Fiction logo

Secluded in the mountains, a millionaire and a stolen wife in pure love

Heart such as stagnant water, lucky to meet warm-hearted brother

By Hanla.qiaozhiPublished 2 years ago 11 min read
Like

In the summer of 1977, Cen Meifen, 14, dropped out of school and left her hometown in Chongqing to work in Wushan county. From rough labor to skilled labor, from timid and shy to performing on stage, Cen Meifen gradually established herself in the factory. At the age of 17, an unworldly Cen Meifen was lured to Nanyang, Henan province, by a fellow resident on the pretext that she was a migrant worker. It was only when she was abandoned at the home of a strange man in a remote mountain village that Cen learned she had been trafficked.

With tears and words drained, Ms. Cen has yet to escape the buyer's tight guard. In desperation, Cen Meifen had no choice but to submit and began a helpless marriage with this man surnamed Zhang. When her son was born in the fall of 1990, Ms. Cen felt a glimmer of relief. Hoping for a better life, Cen persuaded her husband to join her in the city. After many setbacks, Cen found a job in a small factory and poured all she had into buying a tricycle for her husband to transport.

To save money, Ms. Cen rented a cheap "migrant habitat camp," a motly-populated area with poor security. One day, Cen Meifen, who went to work early and came home late, had just entered the door when a heavyset middle-aged man took the initiative to find her: "The public security here is not good these days, there are often burglaries, your car is not safe to leave outside, or put it in my warehouse? My warehouse is right here." Cen was stunned. She didn't know what to say. After inquiring, she learned that the man was Li Minghai, a millionaire who ran a knitting factory.

From then on, Cen and Li Minghai would greet each other and say a few words when they met again. Far from being an untouchable boss, Cen found Li Minghai to be as friendly and warm as a big brother next door. One morning, Cen Meifen met Li Minghai again on her way to work. "It's cold. Put on more clothes." A reminder from Li Minghai made Cen Mei-fen feel very warm. Looking back at Li Minghai's back, Cen Mei-fen stood frozen, tears welling in her eyes.

In 1996, Cen's son, who had just turned 7, was hit by high-voltage electricity while playing, and more than 50 percent of his skin was burned. During her son's hospitalization for a week, Cen Meifen stayed by her son's side without food or water. When she heard that skin grafts could be done, she begged the doctor on her knees to save her son no matter what the cost. After that, her son was hospitalized for a year, which cost more than 100,000 yuan, almost all of which Cen borrowed from others in tears.

After her son's condition gradually improved, Cen was free to return to the rental area and collect her clothes. One day, she had just returned home when she saw Li Minghai coming. Li Minghai greeted her warmly, "Why haven't I seen you for so long? What's wrong?" Cen told the truth under Li Minghai's questioning. Seeing Cen's haggard face, Li Minghai scolded her, "Why didn't you tell me about such a big thing? Can't you trust me?" Cen shook her head in silence. After all, it was only by chance that she could ask him.

In the winter of 1996, Cen fell ill from exhaustion. After going to the hospital for examination, the doctor initially diagnosed esophageal cancer. When she heard that she was suffering from cancer, Cen immediately asked to be discharged from the hospital. She knew she had more to do with her money, to pay off debts and leave it to her son. But what saddened Cen was that her husband, like a different person, was indifferent to her when he learned that she was suffering from a terminal disease. Cen Meifen felt the loneliness and helplessness of dying. In the next year, Cen Meifen asked her husband for a divorce, rented a house by herself, and gave her son to her husband to raise.

Cen, who was seriously ill, wanted to return to her hometown in Chongqing, but she did not want her parents to see her sick, so she decided to stay in the rented house to die. Before she died, Cen thought of Li Minghai's kindness and help. She thought she should thank him before she died. After many contacts, Cen finally spoke with Li Minghai on the phone.

After learning of Cen's illness, Li Minghai rushed to the Zhengzhou Hospital without another word. Surprisingly, after a consultation, the attending doctor concluded that she had been misdiagnosed and was suffering from a common stomach disorder. The result surprised and delighted Cen. She wept tears of joy. At that moment, she felt that it was the tall man in front of her that had pulled her back from the brink of death.

After hearing the news of his wife's misdiagnosis, her ex-husband also came back and proposed to remarry her, but Cen rebuffed him. The damage she had done was too deep in her heart.

Love can not block, two hearts heal each other

Since then, Cen Meifen always confided in Li Minghai when there was something wrong. One thing after another, the two became good friends who talked about everything. Li told Cen that he, too, had been in an unhappy marriage and had a son and daughter, who now followed his mother and son. Similar experiences make two hearts grow closer.

On a moonlit night, Li Minghai said to Cen, "We have all experienced emotional setbacks. Let's live the rest of our lives together." Li Minghai's declaration of love surprised Cen. Although she had a good feeling for the man, she could not help but realistically consider that the gap between them was too great for her, and Cen instinctively refused.

A few days later, CenMeiFen shut himself in a rented room, like a bed filter ming-hai li dramatic meet bosom friend, when she again dial ming-hai li's cell phone, and heard a beautiful song, Teresa teng is "I only care about you", the details to move CenMeiFen unceasingly, this looks very thick line of the big man, but in such a delicate way, To her persistent expression of love, she can no longer refuse this warm harbor of love.

Their romance met with unanimous opposition from relatives and friends, with Li's sister telling her brother, "You can find a woman with much better conditions than her!" Cen's mother in Chongqing also advised her daughter to be cautious: "People with such good conditions are not really good to you. Don't be cheated again!" In addition to her family's opposition, Cen Meifen was on pins and needles because people said she was a bad woman who left her husband behind.

Under heavy pressure, one day in June 2000, Cen packed her bags and went to the railway station, ready to take the train to leave Nanyang and go back to her hometown in Chongqing. But when Cen arrived at the train station, Li Minghai was waiting for her. "What are you doing here? Cen, surprised by Li Minghai's sudden appearance, shook her hand and said, "I heard the landlord said you were going back to your hometown, so I came here right away!" "Why do you bother? I can't delay you," she said CROSSly. Li asked eagerly, "Didn't you hear my phone ring? I set it up for you. I only care about you!" What else can be said? The two lovers embrace each other and let the tears flow quietly.

Back in Nanyang, Li Minghai said he wanted to expand the knitting factory, but Cen Meifen did not listen, absent-mindedly looked in the direction of home. Puzzled, Lee asked, "You don't want to develop in Nanyang?" "I miss home and want to be with my mom and dad," she said. Li Minghai stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "How about I go back home with you?" Cen couldn't believe her ears. "Really?"

But when Li Minghai answered, Cen hesitated. Li Minghai had a career and family here. It would be a drag for him to follow her to a remote village. In order not to let Li Minghai's feelings, she told the truth about her family: her father was paralyzed in bed, her mother had poor legs, her hometown was hilly and steep, and conditions were difficult... Li realized how much burden Cen was carrying, but she never asked him for a penny for it. This strengthened his determination to marry the kind Cen.

In July 2002, despite his family's objections, Li sold his thriving knitting factory for more than $1 million, leaving the money to his ex-wife and daughter, and followed Cen Meifeng to her home in the mountains of Chongqing with their son.

Deep mountain struggle, we love pure

Cut to the chase and head out the door. As Li Minghai struggles to adapt to life in the mountains, he is also concerned about his future livelihood. The transportation here is not easy to set up a factory, so Li Minghai used his little savings and loans to contract 2,000 mu of mountain forest on the top of the mountain to develop the planting and breeding industry. They also built a hut on the top of the hill, where they lived for a long time.

At first, their investment didn't pay off, so the couple scrimped to save money. The former boss, now in order to save expenses, busy on the mountain all day long, haggard body and mind, Cen Meifen saw the pain in her eyes, tearfully advised him to stay at home to rest. However, Lee said with a smile, This is nothing. It is a good place to develop the fruit-forest economy. Besides, we can't just live on our bread. We have to start something else on our own." In six months, Li's weight dropped from 178kg to 125kg.

From a successful entrepreneur to a laboring laborer, Li Minghai quickly changed his role in the hardship. One day in the summer of 2003, they went up to the mountain to tend sheep. Suddenly it rained heavily. The couple rolled down the hillside accidentally, covered in mud. Li Minghai held on to his wife and did not care if he hurt his elbow. Seeing her husband's face covered in blood and mud, Cen burst into tears, "Let's quit and go back to Henan. I'm used to suffering hardship. It doesn't matter. However, Lee just smiled and said nothing, holding her in the rain and singing the song "I Only care about you" : "If I didn't meet you, where would I be? How is your life going? Should you cherish your life?"

It always pays off. Two years later, their fruit forest is profitable, no longer worry about food and clothing. What makes Cen Meifen happy is that Li Minghai's family has already accepted her after years of perseverance. Li Minghai, who is persistent and honest, has also adapted to the environment in the mountains and become a guest in the village. The couple sometimes went to live in the old house down the hill, but they preferred to live on the hill, where they could sing and feed their sheep and clean their minds.

Li Minghai's move away from the city and away from his company to live in the mountains with love is both admirable and suspicious. When pressed, the inarticulate Li Minghai always repeated a phrase: "I'm not used to it when I first came here. But the first time I saw the mountains and the water, I fell in love. This place is far away from the strife of the world. As long as I have the people I love around me, why should I live such a life of chasing fame and fortune?"

The winter of 2010 came earlier than usual, with the first snow falling in early October. The couple nursed hundreds of goats like children. After a week of using high-powered light bulbs to increase the temperature inside the sheeppen and tirelessly checking the baby sheep's temperature, Li Minghai doubled up with fatigue. After seeing the sheep survive the dangerous period of cold, the couple finally smiled.

The couple who fled the bustling city and returned to the mountains were called "sheep lovers" by mountain people. The life back to nature feels like a dream for Cen Mei-fen, who sincerely confuses Li Ming-hai, saying, "After all the misfortunes, this quiet life is precious to me. What I can do is to take care of you and the family with all my heart, and spend the rest of my life in the mountains with my favorite lover."

Short Story
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.