America: My Time

Chapter 975 The Greedy Bastard

Chapter 945 The Greedy Bastard
The steel mills under Quantum Mining are unaffected by the annual iron ore price negotiations because Southeast Asia and China did not participate in them. Therefore, they are not affected at all. Domestic production and sales will not be under any pressure. Moreover, Quantum Mining sells a lot of low-quality ore, which allows them to lower prices. Even Australia has nothing to say, since it is low-quality ore. If someone is willing to buy it, they will not stop them.

This is precisely why Quantum Mining's steel mills have an absolute advantage in low- to mid-range steel. Furthermore, with the acquisition of Russian technology, they are gradually catching up in specialty steel, naturally putting considerable pressure on companies like Japan. In a price war, they have no advantage whatsoever. After so many years of development, Quantum Mining's steel mills have undergone a qualitative transformation, now putting pressure on Japan. The same is true for South Korea, which has also experienced a qualitative change.

Hoping that the Japanese government will step in and find a way out for them is wishful thinking. Cooperation with Quantum Mining is decreasing, so why would they care about their fate? When they betrayed them, did they not consider how serious the consequences would be?

The reasons given by those Japanese guys are utterly ridiculous. Quantum Mining doesn't accept their investment or share profits with them, so why should they share profits with them? What right do these Japanese guys have to demand that Quantum Mining share profits with them? Since there's hardly any cooperation, and their orders from Quantum Mining are pitifully few, they now want Quantum Mining to lend a hand when problems arise. It's a huge joke. How dare they even ask for that? These guys have absolutely no shame.

There's not much business involved, and now these guys are hoping Quantum Mining will lend them a hand. That's impossible. John won't accept it. How could they even make such a ridiculous request? It just shows that these guys are really desperate. The cost pressure is making them breathless!

"Steel determines our manufacturing industry, not just automobiles, but also shipbuilding and others. The inability to obtain cheap iron ore has a significant impact on us. If all else fails, we can import low-quality iron ore!" Actually, this guy was just saying this out of anger; that wouldn't lower their costs. Labor and coal are advantages they lack. But in Southeast Asia and China, these aren't problems, because John has access to cheap coal. Quantum Mining has its own coal mines, an advantage that Japan doesn't possess.

While John's initial expansion in Southeast Asia and even Australia may seem somewhat reckless, it was all for future development. Today, Quantum Mining controls many important mines, meaning it is well-prepared to safeguard other industries regardless of changes in mineral resources.

"Don't have that kind of thinking, it's impossible. We need to import all the raw materials we need. Do you think we have a price advantage? Before Quantum Mining built those steel plants in Southeast Asia, we had absolute power, not because our prices were so low or our costs were so low, but because our technology was better. But now everything has changed. Quantum Mining has acquired the technology from the Russians, and now there has been a qualitative change. Even if their steel is not as good as ours, it has still had a significant impact on us!"

"But if we do nothing, our situation will become more and more dangerous. Even if we wanted to change things now, we couldn't. Those guys are determined to target us. We can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?"

"Things haven't reached that point yet, we still have a chance!"

Opportunity? What opportunity? They don't have John's strategic planning. Even if they wanted to now, it would be too late. Besides, the entire steel market has changed, and with the price war, they have no hope at all.

Today, Quantum Mining's steel mills are designed to meet their own needs, from automobiles to shipbuilding. They no longer need to seek special steel from other steel mills. With the technology from the Russians, they have achieved self-sufficiency. This is also why the guys at the Japanese steel mills are dissatisfied with John, because they never expected things to change so drastically in such a short time. The amount of investment involved is unimaginable.

The reason for this all goes back to Lao Tzu. Quantum Mining poached a lot of talent and skilled masters from the Russians, which led to such an amazing transformation, allowing John to be independent in the steel industry!

Not only steel, but even copper mines are not subject to external control—something the Japanese cannot achieve. Although they also invest heavily in South America, their results are nowhere near the level of Quantum Mining. Quantum Mining owns world-class mines, while the Japanese do not. Of course, Japan does have world-class mines, namely the diamond mines in Canada, which Quantum Mining sold entirely to the Japanese. Perhaps it is precisely because of the Japanese greed, their desire to challenge the Europeans for pricing power, that all this has happened. After all, diamonds have always been under the control of the Rothschilds, just like gold. Therefore, their targeting of Japan is not without reason; it's all about profit, and they don't want to see diamond prices affected or impacted.

Before the bubble burst, those guys still had some reservations. After all, the huge Japanese consumer market was there, and the consequences of even the slightest problem would be unimaginable. But now it's completely different. When those oil-rich capitalists see an opportunity, or even a profit, they naturally won't let it go.

John's conversation with Toyoda Tatsuro ended quickly. Toyoda Tatsuro didn't get any promises from John, and the iron ore deal was rejected outright. He himself understood that this wasn't John's fault, but rather the result of Japan's own actions. If they hadn't been so arrogant, self-righteous, and greedy, things wouldn't have turned out this way!

The Japanese don't want to engage in a price war, but that doesn't mean Quantum Mining won't, nor does it mean Bentley Motors, or even shipyards won't. With Russian technology, everything is not a problem, and gas turbines are even less of a problem, as John has absolute self-sufficiency in both Britain and the United States.

"Toyota-san, how did things go? Did Mr. John agree to our proposal?" Upon seeing Toyota Tatsuro appear, the bigwigs of the Japanese steel companies immediately stepped forward to ask, since this concerned their very survival.

"No, you should know that this is simply impossible. You've been ungrateful before, and there's not much cooperation between you and Quantum Mining. Now that there's a problem, you want Quantum Mining to help you? There's no such thing as a free lunch. You should think of another way. I've done my best. After all, Toyota will also be affected by this!" What a great excuse for doing his best! Tatsuro Toyoda's words completely absolved him of any responsibility, without any sense that there was anything wrong with what he said!
"It seems we can only rely on the capabilities of those officials. If they can't do anything either, we'll have to find another way. If we had known this would happen, we should have joined forces and paid some price to directly acquire an iron mine!"

"What's the use of saying all this now? I did warn you all before, but you all felt the cost was too high and the losses outweighed the gains, so you insisted on refusing to cooperate. There's no point in saying anything more now. I remember you all thought everything was under control, but now those guys have turned against us, and everything has changed. Compared to those guys, we would much rather cooperate with Quantum Mining, at least our cooperation with them hasn't been affected in the slightest!"

Honesty is John's absolute hallmark, and he has no issues with it. Therefore, he strictly adheres to contracts with everyone he collaborates with and never cheats his partners. The reason these guys in Japan are in this situation is entirely their own fault.

"Alright, let's stop arguing about this. What's done is done, and it's too late to say anything now. We can only hope that the officials can give us some support. As for the outcome, let's not hold onto those hopes. We need to find a way to acquire some iron ore mines. This lesson has been enough for us!"

Acquiring an iron ore mine is not something that can be done casually. Even if these guys in Japan had such an idea, it would be impossible for them to achieve it. As long as those greedy oil capitalists don't stop, it will be difficult for them to succeed unless they can get the mine from John, which is obviously impossible. John knows how crazy the iron ore market will be in the future.

Before these Japanese could even grasp the price of iron ore, before they could target anyone else, they themselves learned a lesson from the mining giants and paid a heavy price! Although they desperately wanted to get rid of all this, they couldn't; they didn't have the opportunity, and they didn't have the time.

Seeing John's indifferent expression, the Japanese guys felt incredibly heavy-hearted. They felt that John was no longer influenced by them, and that he could no longer be swayed by a little sentiment. It was impossible to get John to stand on their side now. They had a winning hand, but these guys had ruined it!
(End of this chapter)