America: My Time

Chapter 157 Sudden accident

Chapter 157 An Unexpected Accident
John knew a little about Naoko's situation and understood her pressure. He sighed and said, "Don't overwork yourself. Ideals are important, but your health is more important. I don't want to see your body break down. If you're tired, take a break!"

In fact, many people understand this principle, but who can truly put it into practice? Everyone is busy making a living, and John is no exception. Isn't he tired? Facing those old guys and Japanese bankers, with all sorts of investment arrangements, the pressure he has to bear is even more terrifying. But does he have time to rest?
No, John had no time to rest and continued to strive for his 'ideals,' as did Naoko.

"I know I'm not as fragile as you think. Compared to other idol singers, I'm already quite relaxed. I don't have those busy schedules anymore. I just promote my singles and albums, which isn't a lot of work!"

This is indeed true compared to other idol singers. Although Naoko does have appearances, they are not many. Although her appearances have decreased, her popularity has not diminished. This is not only because every single Naoko releases is a hit, but more importantly because Naoko has gained fame in Europe and America. Japanese people have a great admiration for Europe and America, and when Naoko opened the door to the European and American record industry and achieved good results, it made the Japanese very proud.

Unfortunately, despite Naoko's high popularity in Japan, she has won very few awards! This is more or less due to John, who personally produced every single for Naoko after she moved to Japan.

Communication with the consulate went smoothly, and all the formalities were completed quickly. To John's surprise, he actually met Consul General Hu in Tokyo, Japan. This surprised him, and when he learned that the Consul General was also returning to his country, John invited him to come along.

John's feelings were complicated. Although he had come here with the intention of making investment plans, things would not go as he wished. There were many things he could not do because he was being closely watched by that group of old guys. If he showed the slightest weakness, he would be attacked by them.

Upon entering John's private jet, the Consul General and several staff members of the Japanese Embassy were all shocked, with only one thought in their minds: extravagance, too extravagance. Just a plane is decorated so luxuriously; this guy is too rich.

To these people, all of this was too extravagant. They could simply take a flight or charter a plane, but this guy had bought a private jet and decorated it so luxuriously. Seeing this luxurious Boeing 747, they indirectly understood how astonishing John's wealth was.

Even in the United States, not all wealthy people own such luxurious private jets. The annual cost of such a private jet is astronomical, and it is not something that ordinary wealthy people can afford to maintain.

"Consul General Hu, I really didn't expect you to give me such a surprise. If I hadn't gone through the immigration procedures myself, I probably wouldn't have known you were already in Tokyo. If I had known you were in Tokyo, I would have been able to extend my hospitality!"

Without visiting Tokyo, one cannot know the extent of John's influence in the country. The Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank's banquet had an extraordinary impact on the entire Japanese business community. The investment in several major projects shook the entire Tokyo business district. Skyscrapers, Universal Studios Japan, and a series of other large-scale projects brought a huge impact to the Tokyo real estate industry.

Those who had been paying close attention to John would naturally know all this. Before the party, the news was not kept secret at all, not to mention the impact of the project after the party and the astonishing profits it would bring, which would naturally drive the Japanese crazy.

"Mr. John, I didn't realize how amazing your investments are until I came to Japan. Is Japan's development really worth your attention? The US economy is much better than Japan's!"

"Japan's economic development is undeniable. Although there are some trade issues between Japan and the United States, this doesn't affect Japan's economic growth. Therefore, I am optimistic about Japan's economy and believe it will be fine for at least six or seven years. My investment is also well-founded. Universal Studios and Tokyo Water Park, with Disney as a precedent, are definitely high-quality assets without any problems. As for landmark commercial complexes like skyscrapers, this is a test, a test of the market. With the economic crisis receding, shopping malls are recovering, and a modern landmark commercial center still has potential. Even if the commercial center plan encounters problems, it's not a big deal. With Tokyo's economic growth rate, this real estate is enough to offset the investment. Japanese real estate will continue to grow with economic development. In comparison, although the US economy is better than Japan's, the environment in the US is vastly different from Japan's." At this point, John sighed softly and continued, "Take the workers, for example. That's the biggest difference. Overtime is perfectly normal in Japan. As long as they're paid properly, Japanese workers won't complain if the company needs them. But that's impossible in the US. Unions aren't just for show; they're always looking for trouble, making workers work overtime, even with money. Building skyscrapers in Japan takes far less time and costs far less than in the US. You should understand that for such large projects, every extra day means more expenses. In Japan, it can be completed in a year, but that's unrealistic in the US now! As for service, the difference is even greater. Japanese service is a hundred times better than in the US. To be honest, if American workers had half the dedication of Japanese workers, I wouldn't have given up on the Motorola semiconductor factory and moved it to Taiwan. Workers are the biggest problem for American companies."

"Mr. John, what investment plans do you have for your trip to China?"

"There are no major issues with the investments that have been finalized. I intend to transfer half of Motorola's semiconductor equipment to China. If there are no problems, we can start implementing it immediately after the negotiations are completed and establish the production line as quickly as possible. You should know that Nvidia is developing rapidly, and the gaming world is the same. Therefore, the demand for wafers is also constantly increasing. I don't want to be controlled by others when it comes to something as important as chips."

John also put a lot of effort into the transfer of Motorola conductors, doing a lot of communication work, all to ensure that his chips were not controlled by others, because those guys in Japan were not worth his trust.

By acquiring Motorola's research personnel and combining them with the strength of Bell Labs, Nvidia's research capabilities in the semiconductor field have made a qualitative leap. This strength has also brought John endless hope, so he spares no effort in investing in semiconductors and fully supports their research and development work!

John's haste to China was also to finalize the semiconductor investment. Semiconductor manufacturing is his future focus, and the factory in Taiwan is already fully prepared, with production equipment shipped and ready to start operations soon. Although the investment is substantial, it's necessary and worthwhile to break free from Japan's dependence on wafer manufacturing. However, Taiwan alone isn't enough; he needs more factories!

Upon hearing John's words, Consul General Hu breathed a sigh of relief! Time flew by during the conversation, and before they knew it, the plane had reached its destination—Beijing.

As the plane landed, John was thrilled to see people he had only ever seen on television before.

Under Consul General Hu's introduction, John shook hands and chatted with the group of people who came. John was excited, and everyone present was equally shocked by John's youth. Although everyone already knew John's age, they were still shocked when they actually saw him. He was so young! This young man had amassed a huge fortune and was a world-renowned entrepreneur!

After a brief chat at the airport, the convoy headed towards the hotel. Looking at the buildings lining the streets, John was filled with emotion. Beijing didn't have so many skyscrapers then, but in just a few decades, it would develop into an international metropolis. However, seeing the courtyards along the streets, a new idea popped into John's head: Should he buy some courtyard houses while property prices were still low, so he'd have somewhere to go when he came to Beijing in the future?
After checking into the hotel, the accompanying secretarial team immediately began their work, contacting the US, Japan, and Hong Kong to provide contact information. However, upon contacting Hong Kong, bad news arrived: Hong Kong had unilaterally breached the contract, and Hong Kong Telecom would no longer exclusively hold the communications license. Hong Kong would issue a new communications license at an appropriate time!

Although John had known this day would come, he still hadn't expected it to come so quickly and so fiercely, giving him no time to prepare. Now that Hong Kong Telecom was a holding company under Bell Labs, this would cause considerable losses to Bell Labs. How could John not be furious about this situation? He even suspected that some of those old guys were behind this, trying to sabotage him and use these people from Hong Kong to surround and trap him.

This wasn't the first time John had been swindled or humiliated in Hong Kong. There was the HSBC incident before, and behind HSBC were the shadows of Wall Street. Now, with this sudden and shocking turn of events, John had to carefully consider the reasons behind it all. He worried that it was still those old guys playing tricks, that Wall Street was plotting against him. Under these circumstances, no amount of caution was too much.

(End of this chapter)