With a screech, Parker stopped the car in front of a small western-style house's garage.
This caught the attention of the middle-aged person who was watering the flowers next door.
Soon a handsome man and a beautiful woman got out of the car. It was Josh and Margaret.
Just looking at this couple, the middle-aged person's face looked a bit strange.
Although Josh and Margaret matched each other in appearance, Josh's face still had some childishness, indicating that he was not very old.
In contrast, Margaret was a mature woman.
In addition, Josh's clothing was not bad, but it wasn't anything special. It was a coat belonging to the working-class worth around ten dollars. According to the theory, he couldn't afford a house in this area.
In comparison, Margaret's fur coat was worth several hundred dollars at least.
The middle-aged person couldn't help but become interested in this couple who didn't seem to match each other very well.
After all, based on the current situation, they might become his neighbors.
On the other side, Josh, who had just gotten out of the car, seemed to sense something and subconsciously turned his head, coinciding with the middle-aged person's gaze.
The middle-aged person smiled and nodded, and although Josh was a little surprised, he still politely nodded back in greeting.
Then he turned his attention back to the house in front of him.
This was a standard American-style two-story small western-style house, and its exterior style was no different from what would be common in future America.
The only difference was probably in the interior facilities and decoration.
"How do you feel? Do you like it?" Margaret asked beside him.
"It's a very nice house, but it should be too expensive, right?" Josh asked subconsciously. Although he had expected that the houses Margaret would show him wouldn't be bad, seeing the actual thing still exceeded his expectations.
Because this style of Western-style house was very common in future America, but in this era, it was considered high-end.
Moreover, the size of this house was very large, and although he hadn't seen the back yet, just from the front, the area of this house was probably no less than 500 square meters.
In addition, there were also sizable yards both in the front and back of the house.
So Josh suddenly felt that his money might not be enough.
"Don't worry, it's not expensive, only $500, and it will be yours!" Margaret said with a smile.
Upon hearing this price, Josie couldn't help but twitch her mouth. This woman was really treating him like a child and trying to coax him.
"Um, okay, the actual price is... well, $1,000... well, $2,000. Do you have enough money?" Seeing Josh's expression, Margaret knew that the price she called out was too fake, so she quickly changed her mind and said carefully.
"Mrs. Wendys, you don't have to do this. I'm not as tight on money as you think."
"Okay, okay, $4,000. That was the selling price when this neighborhood was first built. You can't negotiate anymore." Seeing that Josh's tone was a bit harsh, Margaret had to compromise, but she bit the price firmly. "Otherwise, you're not treating me as a friend."
Hearing this number, Josh nodded. This price was finally reasonable.
Of course, Josh also knew this price was much lower than the actual price. Still, seeing Margaret's expression, the other party might get angry if he didn't accept this goodwill.
"Okay, at this price. But I have to return and get the money before paying you!" Josh said.
"The money is not urgent. You can give it to me anytime. Let's go inside and see the decoration first. Tell me if you don't like it, and I'll find someone to decorate it for you." Seeing that Josh didn't negotiate further, Margaret finally showed a satisfied smile and pulled Josh into the house.
Fortunately, the yard was large enough and far enough away, so the conversation between the two was not overheard by the middle-aged man next door who was watering his plants. Otherwise, he would have been so angry that he might have vomited blood."
Margaret's final demand of $4,000 was not a lie. This neighborhood's selling price was only $4,000 when it was first built.
However, you first need to know when this neighborhood was built.
It was 1934, just after the Great Depression.
The prices at that time are incomparable to now.
The middle-aged man and his family also moved here only last year. For a house of the same size, he spent a full $12,000.
After Josh entered the house, he found that he had underestimated the value of this house.
The decoration inside the house, although not luxurious, was extremely delicate.
Appliances such as radios, refrigerators, and telephones were all available.
Josh even saw air conditioning and television!!!
In the United States, refrigerators were popularized quite early and reached 85% in the early 1940s, so it did not surprise Josh.
However, air conditioning and television are different.
Although they were invented around the same time, especially air conditioning was 20 years earlier than television and refrigerators.
But due to technical reasons, air conditioning and television in the United States have still considered luxury items before World War II, and they were not widely available in ordinary households until after the war.
So on this day in 1943, these two appliances were still considered luxury items.
"How do you feel? Is the decoration acceptable?" Margaret asked with some anticipation, seeing Josh's fascination.
"It's great, so great that I can't even describe it in words," Josh said seriously.
This was completely sincere from Josh, without any falsehood.
After all, in his previous life in China's terrifying real estate market in the 21st century, he had tried hard for half of his life. He only managed to buy a property of about 150 square meters with the help of his parents.
Hmm, this help refers to the kind where parents bear 80% of the cost.
And he still spent more than two million yuan on it.
Even more disgusting is that there were 30 square meters of public space in those 150 square meters.
Just thinking about it, Josh couldn't help but want to hang some Hong Kong real estate developers on electric poles.
"If you like it, the bedding in the room is all new. You can stay here today. But transportation may not be very convenient here, so you still need a car. I have connections and can get you a new car. Oh, you don't have a driver's license yet, right? I'll accompany you to get one later," Margaret said incessantly.
Looking at Margaret's serious instructions, Josh suddenly felt emotional. Life is unpredictable. A week ago, he was still wondering how to fill his stomach first, and now he was living in such a luxurious residence.
So now you're just a gigolo, living off a rich woman, right?
But honestly, this 'gigolo' life... it's quite sweet.
Josh and Margaret stayed in the new house for an afternoon, but in the end, Josh did not stay there that day.
Although he had already received the key and the house was well-equipped, the problem was that the fridge and everything else were empty. The nearest restaurants were quite far away. So without a car, it was inconvenient. Although Josh had stolen a luxury car, that thing couldn't be seen in public in the short term. It could only be kept as a collection or used in special situations.
As for the new car, although Margaret had already arranged for someone to take care of it, it wouldn't be delivered until tomorrow at the earliest.
So seeing that it was almost time, the two returned to the city. After having dinner together, Margaret finally sent Josh home.
"Won't you invite me up for a bit?" Margaret leaned against the steering wheel, smiling as she asked, watching Josh leave the car.
"Uh, you understand, madam. I live alone, so my place is a bit messy... Of course, if you don't mind..." Hearing Margaret's teasing, Josh couldn't help but scratch his head. He didn't mind having something happen with this beautiful woman, but his apartment was a bit messy. He had been busy making a living and hadn't cleaned up much.
As someone from China in his past life, he wasn't used to bringing a woman he had just met back to his place in this situation.
"Haha, just kidding. Go back and rest well. I'll come to pick you up tomorrow morning." Seeing the young man's shy and awkward expression, Margaret laughed happily.
Although they had only met for a day, it was clear that Josh made an excellent impression on her, even giving her a feeling of first love.
In their previous interactions, Josh's behavior was a bit too mature. He pays attention to all the little details that make Margaret feel comfortable but also a bit heartbroken.
After all, in her eyes, a 15-year-old boy must have experienced a lot to understand so much about how to interact with people.
Only now could she see a hint of embarrassment in Josh as a teenager.
"How about this afternoon? I have some things to take care of in the morning." Seeing that Margaret didn't pay too much attention to it, Josh breathed a sigh of relief and said.
Early this morning, he retaliated against the thief who stole his car and then met Margaret to look at houses together. It completely disrupted Josh's original plan.
Although it was about his own life, what was more important was the arms deal with the Mother of Dragons.
The only problem was that it was already late today, and he no longer had a car, so he could only wait until tomorrow. Whether it was this era or the future, American stores generally close relatively early. Usually, they close around five or six o'clock, with only a few communities possibly closing a little later, but generally not after nine. Gun shops typically belong to the former category.
So if Josh wanted to buy a gun now, it was already a bit late.
Therefore, he planned to get a car today and buy a gun tomorrow. Although Margaret said she would arrange a new car for him tomorrow, it didn't prevent Josh from getting a few more cars, especially unregistered or "stolen" cars, to facilitate special situations, such as going to the suburbs without a car.
Anyway, the space in the trading system was large enough. Although the system space was not infinite, the massive space of one thousand cubic kilometers was enough to accommodate an metropolis.
And the time inside the system space was stagnant, so there was no concern about things deteriorating.
Even without trading partners, Josh could make big money through smuggling in such a huge space. Customs wouldn't be able to find anything fishy even if they stripped him to the bone.
However, Josh was currently weak, and the risk of doing this was too high.
After all, judges needed evidence, but colleagues in this line of work didn't.
As long as they suspected you of snatching their business, they had enough reason to take action against you.
In this commercially primitive era, disappearing a few people would not attract any attention.
"Okay, I'll come over at one in the afternoon." Hearing that Josh had something to care for, Margaret didn't ask too many questions and suggested another time.
Josh had no objections to this.
After reaching an agreement, the two officially parted ways.
However, after watching Margaret's car disappear from view, Josh turned around and walked in another direction.
After a dozen minutes, Josh arrived at a parking lot and then sneaked in unnoticed by the guards.
The rest was simple. He just put whichever car he liked into the system warehouse.
Some people might wonder why he could just take the car without the key.
But, in this era, as long as you could open the car door, you could quickly drive the car away without a key.
Because the car keys in this era were simply used to unlock the car door and serve a simple anti-theft function.
And starting the car was done with a one-button start, which people from the 21st century are very familiar with.
Yes, a one-button start, instead of using a car key to start the car.
The only difference is that the premise of the one-button start of future cars is that the starter must have an electronic key with chip recognition, which is not required for the one-button start in this era.
The first generation of car starters did not need a "key." Before 1927, cars used a crank start, just like tractors in the 80s and 90s.
After the invention of electronic ignition in 1927, a one-button start was possible.
The kind of mechanical key start that later generations are familiar with was invented by Chrysler after 1949.
That's why when Josh was stealing a car from an old warehouse and locking up Joe and Mike in the car, he poured a jug of coffee into the old Ford's gas tank.
But he insisted on having the Cadillac V16 car key simply because he didn't want to damage the window.
Otherwise, he could smash the window and drive away.
However, Josh didn't want to use violence on such a rare and valuable car with only over 4000 units worldwide.
But it didn't matter as much for temporary spare cars.
Just find a place with no one around, break the window, and drive away.
So when he entered the parking lot, Josh didn't choose carefully and simply "borrowed" seven or eight black conventional model cars. Then, he avoided the guards at the parking lot gate and left quietly.
The whole process went smoothly, but Josh wouldn't be complacent about it. He didn't think that he could steal whatever he wanted just because there was a system warehouse.
After all, other places wouldn't be like parking lots with almost any defense. Even if Josh was discovered, he would, at most, be suspected for a while.
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