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

February 12th, the second day of the Lunar New Year.

Lin Ying got up early and carried her suitcase to the door on the first floor; He Dazhu wasn't going today, he went back to the old house in the New Territories with Lin Lanying and Lin Qian to visit relatives with his grandmother;

Four people went to Guangzhou: Lin Ying, Lin Fu, Uncle Lin, and Lin Jianying.

At 7:30, Lin Jianying drove a Toyota Crown to Kadoorie Hill to pick up people; Lin Ying helped Lin Fu into the back seat, and then went around to sit on the other side; Uncle Lin sat in the passenger seat.

The car traveled north from Kowloon Tong, crossed the Lok Ma Chau border crossing, entered Shenzhen, and then transferred to the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway. The road conditions were okay; there were fewer trucks during the Lunar New Year, but many more private cars.

Lin Fu leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest. Lin Ying flipped through the materials she had brought, which was an investment framework she had compiled over the past few days. It was three pages long and not very detailed.

"Ah Ying, have you ever seen the main family's side?" Lin Jianying looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"I've never seen it. I've never been there since I was born."

"Let me tell you about the situation." Lin Jianying said as she drove, "The clan head on our side is surnamed Lin, named Lin Zong. He is fifty-seven years old, several years younger than my father. You can call him Fifth Uncle. He was a production team leader back then. After the reform and opening up, he led the villagers to run a breeding farm. They lost money once and made money once. Now he is the one who calls the shots in the village."

How many sons does he have?

"Three," Lin Jianying said. "The eldest son, Lin Zhiying, is around thirty years old and works in the provincial capital as a transport driver; he owns several trucks. The second son, Lin Guiying, is twenty-seven or twenty-eight and is already married. The third son, Lin Weiying, is twenty years old and went to work in Shenzhen a few years ago."

Lin Ying wrote down this information.

Uncle Lin added, "Lin Zong is a shrewd and loyal man; he remembered the 500,000 RMB we sent them last year to repair the ancestral hall."

"How many households are there in total?" Lin Ying asked.

"More than 120 households, nearly 600 people," Lin Jianying replied.

It was much bigger than Lam Family Village in the New Territories. Lin Ying had a better understanding of the situation and didn't ask any more questions.

After driving for nearly four more hours, we arrived at the outskirts of Guangzhou a little after 1 p.m. After exiting the highway, we drove for another twenty minutes on a provincial road. The high-rise buildings on both sides turned into farmland and low-rise factories, and the road surface changed from asphalt to cement.

Finally, turning into a narrow road, and walking a few hundred meters further, a cluster of gray-white houses came into view, densely packed, with a few newly built three-story buildings in between.

A stone tablet stands at the entrance of the village: Huangpu Gulin Village.

As soon as the car stopped, I saw seven or eight people standing at the village entrance waiting.

The leader was a slightly overweight old man who looked quite young, not nearly sixty; standing next to him were two men who looked somewhat similar, who should be the three sons Lin Jianying had mentioned.

Uncle Lin pushed open the car door and got out. Before he could even stand up properly, the old man strode forward and shook his hand.

"Third Brother!"

"Fifth Brother!"

After the two old men looked at each other for a few seconds, Lin Zong sighed, "You've lost weight! I told you to eat more the last time we met!"

"I'm old, I can't gain weight no matter how much I eat," Uncle Lin said with a smile, waving his hand.

Lin Fu got out of the car from the other side, and Lin Zong immediately looked over: "Is this A-Fu?"

"Brother Zong," Lin Fu called out (Lin Fu was of a lower generation than him).

"Alright, alright, it's good that you're all here!" Lin Zong turned and waved to his sons behind him. "What are you standing there for? Help with the luggage!"

Lin Zhiying and Lin Weiying quickly stepped forward to take the suitcase; Lin Guiying stood there and stared at Lin Ying, who was the last to get out of the car, and was stunned for a moment.

A young woman in her early twenties, wearing a simple brown coat and black suit pants, with her hair tied in a ponytail, no makeup, and carrying a briefcase.

Lin Zong also looked at her, his gaze appraising her.

Uncle Lin introduced, "Fifth brother, this is the one I told you about on the phone; Ah Ying from our New Territories."

Lin Ying stepped forward: "Greetings, Fifth Uncle, Happy New Year."

Lin Zong nodded: "Okay, okay; you must be tired from the journey. Let's go inside and eat first, and we can talk about other things after we finish eating."

Lunch was served at Lin Zong's house, a new three-story building with a large living room and two round tables. Twelve dishes were served, all local specialties: poached chicken, roast goose, steamed fish, stir-fried snails, stuffed tofu... The portions were generous and the taste was authentic.

During the meal, Lin Zongzhu was chatting with Uncle Lin and Lin Fu, asking how things were in the New Territories and how the villagers were doing. Uncle Lin gave a general overview of the village affairs, without going into too much detail, just conveying the intended meaning.

Lin Ying sat quietly in the corner eating, while the others would occasionally glance at her curiously.

After dinner, the men moved to the tea room on the second floor. The tea room had a mahogany tea table and a few chairs. Lin Zong brewed the tea, Uncle Lin sat opposite him, Lin Fu and Lin Jianying sat on either side, and Lin Ying sat against the wall.

Lin Zong poured everyone a cup of tea, took a sip himself, and then looked at Uncle Lin: "Third Brother, I've been thinking about that matter you mentioned on the phone for half a month."

Uncle Lin put down his teacup: "What do you think, elder brother?"

"Our village has been hoping for this investment in building a factory for so many years," Lin Zong sighed. "But as long as we hope, without money, technology, or connections, it's unrealistic to expect my nephew Lin Junying's small brick factory to support the whole village."

Uncle Lin turned to look at Lin Ying.

Lin Ying opened her briefcase, took out the three pages of paper, and placed them on the tea table. "Fifth Uncle, I'll get straight to the point."

Lin Zong looked at her and nodded, signaling her to continue.

"I want to invest in Guangzhou, but I have a few principles to make clear first."

"Go ahead and speak."

"First, I will not be the boss; my identity is rather special, so it is inconvenient for me to appear as the legal representative or to be registered with the industry and commerce authorities; I will only be a shareholder, contributing money but not making any appearance."

Lin Zong nodded. He knew that it was somewhat troublesome for Hong Kong people to get approval to do business here.

"Secondly, I invest in specific projects, not in any particular person; if someone has a good idea and brings me a proposal, I will invest if I think it's feasible; after investing, the accounts must be clear, and they must show me the financial statements regularly."

"Third, if we lose money, it's on me; if we make money, we share it with everyone. The profit-sharing ratio will be discussed based on the specific project, but I'll take at least 30%."

Lin Zong didn't rush to give his opinion but instead asked, "Ah Ying, how many are you planning to invest?"

"In the first year, we'll set aside five million RMB to test the waters."

When this number was announced, Lin Zhiying, who was standing at the door, almost spat out the tea in her mouth.

Five million RMB?! Five million RMB in 1994.

The total annual income of Lin Zongquan's entire village might not even reach two million.

"Are you sure?" Lin Zong asked.

"Sure."

Lin Zong sighed to his uncle, "Third brother, a truly remarkable young man has emerged from your New Territories."

Uncle Lin chuckled, "That's why I brought her to see you."

Lin Zong looked at Lin Ying again: "Ying, I understand everything you've said; don't worry, since you're a member of the Lin family, I won't let your money go to waste."

He called out, "Zhiqiang!"

Lin Zhiqiang, standing at the door, immediately responded, "Dad."

"Go and inform the whole village that there will be a meeting at the ancestral hall at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Lin Zhiying was taken aback: "A meeting during the Lunar New Year?"

"Can't you get anyone to come?"

"Yes, they're all at home."

"Then tomorrow at nine o'clock, everyone in the village who is over eighteen years old should come, no one is allowed to be absent."

Lin Zhiying responded and turned to go downstairs.

Lin Zong then looked at Lin Ying and asked, "Ying, five million... is there any more in the future?"

Lin Ying did not answer the question directly. "Fifth Uncle, let's spend this five million first."