America: My Time

Chapter 648 Crying poor
Chapter 638 Crying Poverty

Even if Nakamori Akio had many ideas, he dared not pressure Akina anymore. Shortly after his return, he received news of the Mitsui Bank manager's transfer and the disappearance of his 'good brother' who had always stood up for him. All of this was told to him by Hanami Kagami, with a clear purpose: to warn him that if he caused trouble again, he would be next to disappear.
What is madness? What is cruelty? This is it. In just a few days, his "good brother" had disappeared. Whether he had sunk in Tokyo Bay was hard to say. This had a huge impact on Akio Nakamori. As for the others, needless to say, faced with the warnings from Ken-On and Vanguard, they dared not detonate their spikes.

Most importantly, they can't contact Akina now. Akina's house has been demolished, and only Chieko knows Akina's current address. And even though Ken-on let them go home, there is still a stay-at-home order. They are not allowed to leave home too far during this period, or they will be punished.

Having learned her lesson, Yan Yin dared not indulge these greedy and ignorant fellows again. She didn't want them to cause trouble for her or ruin her plans. Now that this matter was over, she didn't want it to happen again. Therefore, warning this greedy family was the most appropriate thing to do, as only in this way could she put their minds at ease.

As night fell, the party arranged by Akio Morita finally began, and it attracted a lot of attention. At least in the United States, there were quite a few old guys watching. They were worried that John's cooperation with the Japanese would ruin their plans and make all their previous efforts go to waste.

When John appeared, many people's attention turned to him. Although he was accompanied by two beauties, Naoko and Hitomi Kuroki, the big shots didn't care. What they cared about was the upcoming interaction with John, the end of the Akina incident, and how likely it was that they could cooperate with John.

"John, let's go over there!" Under the guidance of the old man Akio Morita, John arrived at a corner of the party. This party was different; people from all walks of life were there, and there were even more people from the entertainment industry. Perhaps it was because the music festival was coming up, or perhaps the old man Akio Morita had some scheme in mind.

As soon as John sat down, the bigwig from Mitsui Bank apologized. Anyone unfamiliar with the situation would be shocked by this gesture and would think the man was very sincere. However, John didn't take it to heart. If he trusted this guy, he'd fall into a trap; these bastards had no shame.

"It's all in the past, let's leave it at that. I've already spoken to Morita-san about that!" John's expression remained unchanged as he calmly stated the situation. The more nonchalant he appeared, the more uneasy the Japanese became. Even though the matter was over, who knew if they would settle scores later?

"Mr. John is very generous. I wonder what your opinion is on Japanese real estate? Many of us don't understand your actions. The Mandarin Oriental Group has already given up most of its assets in Japan and then acquired some real estate!" John's acquisition of Japanese real estate during the stock market crash naturally couldn't be kept from these guys. Although they were just some small properties and not very eye-catching, they were all around Tokyo, which made many people suspicious.

"Mandarin Oriental Group will not be developing anything in Japan in the short term. After all, we don't have that much energy. As for the real estate we acquired before, it was just a personal hobby. We might choose to sell it after it's completed! As for my opinion on Japanese real estate, I still maintain that it's too crazy. The land prices have risen too much since then. If this continues, I'm even considering selling Tsutaya to get enough development funds."

When John said this, everyone was taken aback, and Mitsui's boss's expression changed slightly. This meant that John knew something and was not completely unaware of the situation behind the scenes. Speaking out at this time was probably for another purpose, and it was also a warning to Mitsui.

“John, are you sure you want to sell Tsutaya? It’s doing very well and has become a benchmark in the Japanese retail industry!” At this moment, Akio Morita had to step in to ease the tension and avoid an awkward situation.

"It'll be early next year. Western Energy will be accelerating its development, and I need funds. That's why I have to sell Tsutaya. Compared to real estate, I'm more optimistic about energy, since no one can do without energy. Although we have a good relationship with the Middle East, we can't keep holding onto their payments indefinitely. Moreover, Western Energy has reached an agreement with Ireland to explore oil fields there, which requires even more funds. To be honest, I'm under a lot of financial pressure right now, and I need money everywhere!"

Whether the Japanese would accept John's explanation was uncertain, but he successfully conveyed his intention to continue selling real estate, allowing him to extricate himself from the situation. Was John short of money? Indeed, he was. The full-scale operation of Global Online and the laying of the submarine communication cable both required funding. Selling assets made sense. Everyone was optimistic about the energy sector, and the Japanese wanted to control it, but they couldn't. They didn't have John's connections with Middle Eastern tycoons, who allowed for delayed payments without pressure from them. They all knew how good John's relationship with Middle Eastern tycoons was and how formidable their collaborations were. As for Western Energy's operations in Europe, they knew little about them.

Western Energy in Europe wanted to participate in the development of the North Sea oil fields, but was unfortunately rejected by the British. The Japanese were unaware of this, and in fact, they wouldn't have known that John had reached an agreement with Ireland if he hadn't spoken up. The 1980s were the best opportunity; if they missed it, it would be difficult to obtain their consent later, especially since Europe in later years was determined to pursue environmental protection, and was doing so with increasing intensity.

John had originally planned for Western Energy to not only participate in the UK's electricity supply but also to acquire at least one British power company. However, the British turned their backs on him, rejecting Western Energy outright. Without his own energy resources, John wasn't about to foolishly focus on the power sector.

Fortunately, the acquisition of Ireland went smoothly, and an agreement was even reached on the development of the oil fields, which relieved John. Otherwise, he would have had to reconsider his investment plans in Britain.

Everyone knows that Britain is undergoing privatization, but whether or not one can get a ticket depends on their own abilities. It is precisely because of the British people's overreaction that John is considering shifting his investment plans from Britain to Ireland.

Although many people are watching Western Energy, it is difficult for outsiders to understand the true situation of Western Energy. This company has been losing money year after year and has never made a profit. As soon as it has money, it invests it in new investments. It has a huge gas and electricity supply capacity in the United States, which has also brought huge benefits to Pratt & Whitney.

Originally, these guys from Japan wanted to talk to John about mines, but now John has set his sights on energy. This makes it impossible for those old guys to carry out their plans. If John is paying so much attention to it, the development of energy in the West will probably be accelerated. And Japan is also an island nation that is heavily dependent on external energy sources. Will they follow suit?
“John, I heard that Western Energy has built a huge oil reserve in China. Is it necessary? Given your relationship with the Middle East, it seems unnecessary to do so!” The Japanese were also very envious of Western Energy’s oil reserves in China. The reason was simple: they were obtained from the Russians through barter. Initially, all of this oil was sold to them. Since that disagreement, the Japanese guys have been unable to get cheap Russian oil from John.

John not only has huge oil reserves in China, but also in South Korea, all obtained in exchange for them from Russia. For John, as long as Russia is willing to sell, he will buy without hesitation, since there are huge profits to be made. He exchanges food, alcohol and light industry for oil and other raw materials from Russia at low prices, which brings enormous profits.

"That's not entirely true. Western Energy itself requires enormous consumption, so this amount of reserves is insignificant. It's a pity that Japan doesn't have enough space, otherwise Western Energy would have built a much larger reserve." Although the refinery in Japan is already operational, Japan's land area is too small for Western Energy to store more oil.

At this time, John was already making plans to trick the Japanese. When the Gulf War broke out and oil prices soared, he would deliver a devastating blow to Japan. The crude oil reserves held in China, South Korea, and Japan were all for the purpose of selling to the Japanese at high prices when oil prices surged. He could even sign a 'good' supply contract with them!

Nowadays, Australian shipping is growing larger and larger, and its trade with Russia is simply unstoppable. It keeps going back and forth to Russia. At least John's light industry and food processing machines all over Asia are running non-stop, producing at a frantic pace, exchanging enough goods for more raw materials from Russia.

The Japanese were incredibly envious of John's deal with the Russians, but unfortunately, they dared not cooperate with the Russians. They were worried that the Americans would find another excuse to give them a hard blow. The Toshiba incident had already made these guys keep their distance from the Russians, and they didn't want to get involved with them again to avoid bringing trouble upon themselves!
(End of this chapter)