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Shang Hong, 45 years old, lives in a town of Zhaodong City, Heilongjiang Province. On the 10th, she came to our newspaper without her son Xiao Dong. When she saw the reporter, her first sentence was: "Can you help me find a hospital in Harbin where I can sell my kidney!" In fact, Shang Hong has had this idea for a long time. The purpose of selling her kidney is only one: to buy a house so that her son doesn't have to be rejected by girlfriends due to the lack of housing and unable to get married.
She Came To Harbin Without Her Son To Sell Her Kidney
"I'm not impulsive, I've thought about it for a long time."
"I'm not impulsive, I've thought about it for a long time. I hesitated at first, after all, it's cutting part of my own body! But when I think about my son's desolate eyes, my heart feels like being pierced by needles. I would rather suffer myself than see my son unhappy!" said Shang Hong.
On the 10th, Shang Hong got up very early, prepared breakfast, then lied to her son saying she was going to Harbin to check her head. Without eating any food, Shang Hong changed clothes and rushed to the bus station. "I usually hate taking buses because my head was injured by my husband and left with sequelae. When the bus shakes, my head gets dizzy." Shang Hong said she didn't care about these things anymore for her son.
Xiao Dong is 23 years old, he and his mother live together and run a shoe-shining store in the town. The shoe-shining store is their livelihood and home.
Xiao Dong dropped out of school at the age of 14 and learned the art of shoe shining from a master. In 2008, Xiao Dong had been learning for six years. Shang Hong thought it was time to open a store for her son so that he could put what he learned into practice. That year, Shang Hong borrowed 60,000 yuan from relatives.
"Although we rent the house and the shoe-shining store is small, the business has been pretty good over the past two years. Now, we still owe some debts, but as long as we keep going, it will definitely get better." As she said this, Shang Hong's eyes flashed with a hint of brightness, but it quickly disappeared. "Although the future is full of hope, I'm afraid my son can't hold on. He has suffered too much before."
Waiting For Marriage, Girls Choose Husbands By Checking Out Their Houses
"The girls nowadays are too realistic!"
Shang Hong said her son is very introverted and understanding, always keeping his grievances to himself. "In our area, boys around twenty-three or four are almost all married. My son always says it's not urgent, he wants to improve the shoe-shining store before considering marriage. But even if the store improves, we still can't afford a house. How can I not worry?" Shang Hong said her son dated three girlfriends, each thought Xiao Dong was diligent and hardworking, but once they heard he didn't have a house, they all left.
"In the first month of 2008, a neighbor introduced a girl to my son. The girl admired Xiao Dong's diligence, but when she saw the shoe-shining store, her attitude changed immediately. She told me, Auntie, I know Xiao Dong works hard, but we need a house to get married, right?" Shang Hong said those few words deeply hurt her heart. "After dating for half a month, they broke up because of the house issue. They had a big argument. After that, they completely cut off contact." Shang Hong said, seeing her son wake up with mouth ulcers overnight, she wanted to cry.
That autumn, through a relative's introduction, a rural girl came to the shoe-shining store. According to local customs, if both parties agreed, after paying the dowry, they could get married. The only condition from the girl's family was - if there was an apartment, the 40,000 yuan dowry could be waived. Hearing this, the mother and son were deflated instantly.
"My son's current girlfriend is a nurse, they met themselves." Shang Hong said her son really liked the girl. "The girl is also very understanding, every time she comes to our house, she helps with everything, I really like this child!" A few days ago, Shang Hong overheard the girl chatting with Xiao Dong. The girl said, Xiao Dong, I don't want anything as long as we have a house. Shang Hong's anxious heart was hurt again, she decided she must buy a house for her son.
Sacrificing Herself For A House
"If I don't do this, my son won't be able to get married until he's fifty."
"After my marriage, the past twenty years have been spent enduring hardship and tears. From renting houses to sleeping on suspended beds, I've never truly experienced the feeling of having a home. I don't want my son to be like me, I must let my son have a home of his own!" Speaking of the past twenty years after her marriage, Shang Hong shed more tears. Therefore, she was more determined that her son needed to have his own house to gain happiness. "In reality, without a house, which girl would be willing to marry you? So, I must sacrifice myself, sell my kidney, and buy a house. This is something I have to do!"
"Ever since my son started dating, I have dreamed of him having a wedding house, a warm home of his own." Shang Hong rubbed her eyes, seemingly not wanting others to see the tears about to fall, then continued, "Even buying a house in Zhaodong costs over ten thousand yuan! For us, this is simply an astronomical number."
Shang Hong calculated: currently, the price of houses in Zhaodong is about 2,300 yuan per square meter, mostly medium and large units. If calculated based on 60 square meters, buying a 'bare wedding house' for her son would cost about 130,000-140,000 yuan. But currently, the family income can only cover daily expenses. If squeezed, they could save four or five hundred yuan a month, at most 6,000 yuan a year.
"At this rate, it would take at least 22 years. Even if we pay 30% down payment, it would require 40,000 yuan, we would need seven years. But loans must have guarantors, who would guarantee for a family like ours! And this hasn't included decoration yet. If everything is considered, by the time we can afford a wedding house, my son will be nearly fifty. Would I still be able to witness my son's wedding at that time?" Shang Hong choked up, "I believe my son will get better and better, but what use is my belief if no girl believes it?"
Dreaming Of A Wedding House, Waking Up In Tears
"Hope to tell him when it comes true."
"That house is so big, the walls are snow white, the floor shines brightly. I haven't told my son about this dream, hoping to tell him when it comes true!" At this point, the tears she had been holding back flowed uncontrollably, Shang Hong wiped away her tears and said, "Once, I dreamed that my son had a house. Although the house wasn't big, it was very clean and tidy. My son brought his wife to my bed. Just as I was about to touch my daughter-in-law's face, I suddenly woke up. My son asked me, Mom, what's wrong? I just said I had a dream, but I didn't tell him the story in the dream." Shang Hong said, when her son turned around, her tears flowed down instantly. "I want to preserve this dream and tell my son when it comes true."
The reporter told her that organ trading is illegal, hoping she would cherish herself and not use this method to exchange for a house. Shang Hong left the newspaper office with a sense of loss, leaving behind her helplessness and questioning: "My son is very hardworking, I believe his future will get better and better; my son knows how to care, I believe he will make his woman happy, and love each other to form a warm family. But why don't all the girls believe? Is it to marry a person or a house?" (Names in the article are pseudonyms)
Wang Haichen