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

The car arrived at Huangpu Gulin Village at 1 p.m.

Lucas got out of the passenger seat, stood at the factory gate for a few seconds, looked up at the sign that read "New Star Toys Manufacturing Co., Ltd.", and then looked down at the unpaved cement ground under his feet.

"Is this your factory?"

"It's not mine, I'm just an investor." Lin Ying locked the car. "Let's go."

Factory Director Zhou was already waiting at the door. When he saw Lin Ying with a foreigner, he paused for a moment and said, "Miss Lin."

"Director Zhou, this is my business partner, the agent in the United States, surnamed Lu."

Factory Director Zhou extended his hand: "Hello, Mr. Lu."

Lucas shook hands and said "Hello" in Chinese, his pronunciation still the same.

Lin Ying led Lucas from the injection molding workshop.

In the first workshop, seven or eight injection molding machines were running. Workers poured raw materials into the hopper, and the machines closed the mold, injected, cooled, and opened the mold, with parts falling out one by one. Lucas squatted down, picked up a newly molded scooter shell, turned it over to check the thickness of the inner wall, and then scratched the surface with his fingernail.

"ABS?"

"Yes." Lin Ying nodded.

"There are no burrs on the edges and corners, and the mold precision is good."

Walking over to the assembly line, about twenty workers sat in a row, each responsible for a step. Parts were passed from left to right, and a complete scooter was assembled. Lucas stood at the end of the conveyor belt for a while, picked up a finished product, turned the wheels, and then turned the steering wheel left and right a few times.

How many units can be shipped per day?

"Currently, one production line processes about 150 units per day," Factory Director Zhou replied from the side.

Lucas nodded without saying anything and followed them to the next workshop.

The scooter's cable was next door, the Rubik's Cube and Rubik's Ruler molds were still being tested, and the parts for the early childhood education playhouse were piled up in a corner of the warehouse, waiting to be assembled. Lucas picked up everything and looked at it, some he examined several times, and some he even disassembled to check the internal structure.

It took nearly two hours to walk through the entire factory.

Back on the second floor of the office building, Director Zhou made tea, and the three of them sat down.

Lucas took a sip of tea, put down his cup, and looked at Lin Ying: "Lynn, I'm telling you the truth."

"explain."

"These things will definitely sell in the US; there are three reasons: First, the price; similar products in the US market retail for five to eight times your factory price, leaving a large profit margin. Second, the design; American kids, especially boys, will absolutely love your fire truck-shaped scooter; third, the complete range of products, from riding toys to educational toys to large toys, a one-stop shop, which retailers love."

Lin Ying held her teacup without interrupting, waiting for him to finish speaking.

Lucas sighed. "But there's a problem."

"What's the problem?"

"The US market is too big for me to handle alone."

Lucas continued, "I have connections in New York, and I can cover the independent toy stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn; but America isn't just New York. Walmart has over two thousand stores across the country, and Toys "R" Us has over a thousand; I simply can't cover all those channels on my own."

Lin Ying put down her teacup: "So what do you plan to do?"

"Find a partner."

"Who should I look for?"

Lucas thought for a moment and said, "My uncle."

What does your uncle do?

"Import and export trade, in Los Angeles. His name is Jason Miller. He has been importing Asian goods for fifteen years, mainly electronics from Japan and South Korea; his clients include several purchasing managers from large chain retailers, with whom he has maintained relationships for many years."

Lin Ying asked, "Is your uncle interested in toys?"

"He's interested in making money," Lucas said bluntly. "And he's been good to me. When I was a kid, he often took me to baseball games; if I told him about a good business opportunity, he would listen."

"Lucas, I'll sign the agency agreement with you. You'll get 12% of the commission from the US market. After you get this agency, how you distribute it, who you partner with, and how much you give to your uncle is your own business."

Lucas nodded: "OK."

"But there's one condition," Lin Ying felt it best to make things clear first, "No matter who you partner with, the brand belongs to me, the pricing power belongs to me, and the product standards belong to me; you are only responsible for distribution channels and sales."

"no problem."

"Also, get ASTM certification and CPSC safety testing started as soon as you get back; without these two things, not a single item can get into the US through legitimate channels."

"I know, my uncle knows this better than I do. He went through the FCC certification process when he imported electronic products before, so he knows the procedure well."

"I'll have Attorney Shen draft the contract; once you're sure there are no problems and you sign it, we'll officially begin."

"Okay." Lucas extended his hand.

Lin Ying shook hands with him.

Factory Manager Zhou remained mostly silent throughout, but once the discussion was nearly over, he asked, "Ms. Lin, would you like to prepare samples for Mr. Lu?"

"Prepare a complete set: one of each of the six types of scooters, two scooters, two sets of Rubik's Cubes and Rubik's Rulers, and one early education room."

"Okay, I'll have them packed tonight."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Lucas spent a day and a half in Guangzhou.

The next morning, he went to the mold factory with Lin Weiqiang, and in the afternoon he went back to the workshop and squatted there for two hours, taking notes of a bunch of data. That evening, Lin Zong hosted a dinner party, and Lucas sat in the middle of a table of locals, clinking glasses with Lin Zhiying in broken Chinese, and finishing off a bowl of poached chicken.

Lin Weiqiang secretly asked Lin Ying, "Sister Ying, can this foreigner be trusted?"

"Whether he's reliable or not is another matter, but he's smart enough; and he has a backup plan. He earns $150,000 a year on Wall Street, so he's not so poor that he's working with me."

Lin Weiqiang pondered the meaning of those words for a moment and nodded.

After signing the contract on the fifth day, Lin Ying drove Lucas to the airport; the trunk was stuffed with two large cardboard boxes filled with samples, and with his own travel bag, the back seat was half full.

At the airport, Lucas unloaded his things and stood at the departure hall entrance: "Lynn, the first thing I'll do when I get back is contact my uncle, the second is to get ASTM certification, and the third is to go to those independent toy stores in New York to get samples for them to see."

"it is good."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On a Wednesday afternoon in late May, Lin Ying was in her study at Kadoorie Hill looking at the confirmation letter for the first batch of European orders sent by Claire.

He Dazhu shouted from downstairs, "Sister! Someone's looking for you! They say they're from a telecommunications company!"

Lin Ying went downstairs, and there was a young man in uniform standing at the door, holding a file bag in his hand.

"Hello Ms. Lin, the mobile number you reserved has been activated. Here is your SIM card and network access information. Please sign for it."

Lin Ying signed the papers and took the SIM card back to her study.

The base station in Hong Kong started trial operation last month and officially opened to the public this month; when Lin Ying went to the business hall to apply, she queued for forty minutes and finally got the application processed by becoming a VIP.

She took out the commemorative phone from the cabinet: serial number 008, inserted the SIM card, and turned it on.

The screen lit up, and two signal bars appeared in the upper left corner.

Lin Ying stared blankly at the small screen for a while;

She picked up a pen, wrote her mobile phone number on a sticky note, and then put the note into an envelope; the envelope had the mailing address of Institute D6 written on it, and the recipient was Professor Meng Changming.

It was mailed out the next day.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

One evening in mid-June, Lin Ying was watching TV in the living room when her cell phone rang on the coffee table.

The number is very long; it's an area code for mainland China.

"Feed?"

"Lin Ying?" It was Meng Changming's voice on the other end.

Once she left D6 Institute, she was no longer Li Hua. When Professor Meng called and suddenly called her Lin Ying, she was a little unaccustomed to it.

"Professor, it's me."

"I received the call! It works perfectly! The sound is crystal clear!" Meng Changming said happily. "How's the signal on your end?"

"Two squares, occasionally three squares."

"It's better than here; some places here are still at level one. I need to talk to you about something."

"Please speak."

"You've been out of school for almost a year now, have you ever thought about continuing your studies?"

Lin Ying did not answer immediately.

Meng Changming continued, "If you want to pursue a doctorate, I can arrange it for you; I can get you a spot at Beijing University of Science and Technology, and you can have my name listed as the supervisor. You won't need to go to the office or attend classes; you just need to write your dissertation."

"Professor, I've thought about this," Lin Ying said, turning the TV volume down a little, "but I don't have any plans to do so at the moment."

"Why? With your brains, you could definitely graduate with a PhD in three or four years."

"I have a lot of things to do back home; I'm currently in Hong Kong and have a lot of things to do, so I can't leave for the time being."

Meng Changming was silent for a while, then sighed: "It's a pity you didn't pursue an academic career."

"Professor, this may be the end of my life. Doing academic work is too hard. I want to live an easier life."

"Relax? You're not the kind of person who can sit still!" Meng Changming snorted. "I think you just can't stay idle."

Lin Ying smiled but didn't reply.

"Alright, since you've made up your mind, I won't force you. But there's one more thing, please write it down."

"Wait a moment." Lin Ying picked up a pen and paper from the coffee table. "Please go ahead."

"I'll give you a phone number, it's in Shenzhen." Meng Changming recited a string of numbers, which Lin Ying wrote down one by one.

"This person's surname is Fang. He's a leader in the technology sector in Shenzhen. If you need any help while working in the south, you can call this number. Just say you're my student, and I've already spoken to him."

Lin Ying looked at the number twice: "Professor, this is Leader Fang..."

"Don't ask too many questions," Meng Changming interrupted her. "You just need to know that he can help you; don't call unless absolutely necessary, because if you do, it'll be a big deal."

"I see."

"Hmm." Meng Changming coughed twice. "By the way, the mass production of mobile phones is progressing well. We sold 30,000 units in the first quarter, and the production capacity will double in the second half of the year. Your bonus will be settled at the end of the year, and Director Zhao will transfer it to your account then."

"Okay, thank you, Professor."

"It's all yours, no need to thank me; when you come back to Beijing, come visit the institute; Lao Fan and the others are talking about you, saying that the lab lost a troublemaker after you left."

Hearing this, Lin Ying sighed, "Then I'll definitely go back and visit when I have the chance."

"Alright, long-distance travel is expensive, I won't say any more."

"Take care of yourself, Professor."

"Yes, you too."

The phone hangs up.

Lin Ying folded the phone number, got up and went to the study, opened the safe, and put the note in the innermost compartment.

Leader Fang, from the science and technology sector, Shenzhen. She closed the safe and turned the combination lock.

When they returned to the living room, Lin Lanying came out and asked, "Sister, who called just now?"

"My former teacher."

"What did you say?"

"They asked me if I wanted to continue my studies."

Lin Lanying immediately tensed up: "What did you say?"

"I said I'm not going to study anymore."

"It's right not to read it; reading it all the time will only make you old."

Lin Ying sat back on the sofa without saying a word and turned the TV volume back down.