly, it must "pay back" the investor. In reality, however, full ratchets are almost never used; at most, companies may agree to a partial ratchet. Otherwise, it would be like the founder willingly turning themselves into the investor's employee.
As for the passage in the story—it's just a joke from Steve Jobs.
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