America: My Time

Chapter 706 The Dance Machine is Born

Chapter 696 The Dance Machine is Born
As Russia's power continued to decline and German reunification drew near, John accelerated his efforts to develop East German technology and other sectors, including heavy industry and machine tools. Many retired East German engineers were poached by John. Originally, John's plan was to focus on Britain, but he had to change course and shift his focus to Northern Europe.

Not only East German technology, but also a considerable amount of Russian technology. As the Russian economy continued to deteriorate and trade between the two countries continued to expand, John was able to obtain more from the Russians. Therefore, many of his industrial investments benefited from the Russians' "generosity." John also acquired a considerable amount of civilian technology.

"It's a pity, I still don't have enough funds. If only I had more!" John felt the problem of insufficient funds once again as he continued to invest in China. Although he could continue to borrow from Japan, John gave up after careful consideration. Although he knew that there would be no problem with the investment in China, he was afraid that those guys in Japan would not continue to support him. Now that they have started to acquire assets like crazy, it will be difficult for him to get more funds.

Most importantly, continuing to take out loans would put a lot of pressure on the company, especially since investments in China would be consolidated, which would put considerable pressure on the company. Bentley Group does not have that much capital right now, and Bentley Motors is already under a lot of pressure. Further rapid expansion could easily trigger a cash flow crisis.

Compared to investments in automobiles, investments in semiconductors are the most extravagant. Asus needs to transform, so much of its production will be transferred, leading to further investments in semiconductors. This has left the old guard in the US dumbfounded. They originally thought that John's meeting with Yuan Tianfan in Taiwan was about financial plans, but now they realize that's not the case at all.

John's investments in China were all made through Standard Chartered Bank. Therefore, in many people's eyes, John's meeting with Yuan Tianfan in Taiwan was for financial advice. Moreover, John's crazy investments made them feel that they were indeed overthinking things. The financial crisis had only just ended, how could John, this little fox, do it again?

John's investment investigation in China was a win-win situation. He got what he wanted, and China got the investment they had hoped for. However, Taiwan was very uncomfortable because John's large-scale investment in semiconductors in China meant that a lot of ASUS's production would be transferred. This was not what Taiwan wanted to see, but they were powerless to do anything about it. They could not persuade John. As John and Zhang Zhongmou said, cost determined everything.

Labor costs in Taiwan are too high, much higher than in China, so John's arrangement is understandable. As a capitalist, he's not doing charity; profit is the fundamental goal. Knowing that labor costs in China are low and there are various preferential policies, only a fool would choose to continue expanding low-end production such as OEM manufacturing in Taiwan.

Capital is profit-driven; no one will do something without benefit. Knowing that investing in China can earn more money, who would choose Taiwan? Therefore, under such circumstances, John would naturally not choose to expand his investment in Taiwan, but rather choose to expand his investment scale in China and form his own industrial chain.

When John finished his investment inspection in China and was about to return to the United States, news disrupted his plans: the dance machine had been successfully developed. It was originally said that it would be completed by the summer, but unexpectedly, it was completed in just over a month.

"Good, very good. This way we still have time to launch it before summer. This isn't a game console, it's a dance machine. Those old guys can't say anything about it." Upon receiving this news, John had to return to Taiwan once again to arrange the production tasks. After all, they needed to work overtime to complete the task quickly and seize the market when summer arrived.

This is a huge business opportunity. People in Europe and America value their health, so the market for dance machines is quite large. If you promote it well, the potential profits are unimaginable.

"What? You're saying that little fox John didn't go back to the US, but went straight back to Taiwan? What happened to make him change his plans? I could accept him going to Hong Kong, South Korea, or even Japan, but why would he go back to Taiwan at this time? Did something happen there?" "No, nothing major happened in Taiwan, but I suspect there's been a change at ASUS, or perhaps John has made a breakthrough in his plans at ASUS, which is why he's in such a hurry to return to Taiwan!"

"A game console? John, that little fox, is developing a game console?" Morgan immediately thought of game consoles. Despite the agreement between John and those old guys like Rockefeller, everyone knew that John would never give up the game market. Even if John talked a good game, no one would believe him. The only thing Morgan could think of that could make John change his mind like this was game consoles.

"Yes, I also think it's a game console. Even those guys in Japan can quickly pull out their game consoles and directly engage with the gaming world. There's no reason why John can't do that. He has Bell Labs, Nvidia, Dreamworld, and ASUS. If he wants to, he can definitely do it. ASUS has probably already completed its research and development, which is why John is in such a hurry to return to Taiwan instead of going directly back to the United States."

"Jimmy, do our people know the details about ASUS? Do they know what happened at ASUS?"

“Boss, we can’t do it. John is very concerned about ASUS’s security. You could say that ASUS’s security is no weaker than Bell Labs’. It’s very difficult to get such core information from ASUS. Moreover, if we do whatever we want, it will only alert them, which is not worth it. After all, we have no conflict of interest with John. If this guy has really completed the development of the game console, it will be a good thing for us!”

“You’re right. We really don’t need to risk investigating John’s secrets at ASUS. Right now, it’s not us who are in a hurry, but those old guys from Rockefeller. They’re the ones who are most anxious, as are those guys from Japan. If John’s game console is successfully developed, those two companies will be the ones most affected.”

"Boss, John and Rockefeller have an agreement that even if the research and development is successful, it is impossible to launch it quickly. After all, the agreed time is the Christmas season, so both the Japanese and the game world have enough time to prepare. Therefore, they still have a chance to catch up or prepare in advance."

“That makes sense! However, there’s no need for us to care about what these guys are preparing. If ASUS has already completed the development of the game console, it might have a greater advantage over Japan. The gaming world is getting worse and worse in the hands of those old guys. It hasn’t been long, and the market value has dropped again. I don’t understand why it made such rapid progress in John’s hands, but it has become like this in their hands.”

"Perhaps this is a difference in perspectives. Rockefeller and his ilk are getting old and can't keep up with the changes in the younger generation. In their view, 'good enough' is fine, but for the younger generation, even the slightest difference is unacceptable. That's why the game world has changed so much in such a short time. When John was in charge of the game world, the idea that the game world must produce high-quality products was ingrained in the minds of all the workers, and the game players also believed it. They all agreed with John's statement. But now the game world has not achieved this. All they care about is profit. They think that as long as it's good enough, the players won't care. Now it seems they were wrong."

"Yes, these old guys are getting old and can't keep up with the times. They're looking at things and managing the game world with outdated perspectives, which is why things are like this. Perhaps John is right; only professionals can achieve the best. The game world no longer has the concept of high-quality games. Even if they want to change back, how can they easily undo the past indulgences? That's why the game world's market value continues to decline! To be honest, I completely agree with John. Only high-quality games can gain market recognition. Japan does this much better than the current game world, which is why they've been able to suppress the game world step by step. If these guys are given enough time, perhaps they can replace the game world and become a giant in the gaming industry."

"These old guys keep saying they want to make changes, but so far there are still no results. Too many interests are intertwined, making it difficult for them to make changes in the shortest amount of time. Nobody wants to give up the benefits they've already gained, so naturally there won't be any good outcomes. Regardless of what these guys think or do, we still need to inform them now, tell them John's itinerary, and share our speculations. It's just a way of doing a 'good deed'!"

Jimmy didn't agree with his boss's explanation. Telling those old guys all this now—what kind of "kindness" was that? It was blatantly undermining their confidence, deliberately making things difficult for them. His boss was petty; this was clearly revenge. Someone had previously tried to scheme against Morgan, trying to poach John, a major client, and compete with Morgan for John's listing agency. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, his boss was retaliating, making him call Rockefeller and those guys. The speed of this counterattack was astounding!
(End of this chapter)