Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

The tranquility of the house in Taikoo Shing was broken by a doorbell ringing early the next morning.

Lin Ying had just finished washing up and opened her bedroom door when she heard Lin Lanying walk over to open it. The door opened to reveal her uncle, Lin Yaoying, standing outside with dark circles under his eyes and carrying two bulging travel bags.

Lin Yue stood next to her uncle, wearing a thick winter coat, her face slightly red from the cold morning wind.

"Big sister! Help!" Lin Yaoying put the bag on the floor as soon as she entered the door. "It's gone crazy in Mong Kok these past few days! It seems like all the women in Hong Kong are rushing to get their hair permed before the Lunar New Year. Ah Hui stood from yesterday morning until 1 a.m., and her wrists are swollen. For the next two weeks or so, we won't be able to take care of Yueyue at all."

Lin Lanying quickly pulled Lin Yue into the house, complaining, "If you can't handle it, just send it over earlier! It's the New Year, making money is one thing, but you and Ahui shouldn't risk your lives."

"We have to make money, everyone's practically throwing money at us." Lin Yaoying chuckled, then turned to Lin Ying, who had just come out. "Ying, I'm entrusting Yueyue to you for now. She's taking her high school entrance exams this year and she's applying to your Boya College."

Lin Ying walked over, casually took Lin Yue's small schoolbag and weighed it in her hand: "Not bad. Her current foundation is about the same as Lin Qian's. If she works hard, she can definitely reach the threshold of Boya University."

Lin Yue pursed her lips and asked softly, "Will I be bothering you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. You're family, why are you bothering us?" Lin Lanying reached out and tapped her forehead. "From now on, you'll do your homework with Aqian at the big table in the living room. There are many children in the family, it's really lively, and although it's worrying, seeing you all getting ahead makes your aunt happy!"

Just then, Lin Qian came out of the bedroom yawning. Upon hearing that Lin Yue was going to stay with him to prepare for the exam, he asked, "Oh? She's also taking the Boya exam?"

Lin Ying glanced at him: "Yeah, it just so happens that you two always like to compete with each other. Whoever does the problems slowly or makes more mistakes has to wash the dishes for the whole family."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue immediately started to compete: "Okay! I'm sure I'll make fewer mistakes than Ah Qian."

Lin Qian immediately retorted, "Are you kidding? I got all A's in my final exams, how could I lose to you?"

Seeing that the two younger ones had already started supervising each other even before they sat down at the table, Lin Yaoying was completely relieved. He didn't even have time to drink water before rushing back to Mong Kok to open a shop and make big money.

In the days that followed, from Monday to Friday, Lin Lanying accompanied Lin Ying to her apartment in Mid-Levels, Central, for her classes every morning. Professor Smith's courses were very demanding; he didn't follow the textbook step-by-step, relying entirely on leaps of thought and extreme deductions to advance the content.

"Lynn, look closely at the projection onto this multi-complex plane." At the blackboard, Smith wrote a series of formulas with chalk. "A deadlock that cannot be solved in three-dimensional space becomes a secret door to truth once imaginary numbers are introduced in higher dimensions!"

Lin Ying stood to the side, watching intently, her fingertips tapping on her notebook as she took quick notes. Her mind raced, following the formulas on the blackboard. She could not only catch Smith's throws, but also accurately announce the value of the next variable halfway through the derivation.

Professor Smith highly valued her learning ability, and the two-hour classes often dragged on until almost 1 p.m. before ending with her still feeling reluctant to leave.

Every afternoon when she got home, Lin Ying would immediately take the time to write the script. The structure of "The Gold Rush Era" became more and more complete. She wanted to use sharp language to write about the greed in the financial world, the wavering of human nature, and the secret ways to get rich in her previous life into the script that her uncle Su Zhiming wanted.

At 7 p.m., it's time for family tutoring at Taikoo Shing.

Lin Yue and Lin Qian sat side by side at the large coffee table in the living room, their completed English and math papers from the day laid out in front of them. Lin Ying sat opposite them, holding a red pen.

"Lin Yue." Lin Ying tapped the test paper in front of her with a red pen. "English tenses. Since the main clause is in the past perfect tense, why are you using the present continuous tense in the subordinate clause? Rewrite it three times."

Lin Yue obediently opened her notebook of wrong questions and began to copy them; her foundation was not as good as Lin Qian's, but she was more down-to-earth and steady, and never did things perfunctorily.

Just as Lin Qian was about to gloat, Lin Ying's red pen tapped on his math test paper: "What are you laughing at? You drew the auxiliary lines correctly and set up the equations correctly on the last big question, but you got the last step of addition and subtraction wrong? Is this what you call an A-level?"

"Sister!" Lin Qian wailed, slumping onto the table. "I was just a tiny bit careless..."

"In exams, even the slightest carelessness or getting everything wrong will result in a zero." Lin Ying remained unmoved. "Correct it."

Lin Lanying was simmering chicken soup in the kitchen, watching her three children outside. The eldest was authoritative, while the two younger ones, though aggrieved, were desperately trying to catch up.

Time passed day by day, the pace was high-pressure yet fulfilling, and before we knew it, it was January 28th.

In his Mid-Levels apartment in Central, Professor Smith, unusually, didn't write any new problems on the blackboard. He brewed two cups of strong English tea, handed one to Lin Ying, and leaned back on the sofa with a smile.

"Lynn, there's no class today." The old professor's tone was full of satisfaction and appreciation. "Your progress has far exceeded my expectations. In the past two weeks, you've absorbed the equivalent of three months' worth of knowledge for a Cambridge student. However, mathematics isn't about cramming; your brain needs time to process and build subconscious connections."

Lin Ying put down her notebook: "I understand, Professor."

"For the next few days, you're not allowed to touch this thick book on complex analysis." Smith pointed to the table. "Go celebrate your Chinese New Year, receive red envelopes, and relax. Don't come back until February 5th. That's when we'll start to really delve into the underlying algorithmic models of modern science."

"Thank you, Professor." Lin Ying picked up her teacup and sincerely toasted the old man.

On the morning of January 29th, Taikoo Shing was bustling with activity.

Today was the day to return to their village in the New Territories. He Dazhu carried two crammed suitcases to the door; Lin Lanying, meanwhile, was directing from inside the living room: "Ah Qian, take out that bag of comic books! Thinking of reading comics while going back to the countryside for the New Year? Take two workbooks with you!"

"I brought it, I brought it. My older sister picked it out for me herself." Lin Qian patted his backpack with a bitter face.

Lin Yue stood at the door, carrying two bags in her hands and a schoolbag on her back.

Lin Ying walked over and asked, "Aren't you excited to see the new house today?"

"Hmm!" Lin Yue nodded. "Old Dou called last night and said the line at the barbershop stretched all the way to the corner store. He might not even be able to make it home for New Year's Eve dinner. Sister, do you think Grandpa and Grandma will be upset with Old Dou?"

"What's so strange? Grandpa's only happy when he can make money. Come on, let's go back and inspect that luxurious house worth 290,000."

The whole family went downstairs, hailed two taxis, and drove off in a grand procession towards the New Territories.

The further north you go, the hustle and bustle of the city and its high-rises gradually fade away, the view outside the window becomes more open, and the air begins to carry the unique earthy smell of the countryside and the faint aroma of firewood. In the New Territories of the 1980s, although it still retained some of the primitiveness of villages, the signs of local development were already visible.

The taxi stopped under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village; as soon as Lin Ying got out of the car, she looked up and saw that the new building stood out among the low and old village houses a hundred meters away.

The three-story building has light gray mosaic tiles on its exterior walls, which reflect a cold light in the winter sun. The large aluminum alloy windows are bright and clear, and even the originally uneven open space in front of the building has been paved with smooth cement.

This house, at first glance, is clearly built with real money.

Lin Fu and Li Yuzhen were already waiting at the gate of the courtyard. Lin Fu even had a thermos cup in his hand, which was unusual for him. When he saw the children coming over with big bags and small bags, he quickly came over to help.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" Lin Qian and Lin Yue rushed over and hugged Li Yuzhen.

"Oh dear, slow down, slow down, my dear grandchildren, you've grown so tall." Li Yuzhen reached out and touched the faces of the two little ones again and again.

Lin Lanying and He Dazhu walked forward carrying their things. Lin Fu, with his hands behind his back, glanced at his daughter and son-in-law and nodded with satisfaction: "You're back. It's cold outside, come inside quickly!"

The family stepped into the new house, with Lin Ying at the back, carefully examining the effect of the designer Liang's drawings after they were brought to life.

The living and dining room on the first floor is large, with beige wear-resistant floor tiles throughout. In the middle is a large round wooden table that can seat fifteen people, which is obviously prepared for villagers to visit during festivals. In the corner, the public restroom, which was partitioned off at Grandpa's request, is also kept clean and tidy.

Lin Lanying felt extremely pleased; the money was well spent.

"Ah Ying, your room with Ah Qian is on the third floor! Yue Yue's is on the second floor," the old woman said, leading the group to see the rooms.

Upon reaching the third floor, I pushed open the door to the south-facing suite. The room was bright and airy, with a private bathroom, thick curtains, a brand-new solid wood bed, and even a large desk placed in the best spot by the window where the light was greatest.

"Your uncle said that Ah Ying's eyes are strained from reading, so he personally picked out this table at the furniture store. He said it's made of solid wood and very sturdy; Ah Qian and Yue Yue both have one in their rooms," Li Yuzhen explained with a smile as she followed behind.

Darkness fell quickly; night always comes particularly early in the rural New Territories. Firecrackers crackled and popped throughout the village, enveloping the new house in the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year.

Li Yuzhen and Lin Lanying showed off their culinary skills in the spacious new kitchen;

During the meal, the family sat down at the large round table on the first floor. Halfway through the meal, Lin Fu put down his wine glass.

"Tonight, we're officially moving into our new house," Grandpa said with emotion. "These past few years, Dazhu and Lanying have been working hard outside, and Yaoying has been struggling in Mong Kok. Everyone has been climbing the social ladder. This house is the foundation of our Lin family, and also a stable home."

"But," the old man turned to Lin Qian, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, and Lin Yue, who was drinking soup, "the old rules can't be forgotten! No matter how big the house is, if you kids don't study well, you won't be able to keep this house in the future. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Lin Qian and Lin Yue immediately replied.