Under Margaret's driving, the car quickly returned to downtown Chicago.
Along the way, thanks to Josh's deliberate flattery and his experience as a time traveler, Margaret and he chatted quite happily.
Josh thus gained a certain degree of trust from this beautiful woman and, through their conversation, gained a general understanding of Margaret's family situation.
As Margaret had previously stated, she was not a celebrity but a housewife.
However, this housewife was not ordinary, just as Josh had suspected.
Her husband was a tennis star who was constantly active in tournaments throughout the United States and rarely was at home.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was Margaret herself.
Her father was a famous jewelry and real estate dealer in Chicago, and she was his only daughter.
After her father's death two years ago, his wealth naturally fell into her hands.
So whether it was luxury cars, diamond rings, or other luxury goods, they were all paid for with her own money.
In comparison, although her husband was a tennis star, the income of sports stars in this era could not be compared to that of later generations, and he could not support the family's luxurious consumption. Instead, to maintain a decent lifestyle, he needed Margaret's support.
Therefore, Margaret was a wealthy woman.
Josh couldn't help but marvel at his luck. Just by hitching a ride, he could meet such a top-notch woman.
However, from their conversation along the way, Josh could also sense that this lady was relatively simple-minded and was not satisfied with her current life, especially with her husband, who was often absent and had many complaints about it.
Although Josh did not have any particular thoughts about Margaret because of this, it was undoubtedly not a bad thing to know such a woman from Chicago's upper-class society.
Especially with her deceased father being a jewelry dealer, this meant that if Josh could get along well with Margaret, he might have a secure path for selling gold in the future for the jewelry industry, and hundreds or thousands of kilograms of gold were no small matter.
Furthermore, this was a win-win situation.
For jewelry dealers, having an additional source of goods was also a good thing. The Roosevelt government's control over private gold made it difficult for the jewelry industry to obtain enough gold.
Of course, while extracting Margaret's personal information, Josh also subtly revealed some of his information.
For example, the deaths of his parents and the fact that he was alone and looking for a new place to live.
To some extent, this evoked Margaret's sympathy, and she took the initiative to offer help.
"When it comes to houses, my father once developed a community in Evanston. Although it's not very good, it's a very safe community. Most of it has been sold, but I still have a few buildings left. You can go and have a look," Margaret recommended.
"Oh? How much do they cost? If they are too expensive, I may not be able to afford them," Josh asked with some interest upon hearing Margaret's words.
Evanston belonged to a satellite city of Chicago.
But that didn't mean Evanston was not good; on the contrary, it was perfect because it was in the north of Chicago.
What is the north of Chicago? That is a legitimate wealthy area.
Although Evanston was only a satellite city, its environment was similar to the North District. The famous Northwestern University was also located there.
And the place where Josh had lived before was in the near North District. Although it had "north" in its name, it differed significantly from the real North District regarding the environment.
Of course, it was much better compared to the black community in the south, Little Italy and Chinatown in the southwest, and the Irish community in the west.
What? Why is there no east district?
Of course, there couldn't be an east district because the east side was Lake Michigan.
So there was no strictly defined east district, only the Lakeshore area.
"Buy? No need to buy; you can live there. It's empty anyway," Margaret shook her head. "You are still a child. When you are an adult and have a job, we can discuss it again."
She was genuinely considering Josh's situation. Josh is alone and not yet 16 years old, so that he couldn't find a good job.
"That won't work, Madam. Don't worry; my parents also left some assets before they passed away. Although not a lot, it's enough to buy an average house and support me until adulthood." However, Josh refused Margaret's kind offer without hesitation. Although he intended to use Margaret, he wouldn't take advantage of her.
Although the housing prices in Ashton wouldn't be low, they wouldn't be sky-high.
"Okay, but there's no need to rush about the price. Let's go take a look first. Do you have any other business here? If not, why don't I take you to see it now?" Margaret said.
"Well, I don't have any other business, but I haven't had lunch yet. Madam, since you just returned from outside the city, you probably haven't had time to eat either, right?" Josh never expected this noblewoman to be so concerned about him, so naturally, he couldn't refuse. However, before that, he still wanted to fill his stomach.
After all, Josh was at the age where he was rapidly growing, and he couldn't bear to go hungry.
Margaret had gone horseback riding at a stable in the western part of Chicago in the morning that it was also her personal property. Based on the time she returned, she probably hadn't had lunch yet.
"I had a light refreshment at the stable, but just as you said, I am feeling a bit hungry now." Margaret nodded.
"May I have the honor of inviting the beautiful lady to lunch? It's also a way to express my gratitude," Josh immediately invited.
"Of course! I happen to know an excellent restaurant nearby," Margaret agreed readily and turned the steering wheel towards the lakefront.
They arrived at an upscale lakefront restaurant about ten minutes later.
It was a Turkish restaurant, which was somewhat unexpected for Josh. However, Turkish cuisine was one of the world's three major cuisines, so it was still a good experience for him.
Honestly, Josh hadn't eaten much Turkish food in this life or the previous one. Of course, the concept of the world's three major cuisines didn't exist in this era, especially with Chinese cuisine, which would eventually dominate the list, not being popular at the time.
After all, cuisine is a form of culture, and its popularity is closely related to the strength of a country. The real popularity of Chinese cuisine worldwide began after Nixon's visit in 1972.
Turkish cuisine, on the other hand, was different. Turkey's location is at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with more exposure to Europe. Turkish cuisine is greatly influenced by Mediterranean culture, and its cooking methods, serving procedures, and dining etiquette are closer to Western cuisine. Naturally, its popularity in Europe was higher.
So in this era, the popularity of Turkish cuisine among Western countries was far higher than that of Chinese cuisine.
~~ Like It? ~ Add to library! ~ Make a Review! ~ Vote With Power Stones! ~~
What did you think about the chapter? Let me know in the comment section.
In Josh's impression, the most famous things in Turkey were kebabs and ice cream.
Only after looking at the menu did he realize that there were quite a variety of dishes, but the main cooking method was still grilling.
However, there was no rotating kebab, which became popular globally later on.
He ordered a swordfish kebab, a beef kebab, and grilled eggplant for his main course. He didn't order anything else because the portions of Turkish dishes were quite large.
Margaret's order was simpler. She only asked for a lamb chop and a salad.
After the dishes arrived, Josh couldn't wait to start eating. He had only had a hotdog from a street vendor for breakfast and was starving.
While Josh was enjoying the food with the beautiful woman, there was a commotion in the south of Chicago because of him.
It was still the old warehouse, but it was now crowded with more than a dozen people.
One of them was a middle-aged Italian man with a gloomy face, holding a cup of coffee, sitting behind a desk. He was Eddie Scapelli, the number three person of the Morretti family of the Chicago Mafia.
And the original owner of the warehouse, a black-market dealer named Mike, was kneeling in front of the desk. There was also a car thief named Joe next to him.
Judging from the looks of their bruised and swollen faces, it was clear that they had received a warm welcome from Eddie's men.
The atmosphere in the warehouse was very heavy. As a high-ranking member of the Mafia, Eddie Scapelli was undoubtedly an anti-social figure. He had followed the current head of the Morretti family, Carlo Falcone, since the Prohibition era of the 1920s.
Of course, they were about the same age as Josh back then.
After almost twenty years of hard work, the two of them had grown from small bootleggers on the streets to the top bosses of the Chicago Mafia, with countless lives on their hands.
Facing such a ruthless person, Mike and Joe were terrified.
Even Mike regretted taking this deal.
Just as the two were anxious, another one of Eddie's men walked into the warehouse.
"Boss, we have news. Someone saw the car leave the city from the west, and it hasn't returned." The man whispered to Eddie.
Eddie nodded, then stood up and walked over to Mike and Joe.
"My men have received the news. It seems that you were not lying, and the other party is indeed not a local. They have already left Chicago. It will be difficult to retrieve the car." Eddie spoke slowly.
"Eddie, Boss, since you have already investigated and found out the truth, can I leave now?" Upon hearing Eddie's words, Joe's chubby face squeezed out an ugly smile, trying to please him.
But Mike, standing beside him, looked at him like he was a fool.
Did he really think he would be let off just because the truth was revealed? This young man was too naive.
If the Mafia followed the rules, then what would the Mafia be?
"Heh heh, leave? Sure. The car is worth eight thousand dollars. Mike will pay half, and you'll pay half. Come up with the money, and you can leave." As expected, Eddie sneered and laid out his conditions.
"What?" Joe was dumbfounded. Four thousand dollars, he was just a small-time thief. Where could he get so much money?
"What 'what'? That's right. I can't find the person who stole the car, but the car was lost in your hands. You didn't protect what you were supposed to, so it's your responsibility."
"Don't think I'm unreasonable. I'll give you a week. I don't care if you steal or rob, just come up with the money. Of course, if you can get the same car, that will work too."
"After a week, if I don't see the money, I'll take you to fill the lake!"
"Don't even think about running away. I will have people watching you and your family. If you dare to run, I guarantee that more than just you will die. Of course, Joe, I know you don't have any family, but you have friends. You wouldn't want your little buddies to be implicated because of you?" Eddie patted Joe's face and spoke in a menacing tone.
After speaking, he left the warehouse without looking back, and his men followed suit, leaving behind Mike and Joe, whose faces were pale.
That was eight thousand dollars.
For the big shots in the Mafia, that was just a small change, but for people like Joe and Mike, who were just peripheral members of the Mafia, they may not be able to save up that much money even if they didn't eat or drink for several years.
And the other side only gave them a week.
"What should we do?" Joe's voice trembled as he asked Mike.
As far as he was concerned, he was the most innocent. He was just there to sell a stolen car. He didn't make much money but got caught up in this mess.
"I don't know. Figure it out yourself!" Mike avoided Joe's pleading gaze and said with a dodgy look.
Unlike Joe, Mike had access to a lot of information on black market car deals and had some savings. He couldn't come up with eight thousand dollars, but he could probably manage four thousand. So, taking on half the responsibility was a stroke of luck for him. If he had been the only one there when Josh stole the car, he would be in trouble now.
Now, he just had to bear the pain, but at least he wouldn't die.
As for Joe, he didn't care about all that.
Of course, if Mike knew that it was because of Joe stealing the car that Josh Kane came after them, he probably wouldn't be thinking like that.
Josh didn't know what happened in the abandoned warehouse; even if he did, he wouldn't care. After all, you had to pay the price for what you had done. It was that simple in the world of adults.
At that moment, he was following Margaret to visit his new home.
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT