America: My Time

Chapter 685 Price
Chapter 675 The Price

"Our little friend is really impressive. He won this battle against Britain. It seems we underestimated his power. To get the White House to hold a press conference to mediate this whole thing, this is no small matter. Did he accept the invitation to this year's dinner?"

"Consul General, Mr. John has accepted our invitation; he attends our dinner every year!"

"This year is different. It's understandable if he refuses, after all, his confrontation with Britain requires a lot of energy. Even though it seems to be over now, it's only a superficial end. Their negotiations are not over yet. Britain's efforts are definitely not as simple as they appear. Moreover, this confrontation has shown everyone his determination. He'd rather be a broken jade than a whole tile, and he's willing to give up everything. Not everyone can make such a determination."

"But the newspapers are saying that Mr. John suffered heavy losses this time, at least hundreds of millions of dollars. Now Americans are dissatisfied with Britain's actions, and the whole of America seems to be hostile to Britain. Is it worth paying such a high price?"

"What you consider worthless, Mr. John considers worthwhile. The loss of hundreds of millions of dollars is indeed staggering, but the hidden benefits he gains are also considerable. Getting the White House to intervene is no small feat, not to mention that no one will dare to scheme against Mr. John's normal business investments in the future. Otherwise, Britain would be the best example to follow. Britain and Europe are worried that Mr. John's investments will affect them, but we are not afraid. We can accept any amount of investment!"

This major battle against Britain also revealed John's formidable resources to many. Although the Bentley Group suffered heavy losses, it did not shake its development and continued to expand. This alone made many people understand how powerful the Bentley Motors Group is, not to mention the crazy expansion of Western Energy. All of this is enough to prove that John is not as short of funds as many people thought. Even in the face of pressure from Britain, he can move forward and backward with ease.

"The British are too weak, they gave up so quickly!" When Akio Morita saw the press conference in the newspaper about Bentley Motors Group's cooperation with Western Energy and the White House, and their acquisition of Britain, he was extremely shocked. Only a few days had passed, and the contest between John and the British had already come to an end. This made Akio Morita sigh inwardly. He had originally thought that he could get more benefits from John, but now it seemed that he had been too optimistic.

Akio Morita originally planned to stay in the United States for a while longer, but now it seems unnecessary. Since he sees no benefit, there is no need to stay any longer. Moreover, he has obtained everything he wanted. At least he has acquired the Princess Yacht and completed the acquisition of the British game company. He should go to Britain to take over everything first, so as to avoid any unexpected problems.

Although Akio Morita didn't think John would back out, he worried that the British might resort to underhanded tactics that could affect his plans. Moreover, he wanted to know more about John's game company in the UK, and if possible, he needed to accelerate game development and integrate it into Sony's game ecosystem.

Of course, Akio Morita had other ideas, namely to attract more European game companies to join Sony's platform. Compared to the situation in the United States, Europe was more suitable for Sony to win over. If more European game companies could join Sony's game platform, it would definitely increase the pressure on the game world.

After the contest with the British came to a conclusion, John breathed a sigh of relief, but it wasn't truly over yet. Negotiations were still needed, though he no longer needed to be involved; everything was left to the major corporations and the British to decide. However, John now had a headache about the dinner in San Francisco that evening. Because of the importance of the Lunar New Year to the Chinese, unsurprisingly, all the beautiful women chose to spend the holiday with their families instead of coming to San Francisco. Previously, Naoko had accompanied him, but now she was pregnant and it wasn't suitable. Not only was John unwilling to take the risk, but his parents also disagreed, which gave John a major headache.

Seeing John's troubled expression, John's father, Smith, smiled calmly and said, "John, you've thought this through. What people care about is your appearance and your attitude, not who your female companion is!"

Upon hearing this, John was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized that he had indeed been obsessed. At such a banquet, just as his father had said, it was enough for him to show up; it didn't matter who his female companion was, as long as he showed the right attitude.

Although John is surrounded by many beautiful women, few of them are approved by his parents. Naoko succeeded, and among the women around him now, John originally thought that Kuroki Hitomi would be the easiest to gain his approval, given her considerable abilities. However, the result surprised John; it turned out to be the socially awkward Kamachi Sachiko.

This year, not only Naoko, but also Akina Nakamori, Sachiko Kamachi, Hitomi Kuroki, and Momoko Kikuchi appeared in San Francisco. John had originally asked about Cherie Chung and the others, but they all only wanted to spend the holiday with their families, so John didn't insist. The major battle with Britain had made him too prominent, and the power emanating from the various conglomerates would unsettle some people, even causing concern about their assets. Therefore, John hoped to use this method to reduce their worries and fears, minimizing his own troubles. While the reputation of a political maneuver wasn't good, it was far better than a terrifying asset impact. However, whether it would succeed was still uncertain. After all, those old guys wouldn't care; they wouldn't be fooled by John's little tricks.

As night fell, when John and Sachiko appeared at the San Francisco consulate, quite a few people were already taking pictures nearby. Nowadays, many people know that John attends the banquet here every year, so many tabloid reporters have appeared. Fortunately, these guys did not bother John, otherwise it would have been a troublesome matter.

Of course, many more people were secretly watching John's every move. After John appeared, those old guys all got the news. John's presence at this time surprised many people. After all, John's business with the British was not over yet. Although nothing unexpected might happen, it was necessary to keep an eye on the changes there. After all, negotiations with the British had begun, and many things required John's approval.

As always, John chose to sit in an inconspicuous corner, avoiding any interaction with the people who had come to the dinner party. After all, he didn't have much in common with them, and the difference in their status and position was the biggest problem.

"Isn't it a bit unbelievable? It's different from the banquets you've attended before!" John smiled calmly at Sachiko Kamachi's surprised expression. He understood why she had gained her parents' approval first. Perhaps it was her unassuming personality. Moreover, Sachiko Kamachi was having the same reaction as Naoko at the beginning.

"It was indeed a bit of a surprise. This is completely different from the banquets in Japan, and it doesn't have the same strict requirements as Japan at all!"

"That's right, different customs naturally lead to different situations. You'll get used to it. Generally speaking, formal dinners in Japan are a bit too rigid, with too obvious class divisions and not much human touch. So I almost never attend formal dinners in Japan; they make me feel constrained. In comparison, cocktail parties are much better."

Not long after John sat down, he met the new Consul General. After some pleasantries, they sat down to talk. The Consul General was well aware of John's investments in China, and now that John's conflict with Britain had arisen, he felt there were new opportunities.

“Mr. John, I wonder if there are any new opportunities for cooperation between us this time? If so, China also looks forward to Bentley Motors Group making further progress in China and investing in heavy trucks.” Compared to passenger car investment, heavy trucks play a more important role in the country’s development, and although Leyland Trucks is no longer in business, Bentley Group still controls three major heavy truck brands.

"Bentley Motors Group is fine; it just needs some time. After all, negotiations with the British are still ongoing. This time, the British's betrayal has caused Bentley Group considerable losses, and it will take some time to resolve. Once the negotiations with the British conclude, if there are no issues with China, we are willing to make such an investment. After all, cooperation with China is more comfortable, without the many problems that have plagued the British, and I personally have a more optimistic view of China's development. Currently, Bentley Motors Group still needs to improve itself; selling Leyland Trucks would have a significant impact on the company."

John's claims are all true. However, Bentley Motors Group has not only acquired WestSuarez Trucks in Finland, but has now set its sights on DAF Trucks in the Netherlands. Even if WestSuarez and DAF are combined, their market share still doesn't match that of Leyland Trucks. After all, Bentley Group invested heavily in Leyland Trucks, and now it's all been for naught. Re-establishing this new strategy will require even more time and effort.

It was precisely because Bentley Motors understood its own problems that this time it did not focus its attention on one country, but instead diversified its efforts. It also stopped trusting the British and decided to completely withdraw from the British truck brand to prevent being outmaneuvered by them again. This lesson made John afraid to trust these guys again and dare not treat Britain as the center of European development, lest he suffer huge losses again. He knew that he could not succeed every time, and that caution was necessary to prevent the Bentley Group from being affected!

(End of this chapter)