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

Wen Xu also realized that his actions were indeed somewhat inappropriate.

Lin Ying chuckled: "Are you calling now to ask me to continue your lie, or to prepare me mentally?"

"Neither," Wen Xu said. "My second sister asked me if I would like to meet my family."

Lin Ying flipped through the prenatal checkup calendar in her hand: "I personally don't recommend that your family come over now."

"Um?"

"Because it's pointless for them to confirm these things with me; afterwards, I want to learn about the direction of computer software; also, I need to sell my shares in the toy factory, and I might start a software company later."

Wenxu: "You've been very busy lately."

"Yes, so if your family comes now, I won't have time to see them properly; also, don't rush to ask for leave."

Wen Xu was somewhat surprised: "You don't want me to go?"

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that there's no need. These past two years haven't been very stable, and your project is more important; I'm just pregnant, and both the baby and I are doing well, so there's no need to be too anxious, don't worry." Lin Ying knew that Hong Kong would return to China in July 1997, and it was better to be cautious during the handover of power.

Wen Xu was quiet for a moment on the other end: "Lin Ying, you're always like this."

"What?"

"I shoulder everything myself."

Lin Ying laughed: "Engineer Wen, I'm not carrying this burden, I'm having a plan."

Wen Xu didn't say anything more, only replying, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying had already filled her schedule for the first half of next year. She decided to take advantage of her early pregnancy symptoms to get these miscellaneous matters sorted out.

--------

Beijing, Wen family.

When Wen Rui received Wen Xu's call, she was in the kitchen helping Zhao Lan prepare dinner.

"Second sister, I spoke with Lin Ying, and she suggested that you don't go there for the time being," Wen Xu said directly.

Wen Rui: "Why?"

"She's been very busy lately, and she had to take care of everything before giving birth; she said that even if she went now, she wouldn't have time to see you properly."

Wen Rui breathed a sigh of relief: "And what about you? When can you go and be with her?"

"My project won't be finished until May at the earliest, then I'll apply again."

Wen Rui: "Xiao Xu, are you sure you're not in a hurry to go over there?"

"No rush, she said she's doing very well and told me not to worry; besides, it's really not a good time for me to leave now."

Wen Rui sighed: "Okay, I understand; I'll talk to Mom and make things clear. You should focus on your work first, and don't let her make you lose focus."

Wen Xu: "Thank you, Second Sister."

After hanging up the phone, Wen Rui turned around and looked at Zhao Lan standing at the kitchen door.

Zhao Lan had clearly heard most of it: "She won't let us go?"

"It's not that I don't want her to, it's just that she's really busy right now! Mom, think about it, she's a company boss now, with so many people under her, she definitely needs to handle a lot of issues before having a baby."

Zhao Lan was still somewhat unwilling: "So we're just going to wait like this?"

Wen Guoping: "What's wrong with waiting? Xiao Xu's work is more important. If you distract him now and delay the project, will you take responsibility?"

When work was mentioned, Zhao Lan fell silent. She knew how difficult it had been for Wen Xu to get to where he was today.

Wen Guoping continued, "Lin Ying is right, things have indeed been unstable these past two years; Xiao Xu's project involves the national level, and what he should do now is to do his current job well, and we can talk about the rest later."

Wen Rui quickly chimed in, "Dad's right, Mom, just calm down for now; once Xiao Xu's project is finished, we'll go to Hong Kong. Lin Ying won't be so busy then, and we can all sit down and have a proper meeting."

Zhao Lan nodded: "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Wen Rui breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she had finally calmed her mother down: "There's one more thing, don't tell my eldest brother and third brother for now."

Zhao Lan: "Why?"

"Too many people, too much talk."

Wen Rui put it bluntly: "Xiao Xu's job is special, and Lin Ying is a famous person; if word gets out now, it won't be good for anyone."

Wen Guoping nodded: "I agree with that."

Zhao Lan: "Don't worry, I won't say anything."

--------

Kadoorie Hill Villas, Hong Kong.

Lin Ying put down the phone and picked up her cell phone to dial Tang Shiya's number.

The phone rang a few times before Tang Shiya answered, "Yingying?"

"Shiya, there's something I need to tell you; I'm pregnant. Can I still attend your wedding? There are some customs I don't quite understand."

"You're pregnant?!"

"Yes, seven weeks."

"Congratulations! Of course you can attend, no problem at all; and the fact that you're pregnant right now, coinciding with my wedding, is double happiness!"

Lin Ying breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, but please keep this a secret for me; I can't reveal it to anyone yet, just keep it to yourself and don't tell anyone else, including Su Cheng."

Tang Shiya immediately replied, "Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped, I definitely won't tell; but Yingying, this news is too sudden, my mind is still a bit confused."

Lin Ying smiled: "I only found out recently, so I was telling you in advance."

"How are you feeling? Is there anything bothering you?"

"It's fine, there's no reaction."

Tang Shiya breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Remember to have your prenatal checkups on time. By the way, who's the father of the baby? You didn't tell me you were dating last time."

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "One of them is a researcher who works in mainland China."

Tang Shiya knew it would be impolite to ask any more questions, so she changed the subject: "Then you must come on January 18th, I'll be waiting for you."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely get there."

--------

January 1, 1997.

Lin Ying stood at the exit of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Lo Wu Station, carrying a small suitcase and wearing a loose-fitting cardigan; her belly was not showing yet, and there was nothing unusual about her appearance.

After exiting the border, He Fangqin was already waiting outside in the factory's official car. Upon seeing Lin Ying, He Fangqin immediately got out of the car and took the suitcase: "Boss, Happy New Year."

Lin Ying got into the car: "Happy New Year! How's the factory these days?"

"It's great. The year-end settlement has been completed, and the workers' year-end bonuses have been paid out. Everyone is in high spirits and looking forward to taking on more orders and making more money next year."

Lin Ying nodded: "What's the production schedule for the fourth batch?"

"The materials have arrived, and the production line has started testing in the last couple of days; Engineer Liu said that we can officially start production in mid-January."

Where is General Manager Chen?

"General Manager Chen is busy at the factory. He said he would come to see you as soon as you arrive."

The car drove into the factory area, and Lin Ying got out and went straight to the administration building.

Chen Guodong was organizing documents in his office when he saw Lin Ying enter and immediately stood up: "Ms. Lin, you've arrived."

Lin Ying sat down on the sofa: "Let me see the detailed year-end settlement report."

Chen Guodong handed over a thick document: "This is the complete version; I've already categorized it."

Lin Ying turned to the first page and carefully looked at every piece of data: sales revenue, profit, cost, labor expenses, equipment depreciation... every account was clearly recorded.

Upon reaching the last page, Lin Ying put down the document: "Well done."

Chen Guodong: "There's something else. Claire is urging us again, asking when the fourth batch can be delivered."

Lin Ying: "At the current pace, the first batch can be delivered by mid-March; tell her to keep the client engaged, we won't delay the order."

Chen Guodong wrote it down: "Received."

Lin Ying stood up: "I'll go check out the R&D building."

Inside the R&D building, Liu Yang was leading Chen Jian and Sun Miaoshu in debugging new equipment.

Seeing Lin Ying enter, Liu Yang immediately put down his tools: "Boss, what brings you here?"

Lin Ying: "Let's check on the progress."

Liu Yang wiped his hands: "The equipment for the fourth batch of production has been almost fully debugged, and we're just waiting for the materials to arrive before we can start production."

Lin Ying walked up to the equipment and examined it carefully: "Can the yield rate be guaranteed?"

"Yes, we have optimized the process this time, which will improve the yield by at least two percentage points."

Lin Ying nodded: "Very good, keep an eye on it."

Liu Yang suddenly remembered: "By the way, boss, we've already started working on the solution for the second-generation product you mentioned last time; Chen Jian is in charge of automation, Sun Miaoshu is in charge of hardware verification, and I'm in charge of the overall technical roadmap."

Lin Ying: "Show me the plan when it's ready."