America: My Time

Chapter 1592: Shifting the blame
Chapter 1582 Shifting the Blame

John, ever mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace, dared not trust the American financial groups. He knew how the United States had weakened in just over a decade, and how reckless those companies could be. Without significant power, how could he protect his own interests? He couldn't put all his eggs in one basket, and he needed to avoid potential threats.

"Sit down, don't be nervous. I know you're worried. Don't worry, I mean no harm. I just want to make some compensation. I've never thought of taking other people's assets for nothing, even if your firm has already received payment. I don't want to take advantage of anyone. There's no need for you to be so nervous!" John smiled calmly at the tense-looking Suoh Ikuo. This guy arrived really quickly. It seems that Japan is putting a lot of pressure on him. But John didn't care. After all, wherever there are people, there is politics. The internal struggles and disputes in Japan have nothing to do with him. He just needs to maintain his public image!
“Mr. John, I don’t need any compensation. As you said, someone has already paid me. I have no reason to ask you for compensation. That would make me seem too greedy. You have your principles, and I have mine!” Goodness, Suoh Ikuo actually dared to talk about principles with John. I have to say, this guy has guts!

However, John was also clear about the little scheme in this guy's mind. This guy wanted to use this method to get on his good side, after all, he was under a lot of pressure this time!
"Alright, don't rush to refuse me. The firm still needs your help. After all, many things aren't easy to solve. With you as my former boss, everything will be much easier. I hope you'll consider that. Now, let's talk about the compensation I'm offering. Next, the Japanese network company will contract out user network installation to you. You'll need to register a company to take on this project. Also, the courier company will contract out some of its business to your company, and even after the group restructuring, some housekeeping services will be outsourced to your company. I believe that with your status, this won't be difficult. The profits from this will be enough to compensate for your losses, and may even allow you to earn more!"

Outsourcing business was John's compensation to Suo Ikuo. This not only reduced his own pressure and allowed the company to operate quickly without taking on too much trouble, but also earned him a good reputation.

John's plan was to streamline operations and minimize the company's burden by outsourcing business to other companies. This would reduce the group's staff and expenses. After all, John disliked the seniority-based system, but he had to adapt to local customs in Japan. Now that an opportunity had arisen, John naturally wanted to take it to reduce the burden.

"Mr. John, are you telling the truth?" Suoh Ikuo could hardly believe his ears. After all, he knew how much profit was involved. He knew how lucrative these outsourcing businesses were, but he simply had no opportunity to get involved. Moreover, this was a collaboration with a large company, so the profits were even greater!
"Of course it's true. Once your company is registered, you can talk to Momoko Kikuchi about the details; she'll make the arrangements." John wants to use Japan as a pilot project to accelerate his plans. After all, time waits for no one, and he doesn't have much energy to waste on these trivial matters. He has more important things to deal with!

"Thank you so much, Mr. John!" Suoh Ikuo was incredibly excited. Once he established a relationship with John, his business would develop rapidly. He ran his firm to make money, and now John had given him a new direction with even greater potential profits. Although the dot-com bubble had burst, John's reputation was undeniable, especially in Japan. Everyone knew that partnering with John was like stepping onto a fast track to wealth!

"No need to thank me, this is a mutually beneficial thing. If you have no objections, then hurry back and make preparations. At least you will need a lot of manpower, from housekeeping staff to outsourced installation and delivery, you will need a lot of manpower!" John easily dismissed Suo Ikuo.

After leaving John's residence, Suo Ikuo had no choice but to go to the Japanese embassy. Even though he was eager to return and make arrangements, he had to submit to the power structure. He had no right to challenge the Japanese government, much less dare to challenge the Japanese conglomerates. If he dared to do so, he would be taught a lesson in no time, or even lose the chance to live a normal life! Suo Ikuo didn't believe that the people behind him would protect him, after all, the consequences of making enemies of officials were something they couldn't afford!
"Are you sure Mr. John said that?" When they heard Suo Ikuo's record of his conversation with John, the Japanese group was completely stunned. They never expected that Suo Ikuo would be so lucky to receive such a large compensation. For the conglomerate, it was nothing, and they wouldn't even take it seriously, but for Suo Ikuo, it was a great opportunity!
“Yes, that’s right. Mr. John told me to hurry back to Japan to register the company and get ready. Once my preparations are complete, I can start accepting outsourced business!” Suo Ikuo said calmly. After all, he had no reason to lie, so he could have a clear conscience.
Soon, the Japanese guys also got rid of Suo Ikuo. They didn't want to steal business from Suo Ikuo. They were just doing this to find out John's feelings about Japan. From this little thing, they could know John's opinion of Japan and whether John would gradually ignore Japan after Morita Akio's death.

"It seems we were overthinking it. Mr. John hasn't changed anything about us. Otherwise, Suo Ikuo wouldn't have had this opportunity. These outsourcing jobs earn him just as much money as his firm, maybe even more, and the influence is much greater. After all, this is legitimate business, unlike his firm!"

"Yes, this guy really got lucky. Perhaps if we had chosen another firm, we would have received the same compensation. It's safe to say he got a great deal! We can now be sure that Mr. John still has a good impression of us, but after everything that's happened, that goodwill has diminished. So, we need to maintain this relationship. There's no harm without comparison. Now we should take action. Only when the Koreans cause trouble will Mr. John see the gap between us and the Koreans, and only then will he truly appreciate us and cooperate with us!"

"Well said! Now is indeed the time to take full action. This is an opportunity that must not be missed. If we miss this chance, who knows when we will have another one? This is energy extraction, which is crucial to Japan's energy security!"

And just like that, the situation on the Korean side changed instantly, and it escalated rapidly. Criticism and insults poured in, all directed at Lee Boo-jin, accusing her of being heartless. The impact was even spreading quickly, gradually affecting John's media and entertainment business in Korea, and even retail. It has to be said that the Koreans are a bunch of arrogant fools, forgetful of their mistakes. How long has it been? They've become arrogant again. I wonder how many days they've had a good meal!
When this situation arose, the South Koreans were dumbfounded, especially the South Korean government. Although they were also pushing things along in secret, they only wanted to shift the blame to Lee Boo-jin and did not expect things to escalate to such an uncontrollable point. But now everything is out of their control, and the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous.

The Lee family of Samsung was also shocked by all of this. It was clear someone was trying to sabotage them; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such extremes. This wasn't just a slap in the face to Lee Boo-jin and John, but a slap in the face to the entire Lee family of Samsung. "What are these bastards trying to do? Aren't they afraid of John's wrath? Aren't they afraid of having their energy cut off again? And is the foreman secretly pushing all this? What are those bastards in the government doing?"

"The authorities are also secretly pushing all this forward. They want to shift the blame to Boo Jin, but they underestimated the reaction of other conglomerates. Once the authorities take action, other conglomerates follow suit, all pointing the finger at Boo Jin and also at our Samsung Lee family. If this situation is allowed to continue, I'm worried it will lead to an even bigger crisis!"

"It's useless to say these things now. Since the authorities have already intervened, we have no chance to resist, even if we wanted to. Moreover, if we retaliate now, it will only give them the opportunity to confirm their previous statements, which is very disadvantageous to us. We don't need to worry about Fu-zhen; she won't hold a grudge against us. But it's a different story with Mr. John. We have now exhausted all our goodwill, especially with our cooperation with Rockefeller, which has brought our relationship with him to a freezing point!"

If he could, Lee Kun-hee wouldn't want to cooperate with Rockefeller either, but he had no choice. He was too greedy, and now even if he wanted to back down, it was impossible. And was this just the work of the South Korean government and other South Korean conglomerates? No, the Americans were behind it all. Those damned Americans were scheming against Samsung and the Lee family, trying to force Lee Boo-jin to the opposite side. After all this, he wouldn't even have the face to see Lee Boo-jin!

“Zai Rong, you need to keep an eye on things in China. Don’t rush to make a statement. I’ll make arrangements for the Koreans. Since everything has already happened, let’s take the initiative to tell Fu Zhen and Mr. John that they’re not trying to use us as pawns. So let’s make everything even more thorough!” When Lee Geon-hee hardened his heart, he became even more reckless. He didn’t care about the interests of the Koreans; he only cared about his own interests.

John was fully aware of the situation in South Korea. After all, someone had already informed Lee Boo-jin when all this happened. No one could keep such a big thing a secret, and as things escalated, everyone was afraid of being blown up.

"What, something happened on the Korean side? Those guys couldn't hold back and started causing trouble, trying to pin the blame on you?" John shook his head and said, seeing Lee Boo-jin's gloomy expression. This was exactly what he had expected. Given the arrogance of those Koreans, the scheming of those old American guys, and even the influence of oil and gas capital, it would be strange if Korea didn't run into trouble; in fact, it would be normal for trouble to happen.

"Yes, those bastards never admitted that they deceived me. They just kept pushing all the blame onto me, saying that I didn't help them and wasn't willing to do my best. Otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out this way!"

"This was exactly what we expected, so why are you in such a hurry? Let them continue. If they don't cause trouble, you'll know how these guys see you. Only then can you truly see everything clearly and understand the true nature of the Koreans. Otherwise, when will you ever be able to see things clearly and stop being morally blackmailed by these guys!"

John paused slightly at this point, then changed the subject, saying, "If we don't make a big fuss, how can I see who's behind this? And how can I face the upcoming crisis if I can't see it clearly? Some people don't want to see me succeed, they don't want to see my investments in Asia make money. They're afraid, they're terrified, which is why they're making these underhanded moves. They want to disrupt my plans in Asia, and even try to throw the Asian energy sector into chaos! The more they do this, the more we should pretend we're not special and let them cause trouble. We should also see who jumps out to oppose us right now, and settle accounts with them when this storm subsides."

John wasn't one to sit idly by. Since these guys had already made their move, he had to retaliate, to teach them a lesson, to show them what pain was, to show them that in the face of absolute power, any schemes and tricks were utterly futile. Even though John hadn't investigated the whole situation, he could imagine who was behind it all. While it seemed like the Koreans were to blame, there were actually quite a few people pulling the strings behind the scenes.

“Cut off energy supplies again, but if Asian Energy cuts off supplies at this time, it will lose credibility, which will have a bad impact on itself. Such a price is unbearable for Asian Energy; it will make many partners uneasy, and could even have a greater impact!” Lee Boo-jin hurriedly said, fearing that John might cut off energy supplies to South Korea again in a fit of anger!
"Don't worry, we can't take action on the energy sector, but we have control over the electricity sector. After all, Asia Energy has already separated the Korean assets, so we can completely shut down those power plants for maintenance, leaving those guys without electricity. We don't know if their factories can still operate without enough electricity, or if the Korean semiconductor project can still proceed smoothly!"

(End of this chapter)