America: My Time

Chapter 392 Confession or Scheme?
Chapter 392 Explanation or Scheme?

"Then I have no choice. How can you develop with your feet shackled? I don't have such concerns. If the market there weren't not fully open yet, I would have invested more. Even Western Energy's investments in the oil refinery and Quantum Mining's investments in the steel industry would have been placed there. In my experience, the investment environment there is better than in the United States. At least we won't have a Jeep-like situation that forced us to make the decision to relocate!"

Seeing John bring up Jeep again, Jimmy couldn't help but sigh, feeling helpless at John's pettiness. He shook his head and said, "John, your company is private, so you can make decisions on your own. We can't. If we can't generate profits in the early stages, we'll only be questioned by the board. You can expand rapidly, but we can't!"

"I know, that's why I'm not optimistic about your hesitant response. By the time you react, the market may have already been developed by others! At least in the automotive field, you can try to go global. Don't cling to the US market, or you'll be trapped there. If you can't make whole vehicles, you can make parts. If you have any concerns, cooperation is also an option. Going global is the only way to have a future. Clinging to the US will only lead to a miserable end. Nowadays, many of our less important parts are manufactured in factories in China, and the cost is much lower than yours."

Is John trying to help General Motors out of kindness? No, it's not out of kindness, because GM simply can't do it. The reason is simple: what GM needs right now is a purge. If it can't even complete internal integration, how can it talk about expansion? That will only make things worse for them. By the time GM finishes its own adjustments, John's Bentley will have already completed its full-scale layout.

The route is correct, but if you can't seize the opportunity and time, you won't get the greatest benefits. Now, Bentley has the advantage in expansion, and Bentley cars are almost perfect now. From sedans to Jeeps, sports cars, and heavy trucks, they all have their own brands. Even the mid-range brand is under independent research and development. Such a speed of development is something that General Motors can't compare to.

Of course, not everyone believed John's words. Many people thought it was just a trap. So far, Western Energy has only confirmed the construction of two refineries, one in Tokyo, Japan, and one in Taiwan!
Is John's investment in China large? It is indeed substantial, ranging from semiconductors to automobiles and food processing, etc. However, John's presence in Japan is also significant, and his presence in Taiwan is even more astonishing. Therefore, not everyone believes John's words; in their view, John is just gambling and lacks absolute confidence.

John didn't care what others thought or thought, nor did he need to. The main reason his investments in China hadn't surpassed those in Japan or Taiwan was his lack of sufficient talent. If he had enough, he would have expanded rapidly long ago. Talent was the constraint on John's expansion speed in China. Unfortunately, John wouldn't reveal any of this; it concerned his core secrets, how could he share them with these guys?

Time flew by. After communicating with Jimmy and DuPont, John took Naoko to see Grandpa Martin and exchanged ideas with the others at the dinner. Many people were interested in investing in China or Asia, and they all asked John for advice. After all, John was the most enthusiastic investor in Asia in the United States, and he also knew Asia very well. The low labor costs made them all eager to invest.

With sufficient sales channels, even food and clothing can be incredibly profitable. John has such a company. Many people in the retail industry know how fast and amazing 7-Eleven's expansion in the United States has been. Almost every city in the United States is covered by 7-Eleven. According to 7-Eleven's development plan, it will complete the coverage of towns and cities by the end of the year. It has to be said that this is a crazy decision. Once 7-Eleven completes its layout, it will have a complete sales network in the United States. What an amazing power this is. No one can ignore its existence.

Unfortunately, John didn't have time to instruct these guys. Soon, the White House staff squeezed in and whispered to John, "Mr. John, the President wants to see you!"

The moment John had been waiting for had finally arrived. It seemed that those old guys had prepared everything, and the real confrontation was about to begin. He just didn't know what preparations those old guys and the White House had made. John smiled calmly at this situation, without the slightest surprise. He had expected this to happen before he came.

"Naoko, please sit over there for a while and wait until I've finished dealing with things here. If anything comes up, please contact Jimmy and Grandpa!" After settling Naoko in, John followed the staff to the White House conference room. As expected, all the old guys were there: Morgan, Rockefeller, other financial tycoons, White House staff, and even Paul Walker, the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Upon seeing these men, John was initially taken aback, but only for a moment. He then bowed slightly to the President and said, "Good evening, Mr. President!" After the formalities, John took his seat in the conference room. However, the meeting didn't go as smoothly as he had expected. The old men, especially Rockefeller, all looked grave. It seemed they had communicated with the White House before his arrival, but he didn't know what agreement they had reached. However, that wasn't important. What mattered was what he could gain from this meeting. He wouldn't be asked to make any sacrifices.

“Mr. John, as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, we do not want to see turmoil in the U.S. financial markets, as this would affect the U.S. economic recovery. We hope you can remain calm and not start any disputes lightly!” Paul Walker was the first to speak, directly steer the conversation toward John.

"Heh, interesting. You don't want the US financial market to be turbulent, and you're worried about the US economic recovery. Then what about everything that happened before, Mr. Paul Walker? Before you accuse me, you should think about why all this happened. I haven't received fair or just treatment in the US. Someone is trampling on the rules. Don't I even have the right to resist? Or is it that the Federal Reserve is also involved in the plan against me? If so, I think there's nothing to talk about between us. This is just a waste of everyone's time. Am I right, Mr. Rockefeller?"

At this moment, John showed no mercy to Paul Walker. He didn't know the situation at the Federal Reserve, but he couldn't accept this guy's accusations and couldn't let him put all the blame on him.

“John, we do have disagreements, conflicts, and arguments, but this is the White House. We're here to discuss the development of the entire United States, not personal grudges. What you're saying goes a bit too far!”

"I don't think so. You can't play double standards. And judging from your attitude, I really don't see any need for discussion. If we remember correctly, we did reach a settlement before, but what did you do? We reached an agreement, and then you turned around and continued to target me. You don't expect to reach a settlement again without paying any price, do you? There's no such thing as a free lunch. I want an explanation."

John's reaction shocked everyone present. None of them expected that this little guy would make such a domineering request in the White House, showing no respect for the White House or our President.

At this moment, many people were gesturing to Morgan, but Morgan ignored them. He didn't want to offend John, this little guy, at this time and in this situation, and ruin their relationship!
"Alright, for everyone's sake, and for the president's sake, we're willing to pay a price. Your Western Energy wants to develop in the petrochemical sector, right? We can give you that opportunity, and even some resources. How about we settle at the current prices? But we want cash!"

"Not good. I wouldn't dare take over the petrochemical business, especially in the US. You guys are too cunning. I can't accept such kindness. Oil prices are likely to continue to fall. Do you think I would accept your kindness at this time? And if I don't make a mistake, you'll be throwing those useless things at me, which will not only drain my funds but also slow down my development."

John instantly saw through Rockefeller's scheme. Since the oil crisis of 1978, the United States and oil conglomerates like Rockefeller had been behind it all. These guys were controlling oil prices. If he accepted their "good intentions," he would only end up with a lot of trouble and waste his time and energy.

"So what do you want?" Rockefeller's heart was heavy when John, this little fox, saw through his thoughts and even their plans in the oil industry. Many of the old men present were also deeply troubled. They had all been involved in this plan, only to have it all seen through by a young upstart. How could they not be nervous? Moreover, this young man was in conflict with them. If the confrontation continued, their plans would be completely ruined, and all their previous efforts would be in vain. This was an outcome no one wanted to see, an outcome no one could bear. Even the White House did not want to see such a situation occur!
(End of this chapter)