Daughter was given away five days after birth, mother and daughter separated for 40 years finally reunited, mom: I regret being too weak back then

Ask AI · Why was Aunt Cao unable to prevent her daughter from being sent for adoption back then?

Five years ago, Aunt Cao from Datong, Shanxi, had her ex-husband participate in blood collection for DNA storage, searching for her younger daughter. This February, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, the girl Wang Wei collected blood for DNA storage under the remote guidance of Officer Hu Xiangyu from the Mianyang Public Security Bureau in Sichuan, searching for her biological parents. On March 20, after a second review of DNA kinship testing, it was confirmed that Wang Wei is Aunt Cao’s daughter.

▲Mother and daughter reunite after recognizing each other

Around 6 p.m. on April 7, the mother and daughter, separated for 40 years, successfully recognized each other and reunited. At the recognition scene, Aunt Cao took out a jade bracelet she had treasured for more than 20 years and personally put it on her younger daughter. Aunt Cao said that each had the same bracelet—her eldest daughter and her daughter-in-law also each had one. Aunt Cao told reporters that her daughter was sent away for adoption only 5 days after birth, and her only regret now is that she was too soft back then: “I’m so sorry for the child. In the future, I will do everything I can to give the child more love and more care, and to let the child know she is loved by more than one person.”

Searching for her daughter:

Daughter was sent away for adoption 5 days after birth

35 years later, she and her ex-husband collected blood samples to find her

Aunt Cao is from Datong, Shanxi. In 1986, her second daughter was born, but only 5 days later, the girl was sent away for adoption.

“The first child I had was also a daughter, two years older than my second daughter. On the fifth day after my second daughter was born, I was feeding the baby when my husband’s family, without my consent, had someone take her away and adopt her,” Aunt Cao recalled tearfully to Red Star News on April 7. “At the time, I was young, so I could only secretly ask where my daughter had been taken.”

Aunt Cao said that, as far as she came to understand, the child was taken away by an intermediary. The intermediary’s hometown was in Shijiazhuang, Hebei. The child was adopted to the intermediary’s hometown area, but she did not know the exact location. Over those years, all she could do was think about her daughter. Later, she heard that her daughter’s adoptive parents couldn’t have children, and since they only had her, she felt that they would definitely treat her well, which brought her some comfort.

In the third year after her second daughter was adopted, Aunt Cao gave birth to a son. But because the couple’s personalities were incompatible, the family relationship gradually dropped to freezing point. In 1994, Aunt Cao divorced and continued to raise and work to support the two children on her own, still worrying about her second daughter.

In 2021, as Aunt Cao was approaching 60 years old, her longing for her second daughter became even stronger. She began searching for her family online, and a netizen suggested that she collect blood for DNA storage. Following the netizen’s suggestion, she went to a public security authority to have blood drawn, but was told it was best if both parents of the child collected blood samples.

“I asked my eldest daughter to call her father. He also cooperated, and we went together to collect blood samples for storage,” Aunt Cao said. For years, she had been waiting for news, but there was no result.

▲After recognition, mother and daughter pose for a hand-in-hand photo

Searching for her mother:

The girl learned her identity from her adoptive mother shortly before the latter’s death

After her adoptive father passed away, she sought help from police to find her family

Far away in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, the girl Wang Wei learned her real background more than 10 years ago.

Wang Wei told Red Star News that there was only her in the family and that her adoptive parents treated her well. More than 10 years ago, when her adoptive mother was seriously ill, her adoptive father pulled her aside and quietly told Wang Wei that she was not their biological child. In that moment, her mind went completely blank. Later, her adoptive mother died. For many years, the idea of searching for her real family remained hidden in Wang Wei’s heart. Later, she married and had children. Knowing how difficult it was to be a mother, the uneasiness in her heart gradually faded. Last year, after her adoptive father died, her desire to search became even stronger.

This February, Wang Wei sought help from the Mianyang Public Security Hu Xiangyu Work Studio, saying that she was approximately born in 1985 and that her background was unclear. She hoped the Mianyang police could provide help to find her biological parents.

On April 7, Hu Xiangyu told Red Star News that after receiving the request, he immediately provided remote guidance for Wang Wei to collect biological samples for DNA storage, but the results did not match. However, through DNA data analysis, it was found that she was suspected to be from Shanxi. In March, through manual searching, it was found that Ma Mou and Cao Mou in Datong, Shanxi each matched Wang Wei’s DNA with a single-parent kinship relationship. In addition, the missing daughter case involving Ma Xiao Nv reported by Cao Mou was similar to Wang Wei’s background. The police from the work studio then established contact with the Datong, Shanxi authorities and the suspected parents. After conducting thorough investigations into the case of the missing child Ma Xiao Nv, they provided information feedback according to the work requirements of the anti-trafficking system, and again collected biological samples from both sides for a second round of DNA kinship testing for review.

On March 20, the National Public Security authorities’ anti-trafficking system notified the office and confirmed that Ma Mou and Cao Mou from Datong, Shanxi, and Wang Wei from Hebei matched in a three-generation kinship genetic marker. They have a biological genetic relationship, and they are parent-child.

Reunion:

The mother gifted her a jade bracelet

“I regretted being too soft at the time”

“Mom, I’m very happy to recognize you. I hope we will be safe and happy in the years to come, and always be together!” On the afternoon of the 7th, at the Mianyang Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment’s reunion recognition ceremony, Wang Wei held a bouquet of flowers in her hands, with a card already filled out. Tearfully, she stepped forward quickly and presented the flowers to her mother, who was crying. The two tightly embraced each other.

▲In the flowers the daughter brought, she wrote her heartfelt message

After that, Aunt Cao took out a small gift box that had been prepared long ago. Inside was a jade bangle, which she personally put on her daughter’s wrist. Aunt Cao told Red Star News that more than 20 years ago, she started a jade business. She personally selected better jadeite, crafted 3 identical jade bracelets—one for her eldest daughter, one for her later daughter-in-law, and the other one was prepared for her second daughter. That one has been kept for over 20 years. She said that she always believed that one day she would find her daughter and put the bracelet on her with her own hands, and now her wish has come true.

▲The mother and daughter recognize each other through tears

“My only regret now is that I was too weak back then. I feel so sorry for the child. Over all these years, I’ve been guilty. During holidays and festivals, I always want to see the child. No matter how much the child blames me or what they think of me, I’ll keep searching. Even if she doesn’t recognize me, I can still look at her from far away.” Aunt Cao said that now, her daughter has been found. She will do everything she can to give the child more love and more care, and let the child know she is loved by more than one person: “In the days ahead, I will give the child even more love.”

On April 8, Aunt Cao and her two daughters arrived in Chengdu from Mianyang. After planning to tour in Chengdu for two days, they would then return to their home in Datong, Shanxi…

Red Star News reporter Tang Xiaojun Photography and reporting

Editor Zhang Xun

Reviewed by He Xianju