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

On the night the villa was finalized, Lin Ying returned to Taikoo City and called Shen Yanwen.

"Attorney Shen, I bought a villa in Kadoorie Hill, Kowloon Tong for 38 million. Could you please follow up on the subsequent procedures?"

On the other end of the phone, Shen Yanwen was very surprised: "Thirty-eight million? Kadoorie Hill? Ah Ying, you've really pulled off this!"

"If you've found a house you like, there's no need to delay. I'll have the property manager send you a copy of the contract tomorrow so you can review it for me. If there are any problems, just contact the other party's lawyer directly."

"Understood. How long will the transfer take?"

"Butler Liang said it would take at least a month."

"Okay, I'll follow up and handle it."

The next morning, Lin Ying went to the bank and made two transfers: HK$500,000 to Benjamin's private account and HK$200,000 to Claire's account.

After carefully keeping the remittance slip, Lin Ying went to Central.

In Su Zhiming's office in the Central office building, he was signing documents when Lin Ying arrived; seeing Lin Ying knock on the door and come in, Su Zhiming looked over from behind the desk.

"Hey, the busy man's back!" Su Zhiming stood up with a smile. "Graduated this year?"

"I'm graduating and I'm not going to study anymore!" Lin Ying sat down on the sofa.

Su Zhiming poured her a cup of tea: "Benjamin told me that the villa in Kadoorie Hill has been reserved?"

"It's settled, thirty-eight million. Attorney Shen is handling the paperwork."

"Did you give her the red envelope?" Su Zhiming asked, sitting down opposite her with a teacup in hand.

Lin Ying nodded: "I plan to give Benjamin 500,000 and Claire 200,000."

After listening, Su Zhiming praised, "That's right; Aying, I know you've been studying and doing research these past few years and haven't had much contact with society; there are some things I need to tell you."

"Uncle, please speak."

"In the future, if you need someone's help with something, whether the matter is resolved or not, you should at least treat them to a meal; if the matter is resolved, you should also give them a red envelope (containing money), the amount of which depends on the size of the matter."

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "So, is this a big deal or a small deal?"

Su Zhiming laughed: "A villa worth thirty-eight million, you could only buy it through family connections. Do you think that's a big deal or a small deal? Five hundred thousand is just right for Benjamin."

"What if you ask someone for help one day, but things don't go as planned?" Lin Ying pressed.

"You should treat them to a meal to express your gratitude. They went to the trouble of asking questions and spending time and energy for you. Even if the result wasn't ideal, you should still show your appreciation. That way, they'll be more willing to help you next time."

Lin Ying kept these words in mind.

"You spent too much time in England and Beijing before, so this is definitely a blank area for you," Su Zhiming said with the concern of an elder. "You'll learn slowly in the future; interpersonal relationships are a complex subject."

"Understood, Uncle."

Three days later, on Saturday noon, Lin Ying booked a private room at the Peninsula Hotel and treated Benjamin and Claire to lunch.

When Benjamin arrived, he was wearing a light blue polo shirt and looked much more relaxed than he did in the office; Claire was still the same as always, her shirt tucked into her skirt, a true career woman.

At the dinner table, the three chatted casually.

After ordering, Lin Ying brought up the villa: "The house can be transferred next week; Attorney Shen is already processing the paperwork. But I wanted to ask if you have any recommendations for interior design?"

Benjamin: "How are you planning to renovate? Big changes or small modifications?"

"A major overhaul," Lin Ying said frankly. "That house was built in the 1960s or 70s. Although it had been renovated once before by a previous owner, I wanted to do it right the first time so that I could live comfortably in the future, so it had to be completely demolished and rebuilt."

Claire thought for a moment: "What's the budget?"

"Five million Hong Kong dollars, I don't want to move in and find that there are leaks and power outages."

Benjamin and Claire exchanged a glance, then Benjamin smiled and said, "Just contact the Kadoorie family's property management directly."

"They do renovations?"

"They don't do it themselves; they have a long-term cooperative renovation team," Benjamin explained. "In the Kadoorie Hill area, homeowners generally go through the property management's recommendations for renovations; those contractors work in this area year-round and are very familiar with the structure of the houses and the routing of pipes, making them more reliable than if you find someone outside yourself."

Claire added, "You submit your budget to the property management, and they will help you select a suitable team and monitor the construction schedule and quality. The property management in this area has always been very strict; they won't let anyone do anything haphazardly."

Lin Ying picked up her teacup and took a sip: "Okay, then I'll contact Butler Liang later."

After saying that, she put down her cup and said half-jokingly, "I thought social etiquette was a specialty of Hong Kong people, but it turns out you all know about it too."

Benjamin shook his head, amused by her words: "Lynn, that's a stereotype; people who want to succeed need to know how to navigate social situations everywhere; do you think I've been in Hong Kong for so many years purely because of my business acumen? If I didn't know how to get along with people, all my clients would have left long ago."

Claire rested her chin on her hand and looked at Lin Ying: "Besides, after you move to Kadoorie Hill, the neighbors and circles you come into contact with will be different; the people living there are all rich and powerful, many of them old money families who haven't moved in for decades; if a girl in her twenties moves in, people will definitely be curious about your background."

Lin Ying didn't care much: "So what if I'm curious? I'm not planning to visit my neighbors every day."

"Even if you don't visit other people's homes, they will come to you," Benjamin reminded him. "After you move in, the property management will arrange a neighborhood introduction, which is a tradition in Kadoorie Hill. Just prepare a few decent gift boxes for them. They don't need to be particularly expensive, but don't make them too stingy."

Lin Ying nodded: "I'll remember that."

The dishes were served one after another. The Cantonese food at Peninsula Restaurant was authentic, and the three of them ate and chatted.

Halfway through the meal, Claire looked at Lin Ying and said, "Lynn, I've been wanting to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"What are your plans after graduation? You can't just stay idle forever, can you?"

Lin Ying put down her chopsticks: "My short-term plan is to get my driver's license first. I've already booked a private instructor to start learning to drive next week."

"and then?"

"Then I want to spend some time understanding the current market situation in Hong Kong; I spent three years in Beijing and three years in the UK. Although I paid attention to the stock market and financial market during that time, I don't really know much about the physical retail sector. I need to investigate thoroughly before deciding which direction to take."

After listening, Claire leaned back in her chair with a helpless expression: "Lynn, why bother with all this trouble? It's all about making money, why don't you just start trading stocks? With your brains and analytical skills, you could definitely make a fortune in the financial markets."

Lin Ying smiled and shook her head.

Claire sighed, "You have the same problem as my father, always feeling that money earned in the financial markets is not secure and doesn't belong to you."

Benjamin sat nearby, smiling and drinking his tea, not participating in the conversation.

"It's not that I feel uneasy," Lin Ying explained. "It's that I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket; the investments you're managing for me are already performing well and the returns are good; but I can't rely on finance for my entire life."

"Why not? I've made my living in finance my whole life," Claire retorted.

"Because you like it; you enjoy the thrill of playing the market, and you feel excited watching the numbers fluctuate every day; but I'm not like that. I have the ability to judge the market, but that doesn't mean I like to immerse myself in it."

Claire was speechless at her words. After thinking for a moment, she nodded and said, "You seem to understand me quite well."

Benjamin finally interjected, "Claire, stop trying to persuade her. Lynn always thinks things through before she acts. Her assets are almost a hundred million dollars. Can an ordinary person earn that much money?"

Lin Ying raised her teacup to Benjamin: "Let's not talk about money, you're my soulmate."

Claire rolled her eyes: "Fine, whatever. You're not getting away with my commission anyway."

"Don't worry, you'll get your share."

After the meal, the three said goodbye at the entrance of the Peninsula Hotel, and Benjamin drove away with Claire.

Lin Ying stood at the door for a while, then went to the phone booth next door, took out her contacts, and flipped to Mr. Yao's page.

"Hello? Mr. Yao, this is Lin Ying. I asked you to help me look at apartments in Victoria Peak before. Although I didn't buy that one, you still took the time. Would it be convenient for you to have lunch with me tomorrow?"

Mr. Yao on the other end of the phone was visibly taken aback: "Ms. Lin, I'm embarrassed to accept that unit since it didn't sell..."

"It's not about taking money, it's just about having a meal. You pick a place, it's on me."

Mr. Yao paused for two seconds, then his voice warmed up: "Alright, Miss Lin, you're too kind."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying put her phone back in her bag.

Uncle Su is right. If you do your job well, things will be easier in the future. She used to only know how to study and do research, but now that she's back, she has to learn how to deal with society.

I took a taxi back to Taikoo Shing. When I got home, Lin Lanying was studying interior design magazines in the living room.

"Mommy, stop looking." Lin Ying threw her bag on the sofa. "Just ask the property management at Kadoorie for recommendations on the renovation. They have a dedicated team they work with."

Lin Lanying looked up: "Really? Then why am I even buying these magazines?"

"We can keep it for style reference; anyway, we'll leave the actual construction to the professionals, and we just need to make our requests."

Lin Lanying closed the magazine: "So when do you plan to move?"

"The renovation will take at least three or four months; it would be good if we could move in before the Chinese New Year."