Rebirth of America, this is my time

Chapter 333 Good reunion and good separation, late 1980s

"Oh, one more thing."

As if he didn't want to dwell on this topic, Ballmer slapped his forehead and said: "Since you and the agricultural production company under the chairman's name only hold more than 10,000 acres of land, they cannot meet the needs of those buyers. For example, McDonald's wants your uncle to be their only supplier in California, so over the past six months, your uncle has been expanding aggressively with their help."

"Companies such as McDonald's, Nike, and Coca-Cola took the initiative to communicate with the original suppliers and asked them to sell their farms to your uncle. So far, nearly 60% of the farmers have reached purchase agreements with your uncle Thomas. After this operation, the agricultural land under the name of you and the chairman has exceeded 60,000 acres. After all acquisitions are completed, this number can expand to 100,000 acres. Although it will not become the largest agricultural producer in California, it will It’s definitely second to none in the Bay Area.”

Nearly four million acres of land in California are used for agriculture, and more than two million acres are cultivated.

Among them, Los Angeles has the most cultivated land in California, followed by San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. When a large amount of cultivated land is divided up by several major cities, the holding of 100,000 acres can indeed make Ethan the Bay Area's leader. Large farmer.

But Ethan didn't care about this.

With his current size, becoming the biggest player in California is just a matter of spending some money, and this money...

Thomas will spend it for him.

If he didn't spend it, he would have to pay a large amount of tax on the project share he proposed from the company every year.

Not worth it.

"Okay, let's not talk about this matter anymore." Ethan stopped the topic and said, "Apart from these three things, don't you have anything else you want to tell me?"

"Boss, I don't understand what you mean." Ballmer smiled at Ethan.

"Don't you understand? Then I'll tell you the truth." Ethan leaned on his seat, looked at the bald head with emotion, and said: "Microsoft's side... Or maybe Bill Gates' side... "

"Didn't I contact you?"

This question stunned Ballmer on the spot.

And when the bald head caught the reluctance in Ethan's pupils, this top student from Harvard immediately laughed, lowered his head slightly, and touched his thighs with both hands.

The whole person looked very restrained, and at the same time, his tone also sounded guilty.

"Found it." Ballmer said frankly without any further hesitation: "The day Microsoft obtained the graphical user interface authorization, William called me."

"He said……"

"He wanted to invite me to join Microsoft as CEO of Microsoft."

"The price he offered is also very attractive. As long as I nod, I can immediately get 5% of Microsoft's equity. If I can work for Microsoft for eight years, I can also get another 3% purchase right." ."

"I love the offer."

Ethan pursed his lips at the honest words.

After solving the external trouble of financial capital, quelling the civil strife became what Ethan had to do.

The cause of the civil strife is Bill Gates and even more so Steve Ballmer.

In fact, Ethan had long known that after he made the decision to refuse to share the company's interests, Destiny Game would not be able to retain any management talent.

In this case, Steve Ballmer's departure is only a matter of time.

Now--

Time is up.

"Then why didn't you go?"

Ethan asked with a smile:

"Don't you want to wait until I'm done and stop before you talk to me about this matter?"

"Yes." Ethan's words made Ballmer nod his head and said, "I have actually promised William, but I also told him that it will take some time before I take office."

"Because you've always trusted me over the past few years."

"You are willing to leave all kinds of complicated matters to me."

"Also willing to let me run the company in your absence."

"Although Destiny Game did not bring me free money, it did bring me experiences and experiences that other companies could not bring me, so..."

"There's no way I could just leave without you."

At this point, Ballmer also raised his head.

It was as if all the secrets had been revealed, so he looked relaxed at this moment.

"After I promised William, I also gave him a time limit. I will definitely report to Seattle next spring, and judging from the current situation, the time is just right."

Ethan raised his eyebrows at the unmistakable words.

"What if I don't let you go?"

"After all, I also have shares in Microsoft."

"When I handed Excel over to Microsoft, I forced William to sign a commitment letter."

"In the future, I will have the right to ask questions about changes in Microsoft's ownership and can veto them with one vote."

"But you won't do that, right?" Ethan's threat made Ballmer shrug and said: "Even if I go to Microsoft, I will still be working for you, but the office location will be changed from California to Washington. "

"Essentially, I'm still yours."

"And this is the most important thing right now, isn't it?"

"Hahaha——" Ethan laughed.

He gave Ballmer a thumbs up and said, "You're right."

"You are still mine."

"This is the most important thing."

In the past few years, Steve Ballmer has paid a lot for Destiny Game. Although he has not gained much money, he knows a lot of secrets related to Ethan Jones.

Among them, there are many things that cannot be known to outsiders.

Therefore, even if Ethan lets him leave, it will only allow him to go to a place where he can be seen, and Microsoft is the best place for him to return.

Microsoft can give Steve Ballmer the wealth he wants.

And Ethan's control of Microsoft can also make this big bald man shut up.

"Fine."

"You can report on it next spring."

"And before you leave, I hope you can stand the last duty."

"Okay?"

Ethan winked at Ballmer.

The bald man nodded humbly, "No problem, boss."

"I'll wait until the handheld comes out before I leave."

"And I have already arranged the launch issues related to the handheld console."

"The press conference will be on December 23rd."

While speaking, the bald man also raised his right hand and pointed at Ethan's desk.

There lay a stack of papers as thick as a finger.

During Ethan's absence, Steve Ballmer has completed all the production, release and sales of the handheld console in accordance with his requirements. The production is still under the control of Michael Blanco's company as before, and the venue of the press conference will be at the Stanford Auditorium, because he has communicated with Metropolis, and they will let ABC arrange the live broadcast. As for sales...

Same old thing.

The channels used are still home hosts.

When it comes to channels, we have to mention Wal-Mart.

As of last month, they have expanded beyond the central region of the United States and extended their reach to the southeastern United States, opening superstores in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, and acquiring 92 stores. The store's Kuhn is Big K.

Walmart’s crazy expansion will make it easier to sell Destiny game machines.

"Thanks."

After carefully flipping through Ballmer's last document, Ethan smiled and said: "I will prepare the speech on the 23rd myself. All you have to do is invite the guests."

"All colleagues are invited."

“Remember not to leave out Nintendo.”

"Okay boss." Ballmer had no objection and stood up and said, "I'll go right away."

There is no such thing as a banquet that lasts forever. Now that Ballmer has decided to leave, everyone can get together and part ways.

With the departure of the big bald man, Ethan is also preparing to look for an assistant again.

After he told his sister about this, Evelyn, who had long known that Steve Ballmer was leaving, suggested: "I think the guy next to Steve is pretty good. You can come over."

"Huh? You mean Steve's assistant?"

Ethan tried hard to remember who was around Ballmer.

For a long time, I didn't think of a dazzling person.

"I'm talking about Steve Jobs." Evelyn interrupted his thoughts, "Not Ballmer."

The sudden leap made Ethan frown slightly, and just when he was wondering how Evelin knew the people around Jobs, Evelin had already said: "Do you remember last year's national competition?"

"After the game, you hosted a dinner party."

"At the dinner, there was a middle school student who was very interested in Apple, so you arranged for him to meet with Steve Jobs. Then, this guy was accepted by Steve Jobs and became his assistant."

"Due to the issue of Apple's listing, this guy has been coming to us a lot recently."

"Pass information to Ballmer."

"I think they communicate very well."

His sister's words brought back memories for Ethan.

The thin figure of Michael Dell even appeared in front of him.

When this young man was instantly captured by Ethan, he immediately frowned.

Because this guy seems to be too early to reach adulthood, right?

In the beginning, he stayed with Steve Jobs in the name of learning.

Also, this guy really loves computers.

However, these are not important...

This guy is famous, which means he has ability, or potential.

"Okay, I'll ask then."

Ethan didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement.

"If he was willing to come, I think Steve would definitely let him go."

Putting such trivial matters aside, Ethan returned to paying attention to the outside election.

Just like what I remembered, when the voting results came out, the former governor of California defeated Commander Jimmy with an overwhelming advantage and was successfully elected as the 40th Commander-in-Chief of America.

The result also prompted a call from Barbara Babcock.

"Ethan, I'm coming back."

The Archmage on the other end of the phone seemed very relaxed.

"Welcome home."

Ethan did not hesitate and directly welcomed Barbara.

After chatting for a while, he also called the former governor of California.

Sending him my sincere blessings.

With the end of the U.S. election, the tumultuous 1980s also came to an end.

When December 11th arrived, Ethan also flew to New York with Jobs and the others.

On the 12th, a group of people arrived outside the Nasdaq exchange in Times Square and were bombarded by reporters. They took photos under the flashing flashlights and smiled while being surrounded by guns and cannons. It was almost time to wait. Finally, they got into the war room of the exchange.

A company’s bell-ringing process is actually quite simple.

After taking photos at the entrance of the exchange, you can wait in the war room for the results of the call auction. This step will verify whether their final price is high or low. After passing this level, everyone will go to ring the bell. During this process, as long as the stock market is opened, the stock will be officially traded.

This means that from now on, there will be one more company in the world whose value is determined by the market.

It also means that starting from today, Apple will have to look at money.

If not...

When the public invests, people will vote with their feet and teach them how to behave.

Maybe it’s because I followed Ethan a lot.

But it's also possible that Apple's road to going public has more ups and downs than the stock's rise and fall.

Even if Apple's stock price reached fifteen dollars during the call auction period, no one in the war room was too excited. Even if the price fell back in the afternoon and closed at only thirteen point one on the first day, no one was discouraged, as if Everything is as it should be.

But no matter how calm they behaved, Apple's market value of 4 billion still made the outside media and the public collectively shout - "Oh! My! God!"

Because no one thought that a company that was only established for four years could achieve this!

What’s more, I didn’t expect that the average age of the entire company’s founder team is less than twenty-seven years old!

"This is definitely another miracle on the North American continent!"

"It is the perfect embodiment of the American dream!"

"Two college dropouts and a high school student built a company with a market value of more than 4 billion in just four years! This relies not only on their love for the computer industry, but also on their Smart, and America’s excellent system and relaxed environment!”

"Only in a truly free land can truly brilliant flowers bloom!"

"We also believe that Apple will not be the last miracle on the North American continent!"

"As long as we have hope, tomorrow will be better!"

Hearing the dog-like compliments, Ethan shook his head repeatedly.

But those two guys, Jobs and Wozniak, were very happy.

Not only that, when "Time" magazine expressed that it wanted to take a series of photos of them, give them an exclusive interview, and make them the cover of the new issue, these two guys who had never seen the world didn't even think about it. He immediately agreed without hesitation.

Of course, when the invitation was sent out, Time asked Ethan to come along.

And he...

He declined politely.

"I still have something to do, I'm going back."

"What about the new product launch?" Jobs asked.

"Yes." Ethan nodded.

"Oh Ethan - what new games are you going to release this year?" Wozniak became more energetic.

Even though he is a billionaire, he is still interested in video games at this moment.

“I have completed both Star Wars games!”

"Although you didn't make those two games, they are still very good to play!"

"Oh, thank you." Ethan accepted the compliment with a smile and said, "As for what the new game is?"

"You'll find out soon enough."