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

He Dazhu was stunned for a moment: "My... my dad. My dad is the village carpenter. I started planing wood with him when I was seven years old."

Did your father teach you how to carve things?

"I did carve," He Dazhu said, looking up and recalling. "When I was little, I learned carving from my father, making patterns for headboards, table legs, and door lintels. My father was very skilled; he made all the dowry furniture for miles around. Later, I smuggled myself to Hong Kong. The workmanship here is different from back home. They're in a rush, so they don't need to carve so many elaborate designs. It's all rough work like piecing together boards and building cabinets..."

Lin Fu stared at his son-in-law's hands for a while. The hands were covered in calluses, and there were cracks between the thumb and forefinger, but the finger joints looked strong and flexible.

"A person who can carve wood will quickly learn to carve jade," Lin Fu suddenly blurted out.

He Dazhu didn't react immediately: "Dad, what did you say?"

"What I'm saying is, you shouldn't go to construction sites to do carpentry anymore."

He Dazhu was puzzled. If they didn't work, what would the family eat? His sister still had to pay such expensive tuition fees for a prestigious school!

"Let me finish what I have to say." Lin Fu tapped the table with his finger.

Lin Fu opened the teapot lid, poured himself a cup of tea, and then continued speaking.

"You've met Uncle Lin, the village chief. He has an old friend surnamed Su who runs a jade shop in Yau Ma Tei. Master Su learned jade carving in his early years and is very skilled. Now that he's getting older, he wants to take on a steady and hardworking apprentice. Last week, I took two bottles of wine to Uncle Lin and asked him to make the connection. I told him about your situation, and Master Su has already given his consent."

He Dazhu was completely stunned. Was his father-in-law really that amazing?

"I checked the almanac and the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. Early the day after tomorrow, take two packs of good cigarettes, two bottles of good wine, and a large red envelope. I'll personally take you to Yau Ma Tei to become an apprentice." Lin Fu continued, "You used to carve wood, so you have the foundation and the feel for it. Switching to jade carving, you won't earn much as an apprentice at first, but after a few years of apprenticeship, you'll earn more with these hands than you could in a lifetime of making wooden cabinets!"

He Dazhu sat there, brimming with excitement. Jade carving! That wasn't the rough work of hammering nails on a construction site while wearing a hard hat. In Hong Kong, a skilled jade carver could easily earn more than half a year's income as a carpenter from a single high-end custom order. How could he not understand the lucrative potential of such a job?

But he never dared to dream of it before! With no connections or influence, he was an undocumented immigrant from G province who only obtained legal status through marriage. Where would he find a jade carving master?

Ironically, his father-in-law, who usually had a cold face and never gave him a kind look, quietly paved the way for his meteoric rise to power!

"Father!" He Dazhu bent his knees, as if to kneel down.

"Stand still!" Lin Fu reached out and pressed down on his shoulder, preventing him from kneeling. "You're my son-in-law. Once you're in the Lin family, you're no longer an outsider! A man's knees are worth gold, why are you kneeling! Sit down and talk!"

He Dazhu sat back down on the stool.

"Thank you, Father..." He Dazhu said in a deep voice, "Thank you, Father... I, He Dazhu, have been a member of your Lin family for over ten years, and you have always been like this to me..."

He couldn't continue speaking; tears streamed down his face.

Lin Fu picked up his teacup and turned to another matter, "There's one more thing."

He Dazhu quickly raised his hand and vigorously wiped his face with the back of his hand.

"How many years have you been away from G Province?" Lin Fu asked.

"Ten...thirteen years." He Dazhu's voice still had a heavy nasal tone.

"It's been thirteen years since I've been back." Lin Fu put his teacup on the table. "Are your parents still alive?"

He Dazhu lowered his head again. This topic was like a knife, precisely stabbing into his deepest, most painful heart.

"Yes, last time I asked someone to bring a letter back, my parents were still in good health. My mother had someone write in the letter that she was saying her eyesight was failing and she wanted to see what her grandchildren looked like before she passed away..." He choked up completely as he said this.

Lin Fu sighed.

"The situation on the mainland has changed now. You've heard about the policies. The threshold for compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan to return to their hometowns to visit relatives is becoming more and more relaxed and open. In the past, you came out illegally, and your identity was sensitive, so you didn't dare to go back, fearing that you would get into trouble and be arrested as soon as you crossed the border. But it's different now."

He Dazhu raised his head, his eyes full of hope. "Father has a way!"

"But think about it carefully. In your current state, can you really go back?" Lin Fu tapped the table. "Go back empty-handed? Thirteen years have passed. You jumped into the sea in the dead of night to smuggle yourself out. How will you face your parents? How will you face your uncles and brothers? What will you say when they ask you what great fortune you made in Hong Kong, what successful things you did? That you were hammering nails on construction sites?"

He Dazhu was rendered speechless by these probing questions.

Yes, I didn't earn much money, and when I went back, people would laugh at me, and I would lose face for my parents.

"So you have to walk this path I've arranged for you steadily and diligently!" Lin Fu stood up and looked at him. "Go to Yau Ma Tei and learn the craft properly from Master Su! Whether it's next year or the year after, once you've saved up a decent amount of money, when you return to your hometown, you can hold your head high and say, 'I'm a high-end jade carver in Hong Kong,' and your parents will be proud!"

Lin Fu made his final promise: "When that time comes, I will personally approve your trip back to G Province to visit your relatives, bringing Lan Ying, A-Mei, and Lin Qian with you! We'll buy you the best tonics, give you the biggest red envelopes, and you'll go back in style! Let your parents see their daughter-in-law and hold their grandchildren! It's been thirteen years; it's time for you to go back!"

A series of combined threats and inducements, aimed directly at the weak points, were delivered.

He Dazhu couldn't hold back any longer. He bowed deeply to Lin Fu and remained standing for a long time.

"Father... my life, He Dazhu's life, was given to me by your Lin family. From the day I smuggled myself here, I only had one pair of soaking wet underwear on me. It was the Lin family who took me in, didn't despise me, gave me food, gave me a wife, and gave me children. Now, you not only support my daughter to attend a prestigious school, but also arrange a future for me, and you're even going to help me go back to see my parents..."

He straightened up, took a deep sniff, and patted his chest forcefully with his calloused hands.

"Don't worry, Dad! I'll go to the city first thing tomorrow morning to buy the best cigarette and alcohol red envelopes! As for Master Su, I'll definitely work my ass off to learn from him! Even if I have to start as an apprentice, serving tea and water and grinding stones, I, He Dazhu, won't complain a single word!"

Lin Fu nodded in satisfaction and didn't say anything more.

It's best to know when to stop when it comes to the patriarch's methods and heart; he bent down, picked up the purple clay teapot, and slowly walked towards the kitchen.

As he passed the corner, Lin Fu paused for a moment.

Lin Ying kept her head down as she wrote. On her exercise book, she wrote a line of traditional Chinese characters in a crooked and messy manner: 携, 归, 联, 继, 围.

However, the handwriting was noticeably more illegible than it had been a few days ago, and the person writing it was distracted by the noise coming from this side.

Lin Fu didn't say anything, picked up the pot, lifted the curtain, and went out.

He Dazhu sat back down on the stool and looked at his daughter who was quietly writing in the corner.

"Sister."

"Mmm." Lin Ying looked up.

He Dazhu wanted to say something, such as "Old Dou will be able to earn a lot of money to support your studies in the future," but in the end he didn't say anything.

He simply walked over and reached out his rough, large hand to gently pat his daughter's head.

Outside the courtyard gate, Lin Qian chased after a firefly and ran back, clinging to the doorframe as he excitedly shouted into the main room, "Sister! Sister! I caught a glowing bug! Come and see!"

Lin Yue's voice followed closely from the courtyard: "I saw it first! Lin Qian, you stole my bug!"