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

A research plan cannot be written in a day.

Lin Ying needed to go to the library to look up information and then go back to her dorm to write. From battery life solutions to chip architecture concepts, from motherboard layout to antenna design, from casing materials to cost calculations... she had to write arguments for each module separately.

She revised the battery alone four times. Since the nickel-cadmium batteries currently on the market are not performing well, she included an analysis of lithium-ion batteries in the proposal, specifying the cathode material, electrolyte formulation, and the expected level of performance over the next two to three years.

The chip part is even more complex, involving the design of the baseband processor, how to integrate the RF front-end with the chip, and how to control power consumption...

By the eleventh day, Lin Ying had finally finished the manuscript, printing out a thick stack of A4 paper, about forty pages long, along with more than a dozen charts and three cost accounting tables. She put it in a folder and sent it to Professor He.

Then we just wait.

One day, two days, three days... after waiting for seven days, Professor He came over during a break and said to her, "Two o'clock this afternoon, in the conference room on the third floor of the administration building."

At 1:50 PM, Lin Ying arrived at the third floor of the administration building with her bag. The conference room door was ajar, and four people were already seated inside. Deputy Director Gu was there, Professor He was there, the middle-aged man in the white shirt from before was there, and there was another person she hadn't seen before, who looked to be in his fifties and had the air of a leader.

"Sit down," Deputy Director Gu said, pointing to the empty chair next to him.

Lin Ying sat down.

The middle-aged man in the white shirt spoke first: "Lin Ying, we've reviewed the proposal. It's very detailed, covering the entire supply chain, from batteries and chips to motherboards, antennas, casings, and costs. Your timeline is also quite ambitious: a prototype in two years and mass production in three years."

Lin Ying nodded but didn't reply.

The middle-aged man closed the document in his hand and glanced at the leader sitting next to him.

The leader spoke up: "Lin Ying, my surname is Zhou. I'm here today to talk to you about a few things."

"Teacher Zhou, please speak."

"Where do you plan to register the patents for the core technologies involved in your proposal?"

Lin Ying had already considered this issue: "Domestic. All patents will be registered and applied for domestically."

Teacher Zhou nodded: "Have you thought about what to do about the author's name?"

"signature?"

"Well, Lin Ying, your situation is a bit special. You're a Hong Kong resident, studied at Cambridge for three years, and have connections with academic circles there. If you apply for these patents using your real name, especially the core patents related to chips and communications..."

"People outside and some people in Hong Kong won't be happy."

Lin Ying knew that mobile communication technology would become a focal point of competition among countries in ten years, and whoever held the core patents would have the power. If people found out that these things came from a Hong Kong girl who had studied at Cambridge…

"Your family is all in Hong Kong, you know the situation there yourself."

Lin Ying thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll use a pseudonym."

"Have you decided on a name yet?"

Lin Ying went through many names in her mind, and finally said, "Li Hua."

Professor He almost burst out laughing: "Li Hua? Are you serious?"

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Professor He coughed. "It's fine, ordinary, no one will notice."

Teacher Zhou's expression didn't change much, and she continued, "Okay, the matter of authorship is settled then. Now, the second question."

He opened another document in front of him.

"Your plan mentions building your own factory to mass-produce mobile phone terminals. How much money have you allocated for this?"

"Sixty million US dollars." This is the most Lin Ying can currently come up with, including what Claire has.

"Sixty million." Teacher Zhou nodded. "I have a question for you."

"Please ask."

"Do you think sixty million US dollars is enough to start a large technology company?"

Sixty million is an astronomical figure for ordinary people, but to build a mobile phone production line from scratch...

"Not enough," she said.

"It's not just not enough." Teacher Zhou flipped through the materials in his hand. "Your plan involves too many aspects; chip research and development, battery research and development, motherboard design, antenna testing, mold making, production line construction, and quality inspection system... not to mention talent recruitment, factory buildings, equipment procurement, and supply chain."

He pointed to a line of numbers on the document with his finger.

"We made an internal estimate that the entire process, from R&D to mass production, will cost at least two hundred million US dollars."

Two hundred million.

Lin Ying did the math in her head and realized that the number was indeed about right. Her 60 million was only enough to support the research and development phase. For mass production, just one chip packaging production line would cost tens of millions.

"So," Teacher Zhou put down the materials, "the country is willing to cooperate with you."

"How do we cooperate?"

"In terms of policy support, we will provide you with the best conditions." Teacher Zhou explained one by one, "Tax reductions and exemptions, land allocation, and green channels for equipment imports will all be provided without any problems."

"Regarding talent, we can help you recruit the best engineers and technicians in the country. The subsequent personnel management, finance, and worker training will all be handled by specialists."

"Equipment procurement is funded by a special grant; you don't need to go abroad to negotiate with Taiwan yourself. However..."

Lin Ying knew the important part was coming.

"But Lin Ying, we hope you will focus your energy on technological innovation; what you have in your mind cannot be measured by two hundred million."

Lin Ying was stunned for a moment.

Teacher Zhou said, "Mobile phones are just the first step. The digital encryption, baseband algorithms, chip design, and other things you wrote in your plan can cover the entire communications industry chain if you extend them further. You shouldn't waste your energy on managing factories, arguing with suppliers, and dealing with personnel issues."

"The above suggestion is this: you are in charge of the research, and after the research results are put into mass production, you will receive 20% of the annual profit as a bonus."

Lin Ying understood that with a 20% profit share, she wouldn't have to bear any risks herself. With the government backing her up, the mobile phone factory would definitely succeed. Based on her assessment of the future market, she was certain that the money would be substantial.

"Your brain shouldn't be in the spotlight," Teacher Zhou said as her last words. "Being behind the scenes isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Lin Ying couldn't give an answer right away.

This matter was more complicated than she had ever imagined; giving up the management rights meant giving up control of the company, and she really couldn't handle both R&D and management on her own. She didn't know when the domestic business environment, interpersonal relationships, and policies would change... These were things that a Hong Kong girl in her early twenties couldn't manage.

"Can I have a few days to think about it?" Lin Ying asked.

"Okay," Teacher Zhou said. "Three days."

Lin Ying stood up: "I will give you an answer in three days."

Teacher Zhou also stood up: "Lin Ying, say one more thing."

"Please speak."

"This collaboration isn't about taking anything from you; no one can steal what's in your head; but it's a fact that you can't handle a two-hundred-million-dollar operation by yourself."

Lin Ying looked at him and nodded: "I know."

As they left the conference room, Professor He followed behind, saying, "Think it through before you speak, don't rush."

"Professor He, when have I ever been in a hurry?"

Professor He thought for a moment and said, "That's true. You always think things through before you act."

When Lin Ying walked out of the administration building, the sun was already setting in the west. She stood on the steps, hands in her pockets, watching students running on the playground, her mind replaying those few words.

Behind the scenes.

Twenty percent.

Two hundred million.

She walked slowly, and as she passed the cafeteria entrance, Sun Miaoshu came out: "Lin Ying! Where did you go this afternoon? Did you do the homework Teacher Fang assigned today? It's due tomorrow!"

"I wrote it down, and it's on the table."

"Could I borrow the third question? I've been working on it for ages and still can't figure it out."

"Alright."

Sun Miaoshu followed her and walked with her: "Why are you like this today? You seem distracted."

What do you want to eat tonight?

"You knew the cafeteria had sweet and sour pork ribs today, right?"

"Then let's have pork ribs."

The two walked towards the dormitory building together; Lin Ying chatted casually with Sun Miaoshu, but in her heart she was actually struggling with that 20%.