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

Lin Ying no longer needs to oversee things in Guangzhou.

The final version of the simplified Chinese subtitles has been stamped and, along with the film copy, was escorted to Beijing by a special person from the cultural sector for the final approval process. Boss Peng still needs to stay in the mainland to run connections and follow up on the film scheduling of the screening system, so he simply cannot leave in the short term.

Lin Lanying carefully folded the Cantonese cotton cloth, sausages, and dried tangerine peel she had bought from Shangxiajiu a couple of days ago and stuffed them into a bag.

He Dazhu sat on a chair by the window, holding a newly bought jade carving knife in his hand, gesturing and feeling it over and over.

"Lan Ying, sister." He looked at the mother and daughter and said, "Since there's nothing more for us to do here, when are we going back to Hong Kong? We've been away for several days. Master Su got an order for a jade pendant, and I have to go back to help with the polishing. It's not good to be away for too long."

"Old Dou is right, we can't abandon the craftsman's work." Lin Ying zipped up her backpack. "I've already talked to Uncle Peng, he'll stay here to run the big project. We'll take the car back to Hong Kong in two days."

Two days later, in the evening, the family of three crossed the border and took a different bus back to the 15th floor of Taikoo Shing in the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island.

Exhausted from the journey, Lin Lanying didn't even have time to drink water before sorting the local specialties she brought back into the storage cabinet. He Dazhu carefully hung his tool bag on the balcony; he needed to be on time for his shift in Yau Ma Tei the next morning.

Lin Ying washed her face, walked to the sofa in the living room, and the first thing she did was pick up the landline and dial the number of her neighbor, lawyer Shen, across the hall.

"Hello, Ms. Lin? You're back in Hong Kong?" Shen Yanwen's voice remained steady on the phone.

"Just got home." Lin Ying asked directly, "Attorney Shen, do you have time tomorrow? The box office revenue sharing and the final payment for the overseas videotapes for 'The Gambling King' have all been settled, and Uncle Su wants me to go over and get my share. I'd like you to help me with the accounts."

Shen Yanwen immediately got to work: "Boss Su is quite efficient; it seems the film is a big hit. Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, I'll bring the previous project confirmation letter and copyright registration certificate to see you. Let's go together."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Lanying came out of the kitchen with two cups of iced tea: "Attorney Shen, are you coming with us to Boss Su's house tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, ten o'clock." Lin Ying picked up her teacup and took a sip.

"Then I'll go to the department store first thing tomorrow morning." Lin Lanying started to plan. "When you're going to someone's house to get a big sum of money, you can't break the rules. If you go empty-handed, people will think we don't know any manners."

The next morning, Lin Lanying went out and bought several boxes of exquisitely packaged American ginseng slices, along with two boxes of bird's nest. She spent the money without hesitation; the current Mrs. Lin was no longer the woman who used to haggle with old women over a few cents at the Sai Wan wet market.

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, Shen Yanwen knocked on the door;

Without much small talk, Lin Lanying carried her things, and the three of them went downstairs to hail a taxi, heading straight to Su Zhihao's mansion in Causeway Bay.

The Su family's gate was wide open, and Su Zhihao himself was the one who opened it today.

"Ah Ying! Mrs. Lin! Attorney Shen! Come in quickly!" Su Zhihao was beaming.

Lin Lanying smiled and handed over the gift box, saying, "Boss Su, this is just a small token of my appreciation. I'm sorry to bother you."

"Oh, Mrs. Lin, look at you! You're here to get your share of the money, why are you bringing gifts?" Su Zhihao said politely, but his hand naturally took the gift and handed it to the Filipino maid. "Keep it safe, send a portion to the old man later; come, everyone, have a seat!"

As soon as Lin Ying entered the living room, she saw Su Jun, who had been holding a comic book, immediately put it behind his back and stood up properly when he saw her come in.

Su Cheng also came out of the bedroom and politely greeted everyone: "Mrs. Lin, Lin Ying, Attorney Shen."

In the center of the living room, several account books were already spread out on the large mahogany coffee table. Su Zhihao's personal lawyer, Attorney Zhang, was already sitting there, with a calculator and a stack of bank drafts in front of him.

"Attorney Zhang." Shen Yanwen walked over, placed his briefcase on the table, and extended his hand.

"Attorney Shen, we meet again." The two shook hands, and as soon as the two lawyers sat down, they immediately began the business reconciliation process.

Su Zhihao leaned back on the single sofa, holding a cigar but not lighting it, watching the two lawyers check the accounting details.

Attorney Zhang opened the summary report: "The first run of 'The Gambling King' in local theaters, midnight screenings, and second run in small theaters, as well as the overseas distribution buyout by Boss Peng and the final payment for overseas videotape rights, have all been received as of last week; I won't report the total revenue, just look at the net profit."

Shen Yanwen first opened the copy of the document in his hand: "Attorney Zhang, is Mr. Peng's commission based on gross profit or net profit?"

"Mr. Peng's side has a fixed 20% commission from overseas channels, it's all in black and white." Attorney Zhang pushed a detailed list of receipts in front of Shen Yanwen. "As for the publicity and distribution expenses, they exceeded the original budget by HK$150,000. This was mainly used for materials for the emergency additional screenings in local cinemas, and full-page ads in several major Southeast Asian newspapers. All the invoices are here, and the losses from other unrelated projects are not included."

Shen Yanwen took the stack of invoices and flipped through them one by one.

Lin Lanying sat beside him, her eyes following Shen Yanwen's finger. Lin Ying, on the other hand, sat there relaxed; this was the benefit of spending eight thousand yuan to hire a personal lawyer.

A full half hour passed before Shen Yanwen finally put down his pen. He closed the document and nodded to Lin Ying: "The accounts are very clear, and the invoices and contracts match. Boss Su hasn't misallocated any expenses, and the net profit pool is clean."

Upon hearing this, Su Zhihao laughed heartily: "I'm from Kowloon City, I'm loyal and principled! Only a coward would betray his own people!"

Attorney Zhang then presented the final figures: "After deducting theater revenue sharing, production costs, marketing and distribution, legal fees, and Mr. Peng's commission, the project's final net profit is determined. Ms. Lin Ying will personally hold 20% of the project's net profit dividends. After conversion, the distributable amount for this transaction is…."

Attorney Zhang stopped, picked up the top bank draft on the table, and pushed it to the center of the coffee table.

"Two million six hundred and fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars."

Lin Lanying took a deep breath silently. Even though she had already earned more than 1.7 million from "Death by Light," her heart still beat faster when the figure of 2.65 million was actually revealed.

Su Zhihao tapped the promissory note with his finger: "Ah Ying, you're smart, you should take this money!"

Lin Ying didn't reach for it herself, but glanced at Shen Yanwen; Shen Yanwen picked up the promissory note, carefully checked the payee's name, seal, and bank secret mark, and only handed it to Lin Ying after confirming that everything was correct.

Lin Ying handed it to Lin Lanying: "Mommy, keep it safe."

Lin Lanying unzipped the innermost zipper of her purse and tucked the promissory note, worth two thousand-square-foot mansions, tightly against her body.

Looking at Lin Ying's calm demeanor, Su Zhihao couldn't help but sigh, "Ah Ying, to be honest, this film, 'The Gambling King,' was a huge hit and made a lot of money, but after reviewing it privately, I realized that its impact didn't reach the level of your previous film, 'Death by Light,' which had everyone flocking to the streets and even petty thugs copying how to put up talismans."

Lin Ying also thought of it: "Second Uncle, 'Death by Light' is all about novelty, mixing horror and comedy, a new genre that no one has tried before. 'The Gambler' is about the underworld, gambling tricks, and brotherhood, a more solid and reliable subject matter. This kind of film sells well locally and will definitely sell in Southeast Asia, but it doesn't have that sense of novelty. I'm already very satisfied with this box office performance."

"That's very clear!" Su Zhihao slammed his hand on the table. "I'm already satisfied with earning this much!"

With the business concluded, the lawyers began collecting their documents. Su Jun leaned over and whispered, "Lin Ying, you just did some writing and got over two million yuan? Isn't this money too easy to earn?"

Before he could finish speaking, Su Zhihao slapped him on the back: "What are you doing, kid, interrupting when adults are talking! You think you're so great? I'd be burning incense if you wrote a few more checkmarks on your exam paper!"

Su Jun rubbed his head: "I didn't say anything wrong..."

Su Zhihao pointed at him, then turned to Lin Ying: "Speaking of those two, Ying, this time I, Su the Second, really have to offer you a cup of tea. Your eighteen-day summer tutoring last time was more effective than two years of whipping with a belt!"

Lin Lanying asked with a smile, "What? The results are out?"

"He's out!" Su Zhihao pointed to his eldest son, Su Cheng. "Cheng got three A's in his first year of middle school final exams! Before that, his highest score in his class was fifth!"

Su Cheng sat next to him: "Mainly, I followed Lin Ying's method and broke down long English sentences into their components for memorization..."

"No matter what method you use, fifth place is fifth place!" Su Zhihao grabbed Su Jun again. "Even this troublemaker, the worst kid, got into the top ten in his class in the fifth-grade test at St. Paul's!"

Su Jun raised his chin: "I'm not stupid, I just didn't want to learn before."

"Aren't you stupid? Your previous test papers couldn't even get a 60!" Su Zhihao glared at him.

Lin Ying looked at the two brothers. In the 1980s, many rich kids were raised to be spoiled brats. These two children were not bad by nature, but they just needed to be disciplined.

"Second Uncle, it's in boys' nature to be mischievous," Lin Ying said with a smile, leaning back on the sofa. "If you keep them disciplined and set clear rules and goals for them, they'll know the consequences of crossing the line and naturally be able to bring their minds back to the right path. The fact that they got these grades is because they were willing to work hard."

"Great!" Su Zhihao waved his hand and stood up from the sofa. "The money has been distributed, and the results are in—it's a double celebration! Ah Ying, Mrs. Lin, I've booked a large private room at the Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui for the night after tomorrow!"

Upon hearing "The Peninsula Hotel," Lin Lanying knew that it was a grand establishment.

"Second Uncle, a victory celebration banquet?" Lin Ying asked.

"Yes! A celebration banquet!" Su Zhihao looked at the Lin family mother and daughter. "I, Lao Dou, will also be there. As you know, Master He is my Lao Dou's last apprentice, and he has always been talking about your family; my elder brother, who is a manager at Central Bank, and his family will also be there."