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

After saying "go to a private school," Lin Lanying didn't drink any more of the iced lemon tea. She grabbed a tissue, wiped her mouth, and stood up.

"Dazhu, take Amei home first. You have to go to work this afternoon. I'll go straight to the shop." Lin Lanying was decisive and efficient. Once she made a decision, she didn't want to waste any time. "A regular customer is coming to pick up her altered dress this afternoon. She teaches English at a private primary school in Kowloon Tong. I'll go and check it out."

He Dazhu nodded repeatedly, paid for the tea, and led Lin Ying toward Yufa Building.

------

Around 3 PM, it was the hottest time of day at Yufa Commercial Street.

Lin Lanying had just put two drops of machine oil on the sewing machine when someone came in from outside.

She was a woman in her early thirties, wearing a floral chiffon blouse, gold-rimmed glasses, carrying a handbag, and wearing mid-heeled sandals. She was impeccably dressed and exuded a refreshing air, like someone who had just stepped out of an office building.

This is Zhang Meiling, an English teacher at a private elementary school in St. Paul's. She's a regular customer who comes to the shop to have her clothes altered every few days.

"Teacher Zhang, you're here." Lin Lanying immediately stood up and took a dust cover covered with a plastic bag from the clothes rack behind her. "I've raised the hem of your skirt by two inches and adjusted the waistline accordingly. Do you like it?"

Zhang Meiling took the dress, held it up in front of her, and examined herself in the small mirror on the wall. She nodded in satisfaction, "Sister Lin, your craftsmanship is still the best. The ready-made clothes I bought were always a little off in size."

Lin Lanying smiled and helped her repack the dress, folding it neatly and putting it in a paper bag before handing it over. Her hands didn't stop moving as she spoke casually.

"Teacher Zhang, it's perfect that you're here. I wanted to ask you about something." Lin Lanying wiped her hands on her apron, trying to sound relaxed. "My eldest daughter... the one who used to have health issues, but she's completely recovered now. I'd like her to start school in the fall. What are the procedures for transferring to your private school?"

Zhang Meiling stopped tidying her wallet. She looked up, her gaze sweeping over Lin Lanying's apron with loose threads, then over the small shop of about ten square meters piled high with fabric, and gave a forced smile.

"Sister Lin, your daughter hasn't been to school, has she?" Zhang Meiling fastened her purse. "It's best to start her studies in a public school from first grade. Private schools... are too difficult."

"How is it difficult?" Lin Lanying handed over a glass of water.

Zhang Meiling didn't take it, but hung the purse on her elbow and sighed.

"I'm not trying to discourage you, Sister Lin. The number of places for our St. Paul's entrance exam is even fewer than the Miss Hong Kong pageant! There are only a few dozen spots each year, and hundreds of people are eyeing them. Many people are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorship fees to get in, but our principal doesn't even give them a second glance."

She held up two fingers and pointed to the surface of the cutting table.

"First, the written exams, for general knowledge and arithmetic, were entirely in traditional Chinese characters, with all the questions in English. Even simple addition and subtraction problems were in English; if you couldn't understand the question, you got zero."

"Second, the interview. Two rounds," Zhang Meiling continued. "One round in Cantonese, and the other in English by foreign officers. It's not a simple 'What's your name?' conversation; you have to answer questions in English on the spot. If your daughter hasn't even learned the ABCs, she won't even be able to understand what the test paper looks like."

She picked up the paper bag and sighed, "Sister Lin, why make her suffer like that? Studying at a government school is another path."

Lin Lanying's palms were sweating as she listened; she only knew that private schools were difficult to get into, but she didn't know that the threshold was this high.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang." Lin Lanying forced a smile and accepted the alteration fee.

Zhang Meiling paid the money, then walked away in her mid-heeled sandals; the heels tapped crisply on the cement floor as she disappeared into the distance.

Lin Lanying sat in front of the sewing table, looking at the stitches of the sewing machine, her hand unconsciously twisting the thread on the table.

The exam questions are all in English, the interviews are conducted entirely in English by foreign teachers, and you can't even buy a test slot with money...

She sat there silently for a good ten minutes before starting the sewing machine again. The stitches moved so fast, as if she were struggling against something.

------

At 8 PM, the Lin family in Yufa Building.

After dinner was cleared away, the dishes and chopsticks were piled on the kitchen stove, the grease still wet. Lin Lanying called all four members of the family to the small, chipped square table.

The atmosphere was a bit heavy.

Lin Qian didn't know what was going on. He sat quietly to the side, holding his schoolbag, his eyes darting back and forth between his mother and his older sister.

"Sister," Lin Lanying stared at Lin Ying and got straight to the point, "I asked Teacher Zhang this afternoon; the entrance exam for private schools is one of the most difficult. The questions are all in English, and the interviews are conducted entirely in English by foreign teachers. You can't buy a test slot even if you have money. Many rich people's children can't get in."

He Dazhu glanced at his wife's ashen face, then at his daughter, and tentatively said, "Lanying, if it's really that difficult, then let's just focus on getting her into a proper school. Our sister has only been awake for a few days; isn't this forcing her? Let's take it slow..."

"Shut up." Lin Lanying glared at him.

He Dazhu wisely kept his mouth shut.

Lin Lanying continued to look at Lin Ying, her shrewd and capable face filled with seriousness.

Lin Ying wasn't intimidated by the scene: "Mom, the entrance exam isn't until a month later."

She calmly said, "I'll study on my own for a month. I've looked at my brother's textbooks; I don't want to join first grade or second grade."

"I'll learn the third-grade material first, and then go straight to the third-grade exam."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qian's eyes widened and his mouth formed an "O" shape.

He Dazhu stood up abruptly and pulled her away: "Little sister, are you running a fever? How can you possibly understand a third-grade textbook in just one month! That's three years' worth of material!"

Lin Lanying looked at the serious expression on her daughter's little face.

She didn't say her daughter was being unrealistic.

Lin Lanying pulled a yellowed envelope from her trouser pocket and slammed it on the table; the envelope was bulging and had creases on the corners.

"Okay! Mommy will grant your wish."

Lin Lanying placed her hand on the envelope. "My dear girl, be smart. Mommy's going to be frank with you today. Your grandparents are willing to let you go to school, but remember this: private schools cost at least 1200 a year!"

One thousand and two.

This amount was a huge sum of money for ordinary people in Hong Kong in the 80s. Lin Lanying worked day and night at her sewing machine in the shop, earning only a few hundred dollars a month. He Dazhu, a carpenter, was even more dependent on the weather; he could earn six or seven hundred dollars in months with work, but when there was no work, the family lived off their savings.

He Dazhu's expression changed instantly, and after hesitating for a while, he still didn't dare to say anything.

"As for the eligibility requirements, don't worry about it." Lin Lanying glanced at He Dazhu, tapping her finger lightly twice on the envelope. "Your grandfather isn't someone to be trifled with in Hong Kong; he said that as long as you have the guts to take the exam, he'll swallow his pride and pull strings to get you a spot in a prestigious university interview!"

Lin Ying listened and made a mental note of this information; her grandfather, Lin Fu, was able to get exam slots at prestigious private schools, a level of connection that was clearly beyond the reach of ordinary villagers.

Lin Lanying reached out and gripped Lin Ying's shoulder tightly.

"I'm giving you a chance, you must seize it!" Lin Lanying's voice trembled. "This is a battle! It's your chance to make all the neighbors and relatives dare not look down on you again after you recover! Do you understand that?!"

"When you were naive before, how many people gossiped behind your back? They said our family raised a..." Lin Lanying swallowed the rest of her words, her fingers tightening on Lin Ying's shoulder.

"I don't want you to spend your whole life being pointed at and called a stupid girl. If you want to stand up, you have to prove yourself!"

Seeing his wife placing such a heavy burden of thought on a nine-year-old girl, He Dazhu finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Lan Ying! What are you doing?!"

He Dazhu pulled Lin Lanying's hand away and, like a protective father, pulled Lin Ying behind him.

"Don't put so much pressure on the child! She just recovered from her illness! She doesn't understand so many things yet. Just let her relax and focus on her studies! If she doesn't pass the exam, I'll support her for the rest of my life!"

"You don't know anything!" Lin Lanying's tears finally fell. "You think this is about money? I just don't want her to be looked down upon for the rest of her life!"

The couple was about to start arguing.

A hand gently tugged at He Dazhu's rough fingers.

Lin Ying walked up to Lin Qian, who was sitting on a stool, holding his schoolbag, looking completely bewildered.

Lin Ying pulled out an all-English book on Mathematics and a book on Chinese Literature in traditional characters from Lin Qian's schoolbag.

She looked at her parents, who were still in a daze, and said, "Mom, Dad, you don't need to argue anymore; the 1,200 yuan tuition fee won't be wasted; Grandpa's face won't be wasted either."

Lin Ying slammed the two books on the table and raised her chin.

"Buy me second and third grade textbooks tomorrow morning. I'm determined to pass this test! You have to believe me!"