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

In early September, Lin Ying took her father and mother back to the New Territories.

Although she said she would stay for a week, Lin Ying actually had something to discuss. The villa was undergoing renovations, and she couldn't stay in Taikoo City any longer, so she took advantage of this break to go back to her village for a few days of rest.

As the car turned into the village, several elderly people were chatting and fanning themselves under the old banyan tree. When they saw Lin Ying and her family get out of the car, they greeted them. Lin Fu was already standing at the door, holding a handful of peanuts and popping them into his mouth one by one.

"Grandpa!" Lin Ying called out.

"You're back? Have you lost weight?"

"I haven't lost weight. You said I looked thinner last time, but when I weighed myself, I had gained two pounds."

Lin Fu scoffed, "You're kidding me."

He Dazhu carried his suitcase inside, with Lin Lanying following behind. As soon as they entered, she complained about the heat and said she needed to take a shower first.

The first day passed by like this: eating, chatting, and watching the chickens that Grandma raised lay eggs. Early the next morning, Lin Ying sat at her desk on the third floor for half an hour, sorting out what she wanted to say before going downstairs.

"Grandpa, there are some things I want to tell you and Uncle."

Lin Fu put down his teacup and looked at her: "What is it?"

"The kind of talk that takes place behind closed doors."

Lin Fu didn't ask any questions and picked up the phone to dial. Half an hour later, Uncle Lin came over with a cane and a bag of pomelos in his hand.

"What's wrong? Why did you call me over so early in the morning?" Uncle Lin said as he entered the room and placed the pomelo on the dining table.

Lin Ying led the two elderly people to sit down in the small bedroom on the second floor, closed the bedroom door, and shut the windows tightly.

"Grandpa, Uncle, there are some things I haven't told my family about the two years I spent in Beijing."

"I did a research project during my graduate studies." Lin Ying was very careful with her words. "There is a confidentiality agreement regarding the specific technical details, so I can't say too much. Simply put, what I researched can be mass-produced and make a lot of money."

Uncle Lin asked, "How old?"

"The entire project will require an investment of 300 million US dollars."

"I couldn't come up with that money, and I couldn't possibly handle such a large operation by myself. Later, they gave me a solution: I would keep the technology and the patents, and they would handle the mass production and operations. I would take 20% of the after-tax profits as dividends, and I would not be a legal representative or participate in management."

"You agreed?" Uncle Lin asked.

"I agreed."

"So, why are you saying this now? Is it because you regret it or something?" Uncle Lin asked.

"No regrets." Lin Ying shook her head. "I met a very good professor, surnamed Meng, who was over sixty years old and had been working in technology all his life. He told me a lot, about how his senior brother was cheated when he became a legal representative, about how having too much money makes people less free, and about how someone my age and experience simply couldn't handle such a large operation."

Uncle Lin listened without interrupting.

"He's right." Lin Ying looked at the two elders in front of her. "But Uncle, I really am not reconciled."

Uncle Lin sat down on the edge of the bed with his cane: "Ah Ying, I knew you wouldn't accept this."

"A three-hundred-million-dollar project. Your brain is worth that much, but you can't handle this project. That's a fact. It's normal for you to be dissatisfied. If I were in my twenties, I wouldn't be satisfied either."

Lin Fu chimed in from the side, "You may be dissatisfied, but you have to accept reality."

Uncle Lin nodded: "Your grandfather is right; Ah Ying, remember, when you're not yet in a position to control this situation, you can only accept it. It's unwise to force yourself to do it."

Lin Ying remained silent for a while before saying, "Uncle, I have indeed thought this through and accepted it; I would like to discuss something else with you."

"explain."

"I still want to start my own business in the future." Lin Ying looked at Uncle Lin. "I don't want to cooperate with them anymore, and I won't seek cooperation with any big capital."

Uncle Lin put down his teacup: "Not cooperating with them, not seeking investment? Then who are you going to look for?"

"I haven't decided on a direction yet. Collaborating with anyone would leave me at their mercy, so I might as well do it myself."

After thinking for a few minutes, Uncle Lin said, "It's hard to say what's good or bad when it comes to profits; there's no absolute good or bad. If you want to start your own business later, that's another matter."

Lin Ying looked at her great-uncle.

Uncle Lin continued, "What do you need to run a business? Money, you have that; technology, you have that in your head; but where are the people?"

"People are what I lack most," Lin Ying said honestly.

"It's not like our Lin family has no one else; Ah Ying, do you even know where our Lin family ancestors came from?"

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "In G Province?"

"Yes, there is an ancient village on the outskirts of the provincial capital of G Province, where our ancestral hall is located. Back then, when our great-grandfather's generation was divided, one branch stayed in the original place, while the other branch went south to settle in the New Territories; our branch is the one on this side of Hong Kong."

Lin Fu continued, "Our family over there has also started to develop in recent years; a few years ago, after we made money from filming TV shows, the village negotiated and sent 500,000 RMB back to help them rebuild their ancestral hall."

Lin Ying was hearing this for the first time: "Rebuilding the ancestral hall? When did that happen?"

"Last year," Uncle Lin said, "you were in Beijing then, so I didn't mention it to you; 500,000 RMB is no small amount there, and our family was very grateful. When they were repairing the ancestral hall, they engraved all the names of our Hong Kong branch on it."

"What's the situation over there now?"

"It's much better than before, but we're still poor." Uncle Lin sighed. "The young people all go out to work around the provincial capital, leaving mostly the elderly and children in the village. But I've heard that the industrial zone there is expanding in the last two years, and a few of my family's young men have started doing small businesses."

Lin Ying knew that even her own family members weren't entirely reliable, but compared to outsiders, the risks were indeed much lower.

Uncle Lin said, "Ah Ying, come back with me next February for the Lunar New Year."

"Go back to our ancestral home?"

"Yes; the ancestral hall is repaired, so we should go back and take a look; and if you really want to do business in G province in the future, you need to build up your network from within the clan first; although the younger generation in our clan are not as well-educated as you, they have been working hard for many years, and how many of them are actually capable?"

Lin Ying looked at Lin Fu: "Grandpa, are you coming along?"

Lin Fu nodded: "Go! Everyone go!"

Uncle Lin stood up and stretched: "It's settled then. You should take care of things in Hong Kong for the next few months, finish your driver's license test, and wrap up the villa renovations. Take a break before the new year; then head there for three to five days starting on the second day of the second lunar month next year."

Lin Ying agreed, "Okay."

Lin Fu said to Lin Ying, "Ying, you have money, brains, education, and connections now, you're just missing one thing."

"What?"

"Experience; in business, intelligence alone is not enough; you have to see, listen, and deal with different people; going back to the family home next year will be the beginning."

experience.

She really lacked this; in both her previous lives, she was confined to a hospital bed and never touched anything, while in this life she was immersed in books and laboratories; she had only ever seen the real business world, people's hearts, and interests on paper.

It's okay, she's only twenty-two, she has plenty of time.