Preface
Among the traditional Chinese virtues, filial piety has always been enshrined. However, in today's society governed by the rule of law, it has become a legal obligation for children to support their parents. Despite this, there are still some children who ignore this choice of responsibility.
Behind this breakdown of family affection are often intricate reasons, making it difficult to assert that the refusal to support the parents must be the fault of the children.
Looking back on 2017, an intriguing case occurred in Zhejiang. A 60-year-old man named Wang Chenggen suddenly received a court summons because his 82-year-old biological father, Wang Jindao, took him to court.
Both father and son are simple rural people, and their residence is only a few hundred meters away. In an ordinary peasant family, family affection seems to be unbreakable, but the reality of the situation is incredible.
Why would a biological father go to the extreme of taking his son to court?
1. A tragic childhood abandoned by his biological father
In 1982, Wang Chenggen was born in an ordinary family in rural Shandong. His mother died of illness shortly after giving birth to him, and he was taken care of by his father, Wang Jindao, and his grandmother. At that time, Wang Chenggen had just learned to speak, and he was still very unfamiliar with the concept of "mother". When he was three years old, an accident changed his fate completely.
His father, Wang Jindao, was a long-term migrant worker. After the death of his wife, he went home to take care of him for a few days, then left his son to his old mother and ran away from home himself. Since then, there has been no news for more than ten years, and he has completely given up on this son.
As an elderly grandmother, although she is old and frail, she still does her best to take care of Xiao Wang Chenggen. But when Wang Chenggen was five years old, his grandmother also passed away, which was undoubtedly worse.
Worried that Wang Chenggen would live on the streets, his grandmother entrusted him to a bachelor uncle in the same village. This uncle liked Wang Chenggen very much, regarded him as his own, and gave him unprecedented fatherly love.
Under the careful care of his uncle, Wang Chenggen gradually grew up, started a family, and had his own wife and children. After his uncle's death, he left him all the family property as a last gift from his adoptive father. Wang Chenggen's family lived in the old house left by his uncle, living a plain but warm life.
However, the good times did not last long, and when Wang Chenggen was twenty-seven years old, his biological father, who had been away from home for 25 years, suddenly returned.
2. The biological father returns to ask for money
One day in 2007, Wang Chenggen received the shocking news that his biological father, Wang Jindao, had returned, brought back a woman and several of her children, and seemed to have established a second home.
The reappearance of this man, who has disappeared for twenty-five years, in Wang Chenggen's world, can be imagined to be a bad omen. Sure enough, it didn't take long for Wang Chenggen to receive a summons from the court, and it turned out that Wang Jindao sued him for not fulfilling his obligation to support his parents and asked him to pay 1,500 yuan a year for living expenses.
Wang Chenggen was angry and puzzled by his biological father's behavior. This man obviously abandoned himself more than 20 years ago and never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father, so why should he ask for support now?
"He doesn't even remember my face, why should I raise him?" Wang Chenggen repeatedly appealed to the judge.
It's a pity that the law has no mercy, and only looks at blood relations. The judge informed Wang Chenggen that according to the law, children have the obligation to support their parents, which is a matter of course and cannot be shirked.
In desperation, Wang Chenggen had no choice but to start doing odd jobs, and also pushed a cart to sell along the streets of the village, using his hard-earned money to support this incompetent biological father.
In fact, 1,500 yuan is not a small amount for an ordinary rural family, but it is far from enough for a person like Wang Jindao who has been out of business for a long time. So the story of the trade-off is far from over.
3. The biological father will increase the alimony again
In the blink of an eye in 2017, the octogenarian Wang Jindao seemed to think that 1,500 yuan was too little, and sued the court again, demanding that Wang Chenggen pay 12,000 yuan a year for living expenses.
"I'm 80 years old, and prices are skyrocketing, how can I have 1,500 yuan to spend?" Wang Jin said bluntly.
At this time, Wang Chenggen was also in his sixties, and he barely scraped together 1,500 yuan by relying on his son's additional salary. The demand for an increase to 12,000 is simply unaffordable.
Wang Chenggen explained the difficulties of life in every possible way, but the judge still stood by Wang Jindao. Because according to the law, children must support their parents unconditionally, and alimony can be increased for as long as the parents need it.
In the end, the court ordered Wang Chenggen to add another 300 yuan in alimony every month. This undoubtedly made matters worse, making Wang Chenggen, who was already overstretched, even more embarrassed.
"I'm really down to blood mold, and I've given this old immortal money for so many years, and he's still not satisfied!" Wang Chenggen said indignantly.
Fourth, the biological father is hospitalized and has to pay for medical expenses
Just when Wang Chenggen had just accepted the new maintenance standard and his son began to take out 300 yuan a month, Wang Jindao, the bottomless pit, came to ask for it again.
One day in 2017, octogenarian Wang Jindao suddenly collapsed and was admitted to the hospital. This hospitalization cost a total of more than 5,000 yuan. What Wang Chenggen didn't expect was that Wang Jindao actually asked him for money for this medical fee!
"I've been paying you every year, what does it have to do with me when you're sick?" Wang Chenggen went crazy again.
It turned out that Wang Jindao's second wife forced him to do this. The wife said strongly that since Wang Jindao has a son, of course the medical expenses should be paid by the son, and she has no such obligation.
Therefore, after Wang Jindao was hospitalized, he immediately sued the court and asked Wang Chenggen to pay nearly 10,000 yuan in medical expenses. It also includes the "nursing fee" for the care of the patient.
This was completely beyond Wang Chenggen's bearing, and he couldn't bear it anymore.
5. The son resisted: not a penny was given
Years of forbearance have made Wang Chenggen feel tired. This time, he is determined to distance himself from this brazen biological father and stepmother.
"I'll never give him a penny again!" Wang Chenggen made it clear to the judge.
Through the court's investigation, it was found that the actual medical expenses of Wang Jindao's hospitalization were only more than 5,000. Then why do you want to ask your son for nearly 10,000 yuan? This is already extortion.
At the same time, the judge also clearly reminded Wang Jindao and his wife that you are married and that it is your responsibility as partners to take care of the sick. The law does not require a son to pay his father's medical bills unconditionally, which is due to your misunderstanding.
In the end, the court only ordered Wang Chenggen to pay 1,500 yuan for medical expenses, rejecting the so-called "nursing fees", making the vexatious biological father and wife realize their mistake.
6. The father may never be satisfied
After this blow, Wang Jindao and his wife finally stopped pestering Wang Chenggen to ask for money. And Wang Chenggen also made up his mind that he would not give a penny except for the alimony that must be paid by law. He wants to live his life again.
Of course, for the bottomless pit of his father, no one can guarantee when he will have another seizure. After all, the law stipulates that children must support their parents, which is a mess that Wang Chenggen cannot get rid of.
But he will resolutely defend his rights and stop letting these people exploit him. He would also encourage his son not to repeat his own mistakes.
When a father no longer fulfills his father's responsibilities, he loses the respect of his children. The most wrong thing Wang Jindao did in his life was to choose to abandon Wang Chenggen when he was three years old. This led to all their subsequent grievances.
Perhaps for Wang Chenggen, his only father was actually the bachelor uncle who adopted him. A father should not only exist in blood, but in love.