Chương 5: Chapter 5: Knowledge Comes Free
"Just leave it here, thanks. You can go now."
Evelyn's words brought Ethan back to reality. Watching her slender fingers tapping on the table, he intuitively placed the tray in front of her, smiling, "Oh, Evelyn, is there really no chance for reconciliation between us?"
"No."
Evelyn's reply was decisive. She took a sip of clam soup, the salty taste making her squint.
"Ethan, you disappoint me, you know?" She stirred the soup, continuing, "Although our family relies on farming for a living, our income is determined by God every year, and extreme weather can cause losses. But that doesn't mean we lack money. Years of hard work have allowed Thomas to accumulate quite a fortune."
"Moreover, our family is different from other foster families, right? Linda is your aunt, Thomas is your uncle, and in the absence of their own children, they treat you as their own. They never thought of kicking you out after you came of age."
"In the absence of financial pressure, I really don't understand why you are so eager to make money. Don't you know time is precious? Don't you realize that Thomas's biggest wish is for us to leave the orchard? Although he always says that if we don't want to leave, we can stay with him and take care of the garden! But at the same time, when we wanted to spend money on hiring a teacher for SAT tutoring, he didn't hesitate to pay!"
"Ding!"
Having said that, Evelyn forcefully threw the spoon into the bowl. The metallic clash against the ceramic produced a crisp sound.
Nostalgic words prompted Ethan to bring a chair from the side and sit next to Evelyn. He reached out to break apart a crab leg while saying, "Evelyn, have you heard this saying? Age is not the true standard for measuring a person's maturity. To know if someone is mature, you have to look at their mentality."
"I used to be impulsive, self-centered, and brought a lot of disappointment and regrets to you all, for which I apologize. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I now understand your good intentions."
Evelyn turned her head, furrowing her brows, staring at Ethan in astonishment.
Ethan handed the opened crab leg to her.
The handsome face with a smiling expression made Evelyn's pupils contract.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Evelyn finally took the crab leg handed to her by Ethan.
While savoring it, she asked in a muffled voice, "How much did Magnavox compensate you?"
"Seven months' salary plus a week."
"So, it's over two thousand, right?"
Evelyn quickly calculated and asked, "What's your next plan?"
"I know I still have the opportunity to go to school, but my SAT has expired."
Although SAT scores do not have a clear expiration date, most universities require applicants to provide scores from within the last two years. Ethan's scores were obtained three years ago, so many schools no longer accepted them.
"You can take it again, and I can help you with anything you forgot," Evelyn said. "If you're willing."
"Thank you," Ethan nodded in gratitude. At the same time, he helped Evelyn open the crab shell. "Although I don't want to upset you, I still want to say that studying doesn't help me much at this point."
"Oh... Sh..."
Evelyn directly put down her hands, giving Ethan a disappointed look.
Before she could utter any profanities, Ethan, with a light smile, spoke, "Okay! Evelyn! I know you're in a hurry, but don't be hasty. Because when I say this, there's a reason."
"The field I'm interested in now, just like you, is in the field of engineering. But this field is currently facing a lot of... well... discrimination from society. How should I put it? Discrimination or underestimation? I don't know which term to use, but I know how to describe it..."
"I'll give you an example. Take the place I just worked at, Magnavox. Whenever a college student majoring in engineering applies for a job, they basically write in their resume that they are familiar with the magazine 'Popular Electronics' and have successfully replicated many electronic devices based on its content."
"I think you should have more say on this, right?"
Ethan smiled at Evelyn.
At the same time, he pointed to the magazine Evelyn had just read.
That casual remark seemed to be an invisible hand smoothing out the anger on the girl's face.
And the confident smile turned the fog into curiosity, as if it were a magnifying glass trying to see the boy clearly.
After a few moments, the girl, who found nothing unusual, sighed and smiled, shaking her head.
Then she hugged the California roll and took a bite.
This situation made Ethan snap his fingers in his heart.
Because he knew that he had taken the right first step.
In fact, after learning that he had traveled to 1975 America, Ethan had been thinking about how to make a mark in the field of technology.
At first, he thought about going to college, studying science and practical skills systematically.
But as he prepared for it and collected information in this regard, he discovered an amazing fact.
In this era, knowledge in America was not limited to schools!
In the annual recruitment of engineers by the place where the original owner of the body worked, Magnavox, the first thing they looked at on the resumes of applicants was not their academic qualifications, but whether there was a description of 'Popular Electronics' in their personal resumes. If there was, they would be invited for an interview; if not, then they would consider their academic qualifications.
Such a bizarre situation surprised Ethan.
Because he couldn't understand why the credibility of a diploma from a prestigious university was not higher than that of a magazine!
But when he got hold of an issue of 'Popular Electronics' and glanced through it...
The content on it made him almost jump out of his seat!
Because that magazine detailed the production method of a three-transistor portable radio!
Though it was only three pages, it showed readers how to combine two 2N170 NPN transistors and one 2N107 PNP transistor to create a wireless radio set! If readers followed the circuit diagram provided, they could make a radio that could receive all shortwave antennas in one night!
Just this was already astonishing.
And what was even more astonishing came next.
If readers were willing to spend more time, they could use an alligator clip to create an amplifier, receiving even farther broadcast signals.
For the reception of medium-wave signals, tools like a magnetic ring or ferrite-bound antenna could be used for adjustment and searching...
When Ethan finished reading that magazine, he transformed into a living emoji.
Subway, old man, looking at the phone.
Damn! What the hell is this!
At that moment, Ethan even doubted whether he had landed in America!
As someone who had studied, lived, and worked in America, he knew better than anyone how precious specialized books were on this land! Otherwise, Amazon wouldn't have been able to start its business by selling books.
When evil capitalists assigned an expensive value to knowledge, what they wanted to do was block the upward path of the masses.
And in such a situation, America in the 1950s and 60s surprisingly had such
a good teaching atmosphere?
To openly publish knowledge about radio and other aspects in popular magazines???
This was simply too absurd!
Indeed!
The lighthouse before the Eastern Drama earthquake was the real lighthouse!
Just when Ethan was delighted with his discovery and planned to copy some things using this magazine, he found out that many things couldn't be copied by him.
For example, he couldn't figure out the difference between NPN transistors and PNP transistors.
Not being a science major and having completely forgotten high school physics before crossing over, he didn't know what IB and IC current generation processes were in the field of physics, nor did he know what a superheterodyne circuit was.
When Ethan realized that he might not be able to copy answers even when he looked at them, he truly regretted not having studied finance in his previous life.
The biggest advantage of this thing was to chat with liberal arts students about science and with science students about liberal arts—
Talking nonsense!
He was also puzzled as to why he didn't have a golden finger like ChatGPT 4.0.
But fortunately, there was a guy who majored in engineering by the side of the original body owner.
Ethan's sister, Evelyn, was a high-achieving student majoring in computer science at Stanford Engineering School.
What's more important was that she had been interested in radio since she was a teenager.
For this reason, when Thomas ordered 'Popular Electronics' for her in 1966, he also spent a lot of money to complete the previously unpublished magazines. When Evelyn wanted to practice, he allowed her to dismantle the TV at home and assemble it into a projector.
When this fact emerged, Ethan regretted even more. He had overlooked this girl next to him!
After finishing a California roll, drinking a few sips of clam soup, and eating the crab brain of the precious crab, Evelyn wiped her mouth.
"Ethan."
"Hmm?"
"I know what you're thinking."
"What?"
"You must have some idea related to electronics and computers because you can't do it yourself, so you want me to do it for you."
Evelyn asserted, "Don't try to deny it. We've known each other for almost twenty years. Do you remember high school? You asked me to make a walkie-talkie for you, palm-sized, just to hide and scare people!"
When I see you squatting, I know you're pooping, Evelyn did not pretend anymore.
She spread her hands, saying, "Yeah~ It seems that nothing can escape your eyes."
"Humph!" Ethan's admission earned him a disdainful look from Evelyn.
Staring at the boy who grew up with her for a few seconds, she sighed and smiled, "Okay, I surrender. I really can't argue with you! Your temper is like a bull's; only God knows how to make you turn! So... tell me your idea, what do you want to do this time? I'll do it for you."
"Oh, this is really great! Evelyn, I love you!" Evelyn's concession made Ethan grin.
For this purpose, he reversed his gaze and started searching.
When he saw a magazine on Evelyn's bookshelf with the words "Popular Electronics, January 1975," he immediately pulled it out.
Upon discovering a square machine on it, with the code Altair 8800 in the upper left corner, he pointed at it and said with a smile, "Can you make something like this?"
"???"
Such a question made Evelyn furrow her brows.
The next moment, after capturing the smile in Ethan's pupils, and knowing she had been tricked, she directly picked up the crab shell of the precious crab and fiercely threw it towards the boy.
"Oh, Ethan! Are you doing this on purpose? Get out!"
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