America: My Time

Chapter 584 The Unreal Party
Chapter 574 The Unreal Party

"John, everyone is looking for a time to sit down and talk about the current situation. What do you think?" Morgan called John again to discuss the matter. This wasn't just his idea, but everyone's.

After Rockefeller spoke with Morgan and heard his words, his perspective shifted. Although he was unwilling to admit it, he had to accept that Morgan was right. Their plan was good, but it was just a plan. Implementing it would inevitably lead to various problems because they were not of one mind. Perhaps they had indeed made mistakes in the semiconductor field, and the changes to the gaming world were indeed problematic.

After some deliberation, Rockefeller held a meeting with others and felt that they should indeed sit down again to discuss countermeasures. They could not exclude John, the little fox, from the plan again, otherwise some unexpected things would happen, which might even affect their overall situation. That's why Morgan had the opportunity to communicate with them.

"Sure, as long as those old guys have no problem, I naturally won't have any problem either. But do you think we can reach a consensus? Their views are different from mine, and I'm afraid it won't end up as you wish!"

"This is not a problem. Everything can be discussed. Everyone just wants to sit down and talk about their views. After all, your vision for the economy has impressed the entire Wall Street community. No one will feel at ease if we don't listen to your opinion!"

"Alright then, the time and place should not be too far off, otherwise it will be very troublesome. You should understand that I can relax now, but I need to keep an eye on this series of acquisitions to avoid any unexpected events."

“The Victoria’s Secret show is about to start, so we can sit down and talk in New York. I believe no one will notice, since the Victoria’s Secret show will serve as a cover, and no one will suspect the purpose of your trip. We are hosting a cocktail party inside Wall Street the night before, and everyone will be there. Let’s sit down and talk again!”

Good heavens, these old guys have even arranged John's itinerary. How can he refuse? Upon hearing this, John understood that he had no chance to refuse. Moreover, this was the beginning of his formal entry into the top conglomerate. Although he had gained their approval before, it was only superficial. Deep down, those old guys didn't truly consider John an equal opponent. Now it was different; they had to compromise.

"Okay, I'll be there on time. I hope to keep it confidential this time and avoid any problems. I don't want to see any unexpected situations happen. A lot of people are being quite unfriendly to me right now!"

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems. This time it's hosted by Morgan, so there absolutely won't be any issues. Those guys will all be excluded. It's just that we old guys, along with Wall Street executives and some people from the semiconductor industry, are participating. Everyone wants to sit down and talk, to get to know each other better."

At this point, Morgan Stanley finally revealed a hint of the truth. This wasn't some Wall Street party, nor was it about economic issues; it was likely about the state of the semiconductor industry. Perhaps those old guys had already discovered the problem.

After hanging up the phone, John shook his head. Time was really tight for him. He had originally wanted to learn about the situation in Hollywood, understand the problems between the major companies and the Writers Guild, and prepare for the worst in advance, but he did not expect Morgan to step in again to act as a lobbyist for those guys.

Time flies. John and Naoko arrived in New York the day before the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Although many reporters knew of his presence, they assumed he was there to attend the show and didn't pay much attention. However, Wall Street and semiconductor industry giants had also arrived in New York early, waiting for the party to begin.

As night fell, John appeared at the venue of the party, a manor in New York. This time, however, there weren't as many beautiful women; instead, there were only some older men, Wall Street executives, and people from the semiconductor industry. When John appeared, everyone's eyes lit up. John had initially thought there would be many people present, but upon closer inspection, there were only about twenty. The so-called party was nothing more than a discussion among these bigwigs. Morgan had been extremely careful this time, ensuring that no outsiders could know about their discussion.

"Jimmy, I didn't expect to see you here doing the hosting. It seems your security this time is very thorough!" When John saw Jimmy, Morgan's manager and Morgan's most trusted subordinate, doing the hosting, he felt a slight pressure. This time, these guys were serious and had eliminated all external influences.

Before long, everyone had arrived. It was said that there were Wall Street giants present, but only a few people showed up. It seemed that this was not a meeting of Wall Street, but a meeting of the semiconductor industry. Although he was a little surprised, John remained very calm, as if he did not care about anything!
"Alright, everyone's here. The reason I invited you all here is to discuss how we can reclaim our interests from the Japanese and regain communication in the semiconductor industry in the current climate." As the host of this reception, or rather, the meeting, Morgan Stanley spoke from the head of the conference table.

Soon, one by one, the big names in the semiconductor industry began to speak. To John's amusement, these guys were all people from Rockefeller's old ways. Apart from the bigwigs from IBM, many semiconductor industry leaders from Apple, AMD, and others were absent, which was somewhat ridiculous and disappointed John. It was supposed to be a discussion, but it was really just an agreement within the semiconductor industry, an agreement between John and himself.

"Is this meaningful? All you've said boils down to one thing: getting everyone to use your chips. Can your prices compete with Japan's? Can they compete with Samsung's? If you can't, it's all just empty talk. Don't bring up any grand principles; we're all business people. We can't sacrifice our own interests to sustain yourselves. If this is all you've got, I can only say I'm very disappointed. AMD isn't involved, Apple isn't involved, and there are many other semiconductor-related companies that haven't participated. It's completely meaningless. You've already controlled the game world, you've got everything you wanted, so don't have any other ideas. This is the limit of what I can do." When John spoke, he showed no mercy, directly stating his thoughts.

It wasn't that John went too far, but rather that these old guys went a bit too far. This wasn't the cocktail party Morgan had described, nor was it an internal Wall Street party; it was just a ridiculous test. Yes, in John's eyes, this was a test aimed at him; these old guys wanted to probe his thoughts.

“Mr. John, we are not targeting you or anyone else, nor are we trying to force you to join our plan. We just want to hear your opinion and understand our own shortcomings. We are blinded by our own involvement, while you are a clear-headed observer. Only in this way can we recognize ourselves and make the most suitable decision!” Rockefeller stepped forward and spoke, indicating his and the others’ attitude.

"I don't think your ideas are any good. They're all based on your own ideals and don't exist in reality. First of all, are you sure your prices can compete with those of Japan and South Korea? If not, over time, the interests of the gaming world will be affected. Do you think no one will object and everyone here will accept that? That's impossible. If even one person objects, your plan will be difficult to realize. Moreover, semiconductors are developing very quickly. According to Moore's Law, there will be a change every 18 to 24 months. Mr. Moore is here too. How long do you think it will be before Japan releases a new memory chip?"

Upon hearing John's words, Gordon Moore couldn't help but smile wryly. As one of the founders of Intel, he was well aware of the strength of Neon Semiconductor, and it was precisely because he was aware of this that he was even more cautious.

Seeing that no one answered his question, John continued, "It's not that I don't believe in your ideas, but your strategy is flawed. While gaining a foothold in the gaming world might secure some market share, it's not fundamental and won't change the overall situation. Instead, I have more faith in Samsung's plan. Their methods are far more effective than yours. Their counter-cyclical investment is the real force that will crush Japan's semiconductor industry. In 1984, DRAM chips cost $4, but by 1985 they had fallen to $0.3. Their 64K DRAM cost $1.3. Despite this immense pressure, they continued to increase investment, expand production capacity, and seize market share. By the end of 1986, Samsung itself had lost $3 million and was almost bankrupt. However, they received $3.5 million in government investment and, with government backing, secured $20 billion in private equity funding, which led to their current situation. Do you have that kind of drive? If not, you can only protect yourselves in the short term. In the long run, I don't have high hopes for your development or your semiconductor plan. You might be able to defeat Japan, but you'll face a Korean onslaught!"

When John revealed these figures about South Korea, everyone present was shocked. They hadn't expected that while they were trying to eliminate Japan, Samsung had already grown up and developed such formidable capabilities. In comparison, their technology might soon become obsolete, and new products would dominate the market.

(End of this chapter)