"This is fifty thousand dollars." Outside the bank, Margot had just come out and handed a large manila envelope to Josh after getting in the car.
Hearing the number, Josh's hand trembled as he received the envelope and nearly dropped it.
He immediately opened it and saw that it indeed contained five neat stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
"Why so much?" Josh asked in confusion, holding the envelope. Hadn't he said that even a few thousand, ten thousand tops, would suffice?
Also—lady—your heart is really bold. Aren't you afraid of getting robbed?
"Is that a lot? Anyway, just spend it as you see fit. Keep the extra for yourself. A man needs money for all kinds of things out there. Carrying more on you isn't a bad thing," Margot said sweetly, planting a kiss on Josh's cheek.
Just that one sentence nearly made Josh lose control emotionally.
What a wonderful woman. Compared to the women in the future who demand cars and houses right away, Josh was filled with emotion.
Truly, living off a woman is sweet.
At that moment, Josh felt incredibly grateful to Tony Wendis.
If that guy hadn't made a mess of things, how could he possibly have gotten such a wonderful woman?
As repayment, Josh decided to make Tony Wendis die more painfully, to vent some anger for Margot.
Otherwise, he'd feel unworthy of the deep affection this pitiful beauty had for him.
So Josh nodded and didn't refuse Margot's kindness, accepting the money.
Seeing this, Margot didn't think he was greedy at all. Instead, she was delighted, believing Josh had fully accepted her, unlike before when he insisted on paying rent for staying with her.
"Right, let's go buy some clothes first. What you're wearing now isn't quite good enough—it doesn't match your handsome face. Hmm, your shoes need to be changed too," Margot said excitedly, holding Josh's arm.
"Sure, I'll listen to you!" Josh nodded. He didn't really care about clothing, but faced with this sweet and lovely woman, he truly couldn't say no.
"But I don't have any clothing coupons," Josh added.
Just like sugar and gasoline, during this period—even in the U.S.—you needed special clothing coupons to buy clothes and shoes.
Starting in 1942, each federal citizen received 24 clothing coupons per year to buy garments and footwear.
Sounds like a lot? You think one coupon equals one piece of clothing?
Not at all.
The actual standard was: a coat required 18 coupons, a full suit 26, one pair of shoes 9, slippers 5, a slip (underskirt) 3, trousers 8, a brassiere 3, and so on...
In other words, with just 24 coupons, it was basically impossible to buy a complete outfit from head to toe.
Shoes were even under a real-name purchase policy, with a limit of two pairs per person per year. To get more, you'd have to buy second-hand.
Regular clothes at least were buyable with coupons, but some items were nearly impossible to get.
What items?
Stockings.
Yes, stockings.
A rather absurd fact to future generations: during World War II, stockings were considered strategic materials—like sugar and gasoline.
Why?
Because of parachutes.
Before the war, the U.S. military's parachutes were primarily made not from nylon, but from Asian silk.
But after war broke out with Japan, the silk supply was cut off, so parachute material was switched to nylon.
From then on, all nylon manufacturers, including DuPont, were ordered by the federal government to stop producing nylon stockings and related products, and instead make parachutes and other military supplies.
That's when the civilian price of stockings began to skyrocket—eventually reaching $20 per pair.
And that was just the beginning.
During the war, stocking prices once soared to a terrifying $4,000 per pair.
That's insane—put that in the 21st century, and even celebrity-used lingerie wouldn't dare fetch that price.
Yet even so, nylon supply still couldn't meet demand.
So the military launched a civilian donation campaign...
They used photos of handsome soldiers in advertisements to encourage women to donate their stockings...
Absolutely ridiculous.
And it gets even more absurd.
According to a report by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, during wartime, among the top three targets for street robberies in the U.S., neither dollars nor gold made the list.
Instead, it was alcohol, stockings, and shoes.
That's why Josh had been wearing ill-fitting coats on the street—they were hand-me-downs from his late father.
Even when he took revenge by hijacking a car or tailing and killing Joe Barbaro, most of the clothes he wore were second-hand. Burning them didn't hurt too much.
As for new clothes, he had only bought two or three sets recently when he had some money—and even then, it cost him all the clothing coupons he and his deceased parents had saved up over two years ('42 and '43).
Thinking of this, Josh's eyes glanced at Margot's smooth thigh, and he couldn't help stroking it.
Yesterday, Margot had been wearing stockings—but he had torn them off in the heat of passion. Thinking about it now, he felt a little regretful.
"There are a lot of people here, cut it out! Don't worry about coupons—because we don't need them," Margot said, then leaned in close and whispered into Josh's ear, "If you really can't hold it in, we can go somewhere quieter."
The soft words in his ear gave Josh a shiver.
Damn, this woman is too good at this.
No, no—he was still growing—he couldn't burn the candle at both ends.
So Josh pretended not to hear Margot's last sentence, started the car, and drove toward their destination as she directed.
When they arrived, Josh realized the place Margot meant for shopping wasn't some department store.
It was a high-end custom clothing shop he'd only heard of in his past life.
But in this era, such tailor shops weren't as pretentious as in the future—they still sold ready-to-wear clothing.
After being sized and adjusted by the tailor, Margot helped Josh pick out three full sets of off-the-rack clothing and ordered three custom sets.
And indeed, no coupons were used—it was all paid in thick stacks of cash.
Of course, Margot's social standing as a wealthy lady in Chicago's upper class also played a role.
So this so-called material shortage and rationing was, in the end, something that mainly applied to ordinary people without power or influence.
After buying clothes, they went to a shoe store and did the same.
They also visited a watch shop and spent several thousand on a Breguet timepiece.
Although in later years, Breguet would be overshadowed by brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, in this era, Breguet was the unrivaled king of watches.
Moreover, Breguet didn't just make watches at this time—they also made all kinds of aviation and nautical instruments, even fighter planes.
After this round of shopping and sprucing up, Josh was completely transformed from head to toe. Combined with his already handsome face, tall figure, and the confidence of someone who had traveled through time, his entire demeanor was elevated.
From a small-town pretty boy, he had become a modern-day aristocrat.
Clothes make the man, just as saddles make the horse. The ancients did not lie.