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

At 8:30 a.m. the next day, outside the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou.

Peng Xuebin changed into a dark gray suit and greeted the Lin family of three with a smile as they walked out of the revolving door.

"Screenwriter Xiaolin, Mrs. Lin, Brother Dazhu, did you sleep well here last night?"

"It's fine." Lin Lanying, carrying a handbag, walked beside Lin Ying. "Boss Peng, are there many people we're meeting today?"

"The lineup is quite impressive." Boss Peng said solemnly, "The two senior directors from the cultural sector responsible for importing and coordinating, as well as the person in charge from the film projection company. After watching the sample film, they were extremely interested in the script. Today, they are mainly here to meet with you, the original screenwriter, and to coordinate the follow-up work."

Lin Ying wore a simple white collared shirt and a navy blue pinafore dress, her long hair neatly tied up: "Uncle Peng, let's go, don't keep them waiting."

After getting into the arranged car, it drove through several streets and stopped in front of an office building.

There were already people waiting at the door. Boss Peng got out of the car first and quickly went over to shake hands.

"Director Liu, thank you for waiting here so early in the morning."

The man addressed as Director Liu was a middle-aged man in his forties. He waved his hand and said, "Mr. Peng, you're too kind. You've brought us some excellent works, so of course we value them. Today, we mainly want to meet Comrade Lin Ying."

As soon as Director Liu finished speaking, his gaze passed over Boss Peng and landed on Lin Ying and her family who were walking over from behind.

Although Boss Peng had mentioned during the negotiations that "the screenwriter is very young," Director Liu and the other staff members were still stunned when an eleven-year-old girl, still with a childlike appearance, stood in front of them.

Director Liu glanced at Boss Peng hesitantly: "This... is Comrade Lin Ying, the author of 'Exchange Students at the Magic Academy'?"

Boss Peng said smugly, "Yes, it's her."

Lin Ying stepped forward and bowed slightly. Her Mandarin was quite good: "Hello, Director Liu, hello, teachers. I am Lin Ying, the screenwriter of that play."

In the conference room of the office building.

After everyone was seated, a woman sitting next to Director Liu asked, "Lin Ying, how old are you this year?"

"Eleven years old this year."

The officials in the meeting room looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Eleven years old? In Hong Kong... what grade are you in now?" Director Liu asked curiously.

Lin Ying picked up her enamel mug and took a small sip of water: "I just finished the secondary school placement process. I'll be starting junior high in September."

The woman was taken aback: "Eleven years old and already in junior high?"

Mr. Peng, standing nearby, smiled and explained, "She skipped a grade to get in. She got straight A's in all four subjects at St. Paul's Primary School and just received her placement certificate from the prestigious Liberal Arts College in Hong Kong. She only managed to find time to come and meet everyone."

After listening, Director Liu exclaimed, "The education system in Hong Kong is excellent! An eleven-year-old girl can write about such a grand worldview, and her English and classical Chinese studies are so solid—it's truly remarkable!"

"Education in mainland China is also very good, it's just that the focus is different," Lin Ying added. "The reason I can write is because I read a wide variety of books."

Looking at Lin Ying's composed demeanor, Director Liu got to the point: "Comrade Lin Ying, we watched the entire film in an internal meeting yesterday. To be frank, it's a very well-made film."

Director Liu generously praised, "What we value most isn't the magnificent foreign castles inside, but the core message: Eastern youth refusing to submit to Western rules, refusing to kneel, and breaking through with their own cultural foundation. This concept is absolutely righteous!"

Lin Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

Before coming here, what she was most worried about was that the early 1980s was a sensitive period in the Chinese government, and that the talismans, formations, and sword cultivation in the script might be labeled as feudal superstition and blocked.

But as it turns out, after the reform and opening up, their vision was even more far-reaching than she had imagined.

"As long as the general direction is correct and the core logic remains unchanged, things will be easy." Lin Ying opened her brown paper bag and took out a document.

A representative from the film company nearby chimed in, "Indeed, there's no need for major changes; to be honest, our cultural policies have been relaxed considerably, mainly focusing on importing and exchanging ideas. Our main task going forward is to convert all the traditional Chinese subtitles from Hong Kong to simplified Chinese here."

Director Liu opened the sample on the table: "Of course, there are a few terms that are too obscure or that are easy for mainland audiences to misunderstand. We need to reconsider them a little and replace them with more reliable simplified terms. The rest will be preserved in their original form."

"Okay." Lin Ying picked up her pen. "Then let's go through them one by one."

For the next two full days, Lin Ying, Boss Peng, and several colleagues from the cultural department spent most of their time in this conference room.

The coordination process went surprisingly smoothly. The staff from the mainland were very attentive; they didn't make decisions on their own just because Lin Ying was a child, and they would ask Lin Ying whenever they encountered a word they weren't sure about.

Lin Ying was already very familiar with switching between traditional and simplified Chinese characters, and her answers were quick and accurate.

Two days later, all the subtitle integration work was completed, and a thick stack of simplified Chinese final drafts was printed out.

Director Liu stamped the final document: "Boss Peng, Comrade Lin, thank you for your hard work these past two days. This final draft, along with a copy, will be sent to Beijing by a special envoy first thing tomorrow morning for final approval."

"Once it gets approved in Beijing, this matter will be completely settled."

Boss Peng stepped forward and grasped Director Liu's hand tightly: "Please trouble Director Liu to go out of your way and urge them on."

"Don't worry, it's good stuff, we're even more eager than you are for it."

After submitting the application materials and waiting for approval in Beijing, Lin Ying and her family found themselves with some free time in Guangzhou. Since Boss Peng still had to travel and socialize daily, he provided them with a car so they could explore Guangzhou on their own.

In July 1982, Guangzhou was in the early stages of reform and opening up.

The streets of Guangzhou are already showing the characteristics of a big city, with many people and bustling shops.

Walking under the arcades of Shangxiajiu, He Dazhu looked at the dazzling array of shops on both sides and couldn't help but sigh, "A big city is indeed a big city. The crowds on this street are not much different from those in Mong Kok, Hong Kong."

"Mommy, let's go take a look over there." Lin Ying pulled Lin Lanying and walked into a long-established department store.

Now that she's in Guangzhou, Lin Ying naturally won't return to Hong Kong empty-handed.

She picked out seven or eight nice bolts of silk and Cantonese cotton fabric in one go at the counter: "Mommy, take these fabrics back and make two summer shirts for Grandma, and a few Tang suits for Grandpa."

"This material is nice and breathable." Lin Lanying touched the fabric and bought it directly.

Next, Lin Ying went to the specialty products section. She bought two large boxes of Cantonese sausages and dried tangerine peel for her uncle Lin Yaoying and aunt, picked out pretty Guangzhou hair clips and stationery for her cousin Lin Yue, and even bought two boxes of packaged Cantonese pastries for Lin Qian, who was left to shop in the New Territories.

"Old Dou, there's a shop up ahead that sells jade carving tools. Go pick out a few sets to take back to your jade carving shop," Lin Ying said, pointing to the shop ahead.

They bought a lot of things, and the family of three didn't return to the White Swan Hotel until evening, carrying their bags and packages.

Just as I finished placing the gifts I bought on the carpet in the room, there was a knock on the door; Boss Peng swaggered in, holding a mobile phone in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

"Oh, you've gone to get more stock?" Boss Peng joked, looking at the things on the ground.

"I'll buy some gifts for the elders and younger brother at home." Lin Ying sat down on the sofa and poured water.

As soon as I sat down, the landline phone in the room rang.

Lin Ying picked up the microphone casually: "Feed?"

"Ah Ying! It's me! Your second uncle!" It was Su Zhihao's excited voice on the other end of the phone.

"Second Uncle, I'm in Guangzhou. What's the matter that's so urgent?" Lin Ying held the microphone a little further away.

"Of course, this is fantastic news!" Su Zhihao grinned from ear to ear on the other end of the phone. "When are you guys going back to Hong Kong? Let me know as soon as you get back! The final payment for the 'Gambling King' videotapes overseas, as well as the last remaining theater profits, are all in the company account!"

Lin Ying immediately perked up: "The accounts are all balanced?"

"Completely flat!" Su Zhihao slapped his thigh. "Let me tell you, this isn't a small amount! I've locked all the cash checks and profit-sharing ledgers in the safe. Your second uncle is practically floating on air right now. You'd better come back and get your share!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying turned to Lin Lanying and He Dazhu: "Mommy, Lao Dou has settled the bill for 'The Gambling King of the Underworld,' and Uncle Su is calling us back to split the money."

Boss Peng, sitting on the single sofa next to him, looked at Lin Ying when he heard the words "split the money": "Screenwriter Lin, now that 'The Gambling King' has split the profits, you're going to have a lot more cash on hand."

"Does Uncle Peng have any investment advice?"

"It's not an investment." Boss Peng pointed to the brown paper bag containing the handwritten manuscript that Lin Ying brought to Guangzhou. "After you go back, buy yourself a computer and a printer."

"Computers and printers these days?" Lin Ying frowned, starting to calculate prices in her mind. "Uncle Peng, I've looked into the market before. If you want to get a computer with word processing software, a printer, and a dial-up data transfer device, the whole set will cost at least HK$50,000."

HK$50,000 is a very expensive amount these days.

Upon hearing "HKD 50,000," Lin Lanying was also taken aback: "Just for a typewriter, it costs HKD 50,000?"

"Mrs. Lin, that's not how you calculate it." Boss Peng waved his hand and looked at Lin Ying. "Little Lin, screenwriter, this is your job. As the old saying goes, 'A skilled craftsman must first sharpen his tools!' No matter how fast your mind works, if you rely on handwriting all day long, and then rewrite it, and correct a typo with correction fluid, aren't you tired?"

He pointed to the paper bag: "The change from your bonus this time is enough to buy two machines. You don't necessarily... have some kind of obsession with handwritten manuscripts, do you?"

After listening, Lin Ying replied almost without hesitation, "Absolutely not!"

She answered quickly and decisively, which made Lin Lanying laugh.

Lin Ying pressed her calloused right index finger and complained:

"Uncle Peng, do you know how frustrating it is for me to read and write? The traditional Chinese characters here in Hong Kong have an absurd number of strokes. Writing scripts of hundreds of thousands of words, I'm almost sick of it! Many times I want to use English abbreviations instead, but English simply can't fully capture the meaning of the Chinese!"

She made the decision: "Fifty thousand it is; once we get back to Hong Kong and we get our share, the first thing I'll do is get a computer and a printer! My hands will be ruined from writing by hand!"

Boss Peng nodded: "That's right! Money is meant to buy efficiency."