America: My Time

Chapter 738 Greedy Guy

Chapter 728 A Greedy Guy
With the power of the media at his fingertips, John paid no attention to the reaction of the oil-rich capital or their attempts to suppress him in the media. Instead, he focused on his own plans. As the disaster relief efforts unfolded rapidly, Sikorsky's helicopters also played a significant role, providing him with a perfect advertisement. Meanwhile, the changes in the United States greatly pleased the Middle Eastern tycoons, who believed that cooperating with John was the most reliable option. With such a friend, they had no worries about being taken advantage of.

John used the $11 million given to him by the Middle Eastern tycoon to purchase goods. He bought a lot of supplies from 7-Eleven and Costco, and every expense was meticulously recorded. Of course, John didn't keep it all to himself; he also made purchases of other goods, at least to avoid any accusations on the surface.

Many people think John is just putting on a show, at least that's what some of them think. However, the general public doesn't think that way, and even if it were a show, John has paid a price. Most importantly, now isn't the right time to talk about it, unless you want to become a target of public criticism. John controls the power of the media, has meticulous accounting for disaster relief supplies, and has invested a huge amount of capital.

Although many Americans believe that John's stance is slightly left-leaning, and under his influence, NBC and Paramount Television networks also adopt this stance, refraining from deliberately attacking Russia, criticizing other countries hostile to the United States, or smearing Middle Eastern tycoons, many people's attitudes are now changing.

Look at the performance of these two major television networks. They spare no effort in promoting disaster relief and are very cooperative with the White House. In the face of such a major disaster, they behaved like official media, leaving no room for criticism.

However, the better these two media groups performed, the more frustrated the Democrats became, because they were the most severely affected. California is the Democrats' territory, and those who previously criticized John were also Democrats; the experts and scholars have now been proven wrong. Both networks followed the disaster relief process closely and presented their accounts to the public. Most importantly, throughout the entire process, neither network criticized the White House or the official rescue efforts, giving the government ample face.

Of course, Old Man was also very glad that he hadn't fallen out with John. He knew very well how bad the White House's response was, but now public opinion seemed to have been skewed. People were more focused on how to help the disaster victims than on criticizing how slow the official rescue was.

"John, it's been a long time!" When Little Bush saw John, he was somewhat surprised. He didn't see a trace of tension in John, as if he didn't care about anything. Little Bush knew very well how many people were plotting against John and targeting him, but he couldn't see any change in John at all.

"Yes, it's been a long time! George, you've come at the perfect time. I'm sure you know the situation. Step forward and talk to those fools. Even if they don't want to help with the disaster relief, they shouldn't interfere with us. Those guys are really greedy, still trying to take advantage at a time like this. If I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, I would have exposed them all and sent them to jail. They're all so clueless, thinking I'm easy to bully. They're utterly ignorant!"

Although the situation in San Francisco is difficult, there are always some guys who don't focus on disaster relief but instead want to extort benefits. It's because John has access to the funds of a Middle Eastern tycoon, which gives some guys inappropriate ideas, especially those so-called charitable organizations. In fact, these guys are all wolves in sheep's clothing.

“John, don’t worry. Leave these guys to me. I’ll keep them quiet. At least we can’t let these bastards interfere with our disaster relief efforts. If we give them the supplies, we’ll be lucky to distribute even half of them. Those guys are all incredibly greedy, and these bastards all have connections.”

"They really think I don't know their background? If they piss me off, I'll expose them! It seems those guys I sent away before haven't woken them up yet. If these guys still don't know when to back down, I won't mind sending them on their way. They really think they're big shots. With what they've done, sending them a peanut wouldn't be too much!"

John had a very clear understanding of those charitable organizations and possessed substantial evidence against them. However, these organizations involved a large number of people, and the timing was unusual. Otherwise, John would have wanted to uproot them completely and teach them a lesson. Daring to target him, they were utterly incompetent, yet they dared to covet his funds. Giving them the money would be a major problem; if it were exposed, he would have no way to explain himself, and it would at least give the Middle Eastern tycoons pause for thought.

If it weren't for the fact that the information from Jaguar Security Company was accurate, John would have suspected that they were pawns deliberately used to sabotage him. Otherwise, how could they dare to have the audacity to discuss disaster relief with him and try to steal his disaster relief funds and supplies? Judging from their reactions, these bastards had done this kind of thing many times before. "John, you don't need to get angry. There are many such cases, it's not worth it. Quite a few guys have made money through these kinds of means. If you really did that, you would offend too many people, it's not worth it! I'll handle these guys, they won't do anything else to affect our disaster relief efforts!"

Upon hearing what Little Bush said, John couldn't help but shake his head. This was America. In a capitalist society, there was nothing they couldn't do, and nothing they wouldn't dare to do. They would desperately try to make money whenever they had the chance; greed was ingrained in their very bones.

"Then this matter is entrusted to you. However, if you want to pursue a political career in the future, you should make more public appearances. Having coverage from two major television networks will be beneficial to your future development. At least after this incident, you can become a familiar face to the American public!"

Old Man Bu Shi was also deeply moved. There are some people in this world whose abilities and wisdom may be average, but they are undeniably lucky. His own son is now such a person, and he never expected John to help so much. Although it wasn't without reward, and John had his own interests at stake, even though he hadn't said anything, Old Man Bu Shi knew perfectly well. These things didn't need to be spoken of; it would be problematic if spoken of.

For a conglomerate like John's, the last thing they want is for the judiciary to interfere with his companies. After all, John's companies all have various problems, and they could almost all be labeled as monopolies. Therefore, within their means, the elders will definitely take care of John's interests. This is extremely important to a family like his, and it's also an unspoken rule.

If people support your rise to power but you don't give them any benefits, who will support you in the future? You may feel good doing this, but your party will suffer in the future. Everyone will be wary and worried that you will abandon them after you've served your purpose. So, it won't be easy to reach the top again.

"Dad, I think those guys at the White House are really incompetent. Look at how fast John's men can act. Jaguar Security can take over everything so quickly, and 7-Eleven, Costco, and Pan Am's ability to mobilize resources is even more impressive. There wasn't a single moment of chaos. The speed was so smooth! There wasn't a single dragging on; everything was running perfectly!"

“Son, do you think I don’t want efficiency? Do you think the people in the White House aren’t capable? It’s not that we don’t want efficiency, or that they aren’t capable, but those guys in Congress haven’t come to a conclusion. Those bastards from the Democratic Party are constantly holding us back. Even the supplies and funds I brought this time are all through emergency aid, unaffected by those guys in Congress. Relying on them, it’s absolutely impossible to get results in less than a month. Those guys need to go through all the procedures.” Old Bush couldn’t help but sigh. This is partisan strife. Those Democrats don’t care what the disaster-stricken people think; they only know how to hold themselves back.

Of course, it's not entirely about partisan strife; there's also the issue of vested interests. With such a large sum of money, who wouldn't want to profit from it? Therefore, no result is possible without a consensus. Under these circumstances, even the most powerful and influential figures can't change or solve the current problems.

Cutting off someone's livelihood and killing their parents—Even Lao Bushi had to compromise and back down in the face of profit. Fortunately, John's intervention swayed the media, and everyone was discussing how to provide disaster relief instead of why the official response was so slow. This outcome relieved Lao Bushi of much pressure.

Even in California, numerous greedy individuals have come knocking, hoping to profit from the San Francisco earthquake and extract benefits from John. One can only imagine what those in Congress are thinking; they are even more greedy. Therefore, to get Congress to agree, a consensus must be reached first, with a clear distribution of benefits. Otherwise, it's impossible, especially for those bastards like the Donald Trump. Since they're not the ruling party, they don't need to care about public opinion; the White House will bear all the problems. So, without sufficient benefits, these guys won't agree. This is the reality: profit is what those guys care about most, and they'll do anything for it.

(End of this chapter)