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

Matthew shrugged helplessly and lowered his head to continue reading the newspaper.

Lin Ying pushed open the door of the Mid-Levels apartment and took a taxi straight to Taikoo Shing in East Hong Kong Island.

When I got back to my large apartment on the nineteenth floor, it was exactly 2:30 pm.

Pushing open the door, I saw Old Dou chopping something in the kitchen, the cutting board making a clattering sound; Lin Qian was hunched over the large coffee table doing practice papers.

The security door had just closed when the sound of a key unlocking came from outside.

Lin Lanying rushed in, carrying a thick file folder.

"Ah Ying! You're back just in time! I just got back from reconciling accounts in the New Territories village!" Lin Lanying didn't even bother to change her shoes.

He Dazhu called out from the kitchen, "Wife, wash your hands first, the soup will be ready soon."

Hearing the commotion, Lin Yue ran out of the second bedroom: "Big sister, what did that foreign professor talk about at the mountainside today?"

"We'll be discussing algorithm models," Lin Ying said, putting down her bag. "And a bit of physics too."

Lin Qian, who was struggling with his test paper, immediately became alert upon hearing the word "physics": "Physics? Big sister, you've already finished your exams, are you going to give me extra physics practice papers for no reason?"

"Your current physics level isn't at the point where I need to personally give you extra practice! Finish your all-boys school final exam first."

Lin Qian breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt that those words were a bit hurtful to his self-esteem.

"Forget about physics!" Lin Lanying drew the whole family's attention. "Let's get down to business! The preliminary results for 'Qin Pass' were finalized today at the village ancestral hall!"

Lin Ying pulled out a dining chair and sat down: "The net profit is out? How much?"

"A full 120 million!" Lin Lanying whispered.

Lin Yue's mouth dropped open: "One hundred million... twenty million?!"

Lin Qian jumped up: "Another 100 million?! Mom, did you miss a zero?"

Even He Dazhu was astonished: "Isn't 'Qin Guan' just that period drama about modern gangsters going to ancient times to fight? Period dramas are so expensive, how could it sell for such an astronomical price?!"

"It's selling like hotcakes!" Lin Lanying deftly untied the file folder, pulling out a stack of reports. "My uncle said in the ancestral hall today that the local box office for this film isn't even the most outrageous. The key is the Southeast Asian distribution rights, the buyout fees in Japan and South Korea, and the videotape rights in overseas Chinatowns—all of them have been snapped up!"

Lin Lanying patted the account book: "The villagers say that men love watching this kind of show, and young people love watching it too! The plot about a Hong Kong gangster climbing the ranks in the Qin Dynasty through military merit is so popular that now all the gangsters in Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei are imitating the protagonist's speech after watching it!"

Lin Ying did not show much surprise after hearing this.

The production cost of "Qin Guan" was extremely high. The costumes, props and extras were all bought with a lot of money by the Lin family village. The risk was many times greater than that of "New Territories Riches". This kind of heavy industrial commercial blockbuster has a high ceiling.

A gangster boss with modern underworld rules clashes with the strict military merit system and historical oppression of the Qin Dynasty, creating a film packed with exciting moments and logically consistent. In this era, as long as the final product is of decent quality, audiences in the Asian market will definitely buy it like crazy.

Lin Ying picked up the reports on the table and flipped through them: "Approximately when will the revenue sharing arrive?"

"There's no rush, there's still a balance to be paid." Lin Lanying pulled up a chair and sat opposite her. "However, my uncle called me over today not just to report on the box office. The real prize is yet to come. Several key figures in the village have discussed it, and they want to adapt 'Qin Pass' into a TV series!"

"TV drama?"

"Yes!" Lin Lanying nodded. "My uncle and Jianying said that the movie is only two hours long, which is too short. Many historical scenes and political intrigues weren't shown; how the protagonist climbed to a high position in the Qin Dynasty, how he outwitted and outmaneuvered the old nobles of the Warring States period, how he exploited legal loopholes... If these were filmed in a longer way, it could easily be a long series of forty or fifty episodes!"

Lin Lanying became increasingly excited as she spoke: "The major television stations in Hong Kong have already caught wind of this, and some have gone to the New Territories to sound out Jingying. Major videotape distributors are also willing to advance their funding!"

Lin Ying slowly closed the report, knowing full well that it was indeed a logical commercial extension of the "Qin Pass" IP. If it were made into a long-running TV series, it would definitely have more development potential than a movie.

but.

"Mommy," Lin Ying looked at Lin Lanying, "I'm about to enter Form Six and will be going to Cambridge next year; no matter how much money TV dramas make, I can't possibly find the time to write dozens of episodes of scripts myself."

"Your uncles and the others had already thought of this!" Lin Lanying explained. "They know you're focused entirely on your studies right now, so they never intended for you to write it yourself. The village's idea is to buy the TV adaptation rights for 'Qin Pass' from you."

Lin Lanying recounted the proposal made in the ancestral hall: "The village will then pay for a professional scriptwriting team from outside to expand on the script. All the core outlines, character personalities, and worldviews will follow your original script. You don't need to worry about any other matters; you only need to handle copyright licensing and the final bottom-line review."

He Dazhu, who was listening nearby, understood: "That's fine! As long as it doesn't interfere with Aying's studies, everything is negotiable."

Lin Qian's eyes lit up: "Big sister, just by licensing and selling the copyrights, wouldn't we be able to make a fortune?"

Lin Ying glanced at him: "Your sense for money is much sharper now than your ability to solve math problems."

"I call this caring about the family's economic development!" Lin Qian said confidently.

Lin Yue whispered, "You clearly want to save up your allowance to buy the latest Famicom cartridge."

"Lin Yue, can you please stop being so blunt!"

Lin Lanying ignored the two clowns and pulled a business card from her file bag, handing it to Lin Ying.

"Attorney Shen has already reviewed the initial draft of the contract prepared by the village this afternoon," Lin Lanying said. "He said the initial draft is fine, but the details must be revised. He said he will come to Taikoo Shing tomorrow afternoon to review the formal authorization terms. Ah Ying, whether you sign it or not is entirely up to you."

At six o'clock the next evening, Shen Yanwen, carrying his signature black briefcase, knocked on the door of the nineteenth floor right on time.

Upon entering, Attorney Shen immediately spread several thick draft contracts out on the dining table.

"Ah Ying, Mrs. Lin, I'll get to the point; the TV series adaptation rights can be granted; but as the lawyer representing them, I must stick to one bottom line: this copyright absolutely cannot be sold out to Linjia Village in one go."

Lin Ying agreed: "Attorney Shen, my thoughts are completely in line with yours."

Shen Yanwen opened the contract to the first page and explained each clause in detail: "First, the film copyright and all subsequent film sequels will still be held by you and the original investment company in the original proportion. Second, this time only the television adaptation rights for 'Qin Guan' are authorized, and I have added a time limit of only five years."

Shen Yanwen looked at Lin Ying: "Five years from now, if they still want to make a sequel, a prequel, or some kind of overseas special edition, I'm sorry, they will have to come back to you and sign a supplementary agreement; third, no matter how the script is changed, you must retain the first authorship rights for the core story and character settings."

Lin Lanying asked the question that concerned her most: "Attorney Shen, how is the authorization fee calculated?"

"There are two common practices in the industry," Shen Yanwen said. "One is to receive a one-time licensing fee of several million yuan, with subsequent profits and losses unrelated to the original author; the other is to receive a guaranteed licensing fee, plus a share of the profits from subsequent television broadcasts."

Lin Ying didn't hesitate at all: "Choose the second option, a guaranteed licensing fee plus a share of the subsequent profits."

"That's what I suggested too. The box office performance of 'Qin Pass' has proven its absolute market value; it's a goose that lays golden eggs, and we should enjoy the benefits for a long time."

Lin Lanying was still a little worried: "If Ah Ying doesn't care about anything, what if the screenwriters they hired make up stories to drag out the number of episodes and ruin their reputation?"

Lin Ying pondered for a moment: "Attorney Shen, add a creative restriction clause; I will only review the overall story outline and the scripts for the first five episodes, and I will not review each episode thereafter; but the contract must clearly state: the core of the story must not be changed at all; once a breach of contract is discovered, I have the right to unilaterally terminate the authorization at any time."

Shen Yanwen wrote in the memo: "Understood."

Lin Ying picked up the pen from the table and turned to the last page of the authorization letter.

In the original author section, she signed her real name: Lin Ying.

Shen Yanwen put away the documents: "Tomorrow morning, I'll take the new contract to the New Territories to meet with Uncle Lin and the others; Ah Ying, you should rest well, you don't need to go."