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

As the taxi drove towards the airport, Claire sat next to him flipping through documents, several contracts spread out on her lap, not letting go of work even while riding in the car;

Lin Ying complained, "Is your trip to Hong Kong a business trip, or are you just moving your office onto the plane?"

Claire: "Financial professionals don't have holidays; they just get hunted down by numbers in a different place."

"That sounds even worse than the Cambridge cafeteria."

The two complained all the way to the airport. Checking in, going through security, and waiting, Claire kept her eyes glued to the documents in her hands. Lin Ying, on the other hand, wasn't as tense; she'd finished her exam and left, feeling much more relaxed.

When the plane landed in Hong Kong, it was already evening.

As soon as Claire exited the gate, her people were already waiting outside, and two employees in suits came forward to take her luggage.

"Lynn, I need to go to Central right away." Claire glanced at her watch. "I have a meeting tonight."

Lin Ying, dragging her suitcase, asked, "You've just been flying for over ten hours, don't you need to sleep?"

Claire shook her head: "Sleeping is something only rich and idle people can afford to do."

"Then I deserve it. I want to go home and sleep."

Claire chuckled at her words: "Go back and get some rest. I'll have someone keep an eye on your American tickets; don't forget about the account as soon as you get home."

"Don't worry, I've lost £100,000 before, and I remember it vividly."

Claire's car drove away quickly, and Lin Ying queued up for a taxi herself, giving the address of the 19th floor of Taikoo Shing.

As the taxi drove out of the airport, the familiar street scene appeared before her eyes again; the air in Hong Kong was sultry, there were many cars and people on the road, and even the traffic lights seemed noisy. Looking at all this, Lin Ying felt at ease.

Home is still the best.

No matter how top-notch the food is in Britain, the fact that it's not good enough can ruin many great ideals.

When they arrived at Taikoo Shing, the property management helped Lin Ying put her suitcase in the elevator. When the elevator doors opened on the nineteenth floor, her own door was half-closed, and the sound of chopping vegetables came from the kitchen.

"Mommy, I'm home."

Hearing the noise, Lin Lanying ran out of the house: "Didn't you say you'd arrive tomorrow? Why did you secretly change the time again!"

"I want to go home as soon as possible." Lin Ying pushed the suitcase through the door. "The school started summer vacation early, and school won't start until October 1st."

"October 1st? It's been sitting there for so long?"

Lin Ying changed her shoes and came into the house: "Well, things are a bit chaotic at school. The professor told me to leave after the exam; since the holiday is long, I'll come back and stay for a few months."

Upon hearing the word "chaos," Lin Lanying asked, "Has someone bullied you? Are you injured? Has a lawyer been there? Has the professor intervened?"

"No," Lin Ying quickly stopped her from continuing to imagine, "I ran very fast, I didn't encounter anything."

After entering the house, Lin Ying looked around the living room. Old Dou wasn't there, nor were Lin Qian and Lin Yue.

"Mommy, where's Daddy? Is the shop still open?"

Lin Lanying sighed: "Your father has gone back to his hometown."

"Going back to your hometown?"

"His parents are gone." Lin Lanying took off her apron. "A few days ago, someone sent a message saying that the two old people had passed away one after the other. Your father bought a ticket and went back the next day."

Lin Ying calculated the time: it had been almost seven years since she last went back.

Old Dou once said that this was the last time he would come back in this life; but when people are alive, many words spoken are sincere, but when faced with life and death, it is a different story.

"Won't it be dangerous for him to go back alone?" Lin Ying asked.

Those people over there were willing to hold their granddaughter hostage back then, and even offered to take their nephew to Hong Kong... She was worried about He Dazhu going back alone.

"It wasn't just one person; your grandfather and uncle went with him. Your grandfather said that He Dazhu is a soft-hearted man, so it's okay for him to go back and attend to his funeral, but he can't let people force him to cut off his flesh."

Lin Ying relaxed a little: "Luckily, Grandpa is here."

"Your uncle went too. He said if anyone dares to bully his brother-in-law, he'll let them know that even barbers in Mong Kok can fight! They called yesterday," Lin Lanying said. "They said they've finished their business and will be back in three days; your younger brother has final exams, so we didn't let him go."

Lin Ying agreed with this statement: "Aside from getting nauseous from the bumpy dirt roads, Ah Qian can't really do anything else."

When Lin Qian came home from school that evening, he saw Lin Ying sitting in the living room. He rushed over without even putting down his schoolbag, exclaiming, "Big sister! Why are you back!"

Lin Ying reached out to stop him: "Stop, you're over 1.7 meters tall now. If you pounce on me, it's not out of affection, it's murder."

Lin Qian stood to the side, looking aggrieved: "I was just trying to welcome you."

Lin Yue entered from the back, overjoyed: "Big sister, you're on vacation?"

"Put it on October 1st."

Lin Qian: "Then can you help me review?"

"You actually brought up reviewing?"

"I'm just being polite."

"No need for politeness." Lin Ying stood up and took out a thick workbook from her suitcase. "A British specialty, math problems."

Lin Qian immediately backed away: "Big sister, what you brought back from so far away isn't a gift, it's a torture device?"

Lin Yue looked at him speechlessly: "Why did you have to be so nosy?"

Lin Qian clutched his chest: "I hate this family."

Three days later, He Dazhu, Lin Fu, and Lin Yaoying returned.

They arrived home in the afternoon, all three of them noticeably tanned. He Dazhu was much quieter, carrying an old cloth bag containing several items he had brought back from his hometown.

Lin Lanying first looked He Dazhu up and down: "Are you injured? Were you swindled out of money? Were you being held captive and prevented from leaving?"

He Dazhu, who had been keeping a stern face, was rendered speechless by her three consecutive questions: "No, no, nothing at all; I brought Father and Yaoying back with me this time, they wouldn't dare to do anything reckless."

Lin Yaoying chimed in from behind: "They all go out of their way to avoid me; as soon as I asked, 'Who wants money?' they said no, no, they're all relatives."

Lin Fu sat down on the sofa: "The person is gone and the funeral has been held; the debt is settled with the dead, so let's just have less contact in the future."

Lin Ying poured tea for her grandfather, then looked at He Dazhu and asked, "Old Dou, are you alright?"

"It's neither good nor bad; after all, they are the ones who gave me life, so it still hurts to see them." He opened the cloth bag, inside which were two old wooden plaques and a small bag of yellow soil: "These are things they left behind, nothing of value; I brought them back to keep for a while, and I'll burn incense for them during Qingming Festival later."

Lin Lanying didn't say anything harsh, she just handed him tea: "It's good that you're back. Let's not talk about the past."

He Dazhu nodded.

Seeing that her father was in a bad mood, Lin Ying said, "Don't eat at home tonight. I'll go downstairs to the hotel and book a private room. Let's invite Grandma and Auntie over for a meal to welcome you all."

Lin Yaoying immediately raised her hand: "I agree! I've been eating so much over there these past few days that my mouth has lost its flavor; the food at my brother-in-law's house is so salty that I suspect the cook has a grudge against salt."

He Dazhu looked at him: "Didn't you eat three bowls of rice back then?"

"I was hungry!" Lin Yaoying said matter-of-factly. "When people are hungry, they'll even feel like they can gnaw on wood."

Lin Fu glared at him: "Say less, nobody's going to think you're mute."

Lin Ying smiled and went to call to reserve a private room; the hotel was downstairs, the dishes were familiar to her family, and most importantly, Lin Lanying wouldn't have to run around.

In the evening, Li Yuzhen and Deng Hui also arrived; the private room was full of people, and dishes such as poached chicken, roast goose, steamed fish, shrimp balls, and soup were served one after another.

Just as Lin Qian picked up a piece of roast goose, Lin Ying poured a bowl of soup for He Dazhu: "Old Dou, have some soup first."

He Dazhu looked at his daughter and said, "Sister, Old Dou is alright."

"I know," Lin Ying said, "but you definitely haven't been eating well these past few days."

Lin Yaoying nodded in agreement: "Not only did we not eat well, we also didn't sleep well! There were an absurd number of mosquitoes in that room. I suspect the mosquitoes held a meeting to specifically target people returning from Hong Kong."

Deng Hui slapped him: "Even eating can't shut you up."

Lin Yaoying picked up a shrimp: "It can be blocked, use a shrimp to block it."

The group of people at the table finally broke into laughter.

After finishing the soup, He Dazhu gradually recovered. He talked about his hometown, avoiding the unpleasant topics, and only mentioned that the funeral had gone relatively smoothly.

Grandpa also said, "Next time they call, we'll ask them what's going on first, and we won't call unless it's something important."

He Dazhu nodded: "I know; I feel relieved to go back this time."

Lin Lanying served him some food: "It's alright; home is here, and the children are here; don't trap yourself in the past anymore."

Looking at the table full of people, He Dazhu sighed, "I know, I swam here all those years ago, enduring so much hardship, wasn't it all for this meal?"

Lin Qian quickly chimed in, "Old Dou, then you should eat more. This meal is quite expensive."