One broken bottle, 22 years apart: Woman's childhood fear led to two decades lost from her family

CHINA: A woman from eastern China has finally been reunited with her birth family, more than two decades after she ran away as a child out of fear of being punished for breaking a bottle of shower gel.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing mainland outlet Shicheng Media, Liu Xiuhong was originally from a rural family in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province. At nine years old, she had moved with her migrant-worker parents to Jieyang in Guangdong province, where the family lived in a cramped rented room.

A broken bottle, and a childhood decision that changed everything

In 2004, while playing at a friend’s home, Liu accidentally smashed a glass bottle of shower gel worth around 10 yuan, roughly S$1.90. While the sum seems negligible today, it may have been a significant expense for a rural household at the time.

Fearing that her mother would scold or beat her over the incident, Liu fled. She ended up lost in a vegetable market, where she was later found by a man who would go on to become her adoptive father. His identity has not been disclosed.

Her birth parents searched desperately for her, appealing for help through a local television station for three days, but no trace of her was found.

Found, raised, and eventually helped to search

SCMP noted that Liu was well cared for by her adoptive family in Guangdong. As she grew older, that same family supported her efforts to track down her birth parents.

With help from volunteers and police, Liu, now 31, recently managed to trace her roots back to Jiangxi.

A tearful homecoming

Relatives were waiting at the station when Liu arrived by high-speed train, and she broke down in tears as she embraced her younger siblings. Back at the family’s rural home, her parents welcomed her with firecrackers, banners, and flowers.

“Daughter, I am so sorry,” her mother said through tears, blaming herself. Liu, too, apologised, telling her parents that her decision to run away as a child had caused them years of suffering.

Her mother placed a gold necklace around her neck and prepared a homecoming meal of watermelon, handmade noodles, and local rice balls, telling her, “These are the flavours of your hometown.”

It remains unclear whether Liu plans to return to Jiangxi permanently, and mainland reports have not clarified whether she was frequently subjected to corporal punishment during her childhood.