America: My Time

Chapter 570 The Gains and Losses of Neon

Chapter 560 The Gains and Losses of Neon

"You don't want to attend the party? You want Akiko to come with me?" John was taken aback when he heard Naoko's words. He hadn't expected Naoko to give up attending the party hosted by Akio Morita. This thought made John shake his head. Although there couldn't be any scheming at the party, Naoko's absence would cause a lot of unnecessary speculation.

“You’re oversimplifying things. Many things aren’t as you think. Tonight, you and Akiko will come with me to the party!” Naoko thought that since she had already retired and decided to settle in the United States for a while, Kuroki Hitomi should handle things in Tokyo. However, she was being too naive. At the party hosted by Akio Morita, if John didn’t show up and Naoko wasn’t there, what would others think and how would they perceive it?

After Akio Morita's phone call, John's problems were temporarily resolved. No one bothered him, everything returned to normal, and the beautiful women around him left, allowing him to go about his business as usual. During this time, John also made some arrangements, especially regarding real estate; from now on, everything except essential properties could be sold.

Seeing John making such preparations shocked Hitomi Kuroki, because she was well aware of the value of these properties. It was truly unbelievable that the Phoenix Group in Tokyo controlled so many properties. If John hadn't been with Hitomi all the time, she wouldn't have believed that the Phoenix Group was such a major real estate developer.

"Zhaozi, after this division of real estate is completed, these assets will be entrusted to the Mandarin Oriental Group, as will the real estate in those famous tourist destinations in Japan. What are your thoughts on this?"

Hitomi Kuroki understood John's intention: if she asked, she could take control of these assets. However, she shook her head and declined, knowing she lacked the ability. Although she had only participated in a small part of the investigation, she understood just how powerful the assets Phoenix Group currently held were. So many nightclubs and izakayas, all in extremely convenient locations—if John hadn't stepped in to integrate them into a single brand, no one would have imagined that Phoenix Group possessed such substantial assets in Tokyo.

"I don't have any ideas. This is not something I can handle well. At most, I can only manage these properties in Tokyo. It's better to leave such complicated matters to professionals."

“Fine, I originally wanted you to be involved in these management matters, but it seems you've changed your mind recently and no longer have the same ideas. Since you don't want to take over, then forget it. Just manage the properties under my personal name!” At this moment, John couldn't see any ambition in Kuroki Hitomi, which made John a little suspicious.

John had initially hoped that Hitomi Kuroki would be capable enough to share some of the burdens in Japan, but it seems he was mistaken. It's rare for a strong, independent woman to emerge in Japan. Hitomi, who used to be so disciplined, has changed so much. It seems environment changes everything; her surroundings have changed, and her personality has gradually shifted. Perhaps it's because she's spent too much time with Naoko and Akina Nakamori, but Hitomi's ambition has been gradually eroded. She no longer has the desire to become a powerful woman, nor does she still harbor the initial thought of becoming John's indispensable assistant.

Ultimately, the root of all this was John's own problem. He was too good to these beautiful women, causing them to lose their drive and realize that John was completely different from Japanese men—not as arrogant or as reckless. Compared to the women around other powerful figures, they discovered they were the best. There was no pressure, no beatings or scolding; as long as they didn't make mistakes, everything was fine. Nakamori Akina was a prime example. This gradually changed Kuroki Hitomi, reducing her anxieties and worries. As for money, that was no longer an issue.

Time flew by, and when John appeared at the party with Naoko and Hitomi Kuroki, they attracted a lot of attention. It has to be said that although the big shots at this party were accompanied by beautiful women, there were no lesser figures among them. Moreover, Akio Morita had invited mainly banking tycoons, with mining and energy tycoons as secondary figures.

After a series of formalities, everyone sat down. Since they all knew why the party was being held and that only the big shots were present, with no other nobody, many things could be discussed directly.

"I believe you have all received Mr. Morita's notification that some of my assets in Japan will be sold next year to raise funds to repay loans. I don't know if you want to receive real estate from me or cash. We need to discuss this in advance!"

“Mr. John, you need funds for expansion right now, so there’s no need to repay our loan early. We understand your concerns, and we’ve discussed it. If you’re still worried, we can sign an agreement. If we ask you to repay the loan early, you’ll have to pay a huge penalty. I believe that will put your mind at ease!”

Wow, these Japanese banking giants are really something. They've started with such a powerful weapon: a supplementary contract. It's indeed a good idea. As long as the Japanese banks don't want to incur huge default penalties, they can't demand early repayment from John's companies. John was stunned when he heard this. These Japanese guys are really something else; they dare to do something like this. Once this agreement is signed, if the Japanese banks default, they'll have to bear a huge penalty—double the loan interest rate. In short, if they dare to make John repay early, they won't even get the principal back.

Ruthless. These Japanese guys are really ruthless. They managed to come up with such a method to persuade John in such a short time. If it were just one bank, it would be understandable, but the fact that all the banks have this idea shocked John.

"Are you sure this is no small matter? Once the contract is signed, there's no going back?"

"We're certain, this is our way of showing sincerity!" The Japanese banking tycoons immediately responded to John's inquiry. Seeing John's expression, they knew they had it in the bag this time; the shrewd John wouldn't have any more thoughts of early repayment. In fact, they had to thank Akio Morita for this; without his reminder, they wouldn't have come up with such a brilliant solution.

Do these guys in Japan have any sincerity? John doesn't think they have any sincerity at all. These bastards only did this because they saw no other opportunity. If another opportunity arises, these guys will probably still have that greedy idea, because their bones are filled with endless greed.

Of course, the business world is like a battlefield, which is understandable. They wanted to get what they wanted from John, so they would do whatever it took. However, they failed and were discovered by John in advance, so they had to pay a price. In their eyes, this price was nothing, just an agreement, and they did not need to pay any price.

"Alright, since you are all so 'sincere' about repaying your loans early, let's put that aside for now. I will arrange for someone to come and sign the contracts with you. I don't want to waste my precious funds on something like this. There are other ways to reduce debt, and it doesn't necessarily have to be done by repaying the loan."

They were being very sincere, so John naturally accepted. However, the contract stipulated a final repayment date, which John envisioned as early 1995. Of course, such matters needed to be handled by professionals, and he believed the Japanese would accept it, since he currently held the upper hand.

Phew! In an instant, these bank bigwigs all breathed a sigh of relief. Their plan had indeed worked, and the pressure had finally disappeared. However, it was uncertain whether they would regret their actions in the future. After all, they felt that they had successfully prevented John from making an early repayment, their business had not been affected, and they had retained a major client of the bank.

These banks in Japan certainly don't lack money now, so they naturally don't want to see big clients like John repay their loans early, as that would bring them huge losses. Now that this danger has finally been eliminated, they are naturally happy.

However, others weren't as enthusiastic about iron ore and energy. They didn't believe they had the same capabilities as the Japanese banks to make so many promises to John. They desperately needed iron ore and uranium reserves, since nuclear energy was the foundation of Japan's electricity supply; without nuclear energy, there was no electricity. The same applied to iron ore. Japan was developing rapidly, requiring steel in all aspects, resulting in a huge demand for iron ore.

"I am willing but unable to meet your demands. Everything takes time. Mineral resources are not something you can just have whenever you want. Now, because of the nuclear accident in Russia, many people are afraid of cores, so uranium mining has also been affected to some extent. Quantum Mining needs time to adjust. As for steel, if you can convince those guys in Europe, I can exchange food for more steel."

This wasn't the first time John had been criticized by the Europeans in their dealings with the Russians. With the nuclear accident, those guys hoped the Russians would collapse and didn't want anyone to give them any support. The only one directly facing them was John's Australian shipping, which bypassed them and traded directly in Asia, which greatly annoyed the Europeans.

As long as the Japanese can withstand the pressure from the Europeans, it's not impossible for John to meet their needs. Russia is now the world's number one steel producer. As long as there is enough food, everything will be fine. It's just that they can't do that. The Europeans want to see Russia fall.

(End of this chapter)