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

The office equipment company in Central provides excellent service.

At 2 PM, a small van drove into Taikoo Shing. Two technicians in uniform carried a pile of large cardboard boxes up to the 15th floor. They unpacked the boxes, connected the wires, plugged in the heavy transformer, and then debugged the printer and word processing software. They worked for a full hour before leaving.

Lin Ying sat at the large desk, while Lin Qian stood beside it with his hands behind his back.

"Sister, is this 65,000 yuan?" Lin Qian stared at the screen. "Why is it just flashing and not saying anything?"

"This is a text processing interface; you need to type commands on the keyboard." Lin Ying placed her fingers on the keyboard and typed a line of English code.

The screen flashed, revealing a blank page for document editing. Lin Ying tried typing a passage of traditional Chinese characters, and the font quickly appeared on the screen. While not as fast as in later generations, in the 1980s, this was a far more efficient and practical tool than handwriting. (For fictional plot purposes, not a professional historical account)

"Alright." Lin Ying withdrew her hand with satisfaction. "This time, I don't need to use correction fluid to cover up typos, and paragraphs can be cut and rearranged at any time. Once everything is finished, press the print button, and the paper draft will be ready."

Lin Qian stared at the machine: "Sister, this thing is too expensive. I'll definitely wash my hands before going near it in the future."

Lin Lanying came out of the kitchen with two glasses of cold water. Hearing this, she laughed and scolded, "It's good that you know it's expensive. This is the stuff your older sister uses to make big money. You shouldn't wander around this room so much. If you break it, even selling yourself wouldn't be enough to pay for it."

Setting down her water glass, Lin Lanying stood at the study door, watching her daughter skillfully working in front of the high-tech machine. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the cold rim of the glass, and a sense of daze welled up in her heart again.

There are over three million yuan in bank drafts lying in the safe at home, and this money can't just sit there; now that Aying's matter has been settled, another important matter on my mind must be put on the agenda.

Lin Lanying turned around and walked to the living room, picked up the landline phone, and dialed the number of the newly installed telephone in the old house.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. Li Yuzhen's voice came from the other end: "Hello, who are you looking for?"

"Mom, it's me. Is Dad inside? I'm looking for him."

"I'm chopping wood in the backyard, wait a minute."

A moment later, Lin Fu answered the phone: "Lan Ying, what's up?"

"Dad, I mentioned to you before about my younger brother building a house. Ah Ying's computer arrived today, and there's nothing much to do at home for the time being," Lin Lanying said. "Come to Taikoo Shing with Mom this afternoon, and I'll invite my younger brother's family along too. Let's finalize the house building today."

Lin Fu thought for a moment on the other end of the phone: "Okay, your mother and I will pack up and take the minibus out."

After hanging up the phone at the old house, Lin Lanying immediately dialed the number of "Yiu Ying Hair Salon" in Mong Kok.

Lin Yaoying answered quickly: "Big sister?"

"Young man, don't see any customers this afternoon, close the shop early. Bring Ah Hui and Yue Yue to Taikoo City for dinner," Lin Lanying said. "Father and Mother are coming too, we need to talk about your Ding house tonight."

Upon hearing the words "Dingwu," Lin Yaoying immediately said, "Okay, big sister. I'll close the shop and go over there at four o'clock this afternoon."

Around 5 p.m., He Dazhu returned from Yau Ma Tei carrying his tool bag. He had just changed his shoes when the doorbell rang.

Lin Qian ran to open the door. Lin Fu and Li Yuzhen walked in front, followed by Lin Yaoying carrying a bag of fruit, along with Deng Hui and Lin Yue. The whole family entered the living room in a grand procession.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Aunt," Lin Ying greeted everyone as she came out of the study.

As soon as Lin Yue entered, she tried to run to Lin Ying's bedroom: "Big sister, I heard from Ah Qian that you bought a TV that can type!"

Lin Qian grabbed her arm: "You can look, but you can't touch! It's worth 65,000 yuan!"

"Ah-Qian, take Yue-Yue to see her." Lin Lan-Ying began to greet everyone. "Dad, Mom, please sit down. Da-Zhu, you take the younger brothers for tea. I'll go to the kitchen to cook some dishes. We can talk business after dinner."

Even the biggest problems require a full stomach to have the energy to solve them.

The sizzling sounds of chopping vegetables and cooking filled the kitchen. Li Yuzhen and Deng Hui went in to help. A little over an hour later, a large, sumptuous dinner was laid out on the coffee table.

The family sat together. Lin Yaoying and He Dazhu took a couple of sips of beer and chatted about the recent business at the shop. Lin Fu sat in the main seat, quietly eating his food, only nodding slightly when He Dazhu offered a toast.

After they finished eating, the woman and the child quickly cleaned the table and brought out several cups of strong tea.

Lin Qian very considerately took Lin Yue to play in the children's area of ​​the community; in the living room, only a few adults remained.

"Lan Ying said on the phone that we discussed Yao Ying's house today." As soon as the old man spoke, everyone looked over.

Lin Fu continued, "Last time at Yufa Building, I mentioned that Yaoying is a male in the village, and Dingquan is readily available. I contacted a few acquaintances who had built houses before, and also asked your third uncle to inquire about the current market price of materials."

Lin Yaoying asked curiously, "Dad, what are the prices outside now?"

"There are two types: The first type is well-built; the foundation is deep, with ample reinforced concrete, the exterior walls are tiled, and the kitchen and toilet inside are all luxuriously decorated. This kind of complete set costs about HK$290,000 per building."

Li Yuzhen exclaimed in surprise, "Two hundred and ninety thousand? That's a lot of money to build a house in the village?"

Lin Fu continued, "The second type is just a simple construction, enough to shelter from the wind and rain, with white walls and cement floors, nothing fancy. This kind of casually decorated house costs around HK$190,000."

Two hundred and ninety thousand, and nineteen thousand.

These two figures, placed on the table, carry considerable weight. Even in the 1980s, they were equivalent to most of an average family's life savings.

After listening, Lin Yaoying thought for a moment and said, "Dad, eldest sister, Ah Hui and I have been running a barbershop for the past few years. We've been frugal and have managed to save some money. We have about 160,000 to 170,000 in cash on hand."

He turned to his sister and said, "Big sister, you've bought Taikoo Shing recently, and Aying's schooling will cost a lot. You just spent tens of thousands of dollars on that computer today. You need to keep your cash on hand. I've thought about it, and you don't need to pay for Ding's house anymore."

Deng Hui nodded in agreement, "Yes, eldest sister. If we pool our money together, we can build an ordinary house for 190,000 yuan. This is the foundation of our second branch of the family; we can't keep taking advantage of you."

"Little brother, Ah Hui," Lin Lanying said, looking at them, "I called you all here today not to hear you being so polite with me."

Lin Yaoying was taken aback for a moment: "Big sister, I'm not just being polite..."

"Let me finish," Lin Lanying interrupted him, raising her hand. "When I was going through tough times, Dad and Mom helped me. When Ah Ying was sick and mentally challenged, Dad, Mom, and my younger brother took care of her a lot. Now that I'm a little more financially secure, I can't pretend I didn't see that kindness."

"I was originally thinking that if you didn't have enough money, I would contribute more to help you build the house. Since you said you've saved enough to build a house for 190,000, then fine."