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You don't know until it's said, and once it's saidâwhat a shock.
Dix gave Josh quite a surprise.
Unlike Lyndon Schneider, who was only amazed because of the film companiesâthis guy, although talented, is really just an old pervert once you get to know him.
What truly surprised Josh was the nature of these industries.
Leaving aside the casino in Las Vegasâwhich was obviously what it wasâand the three factories whose nature was still unknown...
The rest of the industriesâfilm companies, Blue Network, and a newspaper.
These three combined are practically the embryonic form of a media empire.
Some people might not know about the Blue Network, but when you mention ABC (American Broadcasting Company), many will recognize it.
The Blue Network was actually the predecessor of ABC.
Before 1941, both the Blue and Red Networks were part of the National Broadcasting Company, NBC.
The difference between the two was essentially that of commercial versus non-commercial broadcasting.
The Red Network offered commercially sponsored entertainment and music programs.
The Blue Network primarily provided non-sponsored broadcasts, particularly news and cultural programs.
Later, due to the federal government's concern that NBC controlling two radio networks gave it too much powerâessentially a monopolyâNBC was ordered to divest one of them.Â
NBC kept the Red Network, and the Blue Network became an independent company. Just last year, in 1943, it was acquired by a candy businessman named Edward Noble for $8 million.
Josh had seen the news about the Blue Network being acquired in the newspaper and only then remembered the matter...the other party was also from Illinois, so the acquisition made it into the Chicago Tribune.
At the time, Josh didn't have much money on hand, and $8 million was quite a burden, so he could only sigh at the opportunity. He never expected Dix would now be offering him a portion of those shares.
You have to understandâbecause of the sugar factory, Josh and Edward Noble were actually business competitors. Under normal circumstances, it would have been extremely difficult for Josh to obtain shares in the Blue Network.
"How did you get shares in the Blue Network?" Josh couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Hehe, I have to thank those Italians for that. Previously, there was fierce competition between the Irish and Italians in Springfield. The Irish asked us for help. After clearing out the Italian operations, this was part of the reward the local Irish gave me," Dix replied with a smile.
Springfield is the capital of Illinoisâits transliteration is Springfieldâhome of the famous Springfield Armory.
"What about the other industries?" Josh asked again.
"The two film companies were both Jewish-owned. The larger one belonged to that Jewish guy Siegel I took down. The smaller one was owned by another local Jewish boss. As for the newspaper, it's not muchâjust a local tabloid," Dix explained one by one. "As for the three factories, they're a cotton yarn mill, an agricultural airfield, and a tire factory. But aside from the cotton mill, the other two are barely operational and are close to bankruptcy."
Josh nodded at thatâthese were all good businesses in his eyes.
The agricultural airfield and tire factory clearly suffered from raw material issues and lacked military contracts. Otherwise, during WWIIâa time when everyone was making moneyâbankruptcy wouldn't even be on the table.
"Alright, make a full list of these industries for me. I'll have an accounting firm evaluate them, and I'll purchase them from you at market price. Also, regarding the Blue Network, I need you to acquire all the shares," Josh nodded, quickly making a decision.
After the business talk, Josh prepared to leave.
Dix and Lyndon Schneider tried to drag Josh over to the chicken farm, saying they had some new stock recently.
But Josh firmly refused...though the real reason was because Margot was returning tomorrow, and if he partied too hard tonight, he'd be too exhausted the next day. He didn't want to upset his beautiful sister over something like that.
Besides, the first batch of goods to be traded to Yuri was still waiting to be transported.
That first batch mainly consisted of vegetables, grains, and various basic daily necessities.
In addition, there was a typewriter, some paper, and ink.
In return, he received several kilograms of unrefined iridium and a freshly updated long list.
So over the next few days, Josh was busy running shipments.
Delivering all sorts of daily necessities and basic tools to Yuriâincluding cars, tractors, excavators and various construction machinery.
He was swamped.
Also, the 200 "French Ladies" intended for sale to Daenerys were successfully traded during that time.
A few days laterâChicago Union Station
Woo wooâwith a loud train whistle, a passenger train slowly pulled into Chicago Union Station.
Before the train had fully stopped and as the doors just opened, a soldier in standard U.S. Army uniform couldn't wait to jump off.
He exited the station, looked around, and quickly spotted the person there to pick him upâa plainly dressed young girl.
"Vito, over here!" the young girl called out excitedly to the soldier.
The soldier immediately ran toward the girl.
Other travelers around them stepped aside and gave the two young people fond smilesâthinking they were lovers.
But clearly they misunderstoodâthese two were not lovers, but siblings.
"Hey, sis, it's so good to see you. Give me a hug," the soldier ran up and hugged his smiling sister.
"Vito, it's so wonderful to see you again!" The girl quietly hugged her brother.
"Didn't I tell you there was no need to come pick me up?" Vito said to his sister after the hug.
"No way. If I hadn't come to pick you up, you might not have found our new home!" the girl said.
"New home? You moved? You didn't mention that in your last letter!" Vito exclaimed.
"Because we just moved recently. The new place is much better than the old one. And not only did we move, I've also paid off Dad's debt," the girl replied, visibly relaxed.
"Looks like your boss is really something!" Vito nodded. From their letters, he knew his sister had become a maid in someone's household. At first, he wasn't too happy about it.
After all, being a maid isn't exactly the most respectable job but judging from his sister's tone, her current life seemed quite good.
"Yes, Mr. Kane and Ms. Margot are both very kind," the girl answered.
That's rightâthis girl was none other than Josh's maid, Francesca.
And the soldier was her brother, just back from the battlefieldâVitoScaletta.
"You even have a car?" As they left the station and came to a car, Francesca gestured for him to get in, and Vito was even more surprised.
"This isn't my car, and I don't even know how to drive. Mr. Kane arranged it after learning I'd be picking you up today. This is Mr. Brook, one of Mr. Kane's bodyguards. Mr. Brook, this is my brother, Vito," Francesca said to the driver.
Only then did Vito notice there was a chauffeur in the car.
But as soon as he saw the driver, Vito had a feelingâthis guy was probably a soldier, just like him.
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