Posting Early cause I want to sleep.
Also in one of the test today I got out of marks!! Is this the power of a GOD?!!
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The car, driven by Margaret, quickly returned to downtown Chicago.
On the way, thanks to Josh's deliberate compliments and his experience as a time traveller, Margaret and he had a pleasant conversation.
As a result, Josh gained a certain amount of trust from the beautiful woman and learned about her family situation through their conversations.
As Margaret had said earlier, she wasn't a celebrity but a housewife.
But this housewife was not as ordinary as Josh had imagined.
Her husband was a tennis star, often busy with matches all over the country and rarely at home.
But that wasn't the point.
The main point was Margaret herself.
Her father was a prominent jeweller and property developer in Chicago, and she was his only daughter.
When her father died two years ago, all his wealth naturally passed to her.
So whether it was the luxury car, the diamond ring or other lavish items, they were all bought with her own money.
In contrast, although her husband was a tennis star, the income of sports stars in those days was nowhere near what it would become, and it couldn't support a luxurious lifestyle. Instead, he relied on Margaret's financial support to maintain their lifestyle.
So Margaret was indeed a wealthy woman.
Josh couldn't help but marvel at his luck - he had managed to hitchhike and meet such an extraordinary woman.
From their conversation, however, it was clear that Margaret had a rather simple mindset and was not entirely happy with her current life, especially with her husband who was often away. She had a number of complaints.
Although Josh didn't develop any particular feelings for Margaret, it was undoubtedly a good thing to know a woman from Chicago's upper class.
Especially considering that her late father was a jeweller, which meant that if Josh could cultivate a good relationship with Margaret, he might have access to secure sources of gold in the future - after all, in the jewellery industry, several hundred or thousand kilograms of gold was no big deal.
It was also mutually beneficial.
It was also good for the jewellers to have an additional source of supply. The Roosevelt administration's control of gold made it difficult for the jewellery industry to get enough gold.
Of course, as he extracted Margaret's personal information, Josh subtly shared some of his own.
For example, he mentioned that his parents had died and that he was looking for a new place to live on his own.
This, to some extent, elicited Margaret's sympathy, and she began to offer Josh help on a voluntary basis.
"When it comes to housing, my father has developed a community in Evanston. It may not be the best, but it's a safe neighbourhood. Most of the houses have been sold, but I have a few left; you can have a look at them," Margaret recommended.
"Oh? I wonder how much they cost? If they're too expensive, I might not be able to afford them," Josh asked, feeling tempted.
Evanston was a satellite town of Chicago.
But that didn't mean Evanston was undesirable, quite the opposite.
It was on the north side of Chicago.
What is the north side of Chicago? It's the really wealthy part.
Although Evanston was only a satellite town, its surroundings were not far from those of the North Side. It was home to the famous Northwestern University.
In contrast, Josh's previous residence was in the Near North Side, which was part of the North Side, but quite different from the actual northern neighbourhoods in terms of environment.
Of course, it was a lot better than the black neighbourhoods on the South Side, Little Italy and Chinatown to the southwest, and the Irish community to the west.
What? You ask why there's no East Side?
Of course not, because to the east is Lake Michigan...
So there was no strictly defined East Side, just the Lakeshore area.
"Buy? No need to buy, you can just stay there, it's empty," Margaret shook her head. "You're just a kid. You can decide when you're grown up and working."
She was genuinely considering Josh's situation; after all, he was alone and not yet 16, which made it quite difficult for him to find a decent job.
"That won't do. Don't worry, madam; my parents left some assets before they passed away. Although it's not much, it should be enough to buy a modest house and support me until adulthood." However, Josh refused Margaret's kindness without a second thought.
While he wanted to help Margaret, he didn't want to take advantage of her.
Property prices in Evanston weren't cheap, but they weren't astronomical either.
"All right, but there's no hurry as far as the price is concerned. Let's look at the houses first. Do you have anything else to do? If not, why don't I take you to them now?" Margaret suggested.
"Well, I don't have anything urgent, but I haven't had lunch yet. Since you've just come back from out of town, you probably haven't eaten either, have you?" Josh hadn't expected this wealthy woman to be so attentive to his needs, and he didn't want to refuse her offer, but he still wanted to fill his stomach first.
After all, Josh was at an age when he was growing rapidly, and missing a meal made him feel quite hungry.
Margaret had been at a horse stable on the west side of Chicago that morning - yes, that was Margaret's private property too. Given the time of their return, she probably hadn't had lunch either.
"I had a little snack at the stables, but now that you mention it, I am a little hungry," Margaret nodded.
"May I have the honour of inviting the beautiful lady to lunch? It would also be my way of thanking you," Josh suggested immediately.
"Of course! I know a very nice restaurant nearby." Margaret happily agreed and turned the wheel to head towards the Lakeshore area.
About ten minutes later they arrived at a very upmarket restaurant on the Lakeshore.
However, to Josh's surprise, the restaurant that Margaret had described as "very nice" was not, as he had assumed, a French restaurant, but rather a Turkish one.
Well, it's still one of the world's top three cuisines.
To be honest, whether in his previous life or this one, Josh hadn't eaten much Turkish food.
Of course, the concept of three great cuisines didn't exist in those days, especially as Chinese cuisine, which would come to dominate that list, wasn't popular at the time.
Nothing could be done about that; it was a limitation of the times.
After all, cuisine is a part of culture, so its popularity is closely related to the strength of a nation.
Chinese cuisine only became popular worldwide after the scenes of Nixon's visit in 1972 were aired in the United States.
Turkish cuisine, on the other hand, had the geographical advantage of being at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, had more interaction with Europe and was heavily influenced by Mediterranean culture. Its cooking methods, serving techniques and dining etiquette were also closer to Western cuisine, which naturally made it better known in Europe.
As a result, Turkish cuisine was far more recognised in Western countries during this period than Chinese cuisine.