A "foreign farmer" on a bumpy road to find his relatives.
In the village of Shen'ao in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, there is a special farmer who is often talked about by the locals.
His name is Xu Xiangshun, he is 78 years old, and he also has a nice Italian name, called Avigé.
As an authentic Italian, he has no memory of his homeland at all, and even always thinks that he is the child of an ordinary peasant family in Shen'ao Village.
What happened to him? How did he cross the ocean to this remote mountain village in China?
It all starts with a change in Avige's childhood...
Avigé was born in Venice, Italy, in 1944. When he was one year old, his father went to war and has not been heard from since.
After losing his father, the younger Avige had to live with his mother, who had just turned 20 that year. Suddenly losing the only source of income in the family, the mother and son fell into deep difficulties. They couldn't pay the rent, and even a full meal became a problem.
Just when the days were almost over, a Chinese businessman named Xu Dingfu rekindled the hope of mother and son for life.
Xu Dingfu is a Wenzhou Ruian native, in the early years of his wife died of difficult childbirth, the child could not be saved, heartbroken he simply left China to Italy to make a living, through several years of hard work, he opened a tie processing factory in the local area.
Coincidentally, Avige's mother was introduced to Xu Dingfu's factory to work and make ends meet. Seeing a woman carrying a child alone and working particularly hard, Xu Dingfu secretly took special care of the mother and son, in addition to special approval to take the child to work, but also instructed the canteen master to make more meals for them. Over time, the relationship between the two gradually warmed up.
A year later, Avige's mother and Xu Dingfu were married in Milan. Since then, Xu Dingfu has become Avige's stepfather, and his mother has changed her Chinese name is Qiandi.
● Xu Dingfu
When the family of three was immersed in the joy of the new family, Xu Dingfu received an urgent telegram from China, saying that his father was critically ill and wanted to see him before his death.
Xu Dingfu immediately decided to return to China, but he really could not rest assured of his wife and children. Looking at his worried wife, Xu Dingfu asked her if she would like to return to China with her.
Thinking of her past, Qiandi no longer wants to suffer in a long wait, and never wants to experience the collapse of her husband after she has no news. This time, she was going to be with her husband.
After a brief discussion between the husband and wife, they couldn't care less about packing their bags, so they hurriedly took the 2-year-old Avire to China. But back in his hometown in Zhejiang, Xu Dingfu found that all this was actually the "lie" of the old father. Because he had not seen his son for more than ten years, his father thought too much, so he came up with this trick to force his son to return to China.
Seeing his father's happy appearance, Xu Dingfu could not bear to say anything, at this moment, he decided to stay in China to serve his father, and then take Qiandi mother and son back to Italy later.
Subsequently, the son of the old Xu family brought back the news of a foreign daughter-in-law and a foreign stepson, which became big news in the whole village for a time. In order to let Avige integrate into his new life faster, Xu Dingfu gave him a Chinese name - Xu Xiangshun.
• Sendi's refugee card
According to local customs, Both Qiandi and Xu Xiangshun were written into the Xu family's genealogy, and two Italians who came from afar officially became members of the village.
Qianti is diligent and capable, and the progress of Chinese is also very fast, the women in the village love to take her wherever they go, and Xu Xiangshun has long been mixed with the children in the village.
The year after coming to China, Qiandi gave birth to another daughter.
But just when everyone thought that this family would live happily ever after, bad news suddenly came to them...
One day in 1950, bandits rushed into Qiandi's house and pointed a gun at Qiandi's head to ask for food and money, and the frightened Qiandi fainted on the spot.
Who expected, this scare, so that the original poor health of Qiandi, completely fell ill in bed, and the condition is getting more and more serious. In the sixth year of the mother and son's arrival in China, Qiandi unfortunately died of illness.
Before dying, Qianti instructed her husband: "I have been very satisfied with the marital fate of several years, whether you marry again or not, I hope you can treat Xu Xiangshun well and raise him to adulthood." ”
After getting her husband's promise, Qianti reluctantly took Xu Xiangshun's hand and repeatedly told him to go back to Italy to see his relatives when he grew up, go to his grandmother and aunt, and tell them that his mother loved them very much.
After Qiandi's death, Xu Xiangshun became the only foreigner in the village. Because he has been accustomed to life here since he was a child, Xu Xiangshun herds cattle and cut grass and work in the fields, everything is handy, and he does not feel that he is any different.
After Xu Xiangshun became an adult, his stepfather remarried, but the family got along well. As the days passed, Xu Xiangshun, who reached marriageable age, had a long and slow emotional life.
At the age of 28, his experience reached the ears of a girl named Su Fengyuan in the village, who was attracted by Xu Xiangshun's positive and optimistic attitude towards life. Under the mediation of the matchmaker, the two met, and seeing Xu Xiangshun, who was not good at words but was careful and diligent, Su Fengyuan was more determined in her inner thoughts. With the increase in the number of meetings, the two have a good feeling for each other, and the feelings gradually heat up, until they enter the palace of the wedding.
In 1993, Xu Xiangshun was injured on both hands and disabled while working in the village's quarry, which was a thunderbolt for a farmer.
That night, Xu Xiangshun sat in the courtyard for a long time, wondering what his life would have been like if he had not been brought to China by his mother.
However, under the enlightenment of his wife and children, the optimistic Xu Xiangshun did not go down from then on, and he learned to live and work with his disabled hands with tenacious perseverance.
Although Xu Xiangshun's life at the moment is very happy, there is always a knot in his heart that cannot be untied. Having lived in China for half a century, he still has not been able to fulfill his mother's wish to return to Italy to find his relatives, and whenever he thinks of this, Xu Xiangshun becomes depressed.
To this end, he also ran to the Italian consulate in Shanghai several times, but he was denied a visa because he could not provide detailed information about the Italian mother's family.
The failure of hope again and again will make Xu Xiangshun suffer a blow. Just when he was about to give up, the president of an Italian overseas Chinese association heard about his deeds and began to mobilize the strength of overseas Chinese in Italy to help Xu Xiangshun find relatives. Through newspapers and telephone contact, they finally found xu Xiangshun's mother's birthplace and the contact information of relatives.
In 2001, after many assists, Xu Xiangshun returned to his hometown of Geno, Italy, accompanied by his family. Before meeting his relatives, Xu Xiangshun first went to the church where his parents were married, and he couldn't help but burst into tears when he thought of the way his mother prayed in the church photos every day when she was alive.
● The church where Xu Xiangshun's mother got married
His relatives in Italy were also very enthusiastic, and after learning the news of the arrival of Xu Xiangshun and his family, they also carefully held a grand welcome ceremony for them. But because he has lived in China for a long time, Xu Xiangshun can't even speak a word of Italian, and he needs to use an interpreter to communicate with his aunts.
After some communication, Xu Xiangshun learned that after he and his mother arrived in China, they completely broke off contact with their relatives in Italy. The relatives never gave up the news of the mother and son, and the grandmother washed her face with tears all day and eventually died of grief.
After the death of their grandmother, the aunts still did not give up looking for them, hoping that one day they would be able to take them back to Italy and reunite with their relatives.
At dinner, the aunts took out the old photos of that year, recalled the experience of these decades together, and heard that everyone always remembered their mother Qiandi, Xu Xiangshun deeply felt the love from his relatives.
This time the visit was very smooth, and the aunts offered to let Xu Xiangshun's family stay in Italy, and promised to arrange work for them and take care of their lives.
On the one hand, the hometown of relatives, on the other hand, china where he has lived since childhood, is an extremely difficult choice in the eyes of outsiders, but Xu Xiangshun did not hesitate to make a decision.
Although Xu Xiangshun's visa is valid for two months, Xu Xiangshun only stayed for two days and began to miss China. Although Xu Xiangshun was very happy to be with his relatives, the unfamiliar environment and the language he could not understand here made him feel out of place.
When he learned that Xu Xiangshun decided to return to China, not only did his aunt keep him repeatedly, but even the mayor of Geno said that if he was willing to stay in the motherland, he would be provided with good living and living conditions.
● Xu Xiangshun and Italian aunts
However, Xu Xiangshun still did not choose to stay here, because in his heart, he had already decided that China was his home. After spending more than ten days in Italy, Xu Xiangshun bid farewell to his relatives in Italy and returned to Shen'ao Village, where he had lived for more than 70 years.
In Xu Xiangshun's view, Shen Ao Village not only has his home and his relatives, but also this is the place where his mother rests forever. The trip to Italy has fulfilled his mother's wish, and in the future, Xu Xiangshun decided that he would never leave the place where he raised himself again.
After Xu Xiangshun's matter was reported, some media came to the door and proposed to adapt a work based on his experience, but Xu Xiangshun, who has always been strong, said: "My mother died of illness at a young age, I almost couldn't marry my wife, my hands were still crippled, or don't write, it's sad to talk about."
Today, Xu Xiangshun still lives in the village, and also serves as a mountain ranger in the village, and in his spare time, he will also do farm work and take care of his granddaughter, living a leisurely and comfortable life.
● Xu Xiangshun and granddaughter
Although Xu Xiangshun seems to be happy every day, he has suffered much more in his life than ordinary people. For decades, he never complained about the world, and he never forgot his mother's last wish before her death, and has been actively working hard to live.
People who have experienced great suffering and great suffering often know best what happiness is.
In the eyes of the elderly Xu Xiangshun, the family is plain and indifferent together, which is his greatest happiness.
Life is impermanent, and peace of mind is home.
For Xu Xiangshun, although the yin and yang mistakes of the past allowed him to stay in China, this place where he grew up was also a place where he was at ease. Text/Charlie