On April 28, 1989, Taiwanese veteran Gong Dacai finally returned to his hometown of Songzi City, Hubei Province.
Last Spring Festival, he worked hard and finally contacted his son Gong Guangxu. It took him too long to go back home. He was eager to return home and wanted to see his beloved wife immediately.
Gong Guangxu has never seen his father since he was born, but this connection between blood seems to be deeply imprinted in his body. Gong Guangxu recognized Gong Dacai at a glance, and the two hugged each other in tears.
The young grandchildren all shouted at grandpa, and Gong Dacai was like a dream.
Over the years, Gong Dacai has been in despair several times, thinking that he would never be able to enjoy this kind of family happiness in his life. I didn’t expect to see this day surrounded by children and grandchildren and surrounded by relatives and friends.
He cried and laughed for a while. When his mood calmed down, he began to search among the crowd. He asked anxiously: "Where is Fengchi? Where is my Fengchi?"
The people present looked at each other and wanted to speak but stopped. Gong Guangxu was silent for a while before saying to his father, "Mom will come tonight."
Gong Dacai felt a little strange, but he didn't ask much.
At night, Xu Fengchi finally came. She was leaning on a crutch and an old man was supporting her. She walked very hard and stepped into the door of her son's house tremblingly.
Gong Dacai ran forward excitedly and hugged Xu Fengchi tightly.
40 years have passed, and the young and handsome girl is now an old woman with wrinkles on her face, but in Gong Dacai's heart, she is the one she loves and has not changed at all.
Gong Dacai cried out his longing for years, and was excitedly not knowing how to express it, so he could only speak intermittently. Xu Fengchi shed tears and shook her head repeatedly, unable to say a word because she had already remarried.
Gong Dacai discovered that his childhood friend Gong Dazhou had come. He is now the village party secretary. He came to their house and said he would host a family meeting to clarify what has happened over the years. Think about it, where do you go in the future...
This will start from 1942.
That year, the Gong family in Babao Town, Songzi City, Hubei Province was holding a wedding ceremony. Gong Dacai got married. He was 18 years old and Xu Fengchi was 17 years old.
The bride and groom are childhood sweethearts, and they go hand in hand with their childhood playmates into marriage, and everything goes well.
The two families are as close as a family. After marriage, the couple is very hardworking and filial to their parents-in-law. Seeing that their lives are getting better and better, they did not expect that the Kuomintang came to the countryside to catch the strong men. The whole village was in peace, and the men all left home to hide everywhere.
Gong Dacai has five brothers in total, all of whom are going to be arrested. Gong Dacai just got married and was unwilling to join the army. He could only sleep in the grave or hide in the cowshed every day.
1946, Gong Dacai, who was hiding from Tibet, was arrested and forced to join the army.
The family cried after they learned the news, especially Xu Fengchi. They had no children after getting married. If Gong Dacai had a few shortcomings on the battlefield, what would she do in the future?
Xu Fengchi cried so hard that he could not bear it. He also felt that his second brother Gong Dacai was too honest and did not know how to make a turn when something happened. He went there to die, so he ran to the township office to replace Gong Dacai. Later, when he marched to Guilin, the eldest brother took him to find an opportunity to escape from the national army.
The Kuomintang army's recruitment method is simple and crude. Even if Gong Dacai was replaced by his elder brother, he was still hiding from Tibet.
The couple has been married for many years, but they have no child. Until 1948, Xu Fengchi finally got pregnant and the whole family is very happy.
Gong Dacai has never dared to live at home for many years. After hearing that his wife was pregnant, he hurried home happily. He took the risk of buying chicken and fish back, hoping to replenish his wife's body.
Gong Dacai never thought that this short appearance was known by the township security chief . He couldn't bear to have his wife go to the fields to farm, so he took care of all the farm work himself. He was arrested while working in the fields and was escorted to Chenjiachong Detention Center in the county.
The whole process of being taken away, Gong Dacai didn't even see his relatives and could not explain to them.
Xu Fengchi was shocked to hear that her husband was taken away and cried for a long time in sadness. But now it is different from before. She has children and must pay attention to her health. She must be energetic, clean up her clothes, collect money, and walk 50 miles with her belly to visit Gong Dacai.
When he arrived at the detention center, Xu Fengchi was told that he could not go in to visit him at all. She was a desperate pregnant woman, and could only kneel down in front of the gate and beg for money, and then she was able to enter.
Xu Fengchi was crying and told her husband what summer clothes were and what winter clothes were in the package. She repeatedly told her to take care of her body while holding her hands.
Xu Fengchi temporarily lives in her cousin's house, 3 miles away. She has to travel so far every day to deliver food to Gong Dacai, hoping that he can eat some good food before leaving and be stronger.
She was afraid that there would be something urgent to use money after Gong Dacai joined the army, so she took off the only valuable pair of earrings on her body, wrapped them in soap and sent them in.
It was almost time to part. Gong Dacai felt so uncomfortable when he thought that he could not even see his child. He told Xu Fengchi to wait for him to come back and he would definitely be alive.
Half a month later, Gong Dacai and the arrested men were secretly loaded into a tank truck and sent to Shanghai.
In the twelfth month of this year, Xu Fengchi gave birth to his eldest son, and she named the child "Tai Wang". The name contains two meanings: the first is that Gong Dacai really wants to see his son’s birth, and the second is that Xu Fengchi really wants her husband to go home as soon as possible.
Later, Xu Fengchi found out that her husband was in the army and quickly wrote the trustee and sent it there, which contained photos of Xu Fengchi and his son. Gong Dacai often kisses this photo
. At the critical moment of life and death, he always subconsciously touched the photo.
He insisted on living, hoping that the war would end soon and could go home. However, he did not expect that he would get the order to follow the troops to retreat to Taiwan Island .
From then on, Gong Dacai has no news of his wife and children again. And for the past 40 years, he has been waiting. He has never felt that Taiwan is his second hometown. His roots are in his hometown, and there is a beautiful Fengchi waiting for him in his hometown.
Because I miss my hometown too much, Gong Dacai couldn't eat well and sleep well, and he became thinner and thinner. In the end, he felt that living was meaningless, and it was better to risk his life to escape home. However, the situation was tense at that time. Taiwan was shrouded in white terror, with strict military discipline and a vast ocean in front of him. After all, he thought it clear that only by living can he see his wife and children, and he had to endure humiliation and live a life of silence.
Later, Gong Dacai was incorporated into a heavy machinery company of the 201st Division of the Kuomintang Youth Army. His camp was a closed military camp built when the Japanese invaded Taiwan.
At that time, apart from eating and sleeping, they were training continuously and exhausted high physical energy. Most of the soldiers fell asleep and had no time to miss their hometown and relatives. But Gong Dacai can never forget it.
He was afraid that the photos would get dirty, so he packed them in a plastic bag and carried them with him. He would take them out from time to time to take a look.
Once, Gong Dacai was still looking at the photo, and forgot the following actions for a while. After seeing this, the platoon leader snatched the photo and tore it into pieces.
This was Gong Dacai’s only thought. He burst into tears, and after practicing, he knelt on the ground to collect the fragments of the photos.
He found a fellow villager in the military camp who could take photos, and then re-shooted the photos and washed dozens of them together. He sticks it on the wall, hides it under the pillow, and sticks it on all the places he can see.
He had no entertainment activities, the other soldiers were watching movies or playing chess, while he climbed a mountain near the barracks with a pot of water and bread alone, stood on the top of the mountain, heading towards the distance.
There is no one here, he can shout his wife's name and son's nickname to Hai.
Maybe God is pitying him. One day he saw two mother and son coconut trees on the top of the mountain, growing on a root system.
Gong Dacai felt that this was his wife and children accompanying him. When he thought of his homesickness, he devoted all his feelings to this plant.
He was fertilizing fertilizer at the foot of the mountain, carrying water in a bucket, and taking it up the mountain without hesitation, just to water the tree more and apply more fertilizer.
The tree grows day by day. When Gong Dacai misses home, he holds the tree and cries bitterly. During festivals, the tree is his relatives. He will carry the food to the mountain and accompany the tree to eat and talk.
This is true for the infatuated people in the world.
The comrades got married one after another, and some of them had children, but Gong Dacai had no idea of getting married at all.
When applying for a lifelong ID card, he wrote his spouse: Xu. Seeing that he was like this, the fellow villagers were very reluctant to do so and advised him: "Fengchi may think you are gone long ago and have remarried, why bother?"
Gong Dacai always said nothing, only knowing that he kept shaking his head.
In a blink of an eye, it was 1976, and Gong Dacai finally retired. He had no family, but he would get a salary every month.
He kept watering and fertilizing the mother-son coconut tree, and often went up the mountain to visit it. Sometimes I would rent a car and look at the mainland from the coast hundreds of kilometers away.
He walked along the coastline, holding a radio, secretly listening to news from the mainland.
Or, it is to go to temples everywhere in Taiwan to worship and burn incense, praying that one day he and his wife and children can reunite.
In order to make these veterans forget their hope of going home, the Kuomintang army also set up the so-called "happy forest" in the military camp, which can be eaten, drunk, and gambling, but Gong Dacai never goes.
The Taiwanese wife of fellow villager He Wenhua has a sister who is very beautiful and wants to introduce her to Gong Dacai. The girl has already come to his house to wash and cook for him, and even boil the bath water.
But Gong Dacai didn't appreciate it at all, and even made a big furious to his fellow villagers: "If anyone wants to mention this matter, don't worry about me turning against me."
Gong Dacai is like this. He never gave up his wish to go home. He felt that as long as he was still alive for one day, he might go home to see his wife and children, and he could not marry another, ruining the love between himself and Xu Fengchi.
htmlIn the 1980s, veterans in Taiwan were finally able to communicate with their families, and some were finally able to return to their hometowns.Gong Dacai wrote more than 30 letters in two years, but every time he sent it, it was a sank to the sea. Some fellow villagers will help Gong Dacai inquire about the news when they find their relatives to visit their relatives, but their current hometown is not only different from before, but they have even changed the place name a lot and cannot find any clues.
Gong Dacai began to think randomly, especially anxious, and suffered three serious illnesses in succession. My comrades knew his infatuation and could only advise him to think a little more happily. After all, after all, so many years have passed, no one knows what happened in his home during the past 40 years.
Gong Dacai did not give up, but insisted on writing letters, urging various relationships to help him find his family.
What he didn't know was that his son Tai Wang had changed his name to Gong Guangxu, which is why he couldn't find his son's information.
At this moment, Gong Guangxu was also contacting him everywhere for help, going to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Municipal Bureau of the City to register, and often asked if he could find his father's information.
In October 1987, Gong Guangxu found a Taiwanese compatriot who came back from the United States to visit relatives, hoping that he could issue a missing person notice in Taiwan. So soon after, news of searching for Gong Dacai was found in Taiwan's "Central Daily" and "China Times".
Gong Dacai was so excited when he saw this missing person notice. He immediately asked Hu Wenqing, a comrade-in-arms who had returned to the mainland to visit relatives, to help verify it.
In 1988, Hu Wenqing returned to Taiwan for the New Year and took Gong Dacai to his home for a reunion dinner.
is right at the dining table, Hu Wenqing took out a letter and several photos.
He could not help but shed tears after just one look at the photo. He choked: "This is too much hope, my son, I finally found them!"
Hu family saw him crying and laughing, and felt uncomfortable, and this reunion dinner was not good.
Gong Dacai began to write letters to his son over and over again, and finally received a letter from his family. He didn't mention how happy he was.
Gong Dacai asked about the harvest at home and asked whether his grandchildren were obedient. Gong Guangxu would tell his father in detail.
Gong Guangxu said that mother and children and grandchildren are looking forward to you coming back quickly, but he never dared to tell his father the news that his mother had remarried.
Why did Xu Fengchi remarry?
That was after the liberation of the country, the neighbors all ushered in good days, but Xu Fengchi and his son lived even more miserable. They were the families of Kuomintang soldiers, and the villagers looked down on them and pointed at them.
Xu Fengchi had no choice but to take his son to his parents' home. His family also had a large population and was too poor to lose the blame. The mother and son could only eat one meal and one meal, and the whole family was suffering from hunger. Xu Fengchi was also inquiring about it, but there was no news about her husband and he didn't know his life or death.
"If you are alive, you will definitely send a letter to you. There is no news for so many years, you must have died on the battlefield. For the sake of your child, you should remarry!" The uncle and aunt were both persuading her.
Time and again, Xu Fengchi refused to tell her the person to kiss her. She kept waiting for Gong Dacai to come back, and she still felt that her husband was alive.
But every time she saw her son looking hungry, she couldn't help crying, and she still felt soft-hearted. If... Gong Dacai really has gone, Tai Ho is his only blood. If Tai Ho Ho has not raised an adult, how could she explain to Gong Dacai?
In September 1952, Xu Fengchi finally felt soft-hearted. In order for her son to survive, she remarried Yang Jianquan, a farmer in the same town.
Yang Jianquan is a good man. He supported a family for Xu Fengchi and his son. Xu Fengchi originally married with a sad mood, but later he was gradually moved by Yang Jianquan.
She didn't know that Gong Dacai was still waiting for her. If she knew, she would endure even if she had suffered a lot, even if she starved to death in the barren era.
Yang Jianquan and Xu Fengchi later gave birth to 5 children, but he was the best for Gong Guangxu and never let Gong Guangxu starve for a meal.
Gong Guangxu remembered that at that time, his stepfather would be the first to make porridge for him, and it would always be the thickest bowl.
His clothes have not been worn, but his younger brothers and sisters are all wearing the old clothes he has worn. Later, my grandparents insisted on asking him to go over and return to his house to inherit the incense, but the stepfather was afraid that he would not live well and was still sending him food or clothes.
Gong Guangxu is the child of the Gong family. Every time Yang Jianquan pays tuition, he is the first to pay for Gong Guangxu.
For Gong Guangxu, his biological father is like a mountain, noble and distant, and his stepfather is like water, which has been silently nourishing Gong Guangxu's life. The two fathers are equal and are both people he wants to respect.
Now Gong Dacai is back. Gong Guangxu and Xu Fengchi are also very moved after knowing that he has been so obsessed over the years, but Xu Fengchi can't help it. She can't go back to the past and it is impossible for her to be together again with Gong Dacai.
At this awkward family meeting, Gong Guangxu told all the things his stepfather did for their family. He actually didn't know how to persuade his father not to take his mother away.
Unexpectedly, Gong Dacai just bowed deeply to Yang Jianquan with tears, and gave Yang Jianquan a set of high-end wool clothes he brought.
Before Gong Dacai returned to the mainland, he bought a precious jewelry for his wife. He gave the jewelry to Xu Fengchi. said only two words "take care" and walked into the indoor .
He would not force his wife to return to Taiwan with him. He once thought about countless scenes of snuggling with his wife in his later years. Even if he couldn't stay away for a lifetime, he could barely be considered old until he was old. Unexpectedly, he became an illusion in an instant.
That night, Gong Dacai did not sleep all night. Time flies, and only he is still standing in the past. He should have let go.
Early the next morning, Gong Dacai planned to leave secretly, but he didn't expect Xu Fengchi and his wife to feel embarrassed because of themselves.
As soon as he went out, he saw his son carrying a load of water. It was not yet dawn.Gong Dacai asked his son why he went to fetch water so early. His son said that dozens of families in the group could only drink water from a shallow ditch at the back of the house. If the ducks and geese were going to go into the water and stir up trouble, the water would be mixed and it would be bad.
Gong Dacai shook his head and said that he would leave now and return to Taiwan, so that his son would not speak out.
Gong Guangxu knew his father’s feelings and did not try to keep him. He sent his father to Wuhan Airport alone. While waiting for the flight, the father took out 40,000 yuan to Gong Guangxu: "You go back and dig a well with this money and let the whole group eat clean water. The remaining money will be sent to my mother and stepfather every month to let them enjoy their old age."
Gong Dacai is such a good old man. He can swallow all the bitter water into his stomach, and he is unwilling to others to suffer for himself, and he is also thinking about how to do more good things for others.
Shortly after Gong Dacai returned to Taiwan, Yang Jianquan couldn't afford to be ill because of his whole life. He passed away in 1989.
After Gong Guangxu and his younger brothers and sisters handled the funeral, he discussed with his younger brothers and sisters whether it could lead to good things for Gong Dacai and Xu Fengchi?
After everyone agreed, Gong Guangxu wrote a letter to Taiwan.
Gong Dacai did not come back immediately. He went to the temple to burn incense and pray for his benefactor, asked the monk to save him, and asked Xu Fengchi to keep a quiet guard for her husband for three years.
In 1992, Gong Dacai returned home. Gong Guangxu invited all his relatives and friends at home to tell everyone that his mother could finally reunite with his father.
After hearing this strange incident, the Party branch secretary of Yanglin Lake Management District, Babao Town took the initiative to come and testify for the marriage.
The children solemnly and festively arranged the wedding room, and the two old men finally got together again.
Xu Fengchi is lucky. In such a chaotic era, she met two men who sincerely treated her. Gong Dacai's affection is moving. His "infatuation" is not affected by anything. He has been waiting loyally for more than 40 years. After knowing that his lover has been happy, he can let go decisively. In order to fulfill Xu Fengchi's marriage and fate to Yang Jianquan, he would rather wait for 3 more years...
Gong Dacai truly interprets what "iron man tenderness" means. Everyone in this story is beautiful and worthy of having his own happiness.
