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

September 1st, early morning.

In the old building of Yufa Building, the sound of kerosene stoves being lit could be heard as soon as it was dawn.

Lin Ying got up very early. After washing up, she packed her new sixth-grade textbooks into her schoolbag one by one, and put away her fountain pen, draft book, and English dictionary.

Lin Lanying came out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of congee with preserved egg and lean pork, and placed them on the old table: "Aying, have breakfast first. Is your schoolbag heavy? Today is the first day of school, do you want Mommy to take you to school?"

"No need to see me off." Lin Ying zipped up her jacket and sat down at the table. "I'll take the minibus and then the school bus myself. I timed it well."

Lin Qian was rubbing his messy hair as he climbed up from the lower bunk. He glanced at his sister, who was already dressed, and instantly became a little more awake.

"Big sister, are you really in sixth grade today?" Lin Qian swallowed.

"Mmm." Lin Ying picked up the spoon and took a sip of porridge.

"You're only ten years old!" Lin Qian scratched his head in pain. "I'm only in fourth grade, and you're already in sixth. How am I supposed to explain this to my classmates at school?"

Lin Ying looked up at him: "Your classmate cares about whether you pass or not, but doesn't care what grade your sister is in."

Lin Qian immediately shut his mouth and looked down to search for his socks.

Lin Lanying laughed and scolded from the side, "Don't compare yourself to your older sister! Your older sister's brains are a gift from God. You should worry about preserving your own meager abilities first. Go wash your face!"

After breakfast, the siblings went downstairs together; the stairwell of Yufa Building was still the same as before, with yellowed walls and neighbors' belongings piled up in the corners. Lin Ying carried her schoolbag down the stairs and crossed the familiar street corner.

When we arrived at St. Paul's Primary School, the classroom of Class 1, Grade 6 was already quite full.

Class teacher Ms. Chen was standing next to the podium organizing the attendance list when she saw Lin Ying walk in: "Lin Ying, you're here."

Good morning, Teacher Chen.

"Your seat is in the middle of the second row." Teacher Chen pointed to the best viewpoint and then reminded her, "Lin Ying, sixth grade is different from before. The workload will be much heavier. Most importantly, the middle school placement will start to be factored into the daily pressure from now on. You skipped a grade and are the youngest. If you have any difficulties keeping up, tell me immediately."

"Thank you, Teacher Chen. I'll adjust." Lin Ying put down her schoolbag and sat down. Many older students in the classroom were secretly observing her.

During break, a boy in the front row turned around and asked, "Are you Lin Ying, the one who skipped directly from fourth grade?"

"Um."

"I heard you got straight A's in all four subjects on your final exams?" the boy asked, somewhat unconvinced. "But sixth grade is different. There are a lot of difficult problems that will get you into middle school. How did you manage to get first place in this monthly exam?"

Lin Ying opened her thick sixth-grade Chinese textbook: "We'll only know after the exam."

Lin Ying soon realized that Teacher Chen was right; the pressure in sixth grade was indeed immense.

Chinese language classes are no longer about breaking down texts sentence by sentence, but have become a large number of reading argumentative essays and short classical Chinese texts; English classes are taught by foreign teachers who directly assign long reading reports, doubling the vocabulary; math tests are full of comprehensive application problems written in English, and general knowledge classes have even included many proper nouns from local administrative agencies.

This might be a disaster for other ten-year-olds; but for Lin Ying, it was just another simple construction of a basic knowledge framework. Her memory and comprehension were more than enough to easily break down these elementary school concepts. What she really needed to consider was how to allocate her time.

At the end of September, the first monthly exam for sixth graders ended.

On the afternoon the report cards were handed out, Ms. Chen stood on the podium with the summary sheet in her hand.

"In this monthly exam, the top scorer in the entire grade is still Lin Ying from our class." Teacher Chen's gaze swept across the whole class. "Chinese: 98, English: 100, Math: 100, General Knowledge: 99. Total score: 397."

A murmur of discussion arose in the classroom;

Teacher Chen tapped the blackboard eraser on the podium: "Quiet! Look at your own test scores, and then look at others! Sixth grade isn't for you to dream!"

Before school ended, each class began distributing registration forms for this semester's extracurricular classes.

Teacher Chen specifically called Lin Ying to his office.

"Lin Ying, what are your plans for extracurricular classes this semester?" Teacher Chen looked at the form in her hand. "You're still young, and the workload in sixth grade is heavy. You previously signed up for computer science, math olympiad, dance, and swimming; I suggest you act according to your abilities."

Standing in front of the desk, looking at the extracurricular activity schedule, Lin Ying said, "Teacher Chen, I plan to stop swimming. I've already mastered breaststroke and freestyle. Since I'm not going to pursue competitive swimming, there's no need to waste any more time."

"That makes sense." Teacher Chen nodded. "So, which ones do you plan to keep?"

"Dance will continue, math olympiad will continue, and computer class will continue." Lin Ying had a clear plan. "Dance stretches my body, math olympiad is for future thinking training and to improve my chances of getting into a good middle school; computer class is a scarce resource in this era, so I can't miss it; and with my regular schoolwork, my time can be filled just right without being too strenuous."

Without a word, Teacher Chen signed the registration form. "Okay, you know what I mean; but here's the rule: if you fall out of the top ten in the grade in the monthly exam, I will personally cut your classes."

"it is good."

When Lin Lanying returned to Yufa Building that evening, she heard that her daughter had dropped out of her swimming lessons and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Good thing you dropped out. You used to have so many classes and homework every week. Mommy felt tired just watching you go."

Lin Qian sat on a small stool, chewing on a pencil stub: "Sister, you cut a course, so why do I feel like you're busier than before?"

"Because I cut the lessons, not the goals," Lin Ying said as she organized her sixth-grade math notes under the desk lamp.

The days went by in this routine; in October and November, Lin Ying consistently ranked first in her grade in every quiz and monthly exam.

One afternoon in early December, after school, Lin Ying knocked on the office door carrying a stack of English workbooks.

Teacher Chen was grading essays when he looked up at her and said, "Leave the homework there. What's wrong? Is there something else?"

Lin Ying put down her workbook and said directly, "Teacher Chen, I want to study the first-year high school textbook in advance."

"First year of secondary school?" Teacher Chen put down her red pen, her brows furrowing. "Lin Ying, isn't sixth-grade material enough for you?"

"That's enough, I can keep up completely." Lin Ying calmly analyzed, "I've learned that after entering secondary school, the proportion of classes taught entirely in English will increase significantly, and the logical expression methods for mathematics and science will also change. I'm looking at the Form 1 textbooks in advance so that I won't be passive when it comes to secondary school placement and the transition to secondary school. I need to adapt to their system in advance."

"You've certainly laid out a long road ahead." Teacher Chen stood up from his chair, walked to the metal cabinet at the back of the desk, rummaged through it for a while, pulled out a thick stack of books, and placed them on his desk.

"This is the complete set of Form 1 textbooks." Teacher Chen patted the stack of books. "Chinese, Mathematics, English, Science; you're currently taking computer class, so you don't need to learn anything extra for now. I can lend you these books."

"Thank you, Teacher Chen." Lin Ying stepped forward and hugged the four books to her chest.

In the evening, Lin Ying returned to Yufa Building with her books in her arms.

Lin Qian was doing his homework on the table when he looked up and saw a thick stack of books filled with dense English letters.

"Sister... what... what is this?"

"Form 1 textbook." Lin Ying placed the book on the table. "Preview it in advance."

Lin Qian silently moved his textbooks aside: "You haven't even finished half of sixth grade, and you're already reading first-year middle school books? Sister, can't you leave some room for others?"

Lin Lanying came out of the kitchen carrying dishes: "Aying, I support you in wanting to continue your studies, but you don't need to push yourself like this." Lin Lanying put the dishes down, "You'll only be eleven at the end of the month. How can your body handle staying up all night every night?"

"Mommy, I know what I'm doing and I won't stay up too late." Lin Ying carried all the books back to her room.

As December draws to a close, São Paulo enters a high-pressure period for final exam preparation.

On January 16, 1982, the final exams finally ended.

As the last general knowledge class ended, cheers erupted in the classroom of Class 1, Grade 6; some students banged on the table and shouted that it was holiday time, while others started discussing where to go to the movies.

Teacher Chen stood on the podium and slammed her hand on the table: "Quiet! Don't get too excited! Each person has one set of winter break homework. Also, the school will arrange a parent briefing after the New Year regarding the middle school placement process; take the notification slip home, and your parents must sign it!"

The classroom, which had been cheering just moments before, fell silent instantly.

on vacation.

This year's Lunar New Year is earlier than usual, so the Lin family no longer stayed in their old house in Sai Wan, but moved back to their large house in Taikoo Shing to prepare for the New Year.

On the afternoon of January 18th, in the new house in Taikoo Shing, the TV was broadcasting a lively New Year's greeting.

The landline phone in the living room suddenly rang sharply.

Lin Ying sat on the sofa, closed her first-year middle school math book, and picked up the microphone: "Feed?"

"Ah Ying!" Su Zhihao's voice was excited on the other end of the phone.

"Second Uncle."

"The King of Gamblers has a release date! It'll be released during the Spring Festival!" Su Zhihao shouted excitedly. "First day of the Lunar New Year, directly vying for the prime New Year's slot in Hong Kong! I've already secured the theaters and prints!"

Lin Ying casually asked, "Has the publicity booth been set up yet?"

"They've gone all out! These past few days, wherever people can walk, newspapers, radio, red posters outside every cinema in Hong Kong—they're all being put up! Old Peng's overseas channels will catch up after the New Year. Now we'll see if this first day of the Lunar New Year can kill off all those copycat zombie movies during the Spring Festival season!"

"Your schedule is tight, and you have a lot of films to shoot," Lin Ying reminded him. "Good word-of-mouth is the most important thing in the early stages; don't skimp on what's necessary."

"I understand! The premiere is at the Grand Theatre in Tsim Sha Tsui, on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Bring your whole family!"

"I will go."

Less than ten minutes after hanging up with Su Zhihao, the phone rang again.

This time, Lin Ying answered the phone, and the voice on the other end said, "Screenwriter Lin, are you on winter break?"

"Boss Peng." Lin Ying immediately recognized the voice.

"I'm just calling to let you know," Boss Peng sighed on the other end of the line. "Our project, 'The Magic Academy Exchange Student,' is much more troublesome than I imagined. The application for location shooting at the castle in London, the coordination with the foreign special effects team, and even the translation of the script and dialogue are all causing problems. It's definitely not going to make it for the Spring Festival release."

"How long will it be delayed?" Lin Ying wasn't surprised. The market involves foreign capital, and it's not like the local market where goods can be sold quickly in a few months.

"It won't be until May at the earliest," Boss Peng assured him. "Don't worry, I'm keeping a close eye on it; the foreign director tried to mess with the script, but I slammed my fist on the table and shut him down. As long as the core remains unchanged, we can still make money off them in US dollars. After the New Year, during post-production, I might need you to come and oversee the parts where Chinese and Western logic clash."

"Can."

Boss Peng chuckled on the phone: "Then let Su Lao Er lead the charge during the Spring Festival season. If 'The Gambling King' is a hit, we'll go and grab a slice of the foreigners' cake in May."