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

On Saturday morning, Lin Ying got up earlier than usual.

When she came downstairs, Lin Lanying was in the living room hemming her newly made cheongsam. Lin Qian had come back yesterday and was staying here. He got up early this morning to watch the news.

"Get ready, come with me." Lin Ying slung her bag over her shoulder.

Lin Qian asked knowingly, "Where to?"

"You promised to buy me the gold bracelet last week."

Lin Qian felt a little sorry for himself: "Sis, I just said it casually..."

"I'm serious!" Lin Ying exclaimed, then called out to Lin Lanying, "Mommy, you're coming too!"

Lin Lanying was reluctant to go out: "Why would I go? I don't need any jewelry."

"Ah Qian is paying the bill, might as well go."

Lin Lanying stopped sewing, thinking that she and her daughter hadn't gone shopping in a long time, and that she hadn't even enjoyed Lin Qian's hospitality yet: "Let me change my clothes."

Lin Qian watched the mother and daughter working together and felt like he had fallen into a trap.

The three of them drove to a jewelry store in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The gold shop was bustling with customers on the weekend, and the counters were packed with people looking at the goods early in the morning. As soon as Lin Ying entered, she went straight to the bracelet counter and asked the clerk to bring out the heaviest ones.

"How many grams does this weigh?"

"Sixty-eight grams, miss."

"Take it out and let us see."

The shop assistant, wearing gloves, placed the bracelet on a velvet cloth. Lin Ying picked it up, weighed it in her hand, and then checked its quality: "Pure gold?"

"Pure gold is 999 gold. Today's gold price is 248 yuan per gram. Processing fees are calculated separately."

Lin Ying knew the price in her mind; including the processing fee, it would be about 260 yuan per gram. She pointed to several items on the counter: "This one, this one, this pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets, and that necklace, wrap them all up."

The shop assistant paused for a moment, then said, "Miss, all of these added together..."

"I know, around two hundred grams; my brother will pay for it."

Lin Qian stood beside him, his eyelids twitching: "Sis, two hundred grams?"

"What, you think it's not enough?" Lin Ying pointed to a pair of earrings. "Then add these too."

"I don't mind if it's not too little! Two hundred grams is only a little over fifty thousand! My brother can afford it!!!!"

Lin Lanying also came over at this time. Hearing this, she immediately went to another counter and said, "Ah Qian, Mommy should take a look too."

Lin Qian: "Mommy, you're here too?"

"Your sister bought them all, wouldn't I be losing out if I didn't?" Lin Lanying said matter-of-factly, pointing to a pair of wide bracelets in the counter. "Take these out."

For the next hour, Lin Qian stood in the gold shop, watching his mother and sister pick out gold like they were buying vegetables.

Lin Lanying was even more ruthless than Lin Ying in her selection! Dragon and phoenix bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings, one by one, were placed on the velvet cloth, eventually totaling nearly two hundred grams.

Lin Qian looked at her with a heavy heart: "Mommy, are you even going to wear all of these?"

Lin Lanying: "If we can't wear them all, we can just leave them. Gold won't break, and we can keep them to add to Minmin's dowry later."

Lin Qian felt a little better after hearing this, but Lin Lanying's next words were: "But that's for the future. Right now, these are mine."

When it was time to pay, the clerk used a calculator to calculate again and again, and finally said: "The two of you weigh a total of 416 grams. Including the processing fee, the total is 108,200 yuan."

Lin Qian took out his checkbook, his hands trembling as he signed it.

Lin Ying leaned closer for a look: "Master Lin, are you feeling sorry for him?"

Lin Qian tore off the check. "It took me four years to save 500,000, and I lost 108,000 in one day."

"You earn two or three hundred thousand a year, why are you complaining about being poor?"

"That's no way to spend money like that!" Lin Qian put away his checkbook, heartbroken. "Sis, how come I never realized you could spend money like that before?"

"That's because I spent all of it with my own money! You're already feeling the pinch after spending only a few tens of thousands?"

Lin Lanying chimed in, "Your sister's right, you've spent way more of our money than we have!"

Lin Qian felt a pang of sadness looking at the two women.

After getting into the car, Lin Ying, sitting in the passenger seat, said, "Little brother, I'm really relieved now."

"What are you worried about?"

"Don't worry, you won't get scammed! With your penny-pinching attitude, it's harder than climbing to heaven for anyone to take money out of your pocket."

Lin Qian didn't know if this was a compliment or an insult: "Sis, I'm just being frugal."

"That's called being stingy. The fact that you've managed to save this much over the years shows how stingy you are."

------

Lin Yue's wedding was on March 26th.

The hotel was a well-established restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Three tables of relatives from Zhang Yiming's side came, while the Lin family's side filled half the banquet hall.

Lin Ying arrived early and helped Deng Hui greet the guests; she was only five months pregnant, but it wasn't obvious because she was wearing a loose dress. Lin Lanying was still nervous and moved a chair for her to sit on: "Sit down and greet them, don't stand."

Lin Yue looked beautiful today. Her wedding dress was altered by Lin Lanying herself, and the waist was perfectly fitted. After she finished her makeup, she came out and saw Lin Ying sitting in the corner: "Big sister."

"Um."

"Thank you, Mommy said you gave a lot of ideas for this wedding dress."

"I only mentioned it briefly; the cooking skills are your aunt's." Lin Ying took a red envelope from her bag and stuffed it into her hand. "Take it."

Lin Yue pinched the thickness: "Big sister, this is way too thick..."

"Thirty thousand in cash, and a check for one hundred thousand." Lin Ying pressed down on her hand, which was trying to push her away. "You and Yiming have just started a family, and you'll need money a lot in the future; this is your older sister's thoughtful gift."

Lin Yue's eyes reddened: "Big sister..."

"Why are you crying? Your makeup will be ruined." Lin Ying handed her a tissue. "Live a good life from now on. Yiming is a good person. He's better at judging people than your brother Qian."

Lin Qian, who was handing Zhang Yiming a red envelope not far away, heard this and became displeased: "Sis, I haven't even finished giving you the red envelope and you're already talking bad about me?"

Lin Yue burst into laughter through her tears.

Lin Qian handed the red envelope to Zhang Yiming: "100,000 yuan, not much, just a small token of my appreciation."

Zhang Yiming quickly declined, "Brother Qian, this is too much..."

"Take it." Lin Qian felt terrible about it, but pretended to be nonchalant and patted his shoulder. "Be nicer to my cousin in the future, or as a lawyer, I'll find a way to make trouble for you."

Zhang Yiming: "Definitely, definitely."

The wedding ceremony went smoothly. When Zhang Yiming recited his vows on stage, Lin Yue cried her eyes out. Lin Ying sat in the audience watching, feeling nothing in particular, just enjoying the lively atmosphere.

After the banquet, the family returned to Kadoorie Hill; Lin Qian suddenly spoke up: "Sister, Yueyue is getting married today, and I'll be getting married in a few months. Are you really not planning to get married?"

Lin Ying leaned back on the sofa and turned on the TV: "Little brother, you're already so anxious about your marriage, facing so many unknowns in the future. What about me?"

Yes, he and Hu Min, from two ordinary families, have already spent more than a month negotiating the bride price and the boundaries of the bride's family. Marriage is never just a matter between two people, but between two families, a pot of porridge mixed together with money, responsibility, relatives, and boundaries! And what about his sister?

His sister has assets worth tens or hundreds of millions; factories, stocks, patents... With such a large amount of wealth, when she enters into marriage, she is not marrying a person, but rather handing over what she has built up over half her life to another family.

Lin Qian has seen a lot about human nature in the years he has been a lawyer; how many couples have turned against each other over money, how many relatives have gone to court over inheritance.

Lin Qian understood. "Sis, if you want to get married, then get married; if you don't want to, then forget it. Anyway, we're going to have a baby soon."

Lin Ying smiled: "You've figured it out?"

"I've figured it out! You're a hundred times smarter than me. You make your own decisions. I won't ask anymore, and I won't tell anyone who asks."

Lin Qian yawned, got up and went upstairs: "By the way, sister, the baby's been born, how much should I prepare for the red envelope?"

Lin Ying: "You can give me whatever you think is appropriate, but it can't be less than what Yueyue received."

Lin Qian!!! He knew it! His sister would never hesitate to take money from his wallet.