The words written on the blackboard by Liao Xuemei, who was stranded in Jining, included her parents' names and her home address. Her 74-year-old mother in Guizhou waited 15 years for her daughter's return, refusing to move out of the old house even after buying a new one. Finally, she received news about her daughter. A reporter captured this touching moment when sisters who hadn't seen each other for years embraced with deep emotion. An elderly woman named Du, who kindly took in Liao Xuemei (on the right), turned away.
For 15 years, the elderly mother stubbornly held onto her old house waiting for "Daya" (eldest daughter) to come back. "I dreamed she said she missed home, I knew she would definitely come back!" The 74-year-old mother from Liupanshui, Guizhou, finally got word of her missing daughter from Shandong after 15 years.
This lost daughter suffered from schizophrenia before going missing. In May of this year, she was taken in by an elderly woman from the Second Sheqian Village, Nanwang Town, Wenshang County, Jining.
Article/Photo by reporter Sun
The mother always said that her sister was like one of her fingers, forcibly broken off, bleeding non-stop until now. Only by finding her and reattaching her could they be healed. This mentally ill woman once wrote "when I miss home" on the wall.
Moved, the old lady persisted alone in the old house for 15 years. This missing woman is named Liao Xuemei, 37 years old. When her family had almost given up hope in finding Liao Xuemei after many years, her old mother never gave up. Even after buying a new house, she refused to move; when her niece wanted to take her on a trip to Yunnan, she firmly declined, fearing that if her daughter, who only knew the old house's address, came back but couldn't find her...
The old lady persisted alone in the old house for 15 years!
A few days ago, suddenly a neighbor from the community found her. "Today someone called saying they were from Shandong, and they said a woman wrote your home address and your family’s names on the wall." The Parkinson's disease-afflicted elder couldn’t travel far, so she immediately called her youngest daughter, Liao Xueyan, crying as she told her about the news of "Daya".
"Besides my mother, no one else in our family held any hope, even thinking she might have passed away. No one dared mention her in front of my mother, who also suffers from Parkinson's disease, fearing it might upset her further. But my mother kept saying how ten fingers are connected to the heart, and my sister is like one of her fingers, forcibly broken off, bleeding non-stop until now. Only by finding her and reattaching her could she be healed."
Liao Xueyan told reporters that finding her sister this time was the greatest comfort to their mother in her lifetime. Villagers who had sheltered vagrants for over 10 years faced a claim of 300,000 yuan.
Tracing back 15 years, Liao Xuemei suddenly went missing.
This incident dates back to 1995.
That year, 21-year-old Liao Xuemei was about to graduate from a technical secondary school. At that time, after parents retired, their children could take over their jobs. So, after her mother retired early, Liao Xuemei smoothly obtained a stable job - learning to be a driver locally.
But just before graduation, the family noticed something unusual about Liao Xuemei!
Liao Xuemei's younger sister, Liao Xueyan, told reporters, "At first, she laughed and cried intermittently and didn't talk much. We asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn't answer. If we pressed her, she would scold us. Everyone in our family found it incredible. She used to be very quiet, unwilling even to speak loudly, how could she suddenly start cursing?"
At that time, the family suspected that Liao Xuemei had been shocked and developed schizophrenia, so they sought good doctors and folk remedies for her everywhere. During the search for treatment, she mysteriously disappeared in early 1996.
"At the time, we didn't dare publicize it widely for fear it would affect Sister's hard-won job, so we quietly searched everywhere. Whenever someone called to say they'd seen her somewhere, even at midnight, we'd put on our clothes and rush out..." Liao Xueyan recalled tearfully.
After half a year of fruitless searching, they couldn't find Liao Xuemei. Their father couldn't bear the blow, suffering a cerebral hemorrhage and passing away with regret.
Discovery: An old woman from Wen picked up a girl who wrote down an address.
Let's rewind to one day in May this year.
An 80-year-old grandmother from the Second Sheqian Village, Nanwang Town, Wenshang County, Jining, picked up a young woman while shopping during the rainy season.
"That day I saw her soaked through, wandering aimlessly around the market. I asked where she was from, but she wouldn't say anything, which made me feel sorry for her, so I took her home."
This kind-hearted Du grandmother lived with her sick bedridden husband on low-income support, yet they still took her in.
At first, the woman wouldn't leave the room, then gradually began sitting outside to bask in the sun, and later she would sit among people. However, she still wouldn't speak, and the villagers all pitied her plight and chatted with her.
"After some time, we tried asking where she was from and how old she was, but she only nodded without speaking, occasionally smiling. One day, Grandpa Fu asked if she could write, and she nodded. So everyone quickly found chalk and coaxed her to write down the address," a villager recounted.
Initially, she wouldn't write anything, but at the beginning of this month, she slowly started writing on the wall... Initially, she only wrote her sister's, father's, and mother's names, then eventually the address!
When the reporter arrived at the village, he also saw the words on the wall: "When I miss home, No. 127 Renmin Zhong Road, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province."
Surprise: This woman is indeed Liao Xuemei.
Subsequently, Grandpa Fu attempted to contact the woman's family using the address.
Another villager relayed, "When he asked, it matched perfectly. That family had also lost a daughter, confirming that the story was almost certainly true."
Meanwhile, Liao Xueyan, who was on a business trip in Shijiazhuang, received her mother's call, "My mother was crying so hard she couldn't form sentences. It took me a while to understand that there was finally news about my sister."
Liao Xueyan decided to contact the Nanwang Town police station first. "After searching for so many years, I had to confirm it was her. Officer Lin Xianding answered my call at around 4:30 PM."
At 5:30 PM, Officer Lin said he had already arrived at the village and met the person, wanting to confirm features with Liao Xueyan. Liao Xueyan remembered a one-centimeter-long scar between her sister's eyebrows, left from a childhood quarrel between the two sisters.
Fortunately, Officer Lin spotted the one-centimeter-long scar...
In other words, the woman who had been taken in was none other than Liao Xuemei, who had been separated from her family for many years!
Reunion: A cry of "Sister" left the younger sister sobbing uncontrollably.
Liao Xueyan quickly came to Jinan and, accompanied by the reporter, reached Wenshang County, Nanwang Town, Jining at 9 AM yesterday to meet Officer Lin who handled the case that day.
"Sister, it's me, Xiaoyan..." As soon as she spoke, Liao Xueyan burst into tears. When she arrived at Grandma Du's house, her sister Liao Xuemei was washing her face on the ground. Seeing her younger sister, she remained expressionless, nodding continuously without uttering a word.
Subsequently, Liao Xueyan called her mother and let her sister take the phone. Hearing her mother's urgent calls, Liao Xuemei, who had been expressionless, finally showed a rare smile.
"I'm here to take you home, back to Liupanshui." Liao Xueyan tried communicating with her sister in their hometown dialect, but unfortunately, Liao Xuemei still didn't speak, though she was willing to follow her younger sister... Liao Xueyan finally decided to take her sister back by plane, "Our mother is probably sleepless with anticipation, so we'll go as fast as possible."
The elderly Du grandmother who had taken care of Liao Xuemei for several months naturally felt reluctant to part, shedding tears.
Experience: How did she spend these years?
Shangbao Jining News: "I really want to know what happened to my sister back then? And how did she survive all these years? But she says nothing, so we can only wait to consult a psychologist when we get back." Liao Xueyan helplessly stated.
In Nanwang Town, villagers described Liao Xuemei's situation. The reporter noticed a detail they mentioned: Liao Xuemei knew how to use a hand pump well. "Hand pump wells are almost extinct in cities now, and there are no hand pump wells at her old home either. Yet, she knew how to use it, indicating she might have stayed in the countryside for many years. Moreover, upon careful observation of her fingers, there were obvious calluses on her palms, showing that she often worked. There are also some bloodstains from beatings in earlier years on her face, indicating her recent life wasn't optimistic," Officer Lin Xianding from the Nanwang Town police station analyzed.
"Before she went missing, she already had schizophrenia. Since she always boarded at school, we didn't know exactly what happened to her back then. Before the illness was cured, she went missing again." Liao Xueyan told reporters that she worried her sister might not have run away on her own but could have been abducted.
Although Liao Xuemei refused to speak, she was willing to write. The reporter tried communicating with her via pen and paper, but when asked where she had been all these years and how she survived, she repeatedly wrote down the address of her old home.
"She might have blocked out all bad memories, now only remembering her old home's address, longing to go back home." Liao Xueyan hopes that kind-hearted people with knowledge can provide clues.