The night of Mid-Autumn Festival is a reunion time for every Chinese family, when family members all sit around the table full of wine and delicacies. A full moon shines in the sky, and the air filled with laugher and cheerful voices. Unfortunately, for Old Chen's family, the past nine Mid-Autumn nights are more than nightmares!
The story starts in the year of 2012.
Chen Gongyou, a 62 year-old ordinary villager in the suburbs of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, who could only do some physical work around the village because of his limited education level. His wife, Wang Aidi, 55 years old, spent most of her time at home, doing farming, taking care of the elderly, and kept everything in good orders. Occasionally, she would do some odd jobs to help support the family. Although not rich, it was fortunate that their two children were very sensible, and they started working after finishing junior school to share the family burden. Through the hard work of the four, their economic condition was slowly improved. More new electric appliances were added, the old tile-and-brick house was reconstructed into a two-storey villa, and their living conditions were gradually improved. The family of four lived a plain and happy life, catching envious eyes from their neighbors.
Chen Gongyou
Later in 2012, Old Chen found that his wife began to read books, and read them quite seriously, and often went out. At first, he did not think much of his wife's unusual behavior. Unexpectedly, his wife soon seemed to become a completely different person, not only indulged in reading, but also secretly moved their DVD player to her room, and locked herself inside, watching. She went out more frequently, sometimes even stayed out all night.
From his wife's abnormal behavior, Old Chen realized that something was wrong. While his wife was out, Old Chen, along with his children, looked through the things in her room and found the books and VCDs such as "Words Appear in the Flesh," "Follow the Lamb to Sing New Songs," "Almighty God, You Are Really Good," and "Lightning from the East." Only then did he know that his wife had joined the "Almighty God" cult. After consulting with his children, Old Chen decided to burn all these stuff to avoid future troubles. When his wife returned home and found that the books and VCDs had been burned down, she was so anger that she had a big quarrel with Old Chen.
No matter how Old Chen and his children tried to persuade, his wife was not a bit moved. Her willful action made the children feel strange and afraid. Was this still their loving mother? Thinking that family prosperity came from harmony, Old Chen could not bear to quarrel with his wife again, and let family members take turns to admonish his wife in well-meant words, hoping to change her mind. Old Chen mobilized all his relatives to ask his wife to turn around, but to no avail. Not only his wife ignored all their advice, but also she lobbied relatives to “join the church”, and even went out to preach the "gospels" from village to village, trying every means to deceive people into joining the church.
Old Chen's wife Wang Aidi, photographed before she left home
"The Doomsday is coming, and human beings are going to suffer great disasters. What is important now is to save their lives. Only by believing in Almighty God can we get God's blessings, that is, to avoid catastrophe, live a good life and keep all our family members safe and sound", these words had become Wang Aidi's daily language, and the villagers were afraid to meet this “old witch”. In order to show loyalty, Wang Aidi secretly handed over their family savings as "dedication money", saying that the more money she paid, the more she could stay away from disasters. She also asked her children for money, and even sold everything she could sell, including the pots and pans while others were out. Old Chen was so depressed that he drank every day to drown his sorrows, which led to excessive drinking and stomach bleeding. At the time when Old Chen needed to be taken care of the most, his wife totally ignored his health and left home more frequently to “do her part”.
On December 21, 2012, the "Almighty God" claimed “the world’s Doomsday” had come, saying “those stubborn human beings” would be destroyed and the faithful believers of "Almighty God" would be saved. Responding to the call, Wang Aidi went out before dawn to "save mankind" day and night. The next morning, Wang Aidi returned home exhausted, with a strong smell of sweat. However, the so-called “last judgment” did not come, and the lies fall apart in the face of facts.
Old Chen had hoped that time would dilute the half year’s nightmare, and maybe his wife could recognize the truth in front of facts. Unfortunately, three months later, Wang Aidi left the family without leaving a word, and nowhere to be found.
Old Chen was panicked, afraid of something bad might happen to his wife, and he sent the whole family to look for her. At a time, Old Chen heard from a villager that his wife had appeared at a bus station, and he immediately rushed there but found nothing.
Over the past nine years, Old Chen has kept his wife's clothes neatly in the wardrobe, and her used things clean and tidy. He never gave up, but no matter how hard he tried to search, his wife was just like a stone dropped into the sea, no news came up. They had married more than 20 years, and now his wife disappeared without trace. Old Chen was in no mood of doing anything. Be afraid that their father might do something stupid, the two children gave up their jobs and return home, and had to find jobs near their home, thinking that they could take care of him. Many villagers asked Old Chen not to look for his wife any more, saying that even she returned, such a mad woman would make their family a big mess. But Old Chen never gave up, firmly believed that his wife would come back.
The new clothes and shoes Old Chen bought for his wife a few years ago
Now the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching again, and this is the tenth Mid-Autumn days since Wang Aidi left home. Old Chen is still full of hope, looking forward that his wife could return home on this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, and the family can have a happy reunion dinner……
