After 24 years, Li Fang became a mother again.
On May 8, Mother's Day, son Zhang Yangyang rushed back to his hometown in Henan from Hainan to accompany his mother Li Fang on Mother's Day.
After waiting for 24 years, Li Fang finally ushered in the best Mother's Day gift: reunion.
On January 23, 2022, a two-way recognition of relatives caused the whole network to focus.
At Wuhan Tianhe Airport in Hubei, Li Fang came from Henan, and her son Zhang Yangyang came from Hainan. The mother and son cried together.
Since the loss of 4-year-old Zhang Yangyang in 1998, the family's fate has been completely pushed to another track.
After the divorce, Li Fang worked part-time while looking for a child, and never gave up for 24 years.
Zhang Yangyang was abducted to Puning, Guangdong, and worked in Hainan when he grew up.
Zhang Yangyang had tried to find his biological parents, but there was no news.
Now, Li Fang and Zhang Yangyang are reunited.
They got close to each other, walked into each other's lives, and wanted to fill in the 24 years that had been stolen.
Reporter Li Jing Zhang Qi
Accompanied by his son Zhang Yangyang, Li Fang smiled more.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
24 years of searching for a child
Haven't been to "End of the World"
After the Spring Festival this year, Zhang Yangyang took his mother Li Fang to live in Hainan from his hometown in Henan for half a month.
For Zhang Yangyang, Hainan is the place where he has worked for six years, where he is accustomed to the environment and familiar crowd.
For Li Fang, "After 24 years of searching, the place I haven't been to is this 'ends of the earth', and my heart is still very complicated."
Zhang Yangyang took Li Fang to see where he worked, where he lived, and visited major attractions.
No matter where he went, Zhang Yangyang took Li Fang's hand or put his arm around her shoulder.
Everywhere she went, Li Fang would stop and take a closer look, she wanted to know more about her son.
"There are islands there, the wind is strong, the weather is warm, and the weather is good. However, the living habits are completely different from those in Henan." During the 24 years that Li Fang has been looking for a child, he has been running around, "I can still adapt to it." The haggard look was different when looking for her son. At this time, Li Fang had a lot of smiles on her face.
After 24 years of separation, they began to get to know each other slowly.
"Yangyang is very casual and kind, so we don't feel strange when we get along." Zhang Yangyang sometimes acts like a spoiled child in front of his mother, Li Fang said, "He is exactly the same as when he was a child."
Only past experiences are a touchy subject between them.
When he learned about his real life, Zhang Yangyang stayed up all night. He searched the Internet for all the news about his mother.
Zhang Yangyang said, "My mother has been looking for me for three or five years, or ten or eight years, but she doesn't find me and then gives up. This is understandable. You should think about it for yourself. But for 24 years, my mother has been looking for me. It's so shocking." In front of his son, Li Fang was reluctant to mention the past experience of finding his son.
There has been a lot of concern about where the children should stay after they recognize their relatives.
Because of work needs, Zhang Yangyang decided to stay in Hainan temporarily.
Li Fang understood the child's wishes, "Yangyang is very sensible, we have been very lucky, and we haven't considered future issues yet."
After returning from Hainan to Henan, Li Fang started live broadcasting and bringing goods. "I have been running around looking for children all the year round, and I have changed a lot of jobs. Now I can live broadcast and bring goods and have a job to do." Li Fang said, "I have a big heart in my heart. The stone has fallen, and I can live in peace, but I still have to keep working hard. I want to do everything my mother should do."
the day that should be with us
but on the way
"No one knows how I came here in the past 24 years." This experience is sometimes like a movie, and Li Fang couldn't help crying when she thought of it.
"The days that should be with me have always been missing, and I have always been on the road to find."
Li Fang, a native of Luohe, Henan, opened a barber shop in Luohe urban area with his own craftsmanship when he was young.
In 1994, his son Zhang Yangyang was born, and the family of three lived a simple and warm life.
On June 6, 1998, Li Fang worked in the barber shop as usual.
Li Fang said that her son was abducted from the canteen opposite her barber shop by a young man in his 20s.
At noon that day, Li Fang went to buy noodles. In just a few minutes, the child was nowhere to be found.
The owner of the commissary thought that the man who was playing with Yangyang was a relative of Li Fang, so he didn't care.
Since then, Zhang Yangyang has not heard from him.
When the child was just lost, Li Fang only drank ice soda every day to calm herself down.
Li Fang said: "I can't eat, and my heart is burning."
In 1999, a year after Yangyang was lost, Li Fang and her husband divorced.
Li Fang has been guarding the barbershop all by herself. She hopes that Yangyang has some memories of the barbershop and is looking forward to a miracle.
Around 2008, because her hands were allergic to hair dye, Li Fang had to close the barber shop and rent a house nearby.
The barber shop was closed, and Li Fang was doing odd jobs, selling cabinets, solar energy, and computer consumables... As soon as there was a clue, Li Fang left.
At the end of the year, I work for eight or nine months, and find children for three or four months.
Many times, she returned disappointed. After returning, she was often faced with losing her job, so she had to find another job.
Li Fang lived a frugal life, and all the money he earned was spent on finding children.
"My parents have left, I am alone." She said helplessly and helplessly.
"In order to find Yangyang, I have been to most places in China." Sometimes Li Fang is alone, sometimes with "friends in distress" who are looking for relatives.
Once, Li Fang received a clue and went to the Nanyang Mountains of Henan alone to find her child. "There is no car in the mountains, and I can't see the village after walking a long way. I almost died in the mountains."
After many attempts, Li Fang never gave up.
At the end of 2021, with everyone's help, Li Fang handed over the child's photo to the Chongqing Public Security Anti-Trafficking Team.
On January 18, 2022, Li Fang received good news that the police suspected Zhang Yangyang through portrait recognition technology.
It turned out that Zhang Yangyang was abducted to Guangdong, and later he went to work in Hainan.
"I didn't expect it to be so fast at the time. Because Yangyang's original photos were lost when he was a child, the photos have been retaken since then." Li Fang said.
Now, Li Fang's mobile phone has many pictures of her and her son.
Li Fang said: "I feel like he just went out and went home."
Li Fang on the road to find his son.
Reunion going both ways
Son becomes a family search volunteer
At 2:30 pm on January 23, 2022, at Wuhan Tianhe Airport, Hubei, Li Fang and Zhang Yangyang met.
Li Fang came from Henan, and his son Zhang Yangyang came from Hainan. This was a two-way reunion.
Zhang Yangyang, 28, is almost a head taller than his mother.
He kissed his mother's forehead, "Mom, it's alright." Li Fang's tears were still streaming down her face.
Two days after Li Fang and Zhang Yangyang recognized their relatives, Luohe police announced the results of the DNA test.
Before waiting for the identification result, Li Fang was already convinced that the other party was the child she was looking for, and couldn't wait to recognize each other.
Li Fang said: "When I saw the photo for the first time, I found that we both looked alike, and his face was exactly the same as mine. I was sure at the time."
After getting Zhang Yangyang's contact information, Lifang sent the first message, "Do you have two swirls on the top of your head, a swirl on your right forehead, and a mole on the back of your neck near your hair?" After waiting for a long two minutes Later, Li Fang sent a second text message: "I am in Luohe, Henan, and I am your mother."
After receiving the text message, Zhang Yangyang's head went blank.
After five or six minutes, Zhang Yangyang replied, "It's all right."
In fact, Zhang Yangyang didn't know his life experience when he was a child.
When Zhang Yangyang was twenty-three or four years old, Zhang Yangyang's adoptive mother leaked, and Zhang Yangyang realized that he was not their biological son.
Since then, he has started looking for his biological parents.
The day before she went to Wuhan to recognize her relatives, Li Fang went to buy clothes for her children.
"I thought that he came from Hainan, and the clothes he wore must be thin, so I bought thick clothes for him, and he was well-fitting."
When she recognized her relatives, Li Fang still had a heart-saving pill in her pocket.
Li Fang said, "After Yangyang is lost, I can't adjust my mood, and my body has a great impact. I'm afraid I'll get excited when I see the child."
In addition to being impressed by the photo on Li Fang's "Looking for a Son", Zhang Yangyang still remembers playing with his cousin when he was a child.
Zhang Yangyang also walked back to the street where Li Fang originally opened a barber shop, the place where his life trajectory was changed.
24 years, so much has changed.
Li Fang made Zhang Yangyang's special Hu spicy soup in Henan.
Li Fang said, "Yangyang is used to the food there, but after drinking the Hu spicy soup I made, he said it was delicious and very good."
Since then, Li Fang and Zhang Yangyang have participated in many family recognition activities together.
Zhang Yangyang told Li Fang, "I saw many parents who were looking for their parents, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult and painful." Since then, Zhang Yangyang has decided to become a family-seeking volunteer.
Li Fang and Zhang Yangyang helped parents who were looking for their relatives to release information about their relatives through live broadcast or video, and called on the abducted children to come forward and find a home as soon as possible.
Li Fang said: "I know the pain of parents who are looking for their relatives. I will continue to search for relatives. I hope all the abducted children can find a home."
Do you still hate the past?
Li Fang said frankly: "I can't forgive, because the past really can't be found. This incident has completely changed our lives." Li Fang hopes to hold the traffickers accountable, and the Luohe police also said that the case is under investigation.
I cried the day before Mother's Day
It's a bitter cry
Zhang Yangyang calls or makes videos with his mother almost every day.
Li Fang said cheerfully: "At first, Yang Yang called me mother, but now it's different. Sometimes it's called Da Buffalo, and sometimes it's called Li Damei."
"Yangyang's taste is light, so I do light cooking." Li Fang paid attention to the details of her child's life, and she rediscovered the feeling of being a mother and her identity.
On May 7, Zhang Yangyang flew from Hainan to Wuhan.
On May 8, Zhang Yangyang returned to his hometown in Henan by train from Wuhan.
This was the road of recognizing relatives at that time. Zhang Yangyang walked again. He wanted to accompany Li Fang to celebrate this Mother's Day, which was 24 years late.
In his hometown in Henan, Li Fang is also preparing to welcome the return of the child.
"24 years of loss, 24 years of pain, I used to be most afraid of Mother's Day." Li Fang still cried the day before Mother's Day, "This time I cried with joy, and I cried with joy."
On the afternoon of May 8, Zhang Yangyang rushed back to his hometown in Luohe, Henan.
In the video he sent to his mother Li Fang, Zhang Yangyang said: "Mom, today is Mother's Day, I wish you a happy holiday."
"Finally I can say Happy Mother's Day." Li Fang choked and said, "I would have been sad if someone said this in front of me, but now I am excited and happy."
Li Fang wants to make dumplings for her children.
She sometimes hums a few songs, and there are more happy things in life.
Li Fang has a lot of wishes: "I hope that my family will be harmonious and beautiful, and have a good life for the rest of my life. I hope that Yangyang will have a good future."