American Comic Dimensional Trading Device

"Then how many bonds do you think we should buy?" Margot's confidence grew as she saw how certain Josie was that the United States would win.

“If possible, I think the more the better!” Josie thought for a moment and whispered in Margot’s ear.

Josie's words were well-founded.

At this point in time, if one had to choose an investment project that is 100% guaranteed to make a profit, then without a doubt, it would be to buy federal war bonds.

Moreover, the profit margin is an astonishing 100%.

Of course, there are conditions for achieving 100% profit.

During World War II, U.S. war bonds were purchased at 75% or 50% of their face value and were redeemed after ten years.

面值25和50的，是75%，100和200面值的，是50%。

In other words, you can buy a bond with a face value of $100 for only $50, and after ten years, you can exchange that bond for $100.

Of course, you can redeem the bonds before the ten-year term expires, but in that case, interest will only be calculated based on the actual amount purchased, at a compound interest rate of 2.9% every six months, and the return will be much less.

Moreover, the war bonds issued by the United States during World War II did not have to worry about inflation.

Because of its victory in World War II, the United States acquired the world's largest gold reserves, which it used to establish the Bretton Woods system.

Before the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, the dollar was equivalent to gold in status and value, and inflation was extremely low.

Therefore, if you buy a lot of bonds now in 1943 and redeem them in 53, you don't have to worry about your profits not keeping up with inflation.

"Are you really that confident?" Margot asked.

"What? What are you thinking?" Josie asked, noticing her strange expression.

“I’m thinking, should we go all out?” Margot replied.

As soon as she said that, Josie immediately understood what she wanted to do.

Just like later charity galas, where donations are compared to purchasing war bonds, there is also a comparison involved.

If you become the person who buys the most bonds, do you think you'll get noticed by high-ranking officials in various sectors of the United States?

Will you be singled out and used as a model for propaganda?

That's not just buying some bonds anymore; it's spending money to buy a special pass.

Of course, with Margot's wealth, it was impossible for her to become the number one in the United States. Although there weren't many billionaires in this era, there were definitely quite a few.

Margot could never compare to those people.

However, if it's just about being the first at this fundraising banquet, it's not impossible.

"Are you sure?" Josie asked.

“I’m still fairly confident. After all, we held a fundraising event at the end of last year, and the highest purchase amount at that time was only two million. I don’t think it’s likely to exceed that number this time either, so I think three million should be enough for first place!” Margot said.

Upon hearing this, Josie nodded in agreement. That was indeed true. Not counting before the United States officially entered the war, from November 1942 to December 1945, a total of eight tranches of bonds were issued in three years.

So even the wealthiest people can't buy millions or tens of millions every time, otherwise their businesses wouldn't have the funds to stay afloat.

Buying one or two million in each period as a token gesture is considered normal practice.

So three million should indeed be enough.

Moreover, although this number is large, it was roughly the same as the huge insurance payout Margot received before, so it won't have too much of an impact on her life.

However, when the senator announced the highest amount of war bonds purchased at the party's end, Josie was completely dumbfounded.

"Josh Kahn, three million dollars!"

Chapter 35 Sabrina

Just as Margot and Josie had anticipated.

The purchase of three million war bonds became the top item tonight.

As a result, Josie went from being an unknown figure to the focus of the party, with a constant stream of guests coming to chat with her. Even John Leibler, the mayor, senators, and others who had previously paid little attention to Josie all came to her side.

Those guests who knew about Josie and Margot's relationship also had a very different opinion of him.

Everyone initially thought Josie was just Margot's kept gigolo, but they never expected that she was actually a big fat sheep—no one knew that Margot was the one who actually paid the money, except for Margot, Josie, and the bank manager in charge of collecting the checks.

Unless they say it, almost no one would believe that the money came from Margot.

After all, that wasn't 30,000 or 300,000, but 3 million.

Most of the guests present probably didn't even have that much in total wealth.

So no one would believe that Margot would pay such a high price for a mere pretty boy.

Even John Leibler, who was very familiar with Margot, didn't quite believe it.

“Margot, you didn’t have to do this!” Josie said helplessly as she approached Margot after finally managing to deal with wave after wave of guests.

“But this is the best outcome, isn’t it? I don’t own a company, so this title is useless to me. But it’s different for you. After today, people all over Chicago, and even many parts of the United States, will know your name. This will be of great benefit to you when you start your business or factory. Even if you want to go into politics in the future, this will be an excellent asset,” Margot said with a gentle smile.

Looking at Margot's thoughtfulness, Josie couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

However, at that moment, a slight disturbance occurred at the party.

Then Josie and Margot saw John Leibler and a group of people hurriedly leave the party.

For a moment, the room was filled with whispers.

Although the main participants in this reception were the mayor, senators, and military representatives from a pro-service organization that sold war bonds, John Leibler, as the host, had no reason to leave early.

"Hello, what happened?" Margot stopped a waiter and asked.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't know either!" The waiter shook his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Leibler had some personal matters to attend to, so he left early. There's no need to worry too much. Today's reception was a great success, and we are very grateful for the support of Mr. Josh Kahn and everyone else. Let's raise a glass together..." Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was a bit off, the people from the entertainment organization immediately stepped forward to liven things up.

It was at this moment that Josie noticed that the lawyer named Emery, who had been with John Leibler earlier, had nervously slipped away from the edge of the venue.

However, this had nothing to do with Josh, and he didn't know what had happened.

After staying at the party for about half an hour, guests began to leave. When Josie and Margot saw that it was almost time, they also prepared to leave.

As soon as she stepped outside, a figure crashed into Margot. Fortunately, Josie reacted quickly and stood in front of Margot.

The other person was very small, and the collision knocked him to the ground, but Josie was unharmed.

However, he quickly got up and apologized to Josh repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry, sir, I'm so sorry!"

At this moment, Josie and Margot realized that the other person was dressed as a maid and should be a servant of the Leibler family. However, she was looking down and could not see her face clearly, but she should be young and probably look like Josie.

"It's alright. But you, did you hurt yourself just now?" Kind-hearted Margot immediately expressed her forgiveness and asked with concern.

Upon hearing Margot's kind voice, the maid finally looked up at the two of them.

“Hepburn?” As soon as the maid looked up, Josie couldn’t help but call out the name.

Indeed, the other party was none other than Audrey Hepburn, the Hollywood star who would become incredibly famous in Xia Country in the future.

Upon hearing Josie's call, the other person paused slightly before hesitatingly asking, "Sir, are you calling me? But my name isn't Hepburn, it's Sabrina. Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"

Now it was Josie's turn to be embarrassed. Had she mistaken someone for someone else?

Wait a minute, Josie suddenly realized that Margot was also a character in a movie, so Audrey Hepburn in front of her was very likely also a character in a movie.

Unlike Hitchcock's classic film, *Dial M for Murder*, Josie, while aware of Audrey Hepburn, seemed to know little about her work beyond the famous *Roman Holiday* and *Breakfast at Tiffany's*.

The little girl named Sabrina in front of us clearly does not match the image in these two movies.

Just as Josh was in a daze, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his lower back.

Then I woke up instantly.

Josie turned to look at Margot, who was gazing at the sky, and was speechless. Do all women know this trick?

"Sorry, I mistook you for someone else," Josie said to Sabrina.

"It's alright, sir, madam. It was my fault for offending you both." Sabrina waved her hands repeatedly upon seeing this, then said cautiously, "Sir, madam, I have urgent business to attend to. May I leave now?"

“Of course,” Josie said, turning to the side.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, madam." Sabrina expressed her gratitude repeatedly and then hurried into the hall.

"Who is Hepburn?" Margot asked Josh as soon as Sabrina left.

"What? Are you jealous?" Josie asked with a smile.

"Hmph, why would I be jealous? You're nobody to me!" Margot said irritably.

Goodness, just a few minutes ago he was my dear, and now he's nothing at all. He changes so fast.

“Don’t be angry, I’ll tell you the truth. She was a little Dutch girl that my family met when we were fleeing at the beginning of the war. She was about my age, but I haven’t seen her since the war started. The girl you just saw really looks a lot like her,” Josie said, half-truthfully.

In the original timeline, Hepburn was indeed still starving in the Netherlands, and Josie wasn't afraid of people verifying it.

Moreover, since this world is a parallel universe similar to the movies, it's uncertain whether Audrey Hepburn even existed.

"I'm sorry, darling, I brought up some unpleasant memories." Hearing Josie explain that she met Audrey Hepburn while fleeing, her initial jealousy instantly turned into pity for Josie.

Because Josie was only ten years old at the time, and for such a young child, the life of fleeing must have been extremely difficult.

As for Audrey Hepburn, she completely forgot about her.