The living room was quiet, with only the sounds of Lin Hu playing with his toys and the ticking of the wall clock, and occasionally the soft sound of Ah Zhen washing dishes coming from the kitchen.

Lin Li leaned back on the sofa, looking at her two grandsons, her heart feeling warm and tender, as if it were being soaked in lukewarm water.

"Grandma, when is the teacher coming?"

Lin Hu suddenly stopped what he was doing, looked up at his face and asked, "I can't wait to learn Cantonese!"

Lin Li glanced at the wall clock; the hour hand had just passed ten. "Almost there. The teacher said we'd be there at 10:30."

She beckoned, "Tiger, come here, Grandma will wipe your hands. You need to be hygienic when the teacher comes."

Lin Hu hopped over and stretched out his little hand, which was covered in dust.

Lin Li picked up a wet towel and carefully wiped him, making sure there was no spot where she missed, even between his fingers and on his wrist.

Lin Yao also came over and handed his hand to his grandmother. His hand was very clean, with only a little pencil dust on his fingertips.

"Good girl."

Lin Li smiled and patted the two children's heads, thinking to herself that she would have a good talk with the tutor later to see what the children's foundation was like and where to start to improve it.

The teaching pace in the port city is faster than in Beijing, and the curriculum is different. We can't let them lose at the starting line.

The phoenix trees outside the window rustled, and the cicadas' chirping gradually grew louder. The June afternoon in the port city was slowly unfolding with a humid and hot atmosphere.

Lin Li looked at her two grandsons, one lively and active, the other quiet and well-behaved, like two newly sprouted seeds, full of vitality and hope.

The wall clock suddenly struck a tinkling sound. He looked up at the door, his eyes sparkling: "Is the teacher here?"

Lin Li listened intently and heard Uncle Fu talking to someone at the door. She smiled and nodded, "It's the teacher."

Lin Hu immediately jumped off the sofa, grabbed Lin Yao's hand, and ran towards the door. Their small figures leaped in the morning light, like two happy little birds.

Lin Li watched their retreating figures, a gentle smile playing on her lips, which also softened the fine lines around her eyes.

When Uncle Fu led the tutor into the living room, Lin Li was sitting on the sofa looking through textbooks from Gangcheng School.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw that the person was wearing an elegant cheongsam with a pearl brooch at the collar and thin-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. He exuded a scholarly air in his every move.

"Hello Mrs. Lin, I am Zhou Manyun."

Teacher Zhou bowed slightly, her voice as gentle as a spring drizzle.

She had just graduated from the Chinese Department of City University of Hong Kong, and was still clutching a whitish beginner's guide to Cantonese in her hand, with dense annotations written on the cover.

Lin Li stood up and gestured for her to sit down. "Please sit down, Teacher Zhou. Thank you for making this trip."

Ah Zhen brought over two cups of tea, the rims of the celadon cups shimmering with a faint steam. "The two children just came from Beijing, and you'll have to take extra care of their Cantonese and studies."

Zhou Manyun took the teacup, her fingertips touching the coolness of the cup, and smiled slightly: "Mrs. Lin, you're too kind. This is my duty."

She took out several test papers from her canvas bag. "I'll take a look at the children's basic knowledge first, and then I'll make a tutoring plan."

As they were talking, Lin Hu and Lin Yao were already standing obediently in front of Teacher Zhou.

Lin Hu stared curiously into Zhou Manyun's eyes, while Lin Yao bowed respectfully and said, "Hello, Teacher Zhou."

Lin Li patted the sofa next to her: "Come sit over here and tell the teacher about your courses in Beijing."

She looked at Zhou Manyun with a serious expression, "The textbooks in Hong Kong are quite different from those in the mainland, especially in English and math. They need to catch up this summer."

Zhou Manyun opened the test paper, her pen tip lightly tapping the paper: "I will start with the basics, teaching Cantonese and math every morning, and English in the afternoon. What level does Mrs. Lin hope they will reach?"

"At least I can keep up with the pace after school starts."

Lin Li looked at her two grandsons, her tone filled with expectation, "Yaoyao is quiet by nature, so he's best suited to start with reading and writing; Huzi is very active, so encourage him to speak Cantonese more often and don't be shy."

Looking at Lin Hu's shy face, Lin Li's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

"It's okay to make mistakes, you just need to build up your courage."

Zhou Manyun nodded in agreement and took out two flashcards from her bag. The words "school" and "friend" were written on them in colored chalk, with Cantonese pinyin annotations next to them.

“Today we’ll learn these words first,” she said to the children, pointing to the cards, her voice softening, “Read after me—”

Lin Li watched the children reciting the words with the teacher, then quietly got up and walked over to Uncle Fu.

"I'm going out for a bit. Are the documents for opening a stock account ready?"

Uncle Fu handed over a manila envelope: "Everything is here. Manager Chen said you can just go and find him directly."

Before coming to Hong Kong, she asked Uncle Fu to help her organize the information, as she wanted to open a new account in the Hong Kong stock market.

Why not use the old account?

Since the account was managed by Mr. Yu, Lin Li didn't know how to explain the origin of the money to him when such a large sum suddenly appeared.

To avoid trouble, opening a new account is the most convenient and quickest option.

He glanced at the wall clock. "Now is the perfect time to go; the market hasn't been open for long."

Lin Li took the envelope and put it in her handbag, then glanced back at the living room.

Teacher Zhou was teaching Lin Hu to say "car" while holding a toy car, while Lin Yao was diligently copying words into his notebook. Sunlight streamed through the blinds and fell on them, creating a warm glow.

“Keep an eye on them,” she instructed Uncle Fu. “I’ll try to be back by noon.”

When I walked out of the villa, the driver, A Biao, had already parked the black sedan at the door.

Lin Li opened the car door and got in, placing her handbag on her lap. The bankbook inside made her knees feel slightly numb.

This was her first time experiencing the stock market, and her heart was pounding like a deer's, filled with both anticipation and a little panic.

As the car drove along Queen's Road, colorful signs hung from the arcades lining the street.

The signs for "Hang Seng Bank" and "Landmark Plaza" gleamed in the sunlight.

Lin Li looked out the window at the pedestrians hurrying by, most of whom were dressed in suits and ties, holding newspapers in their hands, with expressions of joy or sorrow on their faces.

Most of these people are stock market investors.

"The stock market in Hong Kong has been quite lively lately."

Ah Biao glanced at her in the rearview mirror, his tone tinged with emotion, "The other day, Old Wang from next door bought some stocks that went up by 30%, and he's been bragging about it to everyone every day."

Lin Li hummed in agreement, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the metal clasp on her handbag.

Lin Li is not a risk-taker; it's just that the money came so easily that she thought she'd give the stock market a try.

Even if she loses out, she won't panic.

Therefore, her expression remained calm throughout.

Ah Biao, who was looking at her expression in the rearview mirror, was filled with admiration.

Lin Li: ...