In 1993, a house in Yuminli, Nitang Road, Nancao, Shanghai was extremely lively, causing neighbors to gather at the door and whisper.
"That's good. I really didn't expect that she could really find her ex-husband who had been separated for 45 years. I just feel sorry for the old Zhang!"
"What's so pitiful about that? After all, the two of them have lived together for decades. Nian, I won’t leave Lao Zhangtou alone because of this matter! "
" It’s hard to say! The two of them were living together, but I think Lao Zhangtou might really end up alone, otherwise he would be alone. What are you doing all the way from Taiwan?"
"Hey, Mr. Zhang is back..."
An old man came slowly from the entrance of the alley. He was the man known to the neighbors as Mr. Zhang. The male owner of this family is Zhang Yansheng.
This day was a profound memory for Zhang Yansheng. When he returned home, he learned that his wife’s ex-husband had come to the house. He entertained his wife’s ex-husband with a warm and hospitable heart. However, he did not expect that his wife’s ex-husband suddenly raised a sharp question during the meal : "Can I take her away?"
Zhang Yansheng nodded sadly, because he knew that his wife's heart was not with him at all, but he still couldn't let go in his heart. After all, he was his wife who had gone through decades of hardships together. How can you be willing to give up?
So, who is this "ex-husband" who suddenly visits? Why did it take decades to find a wife? What decision did the wife make? What will be the final result?
Beautiful encounter
The "ex-husband" who suddenly visited was named Dong Wanhua. He was born in Guangdong in 1926. During the troubled times, the warlords separated the family and the burden on the common people made life as the lowest level people miserable.
Dong Wanhua's life experience was even more tragic. His parents died one after another when he was young. Dong Wanhua, who had no relatives, became an orphan, wandering the streets begging. When he was lucky, someone would give him a hot meal, and when he was unlucky, he ate it. There was no last meal.
That period has always been a psychological shadow for Dong Wanhua, but fortunately he met a kind person who sent him to an orphanage, which saved him from purgatory.
In that era when people were in dire straits, although the conditions of the orphanage were very limited, it at least provided Dong Wanhua with a place to stay, and more importantly, he could learn cultural knowledge, which paved the way for him to meet his wife later.
When Dong Wanhua came of age, the domestic situation had improved greatly. At the end of the Anti-Japanese War, because he had read a little books, he was introduced to the Kuomintang team and became a unit of the 4th Division of the 4th Army of Xue Yue's direct lineage. Documentation.
Xue Yue attached great importance to the Fourth Army. In order to prevent the Fourth Army from being ruined by Chiang Kai-shek, Xue Yue transferred this army to Xinghua, Jiangsu Province when he was the director of the Xuzhou Appeasement Office and "hidden" it as a family asset.
Dong Wanhua rarely had any leisure time during this period. He often went to the local bookstore to read, which became one of his hobbies.
On this day, when Dong Wanhua went to the bookstore to buy books again, he found that there was only one book left on the shelf. He picked it up and was about to check out. At this time, he noticed that the girl beside him asked anxiously if he still had the book in Dong Wanhua's hand. Book.
Dong Wanhua looked at the slim girl in front of him, with a delicate face and a pair of particularly attractive eyes. At this moment, his heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood the true meaning of love at first sight.
After a while, Dong Wanhua came to his senses, handed the book in his hand to the girl and said : "I'll give this to you! I'll buy it again next time!"
The girl then noticed Dong Wanhua in military uniform. , in her impression, most of the Kuomintang troops were "soldiers", but the man in front of her was very elegant, more like a teacher, and she couldn't help but have a good impression.
A beautiful encounter made the two acquainted. Dong Wanhua learned that the girl's name was Shao Yuhua, and her family lived near their army's camp. Speaking of which, Shao Yuhua could be considered a young lady from a wealthy family.
Shao Yuhua's ancestors came from a scholarly family, and her family was well-off. She received a good education when she was born. However, during the troubled times, Shao Yuhua's father's family fell into decline.
Since then, Shao Yuhua's life has undergone earth-shaking changes. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, she began to help her parents with housework and deal with some household chores. It took a long time for a spoiled young lady to adapt.
Although Shao Yuhua's living conditions have undergone drastic changes, he has not given up his hobby of reading. An encounter in a bookstore quickly brought the two strangers closer together. The two were similar in age and shared the same hobbies, and gradually began to develop a secret love. The relationship became ambiguous.
After the two confirmed their relationship, they thought of getting married. After all, parents have to make the final decision on marriage. Dong Wanhua lost his parents when he was young, so Shao Yuhua took him back to his home to meet his parents.
But what Shao Yuhua didn't expect was that her marriage to Dong Wanhua would be opposed by her parents. In their parents' eyes, Shao Yuhua was a lady, so how could she marry a poor boy like Dong Wanhua?
Her parents' obstruction failed to change Shao Yuhua's mind. She insisted on being with Dong Wanhua. She broke up with her parents in anger and moved out to live with Dong Wanhua.
In 1948, one year after the two lived together, Shao Yuhua gave birth to a baby boy. Raw rice became cooked rice. Shao Yuhua’s family had to agree to the marriage. Everything seemed to be moving in a better direction, but fate failed. It was a big joke for this newly built little home.
A Trick of Destiny
After the Liberation War broke out, China once again fell into dire straits. As a Kuomintang military document, Dong Wanhua did not have to fight on the front line, but he still had to move with the army.
After the end of the Liaoshen Campaign, the People's Liberation Army troops pressed into the territory, and then launched the Huaihai Campaign and won the victory. Chiang Kai-shek still dreamed of resisting the People's Liberation Army crossing the river operations through the natural moat of the Yangtze River. Dong Wanhua's troops also received the order to leave.
Shao Yuhua remembered that day very clearly. Dong Wanhua looked gloomy after returning home, as if he had something on his mind. It was only during dinner that he finally revealed that the troops were about to be transferred. Shao Yuhua quickly asked : "If you leave, then Shuisheng and I (two What should I do if I want to take Shuisheng with you?"
After hearing this, Dong Wanhua shook his head like a rattle and said : "How can that be done? Shuisheng is still young, you are from a woman's family! , it will be dangerous to follow me, I don’t want you to get hurt, don’t worry, I will definitely come back to find you!”
Looking at his son who was just over two months old, Shao Yuhua felt that his thoughts were too extreme, even if it was not for himself! For the sake of my son, it was indeed not a wise choice to move with the army, so I nodded and replied : "Okay, then you must write to me after you settle down. My son and I will be here waiting for you to come back!"
Before leaving, Dong Wanhua warned : "I don't know how long it will take to come back. If it takes many years to come back, you must take good care of our child and send him to school when he grows up!"
Dong Wanhua After leaving, Shao Yuhua lived alone with her son. Dong Wanhua originally supported the family's expenses. Now the backbone of the family suddenly disappeared. Shao Yuhua's mother and son also had a very difficult life. They had to take care of their children and make money to make ends meet.
Shao Yuhua looked forward to receiving a letter from Dong Wanhua every day, but there was no news for several months. It was not until soon that the newspaper published news that the People's Liberation Army had liberated Shanghai, and the Kuomintang troops were beaten and retreated to Taiwan.
Shao Yuhua held her son and cried bitterly. She didn't know whether Dong Wanhua died in the battle, was captured, or fled to Taiwan with him. Judging from the current state of no news, even if Shao Yuhua didn't want to believe it, she had to do it. Prepare for the worst.
Shao Yuhua took her son back to her natal family. At that time, the feudal ideology had not been completely eradicated. It was a very disgraceful thing for a married daughter to take her child back to her natal family. Many rumors spread among the neighbors, even about Shao Yuhua. It was because she was abandoned that she returned to her parents' home.
As the saying goes, "three people make a tiger", the power of public opinion is powerful. Bearing the comments of others every day made Shao Yuhua bear a heavy psychological burden. In the end, he couldn't bear it and left his parents' home with his son, and they broke off contact from then on.
Dong Wanhua on the other side did not actually die in the battle, nor was he captured by the People's Liberation Army. Instead, he fled to Taiwan with the army.
Ever since he left home, Dong Wanhua has been thinking about Shao Yuhua and his wife. However, the continuous march left him no time to write a letter to his family, and the letter he sent before retreating to Taiwan was accidentally lost because Shao Yuhua returned to his parents' home. Not received.
After arriving in Taiwan, Dong Wanhua regretted it. He thought that he might as well have stayed in Shanghai as a prisoner of the People's Liberation Army. As a military document, he had not touched the blood of his compatriots on his hands. The People's Liberation Army should treat him leniently, and at least he could be with his wife. The children live together.
But now in Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek has cut off the connection between Taiwan and the mainland. It has become difficult for Dong Wanhua to write a letter to his wife. The couple misses each other in their hearts, but what they never know is that they are already facing each other across the sea.
The Day of Reunion
"Returning fallen leaves to their roots" has always been the wish of countless Taiwanese veterans. As an ordinary soldier at the lowest level, Dong Wanhua's thoughts are also the same.
Dong Wanhua's life was not satisfactory when he first arrived in Taiwan. After retreating to Taiwan, the Kuomintang's military expenditures were greatly reduced. Crisis was everywhere on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the soldiers' desire to retire was far away.
After Dong Wanhua finally retired, he was faced with the dilemma of having no house or money. Most Taiwanese veterans lived in poverty after retirement because they had stayed in the army without any skills. After re-entering society, they were like prisoners who had just been released from prison. There is no difference.
Fortunately, Dong Wanhua had some ink in his belly and could barely make ends meet. However, the Taiwan authorities have been blocking contact with the mainland. Dong Wanhua wanted to contact his wife and children who were far away in the mainland, but he could not find a suitable opportunity.
Day after day, year after year, Dong Wanhua missed his wife Shao Yuhua every moment during the long waiting years, but life alone was so difficult that he didn't even know if he would ever be able to set foot on his hometown again in his lifetime.
In 1960, the thirty-year-old Dong Wanhua remarried a woman through the introduction of a friend. Although their married life was not sweet, the relationship between the couple was very harmonious, and they had three daughters and one son.
But Dong Wanhua could never forget his first wife Shao Yuhua, and this marriage that lacked an emotional foundation eventually came to an end.
In 1987, a few years after Dong Wanhua divorced his second wife, the Taiwan authorities suddenly announced an open family visit policy, allowing veterans to return to the mainland to visit relatives. All the veterans who were forced to stay in Taiwan were moved by this, including of course their wives and children. I have longed for Dong Wanhua.
But after the opening of family visits, veterans are faced with a serious problem. Will they still be able to find their relatives in mainland China after times have changed? Can you find your hometown?
The announcement of this policy also spawned an industry, and many organizations were established one after another, offering to help veterans find their relatives in mainland China for free.
Dong Wanhua immediately sent a letter to his wife Shao Yuhua at the original address, but after waiting for several months, he did not receive any reply. He guessed that his wife and children no longer lived at the original address, so he had to seek help from the Red Cross.
However, as several years passed, Dong Wanhua's inner persistence began to waver. He originally hoped that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait could have normal exchanges, but when he truly opened up, he could not find his wife and children.
Until 1993, Dong Wanhua received a call from mainland China. After the call was answered, a woman's voice came from the receiver and said : "Are you Dong Wanhua?"
Dong Wanhua suddenly shed two lines of tears. He missed this voice. Forty-five years later, they are still so familiar after so many years. He quickly asked : "Are you Yuhua? Is your son okay?"
After confirming their identities, the two people on both sides of the phone were extremely excited. Forty Five years later, the results finally came to fruition, and the two immediately agreed to meet in mainland China.
On July 15, 1993, Dong Wanhua arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport from Taiwan by plane, and met his wife Shao Yuhua, his wife of 45 years, at the airport pick-up gate.
After the two met, their eyes immediately turned red. Only then did Dong Wanhua notice a young man standing next to Shao Yuhua. After learning that his son was born, the family of three hugged each other and cried.
Dong Wanhua kept mumbling : "I'm sorry, I owe you too much, and I will pay you back!"
Dong Wanhua only had two relatives in the mainland, and he was getting older. Shao Yuhua was worried that he would live alone, so he He placed him in his own home, and then Dong Wanhua learned that Shao Yuhua had remarried.
Dong Wanhua had not thought that this would happen. After all, the more than forty years had been too difficult, and he had also taken a detour. What's more, Shao Yuhua was a woman with a child, and her life was even more difficult. Without a man in the family, it was difficult to make a living. problem.
But Dong Wanhua still has selfish motives. He came to the mainland this time just to take his wife and children to Taiwan to make up for the debt he owed them for more than 40 years. Now that Shao Yuhua has remarried, can his wish still be realized?
The road to reconciliation is difficult and difficult
Shao Yuhua took her children to Shanghai after running away from her parents' home, but she was still too busy to take care of her children while working. In addition, Dong Wanhua asked her to take good care of her son when he left, and sent him to school. While studying, Shao Yuhua came up with the idea of remarrying, so that he could at least give his son better living conditions.
In 1955, Shao Yuhua was introduced to Zhang Yansheng. Zhang Yansheng was 18 years older than Shao Yuhua. Although he was a bit older, he was honest and responsible, and he was very affectionate and loved his wife.
At that time, Zhang Yansheng had just experienced the pain of widowhood. He was faced with the dilemma of having parents and children. His daily life was very miserable and he urgently needed a woman to take care of the whole family.
The two came together in this way. Zhang Yansheng made a living by punting. Although he did not make much money, he did not suffer for his family.
However, Shao Yuhua was under tremendous pressure after starting this marriage. The neighbors talked about her a lot, saying that she was married to an old man when she was young and had good conditions.
Shao Yuhua suffered tremendous pain when she made the decision to remarry. After experiencing the rumors, she endured all kinds of humiliation. This was not the life she wanted to live, but what could she do?
The relationship between Shao Yuhua and Zhang Yansheng is just like Dong Wanhua and his remarried wife. They have no emotional basis. The purpose of remarrying is just to live together and have someone to help them.
The long years also did not make Shao Yuhua give up her belief in looking for Dong Wanhua. She always believed that Dong Wanhua's words " I will definitely come back to find you " when he said goodbye were from the bottom of his heart, and Dong Wanhua would definitely come to find her.
After Taiwan opened its family visit policy, Shao Yuhua couldn't help but get excited. With a glimmer of hope, he submitted information about himself and Dong Wanhua to the relevant agencies, thinking that if Dong Wanhua went to Taiwan, he might also find him through the agency.
What Shao Yuhua didn't expect was that Dong Wanhua was really looking for her, and after the two people's information matched, the agency staff provided her with Dong Wanhua's contact information.
After the phone call, Shao Yuhua was obviously more excited than Dong Wanhua, because during the call, Shao Yuhua noticed that Dong Wanhua spoke loudly and asked about her son without hesitation. She inferred that Dong Wanhua was still single, and she couldn't help but feel excited. , looking forward to getting back together with him.
However, behind the sweet reunion between Dong Wanhua and Shao Yuhua after a long separation, Zhang Yansheng's sadness was hidden. He could understand Shao Yuhua's desire to get back together with Dong Wanhua, but he also knew clearly that Shao Yuhua had no feelings for him.
However, there was an explosion among the neighbors. There was a lot of discussion about this matter. They believed that Zhang Yansheng had taken care of Shao Yuhua's son, and now he needs someone to take care of him when he is old. Shao Yuhua should not abandon Zhang Yansheng and get back together with Dong Wanhua.
In contrast, Shao Yuhua's family seemed very open-minded. When Dong Wanhua asked Zhang Yansheng to take Shao Yuhua away, Zhang Yansheng agreed to the request. It was more helpless than agreeing. The children in the family also chose to respect Shao Yuhua's opinion.
After obtaining the consent of his family and Zhang Yansheng, the matter became clear. After all, no matter how opposed the neighbors were, it was just public opinion. After Zhang Yansheng agreed, there was no resistance.
However, when the divorce procedures were actually started, something unexpected happened, so that the reconciliation finally came to nothing...
The lovers finally got married
After Shao Yuhua and Zhang Yansheng came to the local divorce registration office , but was told by the staff that only four documents, including marriage certificate, room card, ID card and household registration book, could be applied for divorce by agreement.
When Shao Yuhua married Zhang Yansheng, it was his second marriage. The wedding ceremony was just a formality, and there was no marriage formalities. Naturally, the marriage certificate cannot be obtained now.
According to the solution given by the staff, the two had to go through the marriage formalities first, and then divorce by agreement, so a farce of getting married first and then divorced was staged.
However, after completing the marriage procedures, they encountered trouble again. At that time, it was during the urban reconstruction and relocation period in Shanghai. Zhang Yansheng and Shao Yuhua were assigned to a public house with one bedroom and one living room, which meant that they only had one room key.
As a result, the two of them only had one room card, and there was no way to divide the public house. As a result, the divorce agreement could not be processed for a long time. This problem also became the biggest obstacle to their divorce.
On the other hand, Dong Wanhua's family visit period is coming to an end, but such a problem occurs during the divorce process. How should he choose?
At that time, someone also gave Shao Yuhua the idea to move Zhang Yansheng's household registration out first, so that he would have two room cards, and naturally he could apply for a divorce. However, this idea was strongly opposed by his children. After all, it involved supporting the elderly. The problem is too complicated to solve in this way.
In the end, the divorce was settled, and Dong Wanhua was about to return to Taiwan. Shao Yuhua, who could not leave with Dong Wanhua, began to feel melancholy.
Before leaving, Dong Wanhua comforted Shao Yuhua and said : "The comedy begins when we meet! Zhang Yansheng is also old. If you take care of him for a few more years, it won't be too late for us to reunite when everything here is over!" "
Dong Wanhua's retreat became the only way to solve this matter. In the end, he returned to Taiwan alone, while Shao Yuhua stayed and continued to take care of Zhang Yansheng.
When bidding farewell to Dong Wanhua at the airport, Shao Yuhua couldn't stop her tears from flowing out, because she knew very well that both of them were old, and she didn't know when the next time they would meet would be, or whether they would see each other again. is an unknown quantity.
But it must be said that this meeting rekindled the hope of life between Dong Wanhua and Shao Yuhua. After Dong Wanhua returned to Taiwan, he began to take care of the house in preparation for Shao Yuhua's arrival.
Shao Yuhua also successfully completed the divorce agreement with Zhang Yansheng not long after, but he did not immediately go to Taiwan to reunite with Dong Wanhua, and still took care of Zhang Yansheng's daily life.
Until 1998, after Zhang Yansheng passed away, Shao Yuhua finally had no restraints and came to Taiwan to reunite with Dong Wanhua, and the two lived a comfortable and happy life. When the
reporter went to interview again, Dong Wanhua had changed a lot and his hair was already full of silver. However, it could be seen that he was in a good mental state under Shao Yuhua's care.
When facing the camera, Dong Wanhua once said : "I hope the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can be reunified soon, not only to achieve one link, but also to achieve three links!"
Cross-strait reunification has become Dong Wanhua's wish for the rest of his life. Although Shao Yuhua came to his side, but However, his children cannot be reunited due to various relationships, which has become a major concern for him.
The story of Dong Wanhua and Shao Yuhua touched countless people after it was broadcast. Although the war separated them for forty-five years, their love is eternal. The two never gave up their belief in finding each other during the difficult years. It is poignant and beautiful. The love story finally comes to a happy ending,
