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

In September, the heat in Hong Kong was still so intense that it made one's back feel sticky.

In their spacious apartment on the nineteenth floor of Taikoo Shing, the family had breakfast early. Lin Yue followed Lin Ying out with her schoolbag on her back, and the two sisters took a minibus to the entrance of Boya Academy.

Lin Ying walked towards the classroom of the Form 4 science class.

Boya is a long-established government girls' secondary school in Hong Kong with a strict academic atmosphere and a consistently high university entrance rate. In Form 4, there are six classes for humanities, four classes for business, and only one class for science.

There is only one science class in the entire grade.

When Lin Ying stepped into the classroom, it was already mostly full; the desks and chairs were arranged more spaciously than before, and there were still some undistributed chemistry lab coats piled up in the corner. There were only thirty seats, and thirty girls.

A few girls were whispering among themselves in the back row.

"My cousin's girls' school cut its science class this year because they couldn't recruit enough students for Form 4.

"My mother also nags me every day, saying that girls have no future studying physics and chemistry, and it would be better for them to study business early and do clerical work so they can get married later."

"Then why did you come?"

"I'm not reconciled."

Lin Ying walked to the fourth row, pulled out a chair, sat down, and took out her notebook and stationery from her bag, placing them on the table.

At eight o'clock in the morning, the school bell rang.

A male teacher in his forties walked onto the podium carrying his lesson plan.

The male teacher skipped the usual small talk and first wrote two large characters on the blackboard: Li Heng.

"My surname is Li, Li Heng; from today onwards, I will be your Form 4 science class homeroom teacher and physics teacher."

No one in the audience spoke.

Teacher Li continued: "Before the start of this school year, many government girls' secondary schools in Hong Kong had already abolished science subjects in Forms 4 and 5."

"Why was it canceled?" Teacher Li raised her voice. "Because outsiders think that offering science courses is expensive, and the lab equipment is costly. They think girls aren't good at science, can't keep up, and can't compete with the hardworking boys in all-boys schools! So, they think it's unnecessary to offer this class for girls."

"However, we at Boya insist on holding it this year. Even if there are only thirty people, we will still hold it!"

He looked at the girls in the audience: "Because we believe that girls are absolutely no less capable than boys in all-boys schools!"

"There are six classes in the humanities! Four classes in business! And in the sciences, there's only one class for you." Teacher Li straightened up, her voice louder, "Having fewer people is also an advantage; from today onwards, no one will compete with you for any of the school's physics, chemistry, and biology labs! All the school's science resources will be used on the thirty of you!"

Before everyone could even breathe a sigh of relief, Teacher Li picked up the chalk again and wrote a line of data on the blackboard.

The pass rate for the Form Five examination was 33%.

"The pass rate for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) is only one-third in all of Hong Kong!"

He continued, "You're only in Form 4 now. Do you think you have two full years until the exams? The Form 5 exams are held from mid-April to May, and the results are released in August! Subtract the Chinese New Year and all the school holidays, and you'll be taking the exams not long after the start of the second semester of Form 5!"

"So, you didn't have a full two years at all."

Teacher Li picked up her lesson plan: "Starting from today's class, clear all those unnecessary thoughts from your minds. Now that you're in this class, you must live up to the experimental equipment the school has left you, and you must live up to yourselves! Whether girls are capable of studying science isn't something you can just talk about; it's something you'll prove on the Form Five Examination list with your scores!"

"Open your physics textbook to the first page!"

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After that day, Lin Ying woke up at 6:30 every morning and went to bed promptly at 10:00 every night; her Form Four science subjects involved all sorts of complex mechanics models, chemical derivations, biological genetic maps...

In the past, she could still find time after dinner to give Lin Qian and Lin Yue some pointers; now, she doesn't have that time anymore.

The atmosphere at home changed as Lin Ying's routine changed.

Lin Lanying felt sorry for Lin Ying, so she would buy all kinds of fresh fish and meat every day and make different kinds of soup for her.

"Big sister, have some soup." Lin Yue obediently brought the soup bowl over.

"Thank you." Lin Ying finished her soup and didn't linger. "I'm going back to my room."

The Lin family established a new rule: after 9 p.m., the television was not allowed to be turned on in the living room, and even the telephone line had to be unplugged.

Since the "New Territories Riches" series became a huge hit, Taikoo Shing has been receiving calls from all sorts of big bosses every day, but Lin Lanying has blocked them all.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Su, Ah Ying has class and really doesn't have time."

"I won't answer, no matter the price."

"Notebooks? She doesn't look at any notebooks now; she's preparing for her Form Five exams."

Lin Lanying knew that her daughter's path was not on these film sets;

The years passed in this pure pursuit of learning as 1985 came to an end and the spring of 1986 began.

In April, the rainy season in Hong Kong had just ended.

Wan Chai District, Peng Xuebin's film company.

Peng Xuebin sat behind the boss's desk, looking at the two people sitting opposite him: Lin Lanying and Lawyer Shen, who was carrying a black briefcase.

Peng Xuebin glanced at the clock on the wall. "Mrs. Lin, isn't screenwriter Lin coming today?"

"She can't come." Lin Lanying sighed. "Aying has a chemistry lab class this afternoon, taught by the head of the grade; she said that no matter what, the lab data can't be delayed."

Peng Xuebin glanced at the account book on the table, as well as the HSBC bank draft that had already been issued.

"Over forty million in dividends... In Hong Kong, how many people would kill someone for a few tens of thousands of dollars? And she wouldn't even sign for a promissory note worth over forty million just for some chemistry experiment?"

"Boss Peng, in A-Ying's eyes, this money was already a predetermined amount that she had calculated would come." Shen Yanwen opened the ledger in a businesslike manner. "Let's start reconciling the accounts."

Peng Xuebin sighed and waved for the CFO to come up and assist.

"preference".

After submitting the script, Peng Xuebin spent a fortune to hire the most popular leading men and beauty queens in Hong Kong; once the film was released, it once again stirred up a storm in the female market throughout Asia.

The film still didn't surpass the HK$180 million record set by "The Heart Swap"; but it still raked in a net profit of HK$140 million in this era!

"After deducting all costs and taxes from theater sales, overseas buyouts, and videotape revenue sharing, the final net profit is 140 million." Shen Yanwen quickly checked it on the calculator. "According to the contract, Xu Yue is entitled to 30% of the net profit. The amount he should receive is 42 million Hong Kong dollars."

Shen Yanwen closed the account book and nodded to Lin Lanying: "Mrs. Lin, the accounts are clear and the figures are accurate."

Peng Xuebin pushed the stamped promissory note over.

Lin Lanying picked up the pen and steadily signed her name on the receipt.

"Boss Peng, it's a pleasure doing business with you." Lin Lanying stood up.

"Mrs. Lin," Peng Xuebin called out to her, "Please pass on a message to Xu Yue for me: film distributors all over Asia are now willing to pay any price for her next script; as long as she's willing to write it, she can name her own price."

"I will pass on the message." Lin Lanying smiled. "But Boss Peng, I advise you not to count on it for the next two years; her goal is Cambridge, and she doesn't have time to deal with these things."

At 6 p.m., Lin Ying returned to Taikoo City from school.

Lin Lanying took the promissory note out of her purse and placed it on the desk.

"Forty-two million, Attorney Shen has checked the accounts, not a penny less."

Lin Ying was working on a physics supplementary problem that her teacher had just assigned; she glanced at the string of zeros and casually replied, "Okay, thank you, Mom. I'll deposit it all into the designated account as usual."

"Aren't you going to take a look?" Lin Lanying asked.

"I don't need to look at it anymore, as long as the numbers are correct." Lin Ying turned a page of the calculation paper. "With this money added to what we had before, the funding pool is now completely filled; whether I go to the UK to study or enter the capital market, I'll have enough room to maneuver."

Life goes on.

As winter approaches, the winds in Hong Kong become chilly.

Every winter, Professor Smith would arrive at the Mid-Levels apartment in Hong Kong as promised.

On Sunday morning, Lin Ying knocked on the door of the Banshan Apartment with a whole semester's worth of self-study notes.

"Lynn." Professor Smith was still in high spirits; he took the thick notebooks that Lin Ying handed him and flipped through a few pages.

His gaze, which had initially been casually scanning the page, became somewhat surprised when he saw the seventh page;

During this year, Lin Ying not only mastered all the advanced courses in Form 4 science, but also derived all the extended calculus models left by Smith last year.

"You actually derived the first stage yourself?" Professor Smith put down his notebook. "You haven't taken a single day off this past year, have you?"

"There's not enough time, so of course we can't rest," Lin Ying said frankly.