[Chapter 935: The Backup Plan]
After hanging up with Jess, William White wondered if the Koch brothers were planning to look for some help with this matter.
To be honest, William White was never really fond of families who made their fortune in the energy sector. Those old money folks always had this inexplicable superiority complex, and William couldn't quite figure out where it came from.
What, you say the Whites are the same?
Well, that's not quite true. The Whites definitely met the hundred million dollar threshold, but in the eyes of those others, his family was just hillbillies.
Damn, are they planning for emergencies or what?
Damn it, last night they were just fillers, and today it seemed the same deal. Damn, what do they take me for, a person only useful in a crisis and ignored otherwise?
"Sir, is there any problem with these reports?" Filson looked puzzled watching the boss grimace. Aren't these just market research reports? What's the matter, are you mad at someone again?
"Ahem, Filson, seeing all this stuff gave me some thoughts.
Back when we shifted manufacturing out of the U.S., it seemed like the right move. But now there's a problem: too much is dependent on Japan. You know what they say, you don't put all your eggs in one basket."
William White's mind was moving fast, and he was already leading Filson down a strategic path. Filson actually agreed with the suggestion. In the U.S., the game rotated with whoever was in charge at the time. When it was the 'donkey's' turn, they'd always stir the pot. And if others disagreed, they'd try to force compliance.
The quality of the system was another matter -- people could argue about that forever. But forcing others? What's the point? Look at the war-torn continent of Africa; if they had guts, they'd keep stirring there.
"That's true, boss. Our relationship with Japan has improved lately, but the distrust has definitely deepened."
"Exactly what I mean, investments should be diversified as much as possible. The dot-com bubble is heating up, and I need to spread risk."
Looking at the pile of reports, Filson could only smile wryly. It looked like the think tank was going to argue again.
But the boss seemed to enjoy watching their sparring. If those guys all agreed, he'd be out of a job -- like selling pork without a dealer.
"Sir, Indian agents found massive iron ore deposits, and our think tank suggests that to keep iron ore prices stable..."
"Forget it. If we move, Rio Tinto and Vale will react. I don't want to break this tacit agreement.
More importantly, it's a country full of political chaos. Let's just discuss this together later."
Honestly, William White hadn't figured this out himself.
Seriously, compared to Japan, if you want to develop industrial or manufacturing businesses, there's no comparison.
Filson left quickly; this kind of discussion could go on forever. He didn't want to sit and listen to the boss vent.
Korea? He dismissed it first. Those folks were either too proud or too insecure.
They hated the Chinese because it was easy for Koreans to pick up girls there. They didn't even mind being backup plans just to tag along.
They tricked people into giving them food, drinks, and fun without much effort -- the price was just a few bottles of Shiseido or Kose cosmetics.
Well, that might be a Korean male pain point. In war times, not many women got harmed, but the impact of cosmetics was far bigger than bullets.
What frustrated William White even more was their boycotting the Chinese -- which was understandable since the Chinese were pretty nasty back then.
But boycotting the U.S.? What was that about?
Because American troops were picking up girls? Because they wouldn't attack North Korea? Because they didn't protect L.A.'s Korean neighborhoods?
That's just raw resentment. So, they're saying they can fight endlessly without casualties? Don't they realize that sparring with Japan almost crashed the U.S. economy?
As for the military presence issues, that's just a criminal matter and doesn't need to be blown way out of proportion. Besides, any scumbag would face justice.
L.A.'s Korean neighborhoods? If you know it's L.A., why all the fuss? These are Americans who swore allegiance to the U.S. Plus, there's no racial discrimination here; we only discriminate against the poor. That's how it is.
Thinking it over, the only target candidates seemed to be China and Taiwan.
Wait, China has any manufacturing left?
Well, don't joke. Even for basic apparel, China had factories.
When it comes to production efficiency, China ranked second; no one disputed that. Six Sigma was initially developed by Motorola and later popularized by GE. But when the Chinese wholesale-ed it, it turned into lean manufacturing and Toyota Production System.
Even the most successful GE system promotion was no match for China's implementation. The trainers were all Americans initially. What they taught the Chinese was a real ace up their sleeve against U.S. manufacturing.
Sigh, it was frustrating for the U.S. to gift China the Zero fighter planes that bombed Pearl Harbor and then Six Sigma, which essentially wrecked its own manufacturing.
"Hey, who's that guy? He looks a bit like me."
Nicole, the young beauty, rolled her eyes. That jerk was shameless.
"You better watch out, his old man's no saint either."
"What if I say nothing happened, just a little girl with a broken heart and I comforted her -- would you believe that?"
"Hee hee hee... are you trying to make me die laughing?"
Nicole laughed, then turned to look at the sulking guy again, laughing even louder. Whether anything happened didn't matter to her; she had no grounds to comment. One thing was clear though -- this guy was definitely just a consolation prize.
"You better be careful, young girls these days have big hearts, and I think she isn't even eighteen yet."
"Ahem, I didn't do anything immoral. Besides, there's no underage person around me. If needed, a guardian would be present."
"Hee hee, you're so nervous. Laws vary by state; some places it's no big deal."
William White smiled bitterly. What could he say? Public figures had to uphold higher moral standards. Besides, he had plenty of rivals and didn't want to give them any leverage.
Those bastards even schemed against Clinton; others were nothing.
When the stakes were big enough, someone was always willing to take risks.
"Enough of this. How about some French food today?"
"Sounds good, but to whet my appetite, let's exercise first, okay?"
"Sure, let me check if it's enough."
"No problem -- if you can't eyeball it, I suggest using an electronic scale."
Down Under's big white sheep laughed happily. That guy was best at speaking like this -- even if the words were awkward, he could make them sound poetic.
William White sighed silently. He had no choice; if he didn't talk like that, he'd end up locked away. He'd prefer to be silly, but had to be poetic. Honestly, it was tough.
Of course, Nicole felt a bit lost and unwilling too. She wasn't some country girl; at least her family was part of the upper class in Australia.
*****
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