The atmosphere in the sterile ward is distressingly quiet, except for the faint sound of the ventilator. Li Xiurong lay quietly on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above her head, she was approaching her old age, the traces of time carved deep wrinkles on her skin, and her body was described as emaciated.
The nurse walked to the window and carefully pushed open half of the window, and the bright sunlight sprinkled on Li Xiurong's face through the gap, bringing her a trace of warmth.
Lee swung her head slowly, her eyes resting on the precious family photo on the bedside table.
In the photo, she is young and beautiful, with her husband Zhao Fengxiang and two lively and lovely children standing next to her, and the family of four is happy.
Li Xiurong gently stroked the face of a boy in the photo with her thin fingers, and her eyes gradually dimmed. This boy is her adopted son Zhao Liandong more than 40 years ago, when he was cruelly abandoned by his biological parents on the streets of Harbin, fortunately with the help of Zhao Fengxiang and his wife.
"Lian Dong, how are you doing now?" Li Xiurong muttered in a low voice, his voice weak and choked, "Do you remember us? Mom, I have always been concerned about you all these years and cared about whether you are healthy and happy."
As soon as the words fell, tears of sadness welled up in Li Xiurong's eyes, and tears slid down her wrinkled cheeks. She once tried her best to care for and raise this child who was abandoned by her biological parents since she was a child, but now, she can't even know the last bit of news about her adopted son.
Back then, in order to be able to take in Lian Dong, a Japanese child, Zhao Fengxiang's family had to endure the cynicism and discrimination of the whole village. Once, Li Xiurong held up his big belly to protect Lian Dong, but was maliciously pushed by others and caused a miscarriage, and since then he has lost his qualification to be a mother.
Despite the hardships they have encountered, they are still steadfast in raising Lian Zhuang.
The source of all suffering can be traced back to that bitter winter night in 1945. The winter was particularly harsh, with the north wind howling and snowflakes whirling and dancing in the air.
The streets of Harbin are sparsely populated, and Zhao Fengxiang is lonely rummaging through the garbage heap for scrap that can be exchanged for living expenses.
Zhao Fengxiang was originally a poor farmer who was forced to leave his hometown due to the war, and had to make a living by picking up garbage in Harbin. As he stopped by the foul-smelling garbage heap, a faint cry of a baby reached his ears.
He followed the faint sound of the voice, and in the midst of the withered weeds, a small and weak body appeared, curled up in a ball, trembling.
When he looked closely, it turned out to be a boy about four to five years old, dressed in thin clothes, and his face was as pale as paper.
Zhao Fengxiang stepped forward with concern and asked softly: "Child, in such a cold weather, why don't you choose to go home, but cry here alone?
However, the boy's eyes widened with an alert look and answered Zhao Fengxiang's question in pure Japanese.
As a person who had personally experienced the atrocities of the Japanese army, Zhao Fengxiang had a deep hatred for the Japanese. He recalled that many years ago, his father and uncle had died tragically at the hands of the Japanese army, so he instinctively felt a sense of disgust for the boy in front of him.
However, when Zhao Fengxiang stared at the boy's immature face that was red from the cold, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pity in his heart. He knew that although the Japanese were guilty of heinous crimes, there was nothing wrong with this innocent child.
If he had stood idly by today, the boy would have died in the bitter cold.
So, Zhao Fengxiang held back the hatred in his heart and stretched out his hand to the boy with a smile, and the boy finally took off his guard and stood up bravely.
Zhao Fengxiang hugged him tightly and quickly ran in the direction of his house.
Zhao Fengxiang took the boy Zhao Liandong back home, which made the originally peaceful life make waves in an instant. When his wife Li Xiurong was busy in the kitchen, she suddenly saw her husband walking into the house with a strange child in her arms, and her face was full of puzzled expressions.
Zhao Fengxiang hurriedly explained to his wife the origin of the boy. It turned out that the child was an orphan abandoned on the streets by the frenzied Japanese invaders.
As a person who had witnessed the atrocities of the Japanese army, Zhao Fengxiang harbored endless resentment towards the Japanese.
However, when he saw the boy's weathered and emaciated appearance, an irrepressible feeling of sympathy suddenly surged in his heart.
Hearing this, Li Xiurong's face gradually softened. She carefully washed the boy's hands and face, changed him into her daughter's warm cotton clothes and trousers, and cooked him a bowl of steaming soup for him to taste.
As time passed, the boy gradually regained a bit of life and fell asleep peacefully in a warm environment.
However, even in the face of many difficulties, Zhao Fengxiang and his wife have always been shrouded in deep worry. They knew in their hearts that if they wanted to adopt this Japanese child, they would inevitably suffer scolding and discrimination from their fellow villagers.
However, if he chooses to lose this child, then it will undoubtedly bring a serious threat to his life.
After countless rounds of deliberation, they finally hardened their faith and decided to bravely face the pressure head-on and treat the boy as their own flesh and blood.
Since then, life for Zhao Fengxiang's family has become extremely difficult. In order to conceal the boy's true identity, they carefully taught Lian Dong to learn Chinese, and strictly told him not to go out and play at will.
However, Lian Dong's life story cannot be hidden after all.
One day, Lian Dong sneaked out to play while adults were not paying attention, but he was forced by other children to ask and inadvertently reveal a few words of Japanese.
The news spread quickly in the village like a wildfire, and Zhao Fengxiang's family's adoption of a Japanese child was exposed.
The villagers were outraged by this and accused them of being "traitors" and "black and white". Some even forbade their children to socialize with the bungalows.
What's more, a neighbor actually brutally beat Lian Dong, and when the pregnant Li Xiurong stepped forward to dissuade her, she was vigorously pushed, resulting in the unfortunate miscarriage of the fetus in her womb and the loss of fertility.
In the face of the estrangement and isolation of relatives and friends, Zhao Fengxiang and his wife still stuck to their positions and worked hard to raise Lian Dong to grow up. They did not hesitate to spend a huge amount of money to find a stable job for Lian Dong in Tianjin, and eventually helped him start a family.
Seeing that everything was developing in a good direction, fate once again brought a heavy blow to Zhao Fengxiang's family. In the 90s of the 20th century, many Japanese people stranded in China managed to return to Japan.
When Zhao Liandong learned the news, the longing for the motherland in his heart burned like a fire. Although he grew up under the care of Zhao Fengxiang and his wife since he was a child, the blood connection made him miss his biological parents all the time.
Initially, when Lian Dong expressed his desire to find his biological parents to his adoptive mother, Lee so-young, she did not show any objection. On the contrary, she is sincerely relieved that her son was able to find his relatives.
Li Xiurong firmly believes that she has poured countless efforts and care into cultivating and shaping Lian Dong, and he will never forget his fertility.
She was looking forward to the possibility that once her son had reunited with his family, he might miraculously return for her to meet his biological parents.
As expected, with the help of non-governmental organizations, Lian Dong quickly found his relatives in Japan. It turned out that his biological father turned out to be a Japanese officer named Shozo Noita.
When Lian Dong saw the living environment of Nobanshosan's family, his heart was full of shock and excitement. Everything here is so new, so different from the environment in which he has lived for years.
Before leaving Harbin, Lian Dong promised Li Xiurong with joy: "Mom, please wait with peace of mind, I will return to you as soon as possible after I settle my family in Japan."
"At that time, I will also buy you a property in the city, so that you can live a carefree life from now on.
Hearing these words, although Li Xiurong's heart was full of the pain of parting, she still nodded vigorously and wished her son a safe journey. She silently prayed that after her son settled in Japan, he would be able to return with his relatives and let her meet his biological parents.
So, Li Xiurong tearfully watched Lian Dong leave his hometown with his wife, children and other 14 family members and embark on a journey to Japan.
When he first arrived in Japan, Lian Dong did send back several letters to Li Xiurong full of longing, which made Li Xiurong feel very pleased.
She believes that her hard work in raising Liandong to adulthood has finally paid off.
However, good times are always short-lived. Soon after, Lian Dong's news was abruptly interrupted, and he never received any more letters from his family. Li Xiurong looked forward anxiously, for fear of missing any bit of information about his son.
Soon after, a sudden disaster befell Lee so-young. One day, she fell and injured herself and had to be hospitalized.
The daughter looked at her mother's haggard face, and knew that what her mother was most concerned about at this moment was Liandong who was far away in Japan. Therefore, the daughter wrote to Lian Dong many times, begging him to return to China to visit his long-lost loving mother.
However, whenever the expected news came, it was a series of cold rejections. In his letter, he thanked his daughter for her plea, but he was tight-lipped about why he could not return to China as he wished.
Under such circumstances, Li Xiurong still persevered in finding various justifications and excuses for Lian Dong. "How can a child not want his mother's company?" she complained to her daughter countless times, "He must be in a difficult situation now, so he has to postpone his return date."
When the spring blossoms bloom next year, he will surely rush back here to visit me, my mother."
Li Xiurong has never been able to accept that she has devoted all her efforts to cultivating Lian Dong into a talent, but he can be so ruthless that he completely ignores her loving mother.
However, the harsh reality has finally arrived. Years have passed in a hurry, and except for the first few precious family photos, Li Xiurong has never received any information from Liandong.
In the photo, Liandong is smiling and happy, and there is no trace of missing his adoptive mother. Li Xiurong touched the photos in pain, and tears welled up in his eyes again.
"Child, have you really thrown the deep bond between mother and son out of the clouds?" she whispered to herself, "I love you so deeply, and I have raised you so with all my might.
But now you are so indifferent that you have completely forgotten my loving mother."
Zhao Fengxiang and Li Xiurong, a husband and wife, have spent more than 40 years taking care of a child who has no blood connection with them.
It is really embarrassing that they have paid endless hard work, but in the end they have come to such a bleak ending.
In the context of that turbulent era, out of the grand desire to save the common people and purify all sentient beings, they adopted a helpless Japanese abandoned baby.
However, who could have foreseen that their good deeds would incur such "evil consequences".
People in the village accused Zhao Fengxiang and his wife of being "traitors" and "aiding and abetting". Relatives and friends also turned away from them and cut off all contact.
Despite the tremendous pressure, they remained steadfast in their belief and raised Lian Dong.
When they learned that Lian Dong had the opportunity to find his relatives, they had no worries and looked forward to the joy of this son returning home. However, who would have expected that Lian Dong would be so ruthless and unrighteous, and after reuniting with his biological parents, he would throw his loving mother who had raised him for many years out of the clouds.
For the Chinese nation, benevolence, tolerance, and diligence have always been praised as noble virtues. However, if good deeds go astray, it can easily lead to disastrous consequences, just like the pain experienced by Zhao Fengxiang's family.
Perhaps, it is precisely because of their excessive benevolence and tolerance that they become the target of exploitation and exclusion by those who are hypocritical. Or, the excessive hard work makes them ignore the importance of family affection.
In order for a family to be harmonious and happy, it not only needs material abundance, but also a deep sense of gratitude and affection among family members.
Lian Dong's behavior is indeed regrettable, but we must not be too harsh on him. After all, the bond of kinship is very important for everyone.
Perhaps, under the influence of his relatives, he gradually lost his gratitude to Zhao Fengxiang's family.
Such a lesson warns us to act prudently when doing good deeds so as not to be deceived and harmed by others. For Zhao Fengxiang's family, their kindness went astray, but it brought heavy pain to themselves, which is really suffocating.