America: My Time

Chapter 116 A Tough Stance
Chapter 116 A Tough Stance
"I'm glad you understand. After all, we've only known each other for a limited time. To be honest, I have many concerns. I don't want to do something good that turns out badly, affecting our relationship and ruining my reputation."

“I understand Mr. John’s concerns. In fact, many of the friends who came today have the same concerns. It will take time to resolve them. Once everyone understands each other, everything will no longer be a problem!”

"That's good. As for the number of students, I'll contact you again after I've communicated with the school. You don't have much time to prepare; it must be completed before the new semester starts." Even if there are favors involved, the necessary procedures still need to be followed, and the school's face must be respected.

Just as John was about to continue his discussion with the Consul General about the students, Will, guided by a staff member, strode over with a Motorola mobile phone the size of a brick and whispered to John, "Boss, Mr. Jimmy, Morgan's manager, wants to speak with you!"

In an instant, the noisy crowd fell silent, including the consulate staff. There are many banks in the United States, but everyone knows the name Morgan. The fact that Morgan's manager wanted to speak with John was beyond the imagination of those around them, especially the Chinese and overseas Chinese attending the reception. Every single one of them was utterly astonished. They knew perfectly well how powerful Morgan's manager was; how could they not be surprised that such a formidable figure would speak with this young man!

The Chinese and overseas Chinese who came to the party looked at John with complicated expressions. Some regretted not talking to him earlier, while others whispered to their friends, wondering if the young man was just bragging. How could a young man have a relationship with Morgan's manager?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, John calmly took the brick-like telephone: "Jimmy, hello, this is John. What's up? Have you completed the acquisition?"

"Mr. John, hello, this is Jimmy. The acquisition isn't entirely finalized yet. As you know, Gulfstream isn't an easy acquisition, but we have a lead, and it won't be long before it's done. Morgan's reputation is not an issue; it will absolutely not delay your acquisition." The voice coming from the brick-sized phone was quite loud, and a clear, efficient voice came through, reaching everyone's ears!

Jimmy's words caused a stir among the crowd. Although there weren't any successful entrepreneurs present, their years of experience had allowed them to keenly grasp the key point in Jimmy's words: it was a collaboration between the two parties, not John requesting a loan from Morgan Bank.
Holy crap! Just who is this kid? He can actually work with Morgan Stanley. Anything that can get Morgan Stanley involved in an acquisition is no small matter. What kind of company is Gulfstream?! In the crowd, someone finally couldn't help but whisper to the person next to them!
"Gulfstream, I've heard of it. It seems to be a private jet manufacturer. You can't acquire one for less than tens of millions!"

"That's good. Since it's not about an acquisition, what brings you here?"

“Mr. John, this is about Bell Labs and Motorola Semiconductor. Everyone hopes to sit down and talk. You should know that this is not just a Morgan issue; it needs to be discussed with others. If you have time, we can meet at Morgan at 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow.”

"Hehe, it's been so long and you still haven't settled things with those old guys. It seems they're quite interested in my acquisition of Bell Labs. If they think I'm not qualified to participate, it's not a big deal. I don't necessarily want to acquire Bell Labs. Bell Labs isn't essential to me. Dream World and Nvidia don't lack Bell Labs' patents, nor do they lack Motorola Semiconductor. There are many such companies in Britain and Europe. I don't necessarily want to acquire them!"

Upon hearing Jimmy's words, John immediately understood what those old guys wanted to do. He didn't want to put up with their attitude or compromise in this confrontation. He could give up the acquisition of Bell Labs and Motorola Semiconductor, but were those old guys willing to take on the investment in Bell Labs? Would Motorola be willing to continue investing in semiconductors? It was obviously impossible; their situation was far from ideal.

“Mr. John, things aren’t as you think. We just want to sit down and discuss this. This isn’t just about your acquisition of Bell Labs; it also involves the breakup of Bell. We can only discuss the details of the breakup by sitting down together. Morgan will absolutely support your acquisition of Bell Labs! As for the Motorola Semiconductor issue, we can also sit down and talk about it. Everything is negotiable!”

“Jimmy, my cooperation with Morgan has always been pleasant, but this time things have been fraught with difficulties. You should understand that time is money for us, and I can't afford to waste it on this issue indefinitely. If you can't resolve the problem, giving up is fine too. Motorola Semiconductor is also a huge burden for me!” “Mr. John, we at Morgan have absolutely no other intentions. We have been trying to help you solve your problem. You know the situation with Motorola Semiconductor. In fact, the entire semiconductor industry in the United States is not in a good position. We hope to resolve the employee issues through this acquisition so that you won't have too much of a burden.”

"How do we resolve this? Will those guys in the union agree? This isn't like Universal and NBC. If Motorola is sincere, the acquisition can continue, but I don't want to deal with the union. I'm only acquiring Motorola's semiconductor labs and equipment. You know I have a wafer fab in Taiwan, and I need to relocate the semiconductor fab's equipment to Taiwan. I'll only keep the labs in the US. That's my bottom line. You can tell those old guys I'll arrive on time the day after tomorrow. I hope they can give me a satisfactory result!"

John was incredibly assertive this time, giving Jimmy the impression that he didn't want to continue the negotiations, which shocked Jimmy. Although Morgan had suspected something was amiss, Jimmy was still stunned when he actually heard John's words. He understood that John's patience had been worn down and he was unwilling to waste any more time on this acquisition!
"Don't worry, I'll talk to the boss. I'm confident everything will be fine. Morgan won't let his partners suffer!"

"I hope so too. See you in Morgan the day after tomorrow!"

"Okay, it's settled then. See you at 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow!"

"Who is this kid, daring to be so tough on Morgan? I've never heard of such a powerful figure among Chinese Americans!"

"Oh, I see. He's John Smith, the gaming tycoon, media mogul, Silicon Valley giant. No wonder he can work with Morgan. His previous collaboration with Morgan to acquire Universal and NBC caused a huge sensation, purging the top executives of Universal and NBC and gaining control of the two companies!"

Finally, some people recognized John. Although many of them had read about him in the newspapers, they still didn't recognize him when he stood before them. If it weren't for John's conversation with Jimmy, they would never have guessed that John was the American prodigy from the newspapers, the media mogul who acquired Universal and NBC television networks!
After hanging up the phone, John was surprised to see a group of people staring at him in astonishment. However, he quickly realized that they recognized him. Despite their complex expressions, John remained calm and unconcerned; he didn't have time to care what they thought. The final showdown was the day after tomorrow, and that was the most important thing. Everything else could wait.

"Will, notify the airport that we're going to New York tomorrow!" Before acquiring the airline and private jet, John had built a small airport in Shuna, California, for his security company, as a future flight base for the company. Now it's coming in handy.

This sudden change weighed heavily on John's mind. Things were definitely not as easy as Jimmy had made them out to be. He knew those old guys all too well, and getting them to compromise wouldn't be an easy task!

The average person might not know how powerful Bell Labs was, but the Consul General was well aware of its strength. John's ability to participate in the dismantling of Bell Corporation demonstrated his formidable capabilities. Although the Consul General had previously learned some about John, after this conversation, he realized he had underestimated John's abilities.

Someone who could participate in the breakup of Bell Labs, someone who could acquire Motorola Semiconductor—they're definitely more capable than I know. These two companies aren't just for anyone to acquire; they're true high-tech companies, not something money can buy. It seems I need to pay closer attention to John and gain a deeper understanding. Silicon Valley giants aren't as simple as they seem! Attracting such high-tech companies to invest in China would be a huge benefit to the country's development. Semiconductor chips are a crucial technology, and one that China desperately needs!

(End of this chapter)