America: My Time

Chapter 1238 Mental Imbalance

Chapter 1228 Mental Imbalance

Tsutsumi knew he had offended the other party, but he had no choice. No matter how wonderful the man's previous promises seemed, he knew in his heart that they were all lies, and he would be a fool to believe them. As a business tycoon, he had witnessed too much of the ugliness of human nature; he didn't believe the other party's promises at all. For his own safety, he had no other option!

He glanced at Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, then shook his head and left without saying a word. Perhaps he hadn't intended to scheme against Tsutsumi, and might even have offered him assistance, but now he no longer harbored such thoughts; this was a transaction. When Tsutsumi brought it all up, it marked the beginning of the transaction, not the previous negotiation. Before, he could represent the First Industrial Bank to negotiate with Tsutsumi, and there was still a sliver of goodwill between them, but now it was purely a transaction!

As he said, once something is done, there are consequences. Since Yoshiaki Tsutsumi doesn't believe in his promises, he can only resort to a deal, so that he will bear all the consequences himself and no one will lend him a hand.

Watching the other person's departing figure, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi remained calm and murmured to himself, "Perhaps you came with good intentions, but I cannot gamble with my life. Perhaps I will lose a lot, but I cannot lose my life. This is my choice, and I have no regrets!"

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi didn't understand the consequences of saying those words. He knew, but he still did it because he didn't trust anyone. From being the world's richest man at the top to falling from grace, no one knew how much suffering he had endured or what he was thinking.

Soon, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's demands became known to everyone. He wasn't disappointed; a promise appeared before him, but he also had to pay the price for it. He had to take the blame for everything during the bubble economy era, for the Central Bank of Japan, for the soaring land prices in Japan, and become an object of hatred for the Japanese people. The more arrogant he was then, the more pathetic he became now.

When the blame is pinned on him, everything he's done will be exposed. His halo will vanish, and he'll no longer be under the protection of the conglomerate. His past misdeeds will be brought up one by one. While there won't be any punishment, his public image in Japan will be shattered. The Seibu Group won't be plundered, but it also won't receive any help.

John was unaware of all this in Japan and paid no attention to it. When he arrived in Seoul, South Korea, the situation there had become even more dire, yet the arrogant Koreans failed to show the proper attitude. Only Lee Boo-jin came to greet him, making the scene rather deserted!

Seeing this, John couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This was the ignorance of the Koreans. Even at this point, they still hadn't recognized their own limitations. Moreover, he had come with 'goodwill' this time, so the Koreans should at least show some appreciation.

"It's really disappointing. Even at this point, they're still struggling with saving face. It's laughable and pathetic. But it's fine this way. I have enough reason to refuse their 'requests.' Perhaps they haven't truly experienced despair, so these guys don't know what pain is." John said to Lee Boo-jin with a faint smile when they returned to their Seoul residence, a hint of disdain in his eyes. He found the Koreans' reaction laughable.

"There's nothing we can do. Many people don't believe you. After all, you're a US financial tycoon. Nowadays, everyone's smart enough to know that Soros and Oil Capital have the Federal Reserve behind them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so arrogant. Your status makes them hesitant to fully trust your 'goodwill'."

"Let them think what they want. I don't have time to argue with them. Everyone has to walk their own path. I'm not on the same page as them, and I don't care what they think. I just want to know Daewoo's attitude. Can I talk to Kim Woo-jung, that ambitious guy at Daewoo, about the acquisition tomorrow?"

“Yes, he has no other way out. Daewoo Group is already heavily indebted. If you're willing, you can sit down with him and discuss the acquisition. I believe that as long as the price is right, he won't refuse your offer!” Lee Boo-jin didn't hesitate at all. She knew Daewoo Group's situation very well. Daewoo couldn't hold on for long; its massive debt was enough to crush it. Without external help, bankruptcy and liquidation were inevitable. Unless Kim Woo-joong was stupid, he wouldn't refuse the acquisition, because he was already desperate.

“Alright, then arrange for me to talk to him about the acquisition. As for the rest, ignore everything else.” Although Lee Boo-jin didn’t speak, John understood that there were definitely many people in South Korea eyeing him and Standard Chartered Bank, but he didn’t want to deal with them. With Lee Boo-jin’s intelligence, she naturally understood John’s meaning. She knew exactly what the “other things” referred to. At the same time, she found those people in South Korea ridiculous and felt resentful for her father and brothers. They wanted to ask for help but didn’t want to lose face. How could they possibly succeed? Besides, they knew about the situation in Japan and John’s intentions towards Daewoo Group. Under these circumstances, how could they possibly help them?

One cannot be too greedy, nor can one be ignorant of when to advance and when to retreat. After returning to South Korea, Lee Boo-jin naturally learned of her father's decision. Instead of selling shares, she received a loan from Standard Chartered Bank, which clearly indicated a lack of trust in her, an unwillingness to let her interfere in Samsung's affairs, and an unwillingness to give her any opportunities.

Since even the best of both worlds couldn't be treated fairly, and despite having offered Samsung some assistance, this was the result she received. How could she not have any thoughts about it? It was impossible. Therefore, she no longer wanted to concern herself with Samsung's affairs or get involved in anything related to Samsung.

Even without John's words, Lee Boo-jin had no intention of pleading with him again for Samsung. She was human, with her own feelings and thoughts. When she learned of her father's decision, she was completely disillusioned, ceasing all hope and no longer wanting to be a pawn.

Seeing Lee Boo-jin's expression, although she appeared calm, John could still sense the unease within her. He shook his head and sighed, "Actually, you don't need to care about any of this. What they do is their own business. As long as you have a clear conscience, that's enough. Just live your own life well. Live your life peacefully and don't think too much about other things. As long as you are happy, there's no need to worry about these things. If you keep these things weighing on your mind, it will only cause you pain!"

"I understand, but I just can't accept it." It's not that Lee Boo-jin doesn't understand the principle, but that she really can't accept it. She's not as cold-blooded as her father and brothers, so she has to endure this torment.

"Whether you like it or not, you have to accept it. In fact, from the moment you decided to break free from your constraints, you no longer had anything to do with Samsung. Do you think they can accept your existence? Even if they can, are they not worried about my deterrence? They are not worried about your power grab, but about my acquisition of Samsung."

John saw things more deeply than Lee Boo-jin, but he didn't see anything wrong with it. The struggles within conglomerates were far more brutal than outsiders imagined, and the madness of the Samsung Lee family was astonishing. His large-scale investment in Japan this time would only make the Samsung Lee family more worried, and knowing that he had long coveted the Daewoo Group, how could they not be concerned?

"But they can't be so hypocritical. They give me no hope, yet expect me to work for them and get more benefits and profits from me. That's going too far. I'm his daughter, not his subordinate. I have my own feelings!" Lee Boo-jin couldn't suppress her emotions and expressed her grievances.

"So what? This is just a struggle for interests. You should have understood all of this when you made your decision. Let go of everything and don't think so much. There's no need to make yourself unhappy or sad over these things. It's not worth it. You've done what you should have done. You have a clear conscience, and so do I. Now we just need to do what we want to do. There's no need to care what they think or how they see us."

Although John was right, things weren't so easy. He had never experienced such pain; he didn't have such cold-blooded parents and family. His family had always been John's strongest support, so he couldn't understand Lee Boo-jin's current suffering. All he could do was offer advice and hope that Lee Boo-jin would overcome her difficulties and stop being saddened by all this.

"Alright, you now have two choices. One is to take control of all my assets in South Korea and become the new chaebol. The other is to choose an industry, no longer assigned by me, but by yourself."

“I don’t have the ability to manage all your investments here. Shipbuilding, steel, energy, and automobiles are all beyond my control. I can’t manage all of them, at least not now. There are just too many things involved. I’ll stick with retail and apparel; that’s what I can control.” Lee Boo-jin wasn’t misled by John’s suggestion. She recognized her own limitations. She knew she couldn’t possibly control so many assets; she simply didn’t have the ability! Automobiles, steel, shipbuilding, and energy all had their own conglomerates behind them. How could she possibly control them?

(End of this chapter)