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

Lin Ying discovered something: Wen Xu really did call every single day! He didn't just call when he remembered; it rang precisely at eight o'clock every night, and the first thing he said when she answered was always, "Zaozao, how's today?"

The question wasn't directed at her, but at the child.

Lin Ying didn't pay attention for the first two days, but on the fifth day, she was writing an outline in her study when Lin Lanying answered the phone early in the morning and chatted with Wen Xu for fifteen minutes in the living room.

Fifteen minutes were spent reporting on the child: how much milk they drank today, how many times they pooped, whether they gained weight, and whether they sneezed.

Lin Ying felt that her ranking in the family was roughly: Zaozao, Lin Lanying, He Dazhu, Wen Xu... and then she was last.

The next day, when the phone rang, Lin Ying answered it herself: "Mr. Wen, is this call for me or for Zaozao?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Xu instantly understood that Lin Ying was trying to pick a fight: "Yes, I have. How are you today?"

"good."

"What about Zaozao?"

Lin Ying rolled her eyes: "Can't you hold back for ten seconds?"

Wen Xu chuckled on the phone, and Lin Ying sighed, "Alright, I'll tell you what you want to hear. She's become very beautiful now, all fair and plump, and I pinch that little dimple on her wrist every day."

Did you take any photos?

"Not yet, the camera at home is too old, the pictures aren't clear."

"Then you should buy a good one," Wen Xu said.

Lin Ying had been thinking about this, and when he brought it up, she went out the next day. She went to a professional camera shop in Causeway Bay and bought the best and most expensive Hasselblad 500C/M at the time. The body, standard lens, and all the film and other materials cost HK$18,000.

When Lin Ying returned to the villa with her camera case, Lin Lanying was playing with Zaozao.

These past two days, Zaozao has learned to stare at people. If anyone gets close, she stares back with her dark eyes. Lin Ying opened the box, assembled the camera, loaded the film, and adjusted the aperture: "Mommy, hold Zaozao and sit over there, don't move."

Before Lin Lanying could react, the shutter clicked; "What are you doing?" Lin Lanying was startled by the flash.

"Take a picture." Lin Ying pressed the shutter button again. "Don't move, the lighting is perfect."

For the next half hour, Lin Ying circled around Zaozao, taking more than a dozen photos from various angles, including front, side, and overhead. Zaozao cooperated throughout, neither crying nor laughing, and simply lay there being photographed.

He Dazhu returned from grocery shopping and saw his daughter squatting in front of her crib holding a square box. Curious, he approached and asked, "What's this camera? It's so big!"

"Hasselblad, it's professional." Lin Ying handed him the camera. "Old Dou, you should learn how to use it. When I'm not home, you can take pictures of Zaozao for me."

He Dazhu took it and examined it for a long time, turning it over and over: "How do you press this?"

Lin Ying spent twenty minutes teaching He Dazhu how to focus and press the shutter button; He Dazhu learned it three times before he figured out where to look at the viewfinder, and he wrapped the shutter release cable around twice before he figured out how to avoid shaking.

Lin Lanying watched from the side, and after He Dazhu finished learning, she joined in, saying, "I want to learn too."

"You want to learn?" Lin Ying was a little surprised. Her mother usually found even learning how to turn on a computer troublesome.

"I spend the most time with Zaozao every day, and I want to take pictures of any beautiful scenes," Lin Lanying said confidently.

Lin Ying spent another fifteen minutes teaching her; Lin Lanying learned faster than He Dazhu, mastering it in three tries, and even took a picture of her early on.

"Alright, you can practice slowly later." Lin Ying put the camera away.

After finishing the first roll of film, Lin Ying went to Causeway Bay to develop it. She picked out the six best photos, put them in an envelope, and sent them to Wen Xu. On the back of the envelope, she wrote only one line: Your daughter is not ugly now.

The night Wen Xu received the photos, he called half an hour earlier than usual: "I received the photos."

"How is it?"

"It's very beautiful." A warm voice tinged with laughter. "I put it on my desk."

Lin Ying snorted: "Your desk is covered in pictures of your daughter now?"

"And yours too."

Lin Ying was taken aback: "When did I give you a photo?"

"You forgot? That photo you took at the Yingchuang TV launch event has been on my desk all this time."

Lin Ying had indeed forgotten... She changed the subject: "Alright, I'll be writing a script for a while, so I might not have time to answer your calls every day."

"I'll just call your mom."

"……what ever."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying returned to her study, turned on her computer, and began writing. The outline was already clear, and now it was time to start writing: a girl from an ordinary family changes her fate through education. After graduation, she takes an unconventional path and starts a software business: first, she opens up the market with small games, then she enters the enterprise market with office management systems, and finally, she grows her business step by step. Interspersed throughout are romantic storylines, including a rich second-generation who pursues her, a colleague who is jealous of her, and a partner who betrays her.

Lin Ying wrote very quickly.

I go into the study at nine o'clock every morning, come out for lunch and hold Zaozao for a while, go back in at two o'clock in the afternoon, and finish work at eight o'clock in the evening. I can produce six or seven thousand words a day.

Lin Lanying would occasionally bring in some fruit to peek inside, only to see her daughter constantly typing away at the computer, while the printer beside her produced sheet after sheet of paper...

"Take your time writing, no one's rushing you." Lin Lanying put down the fruit plate.

Thirty days later, a period was drawn on the last page.

Lin Ying organized the manuscript, which was over a hundred pages long, and sent it to Shen Yanwen's law firm by express delivery. On the phone, she instructed Shen Yanwen: "You handle the contract negotiations. The investment ratio, profit sharing, and authorship should all follow the previous model. Let Uncle Su take a look at the manuscript first."

Shen Yanwen agreed and handed the script over to Su Zhihao that same day.

Three days later, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the landline in the living room rang; Lin Ying was on the balcony letting Zaozao sunbathe when she heard the ringing. She handed the child to Pusen and went inside to answer the phone.

"Feed?"

Su Zhihao's loud voice rang out: "Ah Ying! Teacher Zhou and I have finished reading your script; we only finished it today!"

"How do you feel?"

Su Zhihao: "Well... the story flows smoothly, the pace is fast, the female lead is smart and ruthless, the romantic storylines are well-developed, and the rich second-generation guys who pursue her are quite likable. The audience will definitely love it."

Lin Ying was waiting for his "but".

Sure enough, Su Zhihao continued, "But Ying, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead and ask."

"In your script, the female lead's company sells office systems and mini-games. It describes exactly what the factory looks like, what the offices look like, and even which floor of the R&D building is used for meetings! Isn't this all the work of Yingchuang Technology?"

Lin Ying... she knew this couldn't be hidden from Uncle Su.

Su Zhihao continued, "The Dou Dizhu game your female lead made is called 'Happy Chess and Cards,' and the company is called 'Yingchuang Software.' You couldn't even be bothered to change the name?!"

Lin Ying was indeed a little embarrassed: "Second Uncle, um... we can film here at Yingchuang. I won't charge you for the venue, and you can borrow the equipment too."

Su Zhihao laughed and cursed on the other end of the phone: "I knew it! You've been planning this all along! You first ruined your company's entire movie, and then you expect me to fund it!"

"Second Uncle, you're not losing out either. You've saved a lot of money on location scouting; all the sets and props are readily available—the R&D building, the production workshop, the offices, everything. How much would it cost to build a set outside temporarily?"

Su Zhihao understood this principle.

Lin Ying continued, "Besides, even if this script is good, doesn't Teacher Zhou approve? As long as the audience buys it, who cares if it's a guy from my company in it?"

Su Zhihao...: "You brag, huh? If you didn't care, why would you write it? You... you've been shrewd since you were nine."