In 2001, in shen'ao village of Xianyan, Ruian, Zhejiang, a farmer with a European face told his legendary story in the local dialect. His name is Xu Xiangshun, 58 years old, and he has another name, Avire.
At the age of 3, he came to the countryside of Ruian, Zhejiang Province, China
Speaking a pure Wenzhou Ruian dialect and Chinese concepts, talking to him is like a simple Chinese farmer
In fact, Xu Xiangshun is Italian, 55 years ago, Xu Xiangshun followed his mother to China, her mother is Italian
When her mother was 25 years old, she became acquainted with an Italian officer, after which the two gave birth to Avige
But the good times did not last long, the Second World War broke out, and when Avigé was two years old, his biological father went to the battlefield and has not been heard from since
After the end of World War II, the orphaned and widowed mother had no money to pay the rent, and the mother felt that she had no face to take the child back to her mother's house
You can only ask well-wishers to find a job to support yourself and your children
By chance, my mother met Xu Dingfu, an enthusiastic Chinese boss
Xu Dingfu saw that the mother and son were helpless, so he arranged for her to work in his garment factory in Italy
Since then, two young people from a foreign country have a crush on each other, and they have met and fallen in love
Avige's mother also gave herself a Chinese name, Chiti
In 1946, Qiandi and Xu Dingfu were married in a church in Milan, thinking they could start a new life
But fate was uncertain, and in the third month after marriage, Xu Dingfu's father, who was far away in China, wrote a letter to his son
In the letter, his father said that his illness was getting worse and that time was running out, so he asked him to take his daughter-in-law back to China
Qianti's family originally disagreed, but she finally persuaded her family
He followed Xu Dingfu back to his hometown in China, Ruian, Zhejiang
At that time, Xu Xiangshun was only 3 years old, and at first the people in the village looked at Qiandi's mother and son with strange eyes
As the days passed, Qiandi's simple kindness and hard work were recognized by her family and neighbors
Life in rural Zhejiang
The Xu family wrote the names of the mother and son into the family tree, and gave Avi a Chinese name, Xu Xiangshun
Two years later, Qiandi gave birth to another daughter, Xu Xiangmei
Since then, a family of different bloodlines has lived in harmony in Ryan's ancestral house and lived a stable life
Unexpectedly, one day, the remnants of the Kuomintang soldiers went to the village to grab money and grain
Senti, who had experienced the suffering of World War II, was frightened and fell ill
As she decided to return to Italy, Sendi's illness suddenly worsened and she soon passed away
Before Qiandi died, she wrote a letter to Xu Xiangshun's aunt, asking her aunt to urge Xu Xiangfu to send her son and daughter to live in Italy
But Xu Xiangfu only has this one son, and he is worried that Xu Xiangshun will not come back after he goes to Italy
Considering that he would not have anyone to send him in the future, he hid the letter and passport sent by his aunt
In this way, Xu Xiangshun settled down in Ruian and grew up slowly under the care of his stepfather, who farmed and herded cattle
Aside from a European face, he was no different from the native Ryan
Many years later, the stepfather remarried, and Xu Xiangshun's stepmother was a native of Ruian Tangxia, who was a person with a good heart and ate and prayed to the Buddha
The uncle has always liked Xiangshun, his daughter is two years younger than Xiangshun, two children are green plum bamboo horses, two small no guess
After growing up, his uncle took charge and married his daughter to Xu Xiangshun
The couple gave birth to two daughters and a son
When the eldest daughter was 23 years old, she accidentally fell from the upper floor and died
The youngest daughter is married
His son, Xu Xianxiao, 28 years old, is a painter who took two young men from Jiangxi as apprentices, and his daughter-in-law is from the nearby Huatai village
Her 5-year-old granddaughter, Xu Wenjie, attends kindergarten
The stepfather hid the secret for decades
In the blink of an eye, decades have passed, Xu Xiangshun has spoken fluent Ryan dialect, and has lived every day as the sun rises and the sun sets and rests
He also completely forgot the vague impression of Italy
It was then that my stepfather became critically ill
Before dying, he told Xu Xiangshun a big secret, and the documents that could prove his identity were hidden inside the walls
There was the mother's identity card and the marriage certificate issued by the Church of Mary
What shocked Xu Xiangshun the most was his mother's will
She asked her son to visit her relatives in Italy while returning home with her soul
At this time, Xu Xiangshun felt a thousand emotions in his heart, his mother's
The last words and appearance appeared in front of the eyes again
In order to fulfill the mother's will and stepfather's entrustment
In April 2001, he came to the Italian consulate in Shanghai and asked to return to Italy to find his relatives
Unexpectedly, he was denied a visa on the grounds that Xu Xiangshun had lived in China for 55 years and could not provide the names and addresses of any Italian relatives
The search for relatives in Italy has taken a turn for the better
Just as Xu Xiangshun was preparing to give up, in July 2001, Zheng Yaoting (president of the Italian Chinese Overseas Chinese Federation) and two Italian friends suddenly visited
Zheng Yaoting: "This time they (the Italian couple) came to see you, after they heard about you, they cared about you, and did a lot of work, they went to the church where your parents married, and also went to your mother's birthplace, The city of Portonenine, we called together in Italy to find a family, a total of more than 3,000 phone calls, it was not easy to find Aviger's cousin, this is your cousin's address and telephone number"
It turned out that a year ago, Zheng Yaoting had heard about Xu Xiangshun's deeds, and over the past year, he had traveled back and forth to Italy many times
In order to help Xu Xiangshun fulfill his wish to return to his hometown, Zheng Yaoting found Xu Xiangshun's mother's hometown, The City of Potonnei
The phone numbers and addresses of Xu Xiangshun's 5 aunts were also found
With the proof of their loved ones, this time they successfully got the visa
Compared with his son's elation, Xu Xiangshun's heart was very heavy
Although his wife was very supportive of him returning to China to find his relatives, he could also feel her worries at the moment
Will the quiet life of the past be broken on this homecoming trip and stay in Italy from now on? Or stay in China?
The wife didn't know and couldn't imagine
After more than 50 years, he finally returned to his hometown in Italy
In the autumn of 2001, after a 13-hour flight, Xu Xiangshun and his son walked out of milan airport
This is his hometown after 55 years of absence
The first time I came back, I couldn't rest, and the group came to the largest church in Milan
Walking inside the church, Xu Xiangshun couldn't help but burst into tears
Because when he was a child in Ryan's hometown, he had seen the church in his mother's treasured photographs
Remembering his mother praying every day in front of the church photos, he evoked endless thoughts of his mother
They then drove 3 hours to their aunt's house
Seeing their relatives, Xu Xiangshun and his aunts hugged and cried
Because he left Italy at the age of 3, he could not speak a word of Italian, and with the help of the translators, he and his aunts could have a long conversation
The mother's last wishes, the stepfather's entrustment, and 55 years of foreign growth all turned into tears of joy at this moment
The local mayor held a welcoming ceremony for Xu Xiangshun
The aunts were warmly welcomed, and they took out their treasured photos, telling the bits and pieces of the past years
Relatives in Italy also expressed the hope that he and his family could come to Italy to live and would also help him and his family solve their work problems
The language barrier, coupled with the strangeness of the long parting, did not allow the aunts to send each other
The next day, Xu Xiangshun and his son left their hometown of 55 years, the city of Potonine
They stayed at Mr. Cheng Yaoting's daughter's restaurant for many days
Between dinner, a fantasy scene occurred, and Xu Xiangshun said that although he had only been away from China for two days, he began to miss Ryan's hometown
And said that he was not used to eating Italian food
Zheng Yaoting's daughter: "How are you?"
Xu Xiangshun: "Hello"
Zheng Yaoting's daughter: "Like italy or not"
Xu Xiangshun: "I don't like it"
Zheng Yaoting's daughter: "Don't like it, why don't you like it, so beautiful"
Xu Xiangshun: "Or my family is more beautiful"
Zheng Yaoting's daughter: "You're Italian, you're not Chinese."
Xu Xiangshun: "It's Chinese now"
Between the words, we can feel Xu Xiangshun's thoughts about Ruian's hometown in Zhejiang
He and his son had a two-month visa, but within ten days, he came up with the idea of returning to China as soon as possible
The overseas Chinese in Milan graciously kept him for a few more days, and heard that Xu Xiangshun's family was in difficulty and owed tens of thousands of yuan in foreign debt
Xu Xiangshun's hands were disabled, because he had worked in the quarry, there were squibs, Xu Xiangshun volunteered to go to check in order to save people, but just before he arrived, the squibs suddenly exploded, Xu Xiangshun's hands were blown up, and he was disabled
When the overseas Chinese heard about it, they raised funds for him on the spot
Before returning to China, Xu Xiangshun proposed to take another look at the cathedral, the place that he could never erase in the depths of his memory
Xu Xiangshun after returning to China
To this day, Xu Xiangshun still lives in Ruian, Zhejiang, and his greatest pleasure every day is to play with his granddaughter
For Italy, he said he only missed, but did not linger
He would stay in China and pray silently to his loved ones far away
It is said that fate is uncertain, it can be said that Xu Xiangshun's fate is difficult, due to the war and chaos, he has lived in the land of a foreign country for more than half a century, although the land that raised him is still poor, but he has such a deep attachment to the China that raised him, and Ryan is his hometown
In 2004, 58-year-old Xu Xiangshun III was in the same house, and he is now a ranger in the village in addition to farm work
He is satisfied with his family life because he has fulfilled his wish of being pregnant for more than half a century