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

Less than an hour after Su Zhihao made the call, the doorbell rang on the fifteenth floor of Taikoo Shing.

This time he didn't bring Su Cheng, Su Jun, or his lawyer; when the door opened, Su Zhihao stood alone outside, holding a box of wife cakes and a bag of braised beef.

"Ah Ying," his first words as he walked in were, "Where's the notebook?"

Lin Ying immediately invited him inside: "Second Uncle, you didn't bring your lawyer today?"

Su Zhihao put the things on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa: "This deal, 'The Gambling King of the Underworld,' was agreed upon by you and me first. I trust you, and you trust me; let's sign the general terms first, and the lawyers will fill in the details later."

Lin Ying smiled and pushed the brown paper bag on the table over: "The copyright registration is done, and the confidentiality receipt confirmation is ready. I had Lawyer Shen draft a basic version of the contract first. The profit sharing will be as we agreed last time: you will be in charge of the gambling film side, Boss Peng will take 20% of the distribution, and I will take 20% of the remaining 80% as net profit."

Su Zhihao took the document and began to read it line by line. He didn't read the English contract quickly; he was no longer the impulsive person he used to be.

He looked through each item one by one, and when he got to the "Net Profit Deduction Scope" section, he looked up and asked, "Promotional expenses can't be arbitrarily allocated, right?"

"Yes," Lin Ying said. "We can spend the money we need to spend on filming, but we can't include the money we lose on other films in the budget, just in case."

Su Zhihao exclaimed, "Ah Ying, your brain really leaves no room for error."

"My second uncle wouldn't cheat me."

"Of course I wouldn't cheat you." Su Zhihao began to sign. "I'm counting on you to help me make my second pot of gold."

Lin Lanying sat to the side watching without interrupting. She was already used to her daughter sitting at the table with these big bosses and talking about money.

After signing his name, Su Zhihao pushed the contract back to him: "I'll have my lawyer contact your lawyer later. If you need any changes, just tell me. As long as it doesn't cost me my life, I'll accept them."

Lin Ying also signed the document, and Lin Lanying, as the guardian, followed suit.

Two copies of the contract are required; please keep them safe.

After finishing their business, Su Zhihao leaned back on the sofa and asked, "There are still eighteen days until school starts, right?"

"Okay." Lin Ying put the documents into the leather bag. "I'm going into sixth grade on September 1st."

"Sixth grade." Su Zhihao shook his head and sighed, "How old are you? If my two idiots were half as smart as you, I'd be laughing in my sleep."

He had barely finished speaking when Lin Qian's voice came from the restaurant: "Sister! I've figured out the answer to this problem, isn't it 326?"

Lin Yue immediately said, "That's not right, is it? I calculated it to be three hundred and forty-eight."

Lin Ying turned her head to look over.

At the dining table, Lin Qian and Lin Yue each had an exercise book, and draft paper was spread all over the table. In front of them was a notebook of wrong questions, densely circled in red pen.

Lin Ying got up and walked over, looking at the questions: "Lin Qian, you missed calculating the round trip distance once. Lin Yue, you made a mistake in the unit conversion."

Both children lowered their heads at the same time.

"Do it again." Lin Ying pushed the draft paper back. "I'll look at this problem again in ten minutes."

Lin Qian sighed, "Sister, I feel like my brain is about to explode."

Lin Yue said softly, "I'm fine, let me calculate it again."

Su Zhihao sat in the living room observing the situation: "Aying."

"Um?"

"Can you fit two more in here?"

Lin Ying turned to look at him: "Second Uncle, are you talking about Su Cheng and Su Jun?"

"It's those two." Su Zhihao slapped his thigh. "I've already hired four tutors at home: one for English, one for math, one for Chinese, and another to help them with their homework; I'm spending money like water without batting an eye, but it's all for naught."

He pointed at Lin Qian and Lin Yue: "I see something different about you. You don't just teach the problems, you can manage people."

Lin Lanying laughed when she heard this: "Boss Su, your two young masters might not necessarily listen to Aying."

"They dare not listen?" Su Zhihao sneered. "I'll deliver it myself. If they still don't listen, I'll break their legs."

Lin Ying didn't agree immediately. She had already sent out two scripts, and with eighteen days left before the start of the semester, she did have some free time.

But she didn't want to exhaust herself.

Su Zhihao could tell she was weighing her options, so he immediately said, "I'll pay you, one hundred a hour."

"Second Uncle, you've given too much." Lin Ying sighed.

"Not expensive," Su Zhihao said. "Four private tutors combined cost more than this! And the worst part is they're ineffective! If you can help them avoid being treated as useless by their teachers when school starts, I think it's cheap."

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "From nine in the morning to twelve at night, three hours. I need to study and do my homework in the afternoon. I'll only make up for eighteen days, and then we'll see how it goes after school starts."

"OK."

"Su Cheng is starting middle school, and I can only help him with his basics; I can't finish middle school for him," Lin Ying made it clear beforehand.

"The basics are enough," Su Zhihao sighed. "His private middle school was an opportunity I got by spending 500,000 yuan."

Even Lin Lanying was shocked: "Five hundred thousand?"

"Sponsorship fee," Su Zhihao said, his face not looking too good. "If my grades aren't good enough, the fact that they're willing to accept me is already a favor. But if I can't keep up after I get in, and people laugh at me, then that 500,000 yuan will really just be for a seat."

Su Zhihao's words are very true. That's how education is in Hong Kong: the threshold is there, money can open a crack, but whether you can stand firm after entering depends on yourself.

Lin Ying nodded: "Then have them bring their schoolbags tomorrow; old test papers, textbooks, and workbooks should all be brought along."

Su Zhihao immediately smiled: "I knew I could have made the right choice by coming to you."

The doorbell rang before nine o'clock the next morning.

Su Cheng and Su Jun each carried a schoolbag and stood at the door.

Su Cheng was wearing a white shirt, his hair was neatly combed, and he looked a little embarrassed.

Su Jun was not so composed. As soon as he entered the room, he glanced at the TV and then at the direction of Lin Qian's room.

Su Cheng put down his schoolbag and took out his report card and textbooks: "Lin Ying, I'm going to be in the first year of junior high school after the semester starts. The school is private, and my dad gave me a sponsorship fee of 500,000 yuan to get me this spot."

Lin Ying could tell that he wasn't showing off, but rather that he felt pressured.

"Then you need to hurry up." Lin Ying flipped through his English test paper. "The easiest subjects to fall behind in the first year of high school are English reading and math. You're not very strong in either of those."

Su Cheng nodded: "I know."

After Su Jun sat down, he unusually refrained from his usual banter; he opened his workbook and said softly, "I will work hard too. I don't want my dad to think that all I do is spend money."

Lin Ying glanced at him: "First, redo the multiplication and division problems you got wrong."

Su Jun: "Huh?"

Lin Ying: "I just said I would try my best."

Su Jun immediately lowered his head: "I'll do it."

From that day on, from nine in the morning to twelve at night, it officially became a small tutoring class for four people.

Lin Ying sat at the head of the table.

On the left are Lin Qian and Lin Yue, and on the right are Su Cheng and Su Jun.

She first disassembled Su Cheng's English textbook, explaining how to break long sentences and how to find the subject and predicate; then she watched Lin Qian do word problems; when Lin Yue mispronounced words, she would make her read them three times; Su Jun was the most restless, wanting to touch comics every half hour, which Lin Ying would tap on the table with her pen.

"Su Jun."

"Um."

"If you reach out your hand again, I'll tell my second uncle that today's three hours are invalid, and we'll have to start over tomorrow."

Su Jun immediately put his hand back on the table: "I was wrong."

Su Cheng couldn't help but laugh when he saw his younger brother's expression.

Lin Ying looked at him and said, "Don't laugh. Finish translating this short English passage."

Su Cheng immediately lowered his head.

On the third day, Su Jun finally couldn't help but ask, "Lin Ying, aren't you tired? You're writing a script, skipping grades, and taking care of the four of us all at the same time."

Lin Ying was correcting Lin Yue's mistakes: "Tired."

Su Jun was stunned: "Then why are you still doing it?"

"Because it was useful."

After he finished speaking, the dining table fell silent for a moment.

Lin Qian was the first to lower his head and continue solving the problem.

He now understands very well that his sister's promise to buy him a house is conditional on him getting into university.

Lin Yue didn't say anything. Her parents were busy in Mong Kok every day, and she didn't want to keep them up at night again.

--------

Eighteen days passed quickly.

Su Zhihao paid the tutoring fees on time, sending cash over by his driver every three days, and even bringing boxes of fruit and snacks to the Lin family.

Lin Lanying initially felt embarrassed, but after seeing that Lin Ying had indeed managed to keep the four children under control, she stopped saying anything more.

She herself became busy, and the Lam Kee Tailor Shop in Sai Wan did not officially reopen.

After finishing the last orders from her old customers, Lin Lanying closed the shop and moved the sewing machines back to Yufa Building.

She hasn't decided on a new shop yet; rents are expensive near Taikoo Shing, and even more expensive in Central and Causeway Bay, so she doesn't want to rush into investing.

"Once you graduate from elementary school this year and go to middle school, things will be more stable at home, and then I'll take my time with things," she told Lin Ying. "In the meantime, I'll focus on taking care of you and Aqian."

After saying that, she took out a registration form from her bag.

Lin Ying glanced at it: "Adult technology courses?"

"Fashion design." Lin Lanying was a little uncomfortable, but she still said, "Before, I only knew how to alter old clothes for customers and made a living with my skills. Now, I need to do business with the ladies in Taikoo Shing and Central, and just knowing how to operate a sewing machine is not enough. I also need to learn to draw patterns and design, and learn Western styles."

Lin Ying nodded: "Mommy, this class is a good choice."

Lin Lanying laughed and scolded, "Don't talk to me like a teacher."

The night before September 1st, Lin Ying packed her new schoolbag.

She'll be going straight to sixth grade, which will be much more complicated than before, as she has to travel from Taikoo Shing to St. Paul's in Sai Wan. First, she'll take a bus, then transfer to a school bus, a journey that takes about forty minutes one way if there's no traffic. She'll have to get up much earlier in the morning and get home much later after school.

After calculating for two days, Lin Lanying finally made the decision: "We won't rent out that apartment in Yufa Building for now."

Lin Qian's eyes widened: "Not renting? Aren't you supposed to collect rent every month?"

"Charging a few hundred dollars in rent in exchange for your sister spending an extra hour or so every day isn't worth it," Lin Lanying said. "From Monday to Friday, we stay in Yu Fat Building. It's closer to your school. We'll go back to Taikoo Shing on weekends."

Lin Ying thought about it and did not object.

After hearing the arrangement, He Dazhu scratched his head: "So I'll have to go back to Taikoo City every day?"

"It's convenient for you to come and go from Yau Ma Tei to learn jade carving," Lin Lanying said. "The new house can't be left unattended. After you finish work, go home and check the water and electricity, and we'll go over on the weekend."

He Dazhu immediately nodded: "Okay, I'll guard the house."

Lin Qian whispered, "Then should I put my comics on both sides?"

Lin Lanying glared at him: "Put your summer homework in your schoolbag first!"