America 1919

"Maggie, what are you plotting now?" Since he considered Margaret Mitchell to be a future business partner, Donnie still wanted to make good contact with her. Perhaps this person's work would become a major trump card in his foray into the film industry. "Gone with the Wind", not to mention the film adaptation "Gone with the Wind," just the book sales alone were quite astounding; within the first six months after it hit the market, sales had reached 10 million copies, and the book sold for 3 US Dollars each, peaking at 60 US Dollars per copy due to scalpers. The film adapted from this novel, "Gone with the Wind," shattered numerous box office records when it was released in 1939, with a worldwide gross of 390 million US Dollars! This was a veritable gold mine! Naturally, Margaret Mitchell had no idea what Donnie was thinking and said with a smile, "I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I think becoming a reporter would be quite interesting!" What a coincidence! All Donnie knew about Margaret Mitchell stemmed from "Gone with the Wind," as for everything else, he was fairly clueless and not even sure if she had ever worked as a reporter! Regardless of whether she had or hadn't, he had the "Atlantic City Post" in his hands. "If you want to be a reporter, you could come work at my paper. We at the 'Atlantic City Post' have always wanted to break into the Southern market, and we need reporters who are familiar with Southern affairs!" As he spoke, Donnie looked at Margaret Mitchell and asked, "So are you interested?" Donnie didn't care whether his appearance changed Margaret Mitchell's original life trajectory or whether she would still be able to write a work like "Gone with the Wind." But at the very least, Donnie had to get the girl into his grasp first; even if she never wrote it, it was all the same, no one else would have it either, and that was fine. Helen watched Donnie invite Margaret Mitchell with a confused look in her eyes, but after seeing Margaret Mitchell's looks, she shook her head; clearly, this girl did not match Donnie's taste? Could it be that Donnie wanted to use this girl to get on good terms with the farmers in the South? Margaret Mitchell's presence here naturally meant she belonged to a prominent Georgia family, in fact, she had already mentioned upon introducing herself that her father was a farmer. Margaret Mitchell also showed a puzzled expression; she hadn't approached Donnie just because of the business success he had achieved in Atlantic City or on Wall Street! It was because she had heard from her family about Donnie's actions during the recent farm uprising. She deeply admired Donnie's behavior, and in Margaret Mitchell's eyes, those despicable people deserved such punishment. Margaret Mitchell was a very pure daughter of a Southern farmer, with nothing but disdain for those black slaves. This could be seen in her book, where in "Gone with the Wind," Margaret Mitchell expressed her views through the protagonist Scarlett's statements: Northern women had once heard that Southern planters all kept ferocious hounds, ready to chase down fleeing black slaves, and took it to be true... They also enquired about branding irons used to mark the faces of farm slaves, and the nine-tailed iron flails used to punish farm slaves, which in fact, Southern planters did not possess; these were merely propaganda spread by Northerners. Besides, Margaret Mitchell was a staunch 3K party supporter, and in "Gone with the Wind," she portrayed the Ku Klux Klan as a chivalrous organization that defended white women. The entire chapter forty-five recounted the legendary "heroic deeds" of the Ku Klux Klan. In the novel, all the "true Southerners" were members of the Ku Klux Klan: Melanie, Ashley, and even Scarlett's second husband—the "always listless, inactive" Frank Kennedy—was a member, who gloriously martyred himself to avenge his wife who had been attacked by blacks. Now that they had conversed a bit, Donnie unexpectedly wanted to invite her to join his newspaper? This was somewhat puzzling! Seeing that Margaret Mitchell didn't respond, Donnie said with a smile, "If you join our newspaper, you can stay in the South, and as long as your articles aren't too excessive, we will publish them for you. If you still refuse under these conditions, I can only get Mobley to persuade you. Oh, Mobley is the leader of our Atlantic City 3K party, a very nice guy!" Margaret Mitchell's eyes immediately lit up as she said, "Mr. Block, you're also a member of the 3K party!" Donnie shook his head, "I'm not, but I highly support the 3K party's speech, or else I wouldn't be such good friends with Mobley!" Margaret Mitchell immediately said with a smile, "Alright then, I agree to join Mr. Block's 'Atlantic City Post'!" Donnie extended his hand, saying with a smile, "Welcome!" "This woman seems like just a regular Southern girl, why are you so interested in her?" After Margaret Mitchell had left, Helen voiced the doubt that was in her heart.