A child trafficking survivor from central China who turned into a multimillionaire has reunited with her birth family, only to discover that her father had died years ago after being consumed by guilt.
On November 20, during the Winter Clothing Festival, mainland media revisited Zeng Youdi’s emotional journey. This festival, alongside Ching Ming Festival and Zhongyuan (Hungry Ghost Festival), is one of China’s three major ghost festivals, during which people burn paper clothes to honour their deceased loved ones.
Zeng, now 46, was abducted at the age of three after being separated from her mother in a crowded market in Hunan province, according to Sohu News.
Though her adoptive parents never abused her, Zeng always felt a disconnect.
Once, she tried to run away while they were asleep, but her adoptive father caught her and scolded her for hours.
In primary school, some classmates called her “the picked-up child,” a taunt that wounded her self-esteem deeply.
Eager to earn her adoptive parents’ love, Zeng threw herself into farm work, learning to cut pigweed after school.
