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

On the afternoon of the third day after Lin Ying returned to Hong Kong, the landline in her study rang; she was flipping through the first draft of the contract sent by Claire and answered it casually.

"Lynn! It's me! Lucas!" The other end of the phone was incredibly noisy, with the sounds of cars, people, and an announcement of flight information.

Lin Ying asked in surprise, "Where are you?"

"Airport! Just got off the plane! I found a public phone outside, put in some coins, I don't know how long it will last; I received your letter, I didn't reply because I felt this matter couldn't be explained over the phone, let alone in a letter, so I flew here directly."

Lin Ying didn't expect him to act so quickly: "Take a taxi over here, 12 Main Road, Kadoorie Hill, Kowloon Tong."

"You're in Kadoorie Hill now? I'll come find you!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying went downstairs and greeted Lin Lanying: "Mommy, a friend is coming over in a little while."

"Who is it?" Lin Lanying was cutting fruit in the kitchen.

"My classmate from Cambridge, the American, is named Lucas."

"Male or female?"

"Male."

Lin Lanying immediately looked at her with a gossipy expression.

"Mommy, don't overthink it. We're just friends, it's business."

Lin Lanying: "Then I'll cut some more fruit."

Twenty minutes later, Lin Ying figured it was about time, so she walked to the villa entrance and stood there to wait. Not long after, a taxi turned from the main road and stopped at the entrance.

The car door opened, and Lucas crawled out.

He had changed a lot since graduation; his curly brown hair was cut short, he had stubble on his chin, there were faint dark circles under his eyes, and he was carrying a travel bag on his shoulder. He was completely different from the spirited man he was in Cambridge.

Lucas paid the fare, picked up his bag, turned around, looked at the villa's exterior, then at the garden, and then at the dark blue Bentley parked in front; then he said, "Lynn."

"Um."

"How many banks did you rob?"

Lin Ying chuckled, "Let's talk inside."

Lucas followed her inside, and upon entering, he was stunned again by the sight of the high-ceilinged living room and the garden outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He Dazhu walked in from the balcony and saw a tall foreigner standing in the living room. He was a little at a loss.

"Dad, this is Lucas, my classmate from Cambridge, an American." Lin Ying said to He Dazhu in Cantonese, then said to Lucas in English, "Lucas, this is my dad."

Lucas immediately reached out his hand and said in broken Chinese, "Hello, Uncle!"

He Dazhu paused for a moment, shook hands, and turned to Lin Ying, whispering, "This person is so tall."

Lin Lanying came out of the kitchen carrying fruit: "Aying, how long did it take your classmate to fly here?"

"More than ten hours."

"He must be starving. Let's take him out for dinner tonight."

Lin Ying arranged for Lucas to put his things in the guest room on the second floor so that he could wash his face and calm down first.

After entering the guest room, Lucas looked out the window and said, "Lynn, this guest room is bigger than my apartment in New York."

How big is your apartment in New York?

"Fifteen square meters including the bathroom! A doghouse on Wall Street!"

At 6:30 p.m., Lin Ying and her family took Lucas to a restaurant near Kadoorie Hill. After Lucas sat down, Lin Ying ordered five dishes. Lucas ate two bowls of rice without hesitation and also had a bowl of soup.

Watching him eat like that, He Dazhu whispered to Lin Lanying, "How long has this young man been starving?"

Lin Lanying: "It's normal for people to have been on a plane for more than ten hours."

When he was about 70% full, Lucas finally put down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.

"Lynn, I've read what you wrote in your letter several times. To be honest, the first time I read it, I thought you were joking."

"Would I make a joke like that?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Lucas wiped his mouth. "So I went and bought a plane ticket the next day."

After dinner, back at the villa, Lin Ying led Lucas into the study.

In the study, there was a whole set of samples in the cabinet. She placed them on the table one by one: a red fire truck-shaped scooter, a silver-gray scooter, a 3x3 Rubik's Cube, a 12-section Rubik's Ruler, and a mini early education playhouse that had been unpacked.

Lucas picked up everything and examined it.

He squatted down and pushed the wheels of the scooter, then stood up and opened and closed the folding mechanism of the scooter a few times, and finally took the Rubik's Cube and spun it around twice.

"This scooter." Lucas propped the scooter up against the table. "Do you know how many adults are riding this in Central Park in New York on weekends? There's a market for both adults and children; it's not just a simple children's toy."

"I know."

"How much does it cost?"

"The cost of producing a scooter is 26 yuan, which is more than 3 US dollars."

Lucas opened his mouth: "More than three dollars? The cheapest similar product retails for at least twenty-five dollars in New York."

"That's why I say it's a good business."

Lucas put down his scooter and said, "Lynn, I worked in quantitative trading on Wall Street for two years, watching numbers jump from left to right on the screen every day. I made a lot of money, but I felt like I hadn't accomplished anything. The last sentence in your letter, asking me to sell toys, you were serious, weren't you?"

"When have I ever not been serious with you?"

"What conditions do I need? How much stock do I need for the first batch? How will the transportation be handled? Who will handle the customs clearance?"

Lin Ying took out a printed price list and product category list from the cabinet and handed it to him: "Take a look at this first. Later, you can calculate how much quantity you need for the first batch of trial products, and I'll prepare the goods for you. You'll handle the customs clearance and ASTM certification in the US yourself. I'll cover the sample and testing fees."

Lucas took it and began to look at it carefully: "What about the agent commission?"

"I gave 12% to Europe, and you'll get the same."

"Deal." Lucas didn't haggle. "But I have a request."

"explain."

"Take me to see your factory."

"That's exactly what I was planning to do; I'll take you to get the travel permit tomorrow. The factory is in Guangzhou, and we can only go there after we cross the border."

The next morning, Lin Ying drove Lucas to complete the immigration procedures in the Bentley; Lucas sat in the passenger seat, staring at the walnut wood trim and leather seats inside the car the whole way.

"Lynn".

"Um."

"How much does this car cost?"

"Seven and a half million Hong Kong dollars."

Lucas did the math: "About nine hundred and forty thousand US dollars?"

"right."

"Ninety-four hundred thousand US dollars." Lucas repeated the number, exclaiming, "I've worked on Wall Street for two years, and my annual salary plus bonuses is less than one hundred and fifty thousand; this car of yours is enough for me to live on for more than six years without eating or drinking."

Lin Ying changed lanes: "So this is also a great opportunity for you, Lucas."

"What do you mean?"

"In places like Wall Street, you'll just be an employee your whole life; the US toy market is worth tens of billions of dollars a year, if you could take even one-thousandth of that share, you can calculate how much that would be."

Lucas remained silent for a long time after finishing his calculations.

The procedures took three days to complete; during this time, Lucas stayed in a guest room at Kadoorie Hill, spending his days running around with Lin Ying to complete the procedures, and his evenings studying the product information and price list she provided in the guest room; He Dazhu cooked noodles for him for breakfast every morning, and Lucas ate them for three days, saying they were ten times better than the ones at the Chinatown restaurant in New York.

Early on the fourth day, Lin Ying drove Lucas onto the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway, and after crossing the border, the car headed north.

"Lynn, when did you become so rich?" Lucas asked curiously.

"I earned it slowly."

"You were already making money when you were in Cambridge?"

"Um."

"No wonder your grades have been stagnant." Lucas suddenly realized, "You never intended to pursue an academic career, did you?"

"You can't earn that much through an academic career."

Lucas recalled his time with Lin Ying in Cambridge: "Now that I think back, back in Cambridge, whenever you said you were looking at materials in the library, didn't you spend half of that time reading financial newspapers?"

Lin Ying did not deny it.

"I knew it; you've never told a single truth from beginning to end."

"There's truth to it."

Which sentence?

"It's true that the food in British cafeterias is really bad."

Lucas laughed out loud, and then suddenly said, "Lynn, thank you for that letter."

Lin Ying didn't reply, her hands on the steering wheel, and the car steadily drove towards Guangzhou.