In 1945, with the announcement of Japan's surrender, a large number of Japanese in China were repatriated. In the chaos, 16-year-old Hideko Mizusaki was separated from her aunt and left alone in China.
In this strange country, Hideko Mizusaki, who has no relatives and no support, how will she spend the rest of her life?
On August 15, 1945, after Japan's surrender, the streets and alleys of China were filled with a joyful atmosphere. Congratulations, that's the first thing everyone says when they meet.
However, in a house in Changchun, a young girl named Hideko Mizusaki is sad alone. Despite the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, Hideko Mizusaki was saddened by the fact that she was from Japan, a defeated country.
Her aunt's family is also preparing to return to Japan by ship, which makes Hideko Mizusaki full of confusion and worries about the future. Although China has been freed from Japanese aggression, there are still a large number of Japanese living and working in China after Japan's defeat.
The story of Hideko Mizusaki allows us to see the cruelty and complexity of war, and also makes us cherish a peaceful life even more.
Although thousands of Japanese were stranded in China, Hideko Mizusaki was separated from her aunt's family due to an accident. Because she didn't have identification and an adult to accompany her, she couldn't get on the boat back home.
As a result, she was forced to stay in China. In order to survive in this strange environment, she changed her name and took the Chinese name Wang Yulan. Wang Yulan's original neighbors were all Japanese and had returned to China.
She concealed her identity and claimed that her parents were dead, she had no siblings, and lived alone. 16-year-old Wang Yulan has attracted the attention of many boys because of her beauty and kindness, and there is an endless stream of matchmakers.
In the graduation photo of Mizusaki Elementary School, Zong Kaiguo, the second Kuomintang officer from the left, attracted Wang Yulan's attention at a glance. The two fell in love with each other, and soon tied the knot, and their love was incomparable.
However, this happy time did not last long, in June 1946, the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke out, and Zong Kaiguo joined the battlefield. Wang Yulan's husband is gone forever, and there is no news at all.
Day after day of waiting, Wang Yulan began to lose confidence. Although there are nine deaths on the battlefield, as long as there is a glimmer of life, Zong Kaiguo will not be silent. Wang Yulan knew this in her heart, but she still couldn't get rid of her depression and disappointment, and her physical condition deteriorated day by day.
The neighbors persuaded her to remarry, after all, in the troubled times, bandits and thieves were frequent, and it was difficult and dangerous for a woman to live alone.
Under the persuasion of the people around her, Wang Yulan resolutely decided to start a new life, but this decision did not relieve her from her grief, but pushed her deeper into the abyss of pain.
Her second husband was an unprofessional thug who spent his days eating, drinking, and doing nothing. As a second marriage, her husband has a grudge against her and is indifferent to her.
Wang Yulan's life was extremely difficult, and she often washed her face with tears, and was in agony. If this situation continues, it is not a long-term solution, and she decides to divorce her husband. This marriage took a huge toll on her, causing her to lose faith in her marriage and decide to support herself by doing odd jobs and no longer rely on men.
It's a good idea, but it's hard to implement. Sometimes I am lucky enough to meet a large family who recruits odd jobs to help in the fields, but more often than not, there is no work at all.
Wang Yulan has changed from a weak girl to a proficient peasant woman, and in the process she got to know Lei Guoshun, a hard-working, diligent, and hard-working person.
Lei Guoshun has a good impression of Wang Yulan, but he hides a secret in his heart and has never confessed to Wang Yulan. However, by chance, Wang Yulan was injured while working, and Lei Guoshun silently helped her complete all the work, which made the relationship between the two even deeper.
Lei Guoshun and Wang Yulan are a like-minded couple, they bear the burden of life together and experience the joys, sorrows and sorrows of life together. Although they are busy with work, their relationship is getting deeper and deeper, and Wang Yulan finds a long-lost sense of happiness in the company of Lei Guoshun.
They plan to take Wang Yulan back to his hometown in southern Shaanxi to live after the country restores stability and peace, and Wang Yulan is willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. However, what Wang Yulan didn't expect was that there was a woman in her hometown in southern Shaanxi that she had never heard her husband mention.
Wang Yulan never imagined that she would become a third party, and all this stung her deeply. In the face of right and wrong, she loved and hated clearly, was decisive and brave, and decided to leave Lei Guoshun.
Although she didn't know where to go, she was convinced that it was right to leave. I have to admire this woman who looks weak and can't help but be brave, on her life path, she always sticks to herself and is not afraid of hardships.
In Changchun, although Wang Yulan has no relatives and no reason, she still has a place to shelter from the wind and rain. But in southern Shaanxi, she is alone in the face of the unknown future, where should she go?
Perhaps, this is a turning point in a difficult situation. Wang Yulan took her savings and some dry food and embarked on the return journey back to Changchun. Lei Guoshun's home is in a remote rural area in southern Shaanxi, far from the town's pick-up point, so Wang Yulan decided to walk to the town.
Just as the heat was unbearable, after a long journey, Wang Yulan's mouth was dry and exhausted, and her physical strength was almost exhausted. In desperation, she turned to a nearby village for help, hoping to get a glass of water and take a short break.
Wang Yulan fainted due to heat stroke on the way, but fortunately was found by the villagers and taken home to take care of. When she woke up, she was very confused by the unfamiliar environment and people in front of her.
The villagers told her what had happened, and she was deeply grateful for their life-saving grace. After telling them her story, the villagers heard that she was going to return to the far northeast from southern Shaanxi alone, and they dissuaded her from going, believing that it would be too dangerous.
Another villager advised her to stay in the village and find a good man to marry, as it was at least much safer here than on the way.
Under the persuasion of the villagers, Wang Yulan agreed to marry Song Zhifu, a bachelor in the village. Their life is as the drama says, "You plough the fields and I will weave cloth, and I will carry water for you to water the garden."
Although Wang Yulan is physically unable to withstand the long journey, she feels happy because she has met a good husband. Both are 28-year-old "older youths" who are eager to have children of their own.
Wang Yulan and Song Zhifu have always longed to have their own children, but they have never been able to do so. Some rumors began to spread in the village, saying that Wang Yulan would not be able to have children.
These gossips made Wang Yulan feel depressed, lose her appetite, and lose a lot of weight. Song Zhifu saw that his wife was getting thinner and thinner, and he was very anxious. He comforted his wife and said, "It doesn't matter if we don't have children of our own, we can adopt one, and we can live together as a family." ”
Her husband's words moved Wang Yulan. At this time, a family in the next village had already given birth to several daughters because of their preference for sons, so they intended to give away their youngest daughter.
After Song Zhifu learned the news, he decided to adopt the little girl.
Wang Yulan and Song Zhifu have their own "little padded jackets", and the two live happily in happy days. However, in 1964, Song Zhifu, who was only 36 years old, died of illness.
This made Wang Yulan feel extremely sad and lost. The 8 years spent with Song Zhifu were the best time in her life. Looking at her young daughter, Wang Yulan gritted her teeth and decided to be strong to raise her alone, illuminating her future with the brilliance of maternal love.
Whether farming, fetching water, or feeding chickens and ducks, Wang Yulan shoulders the burden of the family alone. Some people persuaded Wang Yulan to take her daughter to remarry, so as to reduce the burden.
However, Wang Yulan resolutely refused. She believes that as long as she is strong enough, her daughter will be able to grow up happily. Therefore, she would rather bear all the hardships and tiredness herself, rather than her daughter suffering any grievances in her new family.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, her daughter has reached the age of talking about marriage. After her daughter got married, the home became empty and deserted, so Wang Yulan often sat alone in the courtyard in a daze.
The daughter was concerned about her mother's loneliness and suggested that she find a wife. However, although Wang Yulan is 47 years old, she rejected her daughter's proposal because she was afraid of other people's gossip.
Despite this, the daughter did not give up. After being introduced by others, her daughter had a good impression of Uncle Li in Lijiawan Village. Uncle Li is an honest and honest person who has no quarrel with the world, so his daughter wants to match his relationship with his mother.
Speaking of which, Uncle Li is also a poor man, when he was young, because his wife had a difficult birth, he died twice, and then he never got married again, and lived alone for most of his life.
Li Mingtang longs to have a wife and spend the rest of his life together. Therefore, he often went to Wang Yulan's house, chatted with her, and helped her with farm work. Although Wang Yulan is worried about losing face and is reluctant to remarry, deep down she still longs for someone to accompany her.
Seeing that Li Mingtang was so sincere, Wang Yulan's heart began to sway. In the end, Wang Yulan and Li Mingtang became husband and wife. This is her fifth and final marriage.
They respect each other, live a peaceful and happy life, and their daughter and grandson often come to visit them, making them feel warm.
An unexpected trip to visit relatives leads to a mystery about identity. In 2006, the local government needed to register citizenship information, but Wang Yulan always said that she did not know her identity information.
Her strange behavior attracted the attention of the staff, what secrets was hidden in this woman who was over half a hundred years old? Although the staff came to visit many times and returned in vain each time, Wang Yulan knew that she could hide from the first day of junior high school, but not the fifteenth, so she decided to confess her true identity to the staff and no longer let the staff run in vain.
If it weren't for this investigation, I'm afraid even Wang Yulan herself would have forgotten that her real name is actually Hideko Mizusaki. She was born in 1929, at a time when the U.S. economy was raging and the global economy was in the midst of the Great Depression.
When the financial turmoil swept through Japan, the number of unemployed people in the country was close to 4 million, and the number of bankrupt farmers reached 5 million. Hideko Mizusaki grew up by the sea in Fukuoka Prefecture, and her family made a living from fishing.
However, with the collapse of the economy, the whole family fell into starvation. Dissatisfied with the status quo, my aunt's family decided to go to Northeast China to do business. In 1942, Hideko Mizusaki's mother unfortunately fell seriously ill and eventually died.
Her father, who was too grief-stricken to concentrate on taking care of her, sent her to distant northeastern China to be raised by her aunt.
In 1942, Hideko Mizusaki came to Changchun and planned to stay at her aunt's house for a short time, but unexpectedly settled here. After Japan's defeat in 1945, she was separated from her aunt's family on her way home, and in order to survive, she lived in seclusion under a pseudonym, always hiding her true identity from others.
When the staff learned of Wang Yulan's true identity, they were all shocked, and at the same time, they also felt deep sympathy and admiration for her, an old man who had gone through vicissitudes.
The staff assisted Wang Yulan in applying for a residence permit in China, and actively helped her get in touch with the Japanese Embassy, hoping to find her long-lost relatives. In 2006, after DNA comparison, the Japanese side quickly found Wang Yulan's only relative in Japan, her cousin.
When she learned that her sister Hideko Mizusaki was still alive, her cousin burst into tears and couldn't believe it was true. She is eager to meet Hideko Mizusaki as soon as possible.
Wang Yulan is also very eager to return to her hometown after a long absence, to pursue the shadow of her hometown in her memory. With the full support of China and Japan**, after 64 long waits, she finally embarked on her way home, accompanied by her husband.
Wang Yulan was in front of her cousin who had reunited after a long absence, although the years had changed each other's appearances, they recognized each other at a glance. Regrettably, due to the parting of her youth, Wang Yulan has forgotten Japanese, and the two can only communicate through simple gestures.
The cousin also took out a treasured family photo, and the young man in **, Hideko Mizusaki, smiled brightly. Wang Yulan looked at **, seemed to remember some interesting things when she was young, and happily shared them with her husband.
Obviously, returning to her hometown of Japan filled Wang Yulan's heart with joy, so would she choose to stay?
Wang Yulan cherishes her home in Japan in her memories, but in real life, China has long become her inseparable root. She chose to return to China, hoping to obtain a Chinese ID card and become a member of China.
However, fate was merciless, and before she could help her fulfill her wish, her husband left her. Since then, her heart has become heavy, and she sits alone in the courtyard all day long, silently thinking about the meaning of life.
After the death of her husband, Wang Yulan was not only immersed in grief, but also faced the dilemma of survival. She and her husband had always had a hard life, and after his death, she got older and life became more difficult.
They used to rely on the subsistence allowance to survive, but Li Mingtang's death stopped the subsistence allowance. Because she does not have legal identity information in China, Wang Yulan is not eligible for the subsistence allowance.
Whenever she thought of this, her eyes would dim and lose their brilliance. However, the arrival of a ** staff member brought new hope to her. Wang Yulan said to the staff member: "I am already old and do not have many expectations.
But my wish is to be Chinese, have an ID card, and be able to get a minimum security fund for people in need. ”
After learning about Wang Yulan's experience, the staff immediately reported her condition to her superiors. The superiors attached great importance to this and immediately applied for an ID card for her and applied for subsistence allowance and medical assistance.
With such a living guarantee, Wang Yulan's later life was comfortable and at ease. After living in China for 78 years, Wang Yulan rests here peacefully. It is often said that fallen leaves return to their roots, but in fact, China is deeply rooted in Wang Yulan's heart.
ConclusionEveryone's life may be affected by the times, and a bumpy life like Wang Yulan's is a microcosm of the war years. We should cherish the peaceful life we are living now.
Wang Yulan's courage in the face of difficulties and her determination to stick to the bottom line are worthy of our respect and learning. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, you must maintain a positive attitude and be a positive person.