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

After dinner, Lin Ying didn't go back to her room immediately. She said to her mother, who was wiping the table, "Mommy, come into the room and say a few words."

Lin Lanying knew her daughter well; she wouldn't act like this unless something was wrong. She quickly put down the rag, washed her hands, and followed her daughter into the study, closing the door behind her.

"What's wrong, sister?" Lin Lanying asked anxiously. "Does Cambridge need us to submit some additional documents? Or is there a problem with the tuition fees?"

"No." Lin Ying opened the safe on the left side of the desk.

Lin Ying took out the account books and receipts, and also found the property rental records and profit-sharing confirmation letters from various film companies;

"Mommy, let's go to the bank tomorrow to exchange some currency."

Lin Lanying then remembered that her daughter was going to study in England, so she would naturally be using pounds.

"Okay, Mommy will go with you first thing tomorrow morning." Lin Lanying pulled up a chair and sat down. "But how much do you want to exchange? All the money you've earned over the years is scattered across different folded paper money."

"Calculate everything." Lin Ying took the calculator and a pen.

The mother and daughter sat under the lamp and began to sort out the accounts one by one; they deducted rental properties and long-term assets, and added the cash in their pockets to the final payments for "Gold Rush Age" and "Qin Pass" that had been settled recently.

"Click." Lin Ying pressed the equals key on the calculator.

The number on the screen froze: 150 million.

HK$150 million in cash; not counting real estate, this is the readily available cash that Lin Ying can access at any time.

"Mommy," Lin Ying pushed the ledger to the middle, "I want to break this money in half."

"Leave ten million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong, put it in your account; you and Lao Dou can continue to use it for some safe investments. Household expenses, annual house maintenance, and social obligations to your grandparents will all come from this ten million."

Lin Lanying nodded and noted it down. Ten million was enough for the family to live comfortably for several lifetimes.

"I'm going to exchange the remaining 140 million into pounds sterling tomorrow."

Lin Lanying was startled: "All of it? You're taking that much money to England? If it's just for studying, you wouldn't need that much!"

"It's not just about studying, Mommy, I've told you before; I went to Cambridge early not only because of the academic circle, but also because of the financial market behind London."

Lin Lanying doesn't understand financial capital, but she understands her daughter.

"Okay." Lin Lanying nodded decisively. "We'll leave at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. We'll go to Central and find the biggest bank to open the shop."

The next morning, at exactly eight o'clock, the mother and daughter took a taxi straight to the headquarters of the Central Bank.

White-collar workers in suits hurried to and fro in the bank lobby; Lin Lanying found her financial manager.

Large-amount currency exchange procedures are cumbersome; four salespersons run around a long table, verifying proof of the source of funds and tax records, then proceeding with anti-money laundering procedures and confirming the exchange rate.

After drinking two cups of tea, the head manager of the customer service department walked in with a smile on his face, holding the completed forms.

"Ms. Lin, Mrs. Lin, all your information has been verified and is correct. The exchange can be processed at any time. Based on today's real-time exchange rate, plus our bank's substantial exchange fee, the rate is three percent."

Upon hearing this, Lin Lanying exclaimed, "Three percent?! A 140 million dollar plate, and you want to charge a three percent commission? You're just going to deduct four million two hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars like that? Why don't you just rob us!"

The manager maintained his smile: "Mrs. Lin, you've misunderstood. Cross-border foreign exchange transfers naturally involve many procedures. Three percent is the standard rate set by our head office, and it's already the lowest price we've offered considering the large amount of funds involved."

Lin Lanying was about to get angry again, but Lin Ying held her mother's arm down and picked up the landline phone on the VIP room table.

"Please connect to an outside line."

The number was dialed and answered.

"Uncle."

On the other end of the phone was Su Zhiming: "Ah Ying? You're calling me so early?"

"I was at HSBC headquarters in Central, in VIP room number 2 on the second floor; they wanted to charge me a 3% commission for exchanging HK$140 million for pounds."

Su Zhiming on the other end of the phone: "Three percent? Do you think you're some kind of novice trying to rip me off? You sit there and drink tea for five minutes."

Less than four minutes after Lin Ying hung up the phone, a portly executive pushed open the door and walked up to Lin Ying with a big smile.

"Ms. Lin! I'm so sorry, Mr. Su called my office personally just now; we'll have to go through the internal family-based channel again for your business!"

After saying that, he took out a new document: "The handling fee will be 2%! This is our absolute bottom line for approval. Is that acceptable?"

Lin Lanying's complexion improved.

Lin Ying nodded and picked up her pen: "Let's do it this way."

A one percent discount amounts to HK$1.4 million; in this world, connections are sometimes more useful than money.

HK$140 million, minus a 2% handling fee; at the exchange rate at the time, the amount that ended up in Lin Ying's overseas account was £9.8 million.

After signing the document and putting the receipt into the file bag, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

As Lin Lanying walked out of the bank, she let out a long sigh of relief, feeling that it was more tiring than operating a sewing machine all day.

"Mommy, let's not eat at home," Lin Ying suggested. "Let's call Daddy and have the younger brothers come out, and we'll go to a tea restaurant for dinner."

Why do I suddenly want to eat at a Hong Kong-style cafe?

Lin Ying directly complained: "During my job interviews in the UK, I ate their terrible food every day, and I almost threw up. Fish and chips, cold sandwiches... Today I want to eat our local snacks."

Lin Lanying laughed and said, "Okay, Mommy will make the call now."

The family gathered at a long-established tea restaurant near Taikoo Shing.

Various Hong Kong snacks were laid out on the table, along with two large cups of iced milk tea. Lin Qian and Lin Yue were fighting over the beef noodles on the plate, while He Dazhu watched with a smile and poured Lin Lanying a glass of water.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the family opened the door to their home.

I had just put on my slippers when the phone in the living room rang.

Lin Lanying walked over and answered, "Feeding? Oh, Third Uncle!"

"Lan Ying! Is A Ying in the house?"

"Yes, I just finished taking care of some things today."

"We held a meeting in Lin Family Village, and the whole village unanimously decided to hold a banquet for Ah Ying at the threshing ground the day after tomorrow! Cambridge University! This is like our ancestral graves emitting auspicious smoke for the entire New Territories! Forty tables have already been booked, and six roast pigs have been ordered. Your whole family must come back early the day after tomorrow!"

Lin Lanying looked at Lin Ying, who covered the microphone, and asked, "Your third uncle said the whole village is holding a celebration for your graduation the day after tomorrow. Are you going back?"

Lin Ying nodded: "Go back." The money the whole village invested in the movie has just multiplied several times, and we must accept this kindness from our clan.

The next morning, Lin Ying changed her clothes, thinking she was going back to the New Territories to help out.

However, Lin Lanying came out with a red envelope, counted out two thousand Hong Kong dollars from the safe, and stuffed it into the red envelope.

"Mommy, aren't we going back to the New Territories today?"

Lin Lanying put the red envelope into her handbag: "No rush, the day after tomorrow is the actual day; this morning, come with me to Yau Ma Tei first! Let's go see Granny Wu."

Lin Ying recalled Granny Wu… When Xu Yue was nine years old, it was Granny Wu who summoned his soul and brought him back to consciousness. Last time, Granny Wu said that Xu Yue's soul had returned to its rightful place, and that his life had been smooth sailing ever since; this was now proving her words true.

"Yes, I'm going." Lin Ying picked up her shoulder bag. "I'm going to change my shoes."

He Dazhu muttered from the side, "Isn't two thousand yuan too little? Ah Ying is earning so much money now, the old lady must know that too."

"What do you know!" Lin Lanying glared at him. "The sorceress doesn't concern herself with worldly matters. A thick wallet would be a waste; this is a token of her goodwill, not a business transaction."

The old tenement buildings in Yau Ma Tei are still cramped.

Upon reaching the third floor, the two stopped in front of the familiar door, and Lin Lanying gently knocked on it.

"Come in," a voice came from inside.

Pushing open the door, I saw Granny Wu sitting in an old rattan chair, looking even older than the last time I saw her.

This was Lin Ying's second time meeting Granny Wu.

Lin Lanying placed the two thousand yuan red envelope on the table with both hands: "Master, Aying has received an offer from Cambridge and will be flying to England in September; we brought her here today specifically to let you see if things are going smoothly for her there."

Granny Wu did not look at the red envelope on the table.

His gaze shifted to Lin Ying's face, and he stared at her for three or four minutes.

Suddenly, Granny Wu spoke up: "Lin Ying, this is the last time we'll see each other."

Lin Lanying's face turned pale: "Master, what do you mean by that? Don't scare me."

Lin Ying remained expressionless: "What is it, Granny?"

"Everyone has their limit, and every lamp has its end." The sorceress slowly closed her eyes. "When you come to find me again, I will be gone, so today is the last time."

"Master, you can predict the future, but can't you break the spell?" Lin Lanying felt it was a pity that such a capable person was wasted.

"Why break it?" Granny Wu smiled. "I've done what I was supposed to do. Heaven calls me to hand over my watch, so I have to go."

After a moment of silence, Lin Lanying steered the conversation back to her daughter: "Grandma, since this is the last time we'll see each other, could you please do me the favor of checking on Aying... to see if her studies in England go smoothly?"

Granny Wu stood up, her back hunched, and walked to the shrine. She washed her hands, lit three incense sticks again, and placed them in the incense burner. Then she took out the old tortoise shell from under the shrine. Three mottled copper coins were thrown into the shell.

"bite"

Granny Wu shook the tortoise shell, and three copper coins fell onto the table, spinning around before stopping.

Granny Wu glanced at it, said nothing, put the copper coin away, and shook it again.

The second hexagram.

The third hexagram.

The fourth hexagram.

It was shaken five times.

Lin Lanying's palms were sweaty. She knew that in the past, when Granny Wu told fortunes, she could determine the outcome with just three divinations; today, she had cast five divinations in a row, so there must be a problem!

After the five hexagrams were settled, Granny Wu put down the tortoise shell and looked at Lin Ying: "Not going well."

Lin Lanying said anxiously, "How could it not go smoothly? Aying's grades are so good, she was recommended by the professor!"

"Good grades don't guarantee a smooth life." Pointing to the divination result, Granny Wu said, "You'll encounter petty people on this journey westward."

Lin Ying recalled Matthew's words: arrogance, exclusion, class, and testing.

Lin Ying nodded: "I can handle the people. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, and it's not just petty people."

Granny Wu slowed her speech. "Your trip will put you in danger twice, and there's no way to avoid it."

Lin Lanying grabbed Lin Ying's arm: "Life-threatening?! We're not going! Ying, we're not going! We can still go to university in Hong Kong, HKU or CUHK, you can choose! We're not going to throw our lives away!"

"Calm down, Mommy."

Lin Ying continued, "Master, is there a solution?"

Looking at the girl in front of her, Granny Wu said, "I told you, there's no way to avoid it."

"However, you managed to avoid the first danger; otherwise, you wouldn't have made it to the second."

Lin Lanying breathed a slight sigh of relief: "What about the second time? Master, when will the second death be? Who will it be caused by? How can we avoid it? Please show us the way! We'll pay whatever it takes!"

Granny Wu shook her head: "I can't see the second death calamity."