Chapter 10: Turkish Cuisine
The car, driven by Margot, quickly returned to downtown Chicago.
Along the way, thanks to Josh Kane’s deliberate flattery and his knowledge as a time traveler, he and Margot had a pleasant conversation.
As a result, Josh gained a certain degree of trust from this beautiful lady and, through their conversation, learned about her general family situation.
As Margot had mentioned earlier, she wasn’t a celebrity but merely a housewife.
However, just as Josh had suspected, this housewife was far from ordinary.
Her husband was a tennis star, frequently away competing across the United States.
But that wasn’t the main point.
The focus was on Margot herself.
Her father was a renowned jeweler and real estate tycoon in Chicago, and she was his only daughter.
Two years ago, after her father passed away, all of his wealth naturally fell into her hands.
So, whether it was luxury cars, diamond rings, or other extravagances, it was all her own money she was spending.
In comparison, her husband, although a tennis star, earned far less than athletes would in later years and couldn’t sustain their luxurious lifestyle. In fact, to maintain appearances, he even relied on Margot for financial support.
Thus, Margot was undoubtedly a bona fide wealthy lady.
Josh couldn’t help but marvel at his good fortune—by merely hitching a ride, he had encountered such an exceptional woman.
However, from their conversations along the way, Josh could also sense that this woman was rather simple-minded and not particularly satisfied with her current life, especially with her absentee husband, whom she complained about frequently.
Although Josh had no particular designs on Margot because of this, there was no doubt that knowing a woman of her status in Chicago’s upper-class society was by no means a bad thing.
Especially since her deceased father had been a jeweler. This meant that if Josh managed to maintain a good relationship with Margot, he might find a safe way to sell his gold in the future—after all, in the jewelry industry, dealing with hundreds or thousands of kilograms of gold wouldn’t be an issue.
Moreover, it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
For jewelers, having an additional supply of gold was always welcome. With the Roosevelt government’s strict control over civilian gold, it wasn’t easy for the jewelry industry to obtain enough of it.
Of course, while extracting personal information from Margot, Josh also subtly revealed a few details about himself.
For instance, the death of his parents and the fact that he was now alone, looking for a new place to stay.
This naturally elicited Margot’s sympathy, and she began proactively offering him help.
"When it comes to housing, my father once developed a community in Evanston. While it’s not the best, it’s quite safe. Most of the houses have already been sold, but I still have a few left. You can go take a look," Margot suggested.
"Oh? How much are they? If they’re too expensive, I might not be able to afford them," Josh asked with interest upon hearing Margot’s words.
Evanston was a satellite city of Chicago.
But that didn’t mean Evanston wasn’t good; on the contrary, it was excellent.
It was located in the northern part of Chicago.
What was in the northern part of Chicago? It was the true wealthy district.
Although Evanston was a satellite city, its environment wasn’t much different from the northern district. In fact, Northwestern University, a prestigious institution, was located there.
Previously, Josh had lived in the Near North Side. While it technically had "north" in its name, the difference in environment between that area and the true northern district was like night and day.
Of course, compared to the Southside Black Neighborhood, Little Italy in the southwest, Chinatown, and the Westside Irish District, it was much better.
What? You’re wondering why there’s no East Side?
Well, it’s obvious—there isn’t one, because the east side is Lake Michigan...
So, strictly speaking, there is no "East Side," only the Lakefront District.
"Buy? You don’t need to buy one, just live there. They’re sitting empty anyway," Margot shook her head. "You’re still just a kid. Once you grow up and have a job, you can talk about buying later."
She was genuinely considering Josh’s situation. At the moment, Josh was alone, and at not even sixteen years old, finding a decent job was nearly impossible.
"That wouldn’t be right. Don’t worry, ma’am, before my parents passed, they left me some assets. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to buy a modest house and support me until adulthood." However, Josh immediately declined Margot’s kind offer.
Although he did intend to make use of Margot, he had no intention of taking advantage of her generosity.
While Evanston’s housing prices were certainly not low, they weren’t exorbitant either.
"Alright, but there’s no rush to talk about prices. You should take a look first. Do you have anything else to do? If not, I can take you there now," Margot said.
"Well, there’s nothing pressing, but I haven’t had lunch yet. You just got back from out of town, so I imagine you haven’t had time to eat either?" Josh hadn’t expected this wealthy lady to be so concerned about his affairs, and he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her. However, before that, he wanted to fill his stomach.
After all, Josh was still growing, and skipping a meal left him feeling famished.
Margot had spent the morning at a horse ranch in the western part of Chicago—yes, the ranch was also her private property—and judging by the time she returned, she hadn’t had lunch either.
"I had some light refreshments at the ranch, but now that you mention it, I am feeling a bit hungry," Margot nodded.
"May I have the honor of inviting you, the beautiful lady, to lunch? Consider it my way of saying thank you," Josh immediately offered.
"Of course! I know a great restaurant nearby," Margot agreed readily, then turned the car toward the Lakefront District.
About ten minutes later, they arrived at a restaurant that looked quite upscale.
However, to Josh’s surprise, this restaurant Margot spoke so highly of wasn’t a French restaurant as he had imagined—it was a Turkish restaurant.
Well, Turkish cuisine is considered one of the world’s top three cuisines, after all.
To be honest, whether in his past life or this one, Josh had never really tried Turkish food before.
Of course, at this time, the concept of "the world’s top three cuisines" didn’t exist, especially since Chinese cuisine, which would dominate the top spot in the future, wasn’t particularly popular during this era.
It couldn’t be helped; it was a limitation of the times.
After all, cuisine is a part of culture, and its popularity is heavily influenced by the strength of the nation.
Chinese cuisine wouldn’t truly gain global popularity until 1972, after Nixon’s visit, when the scene was broadcast in the United States.
Turkish cuisine, on the other hand, was different. Given Turkey’s geographical position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, it had more interactions with Europe and was heavily influenced by Mediterranean culture. Its cooking methods, courses, and dining etiquette were also closer to Western standards, so naturally, it was more famous in Europe during this time.
Thus, in this era, Turkish cuisine was far more well-known in the Western world than Chinese cuisine.
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