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

"Good! Good girl!" Lin Fu downed the rice wine in his cup in one gulp. "It's good that you're willing to study. Grandpa will support you! You can study for as long as you want, and Grandpa will support you for as long as you want!"

Li Yuzhen wiped her eyes and repeatedly said yes, and Lin Lanying also breathed a sigh of relief; in Hong Kong in this era, it was a good thing for a girl to be willing to study, let alone a child who had been mentally challenged for nine years and had just regained consciousness.

For the next day and a half, Lin Ying completely relaxed; like a real nine-year-old child, she was dragged around the village by Lin Qian and Lin Yue.

The dirt roads in the village were uneven, making it difficult to walk without sinking deep or sinking deep into the dirt.

Lin Ying deliberately ran very fast. She stopped under a tree and breathed heavily; her heart was pounding powerfully in her chest, making a muffled "thump-thump" sound.

So this is what health feels like; it doesn't require expensive medical equipment or 24-hour special care. All you need is a pair of ordinary plastic sandals to make your own echo on this land.

It was Sunday afternoon.

Before heading back, Li Yuzhen was busy running around under the eaves. She was carrying several huge plastic bags and stuffing them with things. Live free-range chickens with their feet tied were thrown in, along with farm eggs wrapped tightly in newspaper, dried cured meat, and a small basket of freshly picked bok choy.

"Mom, that's enough, I can't carry any more." Lin Lanying lifted the bag.

"Not enough!" Li Yuzhen turned and went back into the house, taking out a red plastic bag containing two square boxes of high-grade American ginseng, with a large red paper package on top. She solemnly handed the separate red bag to Lin Lanying and gave her instructions.

"This is specially prepared for Granny Wu; tomorrow is Monday, so open your shop a little later and go with Dazhu and Amei in person. Granny Wu is very strict and doesn't see guests, but we're going to fulfill a vow, so we must make sure she takes another good look at Amei." Li Yuzhen patted Lin Ying's head, "to see if her soul is stable."

Lin Lanying nodded: "Don't worry, Mom, I know what I'm doing. We'll go first thing tomorrow morning."

Monday morning.

The commercial street beneath Yufa Building had just begun to awaken. Lin Lanying didn't open the tailor shop today, and He Dazhu also specially asked his boss, who was a contractor, for half a day off.

The family of three, dressed neatly and carrying the thank-you gift prepared by Li Yuzhen, took the tram to Yau Ma Tei.

In a narrow old alley in Yau Ma Tei, they turned into an old tenement building with mottled exterior walls. The staircase was narrow, the light was dim, and the air was filled with the strong smell of incense.

Reaching the third floor, Lin Lanying stopped in front of a half-open wooden door and gently knocked.

"Come in."

Pushing open the door, the room was dimly lit; the windows were covered by thick red curtains, and a large shrine stood against the wall opposite the door. Two red light bulbs shone inside the shrine, and several sticks of incense were stuck in the incense burner, swirling with smoke.

Granny Wu sat in an old rattan chair, dressed in a dark Tang suit. She looked to be in her sixties, extremely thin, with half-closed eyes and a string of dark wooden prayer beads in her hand.

"Grandma, it's me, Lin Lanying, the tailor. Dazhu is here too." Lin Lanying pulled Lin Ying forward and placed the bag containing red paper packets and American ginseng on the octagonal table next to them. He Dazhu also quickly placed the local specialties he was carrying in the corner.

"We brought A-mei here to thank you; thank you for the ritual, Master. A-mei is all better now and recognizes everyone." Lin Lanying's voice was filled with gratitude.

Granny Wu stopped holding the prayer beads.

Lin Ying desperately wanted to know the answer.

Before Lin Lanying could even ask her to call someone, Lin Ying took a step forward, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Granny Wu; I've come today to know if I'll ever leave again and revert to my previous muddled state?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Lanying and He Dazhu both turned pale.

"Sister! What nonsense are you talking about!" Lin Lanying grabbed Lin Ying's arm in a panic, turned to Granny Wu and bowed repeatedly, "Please don't be angry, Granny Wu, the boy is just being ignorant and talking nonsense!"

He Dazhu nervously rubbed the back of his hands; in Hong Kong, offending the gods and sorceresses is a major taboo.

"It's alright." Granny Wu raised her withered hand and waved it, signaling Lin Lanying to let go.

She stared at Lin Ying's clear eyes for a long time, then suddenly stood up. She walked to the shrine, washed her hands, lit three new incense sticks, and placed them in the incense burner. Then, she took out an old tortoise shell from beside the shrine, inside which were three old copper coins.

Granny Wu held the tortoise shell in both hands, closed her eyes, and muttered in a low, rapid voice, making it impossible to understand what she was saying. After shaking it for a moment, she tilted the tortoise shell downwards.

"Jingle bells..."

Three copper coins landed on the bright red lacquered wooden table, spun around, and finally lay flat.

Granny Wu looked down at the copper coins for a long time... Then, she put the coins away again and cast another divination. She did this three times in a row.

After the third time, Granny Wu put the tortoise shell back in its original place; she turned around and sat back down in the rattan chair.

"It won't happen again." Granny Wu looked at Lin Ying, her voice utterly certain. "It won't happen again."

Lin Ying subconsciously clenched her fists, her nails digging lightly into her palms.

"Your life will be very smooth from now on." Granny Wu's gaze seemed to see through your body. "You are who you always have been. It's just that God put you in the wrong place before, and you suffered undeservedly. Now, everything is back to normal. What is meant to be yours will be yours."

It's in the wrong place!?

These few words precisely cut through the deepest doubts in her heart. The body in her previous life, destined to die young and be bedridden, was a mistake; she hadn't taken away anyone's living space, this was herself, only delayed by nine years, finally returning to her rightful place.

The last string that had been taut in her heart finally loosened. Lin Ying released her fist, feeling a lightness she had never felt before.

"Alright." Granny Wu picked up the teacup beside her. "You can leave now; I have other guests coming later, so I won't keep you any longer."

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!" Lin Lanying pulled Lin Ying to bow, and He Dazhu also thanked them repeatedly; the family quietly left the room and closed the door behind them.

Stepping out of the tenement building, the midday sun shone brightly on the street. The sound of car horns and Cantonese pop songs playing from roadside radios instantly pulled them back from the gloomy and mysterious atmosphere to the bustling world.

Lin Ying walked in the middle, holding Lin Lanying's hand with her left hand and He Dazhu's hand with her right. The sunlight warmed her arms.

"Let's go sit in the ice cream parlor on the street corner, have a drink of water, and then take a bus back home." Lin Lanying felt much more relaxed and led the father and daughter into an ice cream parlor with a green sign and white lettering.

The family of three found a booth and sat down. He Dazhu ordered two iced lemon teas, one hot milk tea, and two freshly baked pineapple buns.

The chilled lemon tea was served. Lin Ying took a sip, and the sweet and sour, icy liquid slid down her throat and into her stomach, dispelling the summer heat. She looked up at her parents sitting opposite her.

"Mommy, Daddy. I want to go to school." Lin Ying said directly, without any preamble. Her grandfather agreed to support her, and even God felt she belonged here; now it was time to address the practical issues.

Lin Lanying was poking at the lemon slices in her cup with a spoon when she heard this and stopped. She wasn't surprised; she had clearly heard her daughter's words at the dinner table back home yesterday.

He Dazhu smiled憨厚ly: "It's good that you want to go to school. Go to the government school and study with your younger brother. You can look after each other. Your younger brother will be going to the second grade in the fall, and you can go to the first grade."

"No way." Lin Lanying glared at her husband, interrupting him.

She put down the spoon in her hand, looked at Lin Ying, and her tone became serious: "Sister, the rules in Hong Kong's public schools, which are also government schools, are very strict. It's free to attend a government school, but if you transfer in, you can only start from the first grade."

Lin Lanying continued to analyze for her daughter, "Think about it, you're already nine years old. Your class is full of six- or seven-year-olds. If you study with them, how old will you be when you graduate from elementary school? Fifteen!"

Lin Lanying was very shrewd in her calculations: "Girls graduate from primary school at fifteen and then go to secondary school. By the time they finish, they're almost twenty, and it'll be hard to find a job then."

Lin Ying remained silent, listening quietly to her mother's analysis.

"So..." Lin Lanying stared into Lin Ying's eyes, "Little sister, I've seen you flipping through your brother's textbooks with great interest these past few days at the shop. Tell your mother honestly, do you have any talent for studying? Do you want to skip a grade?"

"Of course I'll jump," Lin Ying answered almost instantly, without the slightest hesitation.

Lin Ying said matter-of-factly, "If I don't skip grades, I won't start junior high until I'm fifteen. At that age, most people are already in senior high. I can't possibly waste my time learning how to write characters and do addition and subtraction."

He Dazhu, listening from the side, scratched his head and said, "Sister, skipping grades isn't that easy; my brother's Chinese and arithmetic textbooks are so thick..."

"Dazhu, shut up," Lin Lanying stopped her husband.

She sighed heavily. "Little sister, you want to skip a grade. If you have the ambition, Mommy supports you."

Lin Lanying lowered her voice, "But remember this clearly, it's absolutely impossible to skip grades in government schools. Their rules are there, the Education Bureau's regulations are there, they strictly control the age for each grade."

"If you want to skip a grade and save time, there's only one path we can take." Lin Lanying paused, "Go to a private school."

Upon hearing the word "private," He Dazhu, who was standing next to him, gasped.

Lin Ying recalled the information she had gathered over the past few days. In Hong Kong, the education system was clearly divided. Government and subsidized primary schools were tuition-free, open to the general public, and had rigid rules; while private schools followed a completely different set of rules.

"The rules at private schools are that as long as you have the ability and the principal approves, you can transfer to any grade you want," Lin Lanying said, staring at her daughter. "But private schools have two fatal hurdles. First, the tuition is expensive, extremely expensive. Second, you have to pass their entrance exam. It's entirely in traditional Chinese characters, and the interview and exam are entirely in English."