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

The news of Liu Yang's departure was not kept secret for more than three days.

It wasn't that he was quick to speak, but the resignation process involved going through HR, submitting documents, and filling out project handover forms. D3 Institute is so large, but the display group only has a few people; if someone misses a single lab record, someone will notice.

Liu Ya was the first to stop him; that noon, Liu Yang had just come out of the cafeteria with his lunchbox when Liu Ya stood at the door with a thermos: "Liu Yang, are you leaving?"

Liu Yang was startled: "Who said that?"

"Never mind who said it, I'm asking you if it's true."

Liu Yang looked around: "Sister Liu, can we go back to the lab to talk?"

Liu Ya stared at him: "No, tell me now."

Li Jia happened to be coming from behind and, upon hearing this, immediately stopped: "What? Liu Yang is leaving?"

Liu Yang looked pained: "Could you two please keep your voices down? I haven't finished the formalities yet."

Li Jia tucked the lunchbox under her arm: "Are you really leaving?"

Liu Yang replied vaguely, "It's a personal arrangement."

Liu Ya sneered: "You have someone to arrange things for you? You used to even put off doing laundry on weekends until you had no socks left to wear, what kind of arrangements could you possibly have?"

Liu Yang was speechless: "Sister Liu, can you at least stop attacking people's everyday details?"

"cannot."

Li Jia looked at him: "Are you going to Lin Ying's place?"

Liu Yang shut up.

Seeing his reaction, Liu Ya immediately understood: "It really is?"

Liu Yang, carrying his lunchbox, walked to the side and said, "Let's find a corner to talk. Don't stand by the door."

The three of them went around to the small flower bed behind the cafeteria.

Liu Yang put down his lunchbox, looked around to make sure no one was near, and then whispered, "I'm telling you, but don't spread this around."

Liu Ya: "Do we seem like the kind of people who gossip?"

Liu Yang looked at Li Jia.

Li Jia said calmly, "Why are you looking at me? I'll only talk to my husband about it."

Liu Yang: "And what about your husband?"

Li Jia: "He's more discreet than you."

Liu Yang resigned himself to his fate: "Fine! Lin Ying's factory in Nanwan is up and running quickly, and she wants me to go there to manage R&D and product iteration."

Liu Ya asked, "How much is the salary?"

Liu Yang choked on his words: "You're asking so directly?"

Liu Ya: "Nonsense! Asking about ideals instead of salary? Does my child grow up on ideals?"

Li Jia nodded: "Go ahead and speak, don't pretend."

Liu Yang held up two fingers.

Liu Ya: "Twenty thousand?"

Liu Yang shook his head.

Li Jia: "Two hundred thousand?"

Liu Yang didn't say anything.

Liu Ya was stunned: "Two hundred thousand RMB? Two hundred thousand a year?"

"Base salary," Liu Yang said softly, "Project bonuses are separate."

Li Jia was silent for a while, then Liu Ya asked, "How much do you make a year now?"

Liu Yang sighed: "My salary plus subsidies is around 16,000 yuan! It's a bit more when I'm busy, but not by much."

Li Jia: "You didn't lose out."

Liu Yang smiled wryly: "I'm not a key figure in the institute; with Engineer Wen gone and the project changing direction, I could stay and get by, but I know what I'm doing."

Liu Ya sat down on the stone steps next to her: "Don't call you a scoundrel, you're actually quite capable."

"It's alright, it's alright! I can see the ceiling as I go up from here; at least I can make a complete product if I go to Lin Ying's place."

Li Jia asked, "Is she only hiring you?"

Liu Yang immediately became alert: "What do you want to do?"

Li Jia looked at him and said, "Let me ask."

Liu Ya also said, "I'll ask too."

Liu Yang's scalp tingled: "No, don't look at me like that; I'm just an employee, not from the personnel department."

Li Jia: "Lin Ying's new factory makes televisions. Materials, sealing, reliability... they don't lack people for any of those areas?"

Liu Ya chimed in, "Yes, if she doesn't do a good job with the reliability testing of the first-generation product, the after-sales service will drive people crazy."

Looking at the two of them, Liu Yang suddenly felt a sense of balance; he had previously felt that resigning was like defection, but now, his teammates were starting to waver as well.

"Think about it carefully," Liu Yang reminded them. "Nanwan is far from Beijing. Going there won't be as simple as just changing offices."

Liu Ya did not answer.

Li Jia was quite straightforward: "I don't have anything to worry about. My hometown is in Jiangnan, my husband is from eastern Zhejiang, and we don't own a house in Beijing."

Liu Yang: "Didn't you guys always want to save up money to buy it?"

Li Jia laughed: "How can I buy it? With my meager salary, I can barely afford a kitchen."

Liu Ya sighed, "Don't say anymore, it breaks my heart to hear it."

Li Jia continued, "My husband is currently teaching at a middle school, but he hasn't been given a permanent position yet; there are many opportunities in Beijing, but not every opportunity will come our way."

Liu Yang looked at Liu Ya: "Sister Liu, what about you?"

Liu Ya's family lives in Beijing, her husband works at a company, her child has just started elementary school, and her parents are also here; it's not something she can just carry her bag and leave on her own.

"I need to think about it," Liu Ya said. "Unlike you, I don't have many family members tied up."

Liu Yang quickly nodded: "We definitely need to think this through. Lin Ying's salary is high, but we'll have to rearrange our lifestyle."

Li Jia was already planning: "I'll tell my husband when I get home tonight."

Liu Yang looked at her: "You're fast?"

Li Jia picked up the lunchbox again: "Hurry up what? My salary card reminds me every month that I should hurry up."

That evening, Li Jia returned to her rented room nearby. Her husband, Zhou Qi, was grading students' homework. Seeing her return, he asked, "Why are you so late today?"

Li Jia put down her bag: "I have something to tell you."

Zhou Qi put down the red pen: "Is your expression a good thing or a bad thing?"

"It's hard to say."

Li Jia recounted how Liu Yang resigned, Lin Ying built a factory, and how Lin Ying earned an annual salary of 200,000 yuan.

Zhou Qi's first words after hearing this were: "Go."

Li Jia was stunned: "You're not even going to ask?"

"What did I ask? Two hundred thousand a year, how much do you make a year now?"

"Less than 20,000."

Zhou Qi closed his notebook: "Then what are you hesitating for?"

Li Jia sat down in a chair: "But South Bay is far from here. What are you going to do?"

"I'll go too," Zhou Qi said quickly. "There are many schools in Nanwan. I'll take the civil service exam, and if I don't pass, I'll look for private schools. It's better than me just waiting for news here."

Li Jia looked at him: "Are you willing to do that?"

Zhou Qi laughed: "Why would I be reluctant to part with it? This room isn't even ours, and the bed and wardrobe still belong to the landlord! I don't have that much attachment to it."

Li Jia was amused: "What about your parents?"

"I told them, 'Your parents say that we're all grown up now, we can't stay in one place forever.'"

The next day, the two of them called their respective parents. Li Jia originally thought it would take a long time to explain, but both sets of parents were very supportive after listening.

Her mother only asked, "Are the wages really that high over there?"

"If the deal goes through, the base salary will be 200,000 per year."

The voice on the other end of the phone said, "Then go! You young people come out to work, go wherever it's easier and pays better."

Zhou Qi's father was even more direct: "You two don't have children yet, so move now while you can! It'll be much more troublesome if you move after you have children!"

After she hung up the phone, she sat at the table in a daze for a while. Zhou Qi came out with two bowls of noodles: "What's wrong? Can't bear to part with them?"

"No; I had prepared a whole bunch of things to say to persuade them, but I didn't use a single one."

Zhou Qi handed her the chopsticks: "That means the elderly understand things better than we do."

Li Jia nodded: "I'll go see Lin Ying tomorrow."

The next afternoon, Lin Ying was organizing the archives of the plasma project in her dormitory when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter."

Li Jia pushed the door open and came in, holding a folder of notes in her hand: "Lin Ying, are you free now?"

"It's convenient, please have a seat."

Li Jia came in and sat down: "I heard from Liu Yang that you're hiring in Nanwan."

Lin Ying knew it was true: "Liu Yang talks fast."

Li Jia immediately said, "He didn't tell us on his own; we cornered him and got it out of him."

Lin Ying laughed: "Then he's really in a bad situation."

"He's not miserable! He makes 200,000 a year, he's happier than anyone else now!"

Lin Ying: "You want to come?"

Li Jia nodded: "I'm in charge of materials and sealing processes, and I also understand some reliability testing; your new factory is going to make plasma TVs, so you should need all of these."

"We definitely need more people," Lin Ying said. "And we especially need someone like you who can bring lab solutions to the production line."

Li Jia felt a little relieved, but still said, "Let me make this clear first, I'm not a genius like Engineer Wen, nor am I someone like you who can do everything."

Lin Ying: "I'm not hiring gods; the factory needs people who can get things done."

Li Jia then sat down: "What about the salary?"

Lin Ying didn't mince words: "Like Liu Yang, the annual base salary is 200,000 RMB; project bonuses are separate, and if mass production goes smoothly, another sum will be paid at the end of the year."

Li Jia looked at her: "Aren't you going to try and negotiate a lower price?"

Lin Ying retorted, "Why should I bet?"

"Many bosses will bet on it."

"I held back that little bit of money, only to end up with an engineer who's unhappy with me. In the end, I'm the one who loses out." Lin Ying pushed a planning map on the table over. "The first phase of the project in South Bay has already started. The R&D center and testing building will be built together. After you arrive, you'll be in charge of setting up the materials and processes lab and selecting suppliers."

Li Jia flipped through the planning map, becoming increasingly serious with each look: "Who decided on the equipment list?"

"You decide, I'll review; money isn't spent recklessly, but we can't skimp on what's necessary."

Li Jia suddenly said, "My husband might also go to South Bay."

"What is he doing?"

"Secondary school teacher."

"There are quite a few schools over there. Ask Chen Guodong to help you find out. I can't guarantee it will work out, but at least I can help you find information."

Li Jia's eyes welled up with tears, and she quickly looked down at the blueprints, saying, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Lin Ying said. "You need to leave properly. You can't take the project data with you, and you need to be clear about the boundaries of confidentiality."

Li Jia nodded immediately: "I understand."

Lin Ying looked at her and said, "Also, don't rush to tell too many people; if you and Liu Yang both leave, the team will definitely feel pressured."

Li Jia smiled wryly: "Liu Ya already guessed it."

What does she think?

"She was very interested, but her family was in Beijing and her child was still young."

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "If she comes to me, we can talk; but her situation is more serious than yours."

Li Jia nodded: "I know."

She got up to leave, but turned back at the door and said, "Lin Ying, I have another question."

"ask."

"You really think we're worth two hundred thousand?"

Lin Ying said matter-of-factly, "You are not cheap labor; you are the ones who can avoid taking detours."

Li Jia didn't say anything more. She went out and ran into Liu Yang carrying documents as she went downstairs.

Seeing her expression, Liu Yang immediately leaned closer: "You talked about it?"

Li Jia: "We talked about it."

"How many?"

Li Jia looked at him: "Just like you."

Liu Yang clutched his chest: "Okay, it's balanced now. I was worried you'd be taller than me."

Li Jia rolled her eyes at him: "Is that all the magnanimity you have?"

Liu Yang was very honest: "My ambition of earning 200,000 a year is just that big for now."

As the two were talking, Liu Ya came over from the other end of the corridor: "You two, don't leave tonight."

Liu Yang's heart tightened: "Sister Liu, what's wrong?"

Liu Ya slapped the test report in her hand into his arms: "Treat me to dinner."

Why?

Liu Ya: "I'm celebrating your wealth and comforting me while I'm still struggling with this."

Holding the report, Liu Yang asked, still unwilling to give up, "Can we eat in the cafeteria?"

"Someone earning 200,000 a year is treating me to a meal in the cafeteria?"

Liu Yang immediately changed his mind: "We have to eat out."