The interview at McKinsey's company went very smoothly. Josh successfully recruited five suitable candidates: three professional managers with relevant work experience, one accountant, and one administrative secretary.
All five were men.
This was very normal. Before World War II, even in a modernized country like the United States, the proportion of women in the workforce was very low, and they were mainly concentrated in jobs such as teaching, office clerks, or "female-friendly" roles like services and retail.
Only after the United States officially entered the war, with a large number of men enlisted in the military and a severe labor shortage, did many women enter various industries under the encouragement of the Roosevelt administration.
However, after the war ended and male labor returned in large numbers, women lost job opportunities to some extent.
This situation wasn't improved until the 1960s.
Not only jobs, but also higher education opportunities were limited for women.
Although many public universities allowed women to attend college in the 19th century, these universities were mainly community colleges, whose focus was vocational and technical education, teaching simple social skills.
Prestigious universities like Harvard, Yale, and Caltech only started admitting women after the 1970s.
Even schools like MIT, which began admitting women as early as 1911, had a very low admission rate for women.
Thus, in this era, there were very few highly-educated women, and even when one or two appeared, they were usually daughters from wealthy families, working for their own families.
So, unless Josh wanted to hire a decorative vase, he had no choice but to hire men.
But if he really wanted a vase, why would he need a headhunter?
After the interview, Josh assigned the first tasks. The three professional managers were responsible for finding suitable factory locations, while the secretary and accountant's tasks were to find appropriate office buildings.
With the tasks assigned, Josh politely declined the invitation to dinner from the McKinsey company executives and was preparing to head home.
However, as soon as he left the McKinsey building, he saw a large fleet of police cars rushing past him.
At the same time, from the nearby Lakeshore District, the sound of beans frying could be heard.
Well, that was actually the sound of submachine guns.
Although Josh didn't know exactly what had happened, following the principle of "it's better to avoid trouble," he decisively chose the opposite direction and planned to take a detour home.
Watching the commotion? No way—when submachine guns are involved, it's not the kind of thing you can casually watch. Bullets don't have eyes.
However, as Murphy's Law states...the more you avoid something, the more likely it is to find you.
Because he took a detour, Josh ended up on a seldom-used park path, and suddenly, a person darted out in front of him.
Josh instinctively slammed on the brakes.
Since the road was narrow and his speed wasn't fast, he didn't hit the person but after seeing who it was, Josh regretted hitting the brakes.
The person was very tall—Josh estimated at least two meters—but that wasn't the key. The key was that the person was holding a gun and aiming it at Josh.
"Hey, buddy, don't be impulsive, we can talk about this!" Facing the gunpoint, Josh quickly raised his hands, but inside, he was already preparing to draw a shotgun from his system's inventory and fire when the person wasn't paying attention.
"Sorry, sir, we just need a car!" The tall man gestured with his gun, signaling Josh to get out of the car.
Well, he was polite, but that didn't change the fact that you were about to die... but... you all?
Just as Josh was feeling puzzled, an elderly man in a black suit, holding a black leather bag, emerged from the bushes by the roadside.
Wait, Linden Schneider? As soon as Josh saw the old man, he immediately remembered the news about the robbery in the morning's newspaper.
What a coincidence, Josh thought to himself.
"Sorry, sir, but we do need a car!" Linden Schneider politely removed his hat, gave Josh a small bow, and apologized. But the moment he saw Josh's face, he paused for a moment before saying, "Young man, who is Heinz Kane to you?"
Hearing this name, Josh froze, because it was the name of his late father.
"You knew my father?" Josh frowned.
"Oh, of course, you must be Josh Kane. I'm Erwin Linden Schneider, a friend of your father," the elderly man said.
Well, I know you're Linden Schneider, I'm Josh Kane, we're even on the same newspaper, Josh thought to himself sarcastically.
However, since the old man knew his father's name, it was likely true.
Although the old man spoke English, he had a strong Bavarian accent, and with the surname Schneider, as well as his somewhat old-fashioned manner, he was probably of German or Austrian descent.
"But my father never mentioned that he had a thief friend," Josh replied with a smirk. "And I don't think any friend would point a gun at their friend's child."
"Understandable. If I were a father, I wouldn't tell my child I had a criminal friend either," surprisingly, the old man wasn't offended by Josh's sarcasm. Instead, he acknowledged it generously and then turned to the tall man, saying, "Dix, put the gun down."
The tall man clearly trusted Linden Schneider and immediately lowered his gun.
"Kid, I'm very sorry for causing you trouble, and you probably saw the news. Our situation is really bad, the police are after us, so we need to borrow your car. Once the police arrive, don't feel obligated to keep our secret, just tell the truth. I believe the police won't make things difficult for you. Also, take these as compensation!" As Josh was considering whether to use this opportunity to deal with the seemingly dangerous tall man, Linden Schneider opened his black leather bag, pulled out a handful of priceless raw diamonds, and shoved them into Josh's hands.
This left Josh feeling a bit embarrassed.
Although his Lincoln Continental was quite valuable and had a special meaning because it was a gift from Margot, the pile of jewels the old man just handed him was worth enough to buy at least ten more cars.
Playing with the jewels in his hands, Josh couldn't help but think.
Then, as the old man started the car, Josh spoke.
"I think you might need a place to hide."