"Darling, I know what you're worried about. Don't worry, as long as you don't tell anyone, only the two of us will know about the existence of this diamond," Josh smiled and explained to Margot, sensing her concerns.
It wasn't surprising. Just ten minutes ago, this gem was still in the hoard of the Dragon Queen Daenerys from another world. How could anyone in this world have seen it?
The aluminum and finely cut diamond jewelry Josh gave her allowed Daenerys to see a continuous new source of income. In return, Daenerys provided him with a large number of various jewels, the most common being diamond rough stones.
Just like on Earth, diamonds on the continent of Westeros had been classified as jewels long ago, but they weren't particularly popular.
The reason was not that they were in abundance, but because, with ancient technology, polishing diamonds was a massive project that made mass production nearly impossible. On the other hand, diamonds were easily used for cutting metal.
However, this pink diamond was not initially on the list of jewels Daenerys gave Josh.
Because diamonds of this caliber, no matter how difficult it was to cut and polish them, were still considered top-tier jewels in Westeros.
Moreover, the pink color was one that Daenerys loved, so it was stored in her private, high-end vault.
But when Daenerys made the trade, she carelessly allowed Josh to pick a gem from her treasure vault.
Then, there was no further discussion.
Daenerys was probably hiding somewhere in her palace, drawing circles now.
"Are you sure?" Josh's words made Margot even more confused.
Such a precious diamond, and only the two of them know about it?
Did you just dig it up from the ground outside?
"Don't worry, nothing's going to happen. Look how well it matches you!" Josh didn't elaborate further, simply holding the diamond up in front of Margot's broad chest.
However, as soon as he did, Josh found himself unable to look away.
The pink diamond, under the slightly dim light from the bedside lamp, emitted a brilliant pink glow, casting a soft light over Margot's fair skin.
It created a unique, breathtaking scene.
Margot, who had been nervous about the diamond, looked up and was startled by Josh's intense gaze.
Before she could even cry out, she was already pushed onto the bed by Josh.
Diamonds? To hell with the diamonds!
With the bed's mattress springs working under extreme pressure, the forgotten pink diamond was slowly pushed out of the bed by the spring's reaction force, eventually falling onto the floor with a soft thud.
Thankfully, the bedroom floor was wooden; if it had been tile, that treasure-level diamond might have only lasted in this world for less than half an hour before meeting its demise.
......
"So you want to open a sugar factory, an aluminum alloy factory, and a craft company?"
After who knows how long, still tingling from the aftereffects of their intense activity, Margot leaned against Josh's chest and played with the diamond in her hand as she spoke.
"The aluminum alloy factory and the craft company are not difficult, but the sugar factory…the raw materials are hard to get now, aren't they?"
Margot didn't oppose Josh's idea of opening factories at all, considering that the scale of the factories he wanted to set up wasn't large, and it wouldn't cost much.
It would probably take only a few hundred thousand to get them started. For Margot, who had recently received a large insurance payout due to Tony Wendis death, it was practically pocket change.
And as for her little man, Josh, she would be willing to give him even more if necessary—she wouldn't mind if all of it was lost.
Especially since the diamond Josh had just given her, even if she were to break it into pieces and sell it, was worth far more than her current fortune.
But, just like the issue she had raised, opening an aluminum alloy factory and a craft factory was easy.
Although it was wartime, aluminum, as one of the most important materials for aviation in this era, was still a controlled material.
However, unlike other restricted materials, the bauxite from which aluminum is made was not subject to restrictions, because the main sources of aluminum in the US at this time were Brazil, so there was no problem with the raw materials. The real issue was with the finished aluminum products.
Therefore, if Josh wanted to open an aluminum alloy factory, there would be no difficulty. In fact, he would be encouraged by the federal government, and the finished aluminum products would all be purchased by the military. Although the price wouldn't be very high, it would definitely not result in a loss.
As for the craft factory, Josh had explained that it would mainly process cheap glass, defective diamonds, and other ornaments, which had little to do with the war.
However, the sugar factory posed a significant problem because sugar in this era was mainly made from cane sugar.
The main raw materials were beetroot and sugarcane. As for fructose, which had become widely available and was highly harmful but extremely cheap in the later years, it did exist in this era, but the production process was underdeveloped, and the yield was low, making it more expensive than cane sugar.
While sugarcane and beetroot were abundant in the Americas, they were seasonal crops, unlike metal ores, which could be mined directly and needed a growing cycle.
Moreover, due to the Pacific War, the Southeast Asian region, another major area for sugar production, had its shipping routes blocked, leading to a shortage of sugar in the US.
The raw materials were only allocated to large corporations, so without sufficient connections, it would be nearly impossible for Josh to get enough raw materials.
But what Margot didn't know was that Josh wasn't planning to get the raw materials from this world; he intended to source them from the world of Game of Thrones.
Why was Daenerys willing to pay a large sum for sugar from Josh? Was it because the Game of Thrones world had no sugar?
Of course not!
The world of Game of Thrones simply lacked the technology for refining sugar.
Therefore, as long as Josh imported raw sugar from the Game of Thrones world and refined it, the sugar produced, whether sold back to Daenerys or in this world, would be a massive profit!
Of course, this model wasn't without its downsides.
The main issue was that it would be easy for the federal government to discover the problem.
After all, if you didn't have raw materials, how could you produce so much sugar?
The reason was simple: Josh's primary purpose in opening the sugar factory wasn't really about cane sugar.
It was about a type of sugar that hadn't appeared yet in this era: the extremely cheap high-fructose corn syrup that would become widespread in later years!
"Have you heard of fructose? What if I told you I have a technology that can extract sugar that's sweeter and cheaper than cane sugar from corn starch?" Josh spoke in a low voice, responding to Margot's confusion.