It's getting warmer, and the two little girls can go out with their father. The two sisters are reading books.
■ Intern reporter Li Na / report Zhao Yu / photograph
According to reports, in a house of less than 30 square meters in Naijia Temple Village, Xichang Town, Lvyuan District, Changchun City, the male owner Zhu Liquan makes a living by collecting scrap. He has two daughters, one is 9 years old, the other is 7 years old. They have reached school age, but because they have not registered their household registration, it is difficult for them to attend school.
Joy: Picking up a wife at midnight
Yesterday, the 44-year-old Mr. Zhu pushed out his scrap collection cart, and the two daughters on the cart were always smiling.
Zhu Liqueun is from Dongzhuang Township, Ningyang County, Shandong Province. At the age of 15, his parents passed away successively, so Mr. Zhu came to Changchun to work. After being deceived by the boss, he made a living by collecting scrap. On a day in 2002, at around midnight, Mr. Zhu saw a woman wandering on the street while collecting scrap near Xi'an Square.
"It's very dangerous for a woman to be outside at this time of night." Thinking about this, Mr. Zhu quickly went forward to inquire.
"She said she was wandering alone outside, then I took her home," Mr. Zhu said. During the conversation, he felt that the woman had mental problems. Considering that he had never married due to poverty, and since the woman couldn't say the exact address of her home, Mr. Zhu decided to keep her. Without registering their marriage, they started living together.
Hardship: Being both father and mother
After repeated questioning, the woman said her name was Shi Guozhen, and that she had been mentally stimulated due to an argument with her family, but she didn't say anything else. Although the wife was picked up, Mr. Zhu treated her very kindly, and Shi Guozhen also cared about Mr. Zhu. The neighbors were happy for them.
In the blink of an eye, the elder daughter was 2 years old, and the younger daughter was just 11 months old. Mr. Zhu went out to collect scrap every day, and his wife stayed at home to take care of the children. Although the family of four lived in poverty, Mr. Zhu felt very happy. One afternoon in 2006, when Mr. Zhu pushed open the door, he saw one child sleeping on the bed, another crawling on the ground, but his wife was nowhere to be found.
"We've never quarreled, I don't know why she left without saying a word." For Mr. Zhu, during the four years his wife lived with him, she often fell ill. She had gone missing once before and was found at the Changchun Forward Hospital where their child was born. This time, after she left, he went to the hospital and the train station, but couldn't find her. It's possible that his wife fell ill again and couldn't find her way home after leaving. Apart from her name, Mr. Zhu knows nothing about his wife, and with the children still too young, he couldn't leave.
Happiness: Enjoying reading books
Since the mother left, there was no one to take care of the two children, so Mr. Zhu had to stay at home to take care of them. Without an economic source, Mr. Zhu's family could only rely on help from neighbors and relatives. When the two sisters grew up a bit, Mr. Zhu took them out to collect scrap. In winter, when it was cold outside, he locked them indoors. The two sisters didn't cry or make a fuss, they just read the books their father collected. Even though they didn't recognize the words, the two sisters still enjoyed reading them with great interest.
"Do you want to go to school?" Upon hearing this, the two little girls quickly showed off their "treasures". An old bag contained several worn-out books, some from second grade, others from high school, including math and English... The younger daughter, Zhu Xiaoxiao, quickly stuffed a book into a small bag, affectionately stroking the Mickey Mouse pattern on it.
"If I go to school, I'll be able to recognize a lot of characters," the two sisters vied to say, wanting to go to school to earn money and take care of their father.
Worry: How to go to school without household registration
Because the children's mother was picked up, they didn't register their marriage and continued living like that, and the two children also didn't register their household registration. Previously, because the children were young, no one paid attention, but now that they have reached school age, without a household registration, the two sisters cannot attend school. Mr. Zhu had approached the school, but since the children were "blacklisted", the school wouldn't accept them either. However, Mr. Zhu's household registration is in his hometown in Shandong, and his wife is nowhere to be found, so it's difficult to register the children's household registration, making it impossible for them to attend school, which troubles Mr. Zhu.
Every day, the children are locked inside the house, looking at books their father collects that they can't understand, which makes Mr. Zhu feel heartbroken. But now, since the children's mother can't be found, without completing the household registration, they can't attend school. Mr. Zhu really doesn't know what to do.
Yesterday, the reporter consulted the Household Registration Management Department of the Public Security Bureau of Changchun City. Regarding this matter, Officer Zhang said that since Mr. Zhu and his wife did not register their marriage before having children, the two sisters are considered illegitimate children. In such a situation, the birth of children should be registered under the mother's household registration, and a birth certificate must also be provided. The police station will investigate and verify, along with proof from the hospital and neighbors, before the registration can be completed.
However, since the mother of the children can't be found now, registering the children's household registration falls under special circumstances. Since it does not fall within the normal law enforcement scope, if the children's household registration needs to be registered under the father's household registration, it needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.