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

At dusk, under the big banyan tree at the entrance of Lam Ka Tsuen in the New Territories, several old men who had returned from working in the fields were sitting on the stone slabs smoking their pipes.

A black sedan drove along the road into the village and stopped beside the threshing ground.

The car door opened, and Uncle Lin stepped out steadily, followed by his two sons.

"Third Uncle, you're back from Hong Kong Island?" an old man smoking at the village entrance asked. "What did Ah Ying say?"

Uncle Lin said directly, "After dinner tonight, open the ancestral hall!"

In Linjia Village, the opening of the ancestral hall is a momentous event; within half an hour, the news had spread to all fifty households in the village. Those who were eating would only take a few bites before dropping their bowls and chopsticks and rushing to the ancestral hall, while those taking a bath would grab a towel, hastily wipe their wet hair, and rush outside. Even the families who ran the village store would pull down their iron gates early, lock them, and head towards the center of the village.

"Opening an ancestral hall? It must mean they heard something about Ah Ying's movie meeting on Hong Kong Island today!"

"I heard Ah Ying wrote a script specifically about our New Territories; this time she's serious!"

"Hey, stop nagging, hurry up and grab a good spot."

In the ancestral hall made of blue bricks in the center of the village, all the incandescent lights were turned on; the courtyard was soon crowded with people. Each of the fifty households had one or two representatives who could make decisions or take charge.

Lin Fu and Li Yuzhen also arrived. When they entered, the hall was already packed with people, and many young people were squatting on the side.

Looking at the scene, Lin Fu whispered to his wife, "I thought that at this late hour, there would only be twenty or thirty households at most, but I didn't expect that every single one of them would come."

Li Yuzhen looked around and said, "When it comes to money, who would be absent? Aying is trying to secure a livelihood for the whole village; anyone who doesn't come will suffer."

At the front of the main hall, Uncle Lin was already sitting in a grand chair; to his left sat his second son, Lin Jianying, with a blank account book and a fountain pen in front of him; to his right sat Lin Jingying and his youngest daughter, Lin Jieying, who had just returned from the newspaper office.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Uncle Lin patted the table.

The noisy discussions in the ancestral hall instantly ceased.

"The reason for opening the ancestral hall tonight is nothing more than this," Uncle Lin said, looking at the men and women below, "to meet Lin Ying, the genius of our Lin family, when I went to Taigu City a few days ago."

The audience fell silent instantly.

Uncle Lin continued, "The script, Ah Ying handed it to us a few days ago. It's called 'The New Territories' Wealth Creation Story,' which is about how people in the New Territories get rich step by step through small businesses! I've already given you all a sneak peek at the direction of this script, and you've all seen it."

"I've called everyone here today to discuss proper etiquette," Uncle Lin said, raising his voice slightly. "Those people outside are lining up, waving millions of dollars to ask Ah Ying to write scripts, and she might not even accept. Now, out of consideration for our clan, she's offering this opportunity to our Lin Family Village. Everyone knows that Ah Ying's scripts have never failed!"

Everyone echoed this sentiment.

"Everyone knows that Ah Ying wrote three movies, each one more popular than the last."

"Ah Ying's brain has been blessed by Granny Wu, how could it possibly fail?"

Uncle Lin slammed his hand on the table: "So, I'm making this clear from the start! Ying only needs to provide the script and direction! She guarantees the script will be flawless! If we flop this project and don't make any money, the blame will absolutely not be on Ying!"

He demanded sharply, "Then what's the problem?"

The entire room fell silent, waiting for the uncle to continue.

Just then, Lin Chongying, who usually drives a minibus in the village, chimed in: "That just means our Lin Family Village is hopeless."

Then, bursts of laughter erupted as several people couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Uncle Lin's carefully cultivated aura of authority was abruptly choked by those words; he looked at everyone, speechless for a moment.

Lin Jianying, who was sitting next to her, coughed and turned her face away; Lin Jieying simply covered her mouth with a file folder.

Uncle Lin glared at Lin Chongying: "You know it, that's good. You don't need to say it so loudly."

Lin Chongying continued, "Third Uncle, you're the one who asked."

"You answer my questions?" Uncle Lin said irritably. "Why aren't you this obedient when I ask you to fix the minibus brakes?"

There was another burst of laughter.

Uncle Lin reluctantly changed the subject, "Chongying's words may be rough, but the principle is sound! If it's ruined, it's because we didn't execute it properly! So, the first rule, which is also the rule that Aying repeatedly emphasized, is absolutely crucial!"

Uncle Lin glanced at his daughter: "Jieying, you tell the story."

Lin Jieying stood up: "Dear uncles and aunts, the script is strictly forbidden from being leaked! The Hong Kong film industry is in complete chaos right now. Those shady bosses outside can produce a fake film in just a few days if they catch even a whiff of something. So, before the film is finished and released, anyone in our village who dares to go around talking nonsense about the plot details will be expelled from the village and punished according to the clan rules!"

Everyone nodded in agreement; no one dared to be ambiguous about the matter.

"The second thing is that now that everyone's here, we'll officially begin the investment," Uncle Lin decided. "This isn't a donation; it's an investment. Every penny will go through the company account, and Jianying will be in charge of registering it. If the bidding goes well and we make a profit, we'll all share the profits, and we'll continue bidding in the future. Now, let's start subscribing!"

After he finished speaking, everyone looked at each other. Making a movie sounded impressive, but when it came to actually taking cash out of their own pockets, many people were still hesitant.

Lin Fu sat in the front row, looking at the hesitant expressions of the people around him, and his hand subconsciously reached into a thick envelope in his pocket.

He sighed, thinking: "He's definitely afraid of awkward silences. If no one takes the lead, Third Brother's performance won't go on today. How much money can the villagers possibly scrape together, given how frugal they are?"

Lin Fu stood up and slammed the thick envelope on the table: "Third Brother, Jianying, I'll go first; I'll put in 30,000!"

Lin Fu explained, "This 30,000 isn't mine; it's Yaoying's. He said he's optimistic about Ah Ying's book and will definitely invest if the opportunity arises!"

Uncle Lin nodded with satisfaction: "Yiu-ying runs a barbershop in Mong Kok, she's seen the world, she has good judgment! Kin-ying, write this down, Lin Fu-jia and Lin Yiu-ying pledge HK$30,000!"

Lin Jianying wrote the words "Lin Yaoying 30,000" in the ledger.

Lin Fu thought that since he had taken the lead, everyone could contribute a few thousand or a few hundred as a token gesture, since people in the countryside really didn't have much spare money.

But who knew...

"Jianying, add my name to the list! I'll put in 50,000!" Lin Gui, sitting in the second row, stood up, took out a wad of cash from his bag, and said, "I've brought the money with me today!"

Lin Fu was stunned. Lin Gui usually haggled over the price of a pack of cigarettes at the village store, yet he could actually pull out 50,000?!

That wasn't all. Uncle Xiang, who ran a timber business at the end of the village, put down his teacup and said, "I'll invest 60,000! Everyone's into going to the movies these days, and my son really thinks this investment is a good idea."

"I'll offer 30,000!"

"My family contributed 25,000, and I'll withdraw the remaining 5,000 from the bank tomorrow!"

"I'll invest 50,000!"

The villagers who had been hesitating just moments before surged forward.

"Don't push! Line up to register!" Lin Jingying quickly stood up to maintain order. "Everyone gets a spot, don't rush!"

Lin Jianying quickly recorded the account details and figures. "Ah, Uncle Gui, 50,000; Uncle Xiang, 60,000; Uncle Dong, 30,000..."

The numbers kept rising, with each household starting at least at 10,000, and most at 30,000 or 50,000.

Li Yuzhen sighed to Lin Fu, "Old man, we really underestimated these old relatives. They always look so plain, wearing patched clothes, but it turns out every household is secretly saving money!"

Lin Fu clicked his tongue in amazement: "In this world, who doesn't want to climb the social ladder? Before, there were no connections, but now that Aying has opened the door, who's going to hide it anymore?"

Seeing that the people below had voted enough, Uncle Lin coughed.

Lin Jianying put down her pen and exchanged a glance with her younger brother Lin Jingying and younger sister Lin Jieying.

Lin Jianying stood up and said, "Uncles and aunts, since everyone is so enthusiastic, our family, as the one taking the lead, can't be slack; I'll contribute 150,000."

Lin Jingying continued, "I have some savings, so I'll contribute 150,000."

Lin Jieying finally spoke up: "No need to say anything more, I'll also contribute 150,000."

The three of them pooled together a total of 450,000 yuan.

People started discussing it again: Uncle Lin's three children threw in 450,000 yuan, which is equivalent to betting the entire clan's fortune on this play; this attitude is more effective than any guarantee.

It took almost an hour for Lin Jianying to complete the registration of all fifty households' subscription amounts.

He took out his abacus and typed it out rapidly.

"Jianying, how much?" Uncle Lin asked, sitting steadily in his chair.

Lin Jianying: "Dad, I've calculated it all; the total amount raised from all fifty households in the village is... exactly two million Hong Kong dollars!"

"Hiss!" Someone in the audience gasped first.

Two million!

In an era when a thousand yuan could buy a foot of a building, two million yuan in cash was an amount that the entire village had never seen in several lifetimes.

These fifty households in Linjia Village, who usually toil in the fields or run small shops as laborers, have spent most of their life savings—their savings for their coffins and their means of survival—on the pen of a thirteen-year-old girl!

This is the trust built up in the blood of the clan, and also the fierce determination of ordinary people to cross social classes.

Lin Fu sat in his seat, his heart pounding. He understood why Lin Ying had repeatedly emphasized that the first part had to be a success; if they lost those two million, no one dared to imagine the consequences.

Uncle Lin gripped his cane with both hands, stood up, and said, "Alright!"

"We've raised the money! This two million is the capital for Linjia Village to change its fate! Starting tomorrow, Jianying will take the account books to Central, Hong Kong Island, find a top lawyer, and we'll draw up a contract, open a public account, pay every penny of the taxes due, and write down the profit-sharing ratio in the contract word for word!"

Uncle Lin pointed outside the door: "Money is money, rules are rules! If anyone dares to try and steal a single penny when the film crew gets together in the future, or bother Ah Ying at Taikoo City, they'd better ask this old man if he'll allow it!"

Everyone nodded, and the two million dollars raised were all settled. The Lam Family Village in the Greater New Territories, carrying the hopes of the entire village, stepped into the world of fame and fortune in Hong Kong.