Yesterday, in Rainbow Village of Rongchang County, Zhu Xiang and her daughter hugged and cried bitterly. Photo by reporter Long Zaiquan.
A 15-square-meter room with a wooden dressing table and wardrobe will be the future room for Chen Zhuxiang, a woman who was abducted 25 years ago. Outside the window is a small plot of land where ox carts carrying water tanks clink along narrow paths... Returning from the hills of Putian in Fujian Province after being abducted for 25 years, Chen Zhuxiang returned to Rongchang yesterday to reunite with her parents and family, as over 200 relatives welcomed her home. Yesterday, tears replaced years of longing as Zhuxiang and her family pieced together 25 years of fragmented memories. However, due to the separation in time and space, beyond the tears, she and her family had to overcome unfamiliarity and awkwardness, constantly adjusting their living habits to truly integrate emotionally.
More than 200 relatives welcomed her home
In January, Chongqing and Putian, Fujian did not differ much, except it was a bit colder. Outside the car window stretched continuous rolling hills and terraced fields. As the car approached Rainbow Village in Rongchang County, Chen Zhuxiang became so nervous that she could hardly sit still. First, the local Sichuan dialect spoken by the villagers left her at a loss.
However, when her mother's embrace finally arrived after 25 years, Zhuxiang still felt warmth. Mother and daughter embraced and wept bitterly. "Xiaoju (Zhuxiang's name before being abducted), Mom is sorry for not taking good care of you back then..." Jiang Hongqiong, aged 59, struggled to express herself in Mandarin near her daughter's ear, but her voice was soon drowned out by the surrounding cheers of "Welcome home Xiaoju."
After nearly 20 minutes of crying and reminiscing, Zhuxiang hugged her two sisters whom she hadn't seen for 25 years. "To welcome you home, over 200 relatives have gathered today. Little sister, you belong to a large family. It has been 25 years, and our home has never been this lively," said elder sister He Daozhen.
Reporters learned that on the evening of January 4 at around 7 PM, Jiang Hongqiong received formal notification from the Chongqing volunteers of the 'Bring Back Lost Children' initiative. Through DNA matching, it was confirmed that Chen Zhuxiang, who had been abducted 25 years ago, was indeed her biological daughter. "I spent the whole night thinking about how to welcome her home," Jiang Hongqiong recounted. In her countless imaginings, the image of her daughter gradually became clear: "She should be an outgoing child, with a bright smile, as fiery as a Chongqing girl."
Identifying the abduction site
In the past 25 years, the biggest change in Jiang Hongqiong's home was the construction of a two-story brick house. Less than 50 meters from the new house, the original six-room mud house no longer exists; now, there is a small plot of land planted with lush green vegetables.
These years, whenever Jiang Hongqiong's family opened the windows of the new house, they could see the "heartbreaking place." "Xiaoju was abducted right there at the old house. The house had just been built, and she only stayed one night before leaving me," Jiang Hongqiong said. The area around the old house was originally filled with sugarcane, which Xiaoju loved to play among until two years ago when they switched to growing corn. "Many places have changed, and I worry that my daughter might lose her original sense of familiarity."
Leading her family to the old house's site, Chen Zhuxiang identified the scene of her abduction, "It was here, a very familiar neighbor came up to chat and wanted to take me out to play, then he abducted me." Reporters learned that the neighbor who abducted Zhuxiang moved to the main urban area more than ten years ago and is currently missing.
Reporters saw that Jiang Hongqiong and her husband arranged their daughter's new room next to their own bedroom, separated by only one wall. In Zhuxiang's new room, there was an elegant wooden dressing table, a waiting-to-be-filled wardrobe, and a new bed with purple bedding embroidered with peony patterns. Second sister He Daoying said, "Because we didn't know her living habits, we arranged the room according to the common style for girls."
Different paths taken by childhood friends
Reporters observed that surrounded by over 200 relatives, Zhuxiang appeared visibly tense. More often, she preferred to leave the crowd, quietly observing the surroundings outside and occasionally spacing out until her sister repeatedly pulled her back, continuously introducing her to relatives.
"Do you remember me?" Faced with repeated inquiries, Zhuxiang consistently showed an awkward smile, "I can't remember, and I don't quite understand what they're saying."
Among the relatives welcoming Zhuxiang yesterday were women of her age who grew up with her. Shi Chengkun, aged 30 and only ten days younger than Zhuxiang, came with her eight-year-old son to welcome Zhuxiang home.
"Back when we were kids, we played together and ate sugarcane together," Shi Chengkun said. She works at a glass factory in Rongchang. Seeing her childhood friend, Shi Chengkun excitedly told Zhuxiang, "Xiaoying married in Chongqing, Pingping married in Yongchuan, everyone lives life step by step. If you had grown up with us back then, wouldn't you be the same?"
However, reporters noticed that the descriptions of her former friends made Zhuxiang feel somewhat disoriented. "I really can't remember anything, these things seem so distant," Zhuxiang told reporters.
For this reason, Jiang Hongqiong and her husband expressed hope that Zhuxiang would spend the Spring Festival at home and quickly start her own family, "Preferably finding a Chongqing son-in-law and settling down in Chongqing." However, Chen Zhuxiang stated that she would only stay in her hometown for two days, "I must return to Fujian as soon as possible because there are two homeless children who need my care. Perhaps after the Spring Festival, I will come back to visit my parents."
Voice
The journey home may have just begun
Yesterday morning, for the first time in 25 years, Jiang Hongqiong and her husband heard their daughter's voice in real life, whereas before they only heard her voice on TV searching for her family. "This meeting was actually quite sudden," said second sister He Daoying. Before this, they hadn't talked on the phone with their younger sister, nor did they know each other's appearance or build.
Jiang Hongqiong asked the reporter, "What does my daughter do in Fujian? Who does she usually interact with? Is she a layperson at the Mazu Temple? Can she get married? Does she have to live in the temple every day?" She even whispered to the reporter, "How do you think her personality is? Does she like talking?"
Upon hearing that Zhuxiang grew up in a temple and doesn't eat meat, yesterday, her sisters temporarily prepared a vegetarian feast for her. Cucumbers, taro, broad beans, and green vegetables were boiled in plain water with plenty of chili added. "We heard that our sister likes spicy rice noodles, so she should be able to handle spiciness," said He Daoying. While cooking, she worried that her sister might not like it. "It seems we'll need some time to adapt to her dietary preferences."
When asked if she could adapt to the new living environment, Zhuxiang again showed an awkward smile, "I will try my best to adapt," she said, then seemed lost in thought for a moment. Zhuxiang said, "There is still much I need to learn about this family. I basically can't remember anything, the days from 25 years ago seem like amnesia."
"For both sides, they are like blank sheets of paper, or mysteries waiting to be uncovered," said a Chongqing volunteer. Although Zhuxiang has found her family and reunited with her parents, whether she can truly integrate into this family still has a long way to go. "Perhaps, Zhuxiang's journey home has just begun."
All texts in this group were written by reporter Yang Lin.