America: My Time

Chapter 1534 Strike at the Weak Point
Chapter 1524 Strike at the Weak Point

John felt his time was still too tight. So many things were piling up, putting him under considerable pressure. It was precisely because those guys had seen through his current situation that they kept testing him, especially those old guys like Rockefeller. They were the most disgusting chaos, none of them keeping their promises.

If John hadn't been absolutely confident in his plan, he would have given them a profound lesson under such circumstances, letting them know what ruthlessness truly meant, and how terrible and bloody the consequences of breaking promises could be.

It was precisely because he was confident in himself that no matter how much the old guys like Rockefeller jumped around, or how cunning the oil capital was, everything was under his control. He not only had an understanding of the future, but also had a very high vision. Otherwise, how could John have found a way to break the deadlock and a way to deliver a fatal blow to the oil capital in such a short time?

John hasn't made a move yet. Once he does, those guys will know what pain is. And it won't just be these guys who suffer; many others will be affected as well. When the giants of the catering industry are affected, or even when the entire catering industry is impacted, someone will have to step up and take responsibility. At that time, no one will dare to target John, after all, John is also a victim, forced to sell his catering group!
Whether it's Oil Capital or those guys on Wall Street who step up to take responsibility at that time depends on their respective abilities. Anyone who is treated as a pawn will inevitably suffer a devastating blow. Those restaurant giants won't let them off easily. As for whether they dare to cause trouble for John, that's unknown. After all, John doesn't know what will happen at that time, since he hasn't prepared for everything.

"Mr. John, are you sure you want to make such an investment plan?" When the Chinese officials saw John's investment plan, they all gasped. Although they were all well-informed and knew that John was the biggest investor in China, John's move this time still shocked them.

Over the years, John has built a substantial presence in China and has never transferred any funds. He has truly reinvested all his profits in China, even though the ten-year agreement has long passed. Although John's investments have brought him considerable wealth, he deserves it all, as not all investors can achieve what John has.

This must be incredibly bold, demonstrating immense faith in the Chinese market and its development to make such an investment. They were all quite surprised to see John making moves in the chemical industry and the food service sector, areas they knew little about. They were well aware of the situation in the United States; after all, knowing your enemy and yourself is the key to victory. Moreover, John was a good friend of China, which naturally made them take him even more seriously.

John's sale of his restaurant group in the United States was a surprising move that also had a significant impact in China. However, the decision to abandon those American restaurant giants and instead increase investment in the Chinese restaurant industry has left many people puzzled.

"This is my plan, but time is of the essence. I need your help. After all, it's difficult to do the preliminary preparations on our own. Especially in the chemical industry, the investment is too large. The sooner we complete the construction, the sooner we can generate profits." At this moment, John did not mention the influence of external forces. Although John can now invest in chemicals in China without any scruples, and even with the technology obtained from Japan, he believes that such investment opportunities will not last long. Once those old guys realize what's happening, they will inevitably target him again.

If it were any other investor, the Chinese personnel would need to consider the matter further and even conduct some investigation. However, they were dealing with John, a tycoon of the American financial group, so they had fewer reservations. After all, John's investments in China were all completed through Chinese construction groups, and the cooperation between the two sides had always been very good. Not only in China, but many of John's overseas investments also involved cooperation with China in construction.

Even if John didn't provide a portion of the construction funds upfront, they wouldn't refuse such an investment, given John's reputation for integrity.

As for John's pre-cooked food factory and the necessary researchers, these are not problems. After all, it doesn't involve much technology, and John was well-prepared. Furthermore, research on pre-cooked foods is being conducted simultaneously in multiple locations. If you're going to do something, do it to the best of your ability—deliver a fatal blow to those guys!
Of course, John never intended to give up on the restaurant group; he was merely temporarily withdrawing from the United States. Even so, he retained the opportunity to make a comeback, still owning a restaurant giant. However, with John abandoning the US restaurant market, his focus shifted entirely to Asia.

John quickly made comprehensive arrangements for his investment in China, and the investment agreement was signed. He then shifted his focus elsewhere; after all, he had been outmaneuvered by those old guys before, and if he didn't retaliate, they would think he was easy to bully, and who knew what else might happen.

"What?! Are you sure you're not joking? Has John gone mad? How dare he make such a decision?" John's retaliation came quickly. Before the restaurant giants could retaliate or abandon their previous supply agreements, John struck first, targeting Starbucks with a complete supply cut-off. This left Starbucks stunned. Even if they wanted to find a new supplier, it was impossible. Quality issues were difficult to resolve, and most importantly, the flavors were already set; a sudden change would mean losing customers!
"Yes, we have received their notification that they will not renew our contract, and there are only three months left before the contract expires. We simply cannot do it, after all, choosing a new supplier will cause us to lose a lot of customers! Our expansion plan is going to go bankrupt. And there's even more crazy news: they're going to create their own brand!"

"Damn it, how could this bastard do this!" Everyone present was furious. They all knew all too well how serious the consequences of John's actions would be. If they lost their current supply, the quality of their coffee would not be guaranteed, but it would be too easy for John to build a new store!

"We need to talk to John. We can't let this happen, or Starbucks will suffer a devastating blow!" At this point, someone thought of compromise again, wanting to solve the problem in this way!
"Do you know what you're saying? Do you think John is so stupid as to accept your compromise? Remember, this is a battle for interests. Even if you kneel down, he won't accept your compromise. We've all been too careless and underestimated John's madness. Now it's Starbucks, who will be next, Burger King or some other brand?"

"Probably not. Brands like Burger King are different from Starbucks; they aren't affected by raw materials. And even if John wants to cut off supplies, we can choose other suppliers. It's not difficult for us. So our biggest problem is Starbucks. Their counterattack hits our weak spot!" "If we hadn't fallen out with Morgan, we could have asked him to intervene. But now, don't even think about it. Morgan won't accept it. After all, we've already offended him with our previous scheme."

“Three months is a bit tight for us, but it’s not impossible. If it really doesn’t work out, we’ll abandon the expansion plan and stabilize our existing stores first. As for John wanting to create a new brand to compete with us, that’s not an easy task either. After all, it requires a lot of effort. Do you think John has that kind of effort?”

"That's true, but have you considered that John doesn't need to do all this himself? He can simply acquire another brand to continue Starbucks' plans. Since he dared to spread such rumors, he must have already come up with a solution. We have to be careful, or our investment will be wasted."

Do they regret it? These guys do have some regrets. If they had known John would react so recklessly, they shouldn't have gone too far, shouldn't have been so greedy, and shouldn't have only seen the allure of Starbucks without recognizing the risks behind it. But it's too late to say that now; everything has already happened.

By the time they heard the news, John's plan should have already been launched. The more they knew John, the more they realized how terrifying his methods were. This guy never fought a battle he wasn't sure of winning.

"Why don't we sell Starbucks? After all, it's a trap right now. Even if we try to salvage it, we'll suffer heavy losses. We might as well sell it to that madman John, even if we lose a little money. After all, if John's plan goes ahead, Starbucks' value will be greatly reduced!"

"It's too late. Even if you wanted to sell now, John wouldn't buy it. We were all wrong. We underestimated John's reaction. We all thought John's energy would be drawn to semiconductor chips and he would be bogged down by asset restructuring. But we were wrong. This is just the beginning of John's counterattack. We will face more crises next!"

“We can’t just sit here and wait to die. We still need to talk to John. If we can’t get through to Morgan, then we’ll ask the White House to step in. At the very least, we have to sell Starbucks, even if it comes at a price!”

Although these guys were unwilling, they all knew that they couldn't hesitate at this moment, otherwise they would suffer even greater losses. If John's counterattack were to unfold, Starbucks' market value would plummet!
"Alright, that's the only way for now. We'll ask the White House to step in and sell Starbucks at a 30% discount. We have to do this before that news gets out, or the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Soon, these oil-rich guys all sprang into action, starting to use their connections and resources. After all, the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for them. They were racing against time, worried that John's plan would unfold quickly and catch them off guard. If something went wrong, the losses would be devastating!

"These bastards, they just had to cause us trouble. Now they're panicking. What were they doing before? Did they really think John was so good-natured? They knew John's restaurant group plans, they knew John had a plan, but they still went to steal it. Now they've suffered a loss and they're coming to us. We can't keep cleaning up their messes every time they get into trouble." President Laugh Tale was furious about this situation. After all, he was always the one who suffered when something went wrong, and he always had to step in!

"What's the point of saying all this now? After all, those guys are willing to give us some benefits. You're just pleading with John on their behalf. And as long as you ask, I believe John won't refuse on this matter. After all, building a new brand is not an easy thing; it requires a lot of time and effort!"

Upon hearing this, Zipper sighed, "No, you're wrong. Things aren't that simple. You don't really think those oil giants just want to minimize their losses. They're hiding a far more terrifying conspiracy. What do you think will happen to the company's top executives if John buys back Starbucks? These guys are trying to use this to restrain John, to buy them enough time to protect their other restaurant brands. Even now, these guys are still so greedy!"

Lattington's reaction was quite sharp; he immediately saw through the little scheme hidden by the Oil Capital. However, he also understood that he had no chance to refuse, because some people didn't want to see the Oil Capital fall. After all, the Oil Capital was a knife in their hands, a pawn they used to restrain John. These guys didn't want to see the Oil Capital severely weakened and lose its ability to restrain John. So, Lattington had no choice but to accept it, whether he wanted to or not. He had no say in the matter!
“Even so, we have no choice. Not to mention the internal pressure within the donkey, even our personal relationship is like this. If you refuse, it won’t be long before others come to plead for us. And if something unexpected happens and their plans fail, we will face considerable pressure, since this involves huge interests. Whether or not you can successfully persuade John, you have to step forward and try. At least you can’t give them an excuse. As long as we do everything we can, success or failure is none of our business. After all, we can’t decide John’s mind, and we don’t have that kind of power!”

(End of this chapter)