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

On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, the Lam Family Village in the New Territories was filled with a lively festive atmosphere.

In the living and dining room on the first floor, Li Yuzhen was the first to get up. A large steamer of radish cakes was being steamed in the kitchen, and the aroma wafted out of the window.

Lin Ying was sitting at her desk on the third floor, reviewing her notes from Professor Smith's lectures. Suddenly, Lin Qian's loud voice came from downstairs: "Sister! Old Dou! Someone's here!"

Lin Ying closed her laptop and walked down the stairs.

The arrival of the visitor startled everyone in the room.

Walking in front was Uncle Lin, dressed in a maroon Tang suit today, leaning on a mahogany cane. Following behind were two middle-aged men.

"Third Brother?" Lin Fu asked, somewhat surprised. "It's the second day of the Lunar New Year. If you needed anything, you could have just sent someone to call you. Why did you come all the way here in person?"

Li Yuzhen also came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of sweet soup: "Happy New Year, Third Brother, please come in and sit down."

"Do you have to pick a day to pay New Year's visits?" Uncle Lin's voice boomed. "You're moving into your new house, and I don't come to visit on the second day of the Lunar New Year? Is that appropriate?"

As Uncle Lin spoke, he looked at Lin Ying, who was walking down the stairs.

"Ah Ying, come here." Uncle Lin beckoned.

Lin Ying stepped forward and respectfully greeted him, "Happy New Year, Uncle."

"Good, very good." Uncle Lin said kindly, looking at her. "You've grown taller and look much more stable in the past six months."

The bespectacled man following behind took a step forward, took a thick red envelope from the red gift bag he was carrying, and handed it to Uncle Lin with both hands. Uncle Lin took the red envelope and put it into Lin Ying's hand.

"This is your New Year's money from your great-uncle."

Lin Ying took it in her hand and felt its thickness; the red envelope was quite substantial.

Lin Lanying happened to be coming down from the third floor and, seeing this, quickly spoke up to stop her: "Third Uncle, this red envelope is too thick; children should only receive New Year's money for good luck, how can they take so much?"

"Don't worry about it." Uncle Lin raised his hand to interrupt Lin Lanying. "She's not an ordinary child. This is my stance on behalf of the clan."

Lin Qian peeked at the red envelope from the side and muttered, "The red envelope I just received wasn't even a tenth of what my sister received."

Lin Fu glared at Lin Qian: "When adults are speaking, don't interrupt."

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere in the room relaxed a little. Lin Fu invited the three of them to sit at the large round table, and Li Yuzhen quickly brewed a few more cups of tea.

"Ah Ying, sit down." Uncle Lin pointed to the empty seat next to him.

After Lin Ying sat down, Uncle Lin first pointed to the man wearing glasses on his left: "This is your Uncle Jianying. He works in an office building in Central, dealing with banks and contracts every day."

Lin Jianying smiled and nodded at Lin Ying: "Ah Ying, I've heard so much about you. There are quite a few people in Central who are envious of your movie."

Uncle Lin then pointed to the sturdy man on the right: "This is your Uncle Jingying; he's been traveling around Southeast Asia for years, as well as doing business in local cinemas and videotapes. He's very familiar with all those shady dealings outside."

Lin Jingying smiled, revealing a hint of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry): "Just trying to make a living; Ah Ying, the Southeast Asian videotapes of your movie are selling like hotcakes over there."

Lin Ying quickly went through the details in her mind; on the second day of the Lunar New Year, the clan chief brought no one else but his sons who were involved in investment and distribution, and made their professions clear from the start, which meant they were there to discuss serious business.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Uncle Lin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and first inquired about his studies: "Ah Ying, I heard that this winter break you've been studying mathematics with an elderly British professor from Cambridge University?"

"Yes, Uncle," Lin Ying nodded in reply. "Uncle Su helped make the connection; the professor's name is Smith, and he teaches at his private residence in Mid-Levels, Central every day."

Uncle Lin asked with great interest, "An old professor from Cambridge? Is he really willing to teach you? Can you keep up?"

"He's a really good teacher," Lin Ying answered truthfully. "He moves very fast and doesn't follow the high school textbooks. But I can keep up. Some of the theories are derived in advance, which makes learning much clearer."

Uncle Lin nodded in satisfaction. "Then do you know how much money you'll need if you really go to England and study at Cambridge?"

The question was raised, and the entire living and dining room suddenly fell silent.

Lin Lanying stood to the side, having been shocked by this number just last month.

Lin Ying did not shy away from the question: "I did the math with the professor. Over three years of undergraduate studies, tuition, accommodation, textbooks, food, plus round-trip airfare and emergency medical expenses, I conservatively estimate that I need to prepare HK$500,000 to complete my studies there without any disruption."

"Five hundred thousand..." Lin Fu's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

In those days when an average Hong Kong family could only earn two thousand dollars a month, five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars was enough to build two small houses like the Lin family's in the New Territories.

Lin Jingying frowned. These days, sending someone to school really costs a lot of real money.

Uncle Lin nodded slowly. "I've always been worried about you lacking money. It's not that I was worried Dazhu and Lanying wouldn't support you, it's that times have changed. Education is expensive, and going abroad is even more expensive. If you want to climb up the social ladder, even just touching that threshold requires real money to pave the way."

Lin Ying knew this was the truth. Without the money she earned from writing scripts, she couldn't even afford the three hundred yuan for Smith's tea lesson.

Uncle Lin continued earnestly, "But I'm more worried about you. The film industry is such a cesspool. There are many bosses, many scoundrels, and even more people who are all talk and no action. You're a girl who's not even an adult yet. No matter how smart you are, you can't possibly deal with those scumbags every day."

Lin Ying recalled the incident where Zhou Yawen was harassed by a rogue boss and had her door blocked. If Su Zhihao hadn't sent someone to smooth things over, a traditional scholar like Teacher Zhou wouldn't have been able to handle it at all.

Uncle Lin looked at Lin Ying and revealed the real purpose of his visit today.

"Lam Ka Tsuen in the New Territories has a total of fifty households. Some villagers farm, some run grocery stores, and some drive minibuses. Everyone can eat their fill now, but it's as difficult as climbing to heaven if they want to move up in society."

The old man asked tentatively, "Ah Ying, do you have time to write a couple of scripts for the villagers?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Fu was stunned: "Third Brother, what are you saying...?"

Lin Qian almost choked on the radish cake in his mouth: The whole village is making a movie together?!

"I'm not asking you to work for nothing." Uncle Lin waved his hand to interrupt Lin Fu and said directly to Lin Ying, "I know the rules of the trade and I know your calligraphy is valuable; what I mean is, you're writing for outside bosses to make them rich. Since you have this Midas touch, why not tie our Lin Family Village to your business?"

Lin Jingying chimed in at the opportune moment: "Aying, all fifty households in the village are involved. As long as you write scripts for our clan, in Hong Kong, whoever dares to lay their claws on us, we men will handle it; you can focus on your studies."

This promise carried immense weight; in 1980s Hong Kong, clan power was formidable when united. Fifty households, with over a hundred men gathered together, were enough to keep out those who came looking for trouble.

Lin Ying knew that her clan had once given her 800 yuan to support her, and she had always remembered this kindness. Right now, she needed a steady cash flow, while her clan members needed ways to make money. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and she couldn't find a reason to refuse.

"Uncle, I can do this." Lin Ying nodded without hesitation. "I'm definitely willing to do my part so that everyone can live a better life."

Lin Fu and Lin Lanying breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"However, there are some things I need to make clear first." Lin Ying decided to reassure her elders and lower their expectations. "I only know how to write stories and how to grab the audience's attention. But I don't know anything about the specifics of film operation, assembling a film crew, or scheduling theaters. Besides, I'll be entering my final year of secondary school soon, and my studies will be very demanding. I can't let filming interfere with my studies."

Uncle Lin burst into laughter: "I told you you were a clear-headed person! If you had taken on so much, I wouldn't have dared to entrust the entire village's money to you today!"

He pointed to his two sons beside him: "That's why I brought them here today; your Uncle Jianying is in the investment business, he handles setting up company structures, reviewing accounts, and managing contracts. Your Uncle Jingying has traveled all over Southeast Asia, he handles negotiations for film studios and videotape shops. And your Aunt Jieying, she's on duty at the newspaper office today and couldn't come, she's a senior editor, she's the best at publicity coordination."

Lin Jianying declared directly, "Aying, you only need to write out the core text, and our clan will take care of all the other miscellaneous tasks. We won't waste a single minute of your reading time."

With everyone in place and each fulfilling their duties, Uncle Lin had clearly come prepared.

"Okay." Lin Ying raised the last key issue, "Then let's follow business rules; the usual practice for me to write scripts for Boss Peng and Uncle Su is to take 20% of the net profit; if it fails and there's no profit, I don't get a penny; this rule cannot be broken."

Lin Fu glanced at Uncle Lin subconsciously; asking for 20 percent of the village's profits sounded rather outrageous to the traditional clan elders.

Uncle Lin immediately gave the approval: "No problem!"

Lin Ying was surprised that the other party agreed so readily.

"Ah Ying, this rule is very fair," Uncle Lin continued. "You provide the brains, so it's only right that you take 20%. As for the remaining 80%, I'll go back and open the ancestral hall to distribute it among the clansmen. Whoever contributes more money and takes on more risk will get a larger share. I'll have Jianying make sure this is all written down, and with the whole village involved, the accounts definitely won't get mixed up."

Lin Ying breathed a sigh of relief. This cooperative model, which only discusses the distribution of benefits and avoids emotional blackmail, is quite stable.

"Thank you for your understanding, Uncle."

"So what kind of topic do you think would be suitable for our village's first investment?" Lin Jingying asked with expectant eyes.

Lin Ying pondered for a moment and then said, "This is the first time the village has entered the game, so we should play it safe rather than go for big projects. We absolutely must avoid large-scale martial arts scenes and expensive special effects. I need to think about the specifics carefully."

With the business settled, Uncle Lin picked up a slightly thinner red envelope from beside his mahogany cane and pushed it in front of Lin Ying.

"That was New Year's money, and this is a lucky money gift from our Lin Family Village to the head screenwriter to mark the start of the project." Uncle Lin looked at her and said, "Aying, go ahead and write and read; from now on, the fifty households of Lin Family Village will support you."

Lin Ying accepted the red envelope with both hands. "I'll remember it, Uncle."

After seeing Uncle Lin and his party off, the sound of firecrackers being set off from other houses could be heard outside.