A train game separated two deaf brothers for 35 years, and an innocent childhood cue reunited them; How Lei found his way back to family decades later |
Life is sometimes quite unfair, and some innocent people face consequences for which they are not responsible. Such incidents are examples of how fragile a simple-looking moment might be and how a split-second decision made out of childlike mischief can change a person’s entire life.Similar is the story of a young boy who could neither hear nor speak, and a 35-year wait that finally came to an end.
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How a childhood playtime turned lives for a deaf boy and his family
In 1991, a young boy from Henan province, Lei Zeqing, snuck onto a train with friends as part of a playful game. He fell asleep under a seat and woke up far from home, in a completely unfamiliar place. Being deaf and non-verbal, Lei had no way to ask for directions or explain who he was, and he ended up living on the streets near Shenzhen’s railway station.His luck began to change when he met a woman in Shenzhen whom he came to regard as his first mother figure, and who taught him to write. When she relocated to Hong Kong five years later, Lei did not slip back into homelessness. Instead, a restaurant owner named Hong Qingxian, who had repeatedly noticed him in the area, decided to take him in.
Lie had some kind strangers in his life
According to the South China Morning Post, Hong let Lei stay in the restaurant’s staff dormitory and fed him for free, eventually helping him find work as a security guard once the restaurant shut down after two years.Hong, a retired soldier, often reminded his wife that Lei needed proper guidance, or life would be especially hard for him given his condition. For three decades, Hong and his wife supported Lei like one of their own children, despite not being particularly well-off themselves.
Lei never let go of the hope of searching for his family
Hong eventually urged Lei to start saving money and searching for his birth family. Lei never let go of that hope. He posted appeals online and even retraced old train routes across several provinces in search of anything familiar. Hong stood by him throughout, helping file police reports and placing newspaper notices.
A childhood hint that helped him reunite with his family
The breakthrough came when Lei’s older brother, Lei Zehu, who is also deaf and non-verbal, spotted a message from a stranger in an online chat group.The older brother recognised their connection through an old childhood habit that Lei had always written his name backwards. The two communicated through photos and messages before the family travelled to Shenzhen. A DNA test, taken with Hong by his side, confirmed what they already felt in their hearts within hours of meeting.Lei’s sister later thanked Hong directly, saying, “Thank you for treating my brother like your son, despite his condition.” Hong, while visibly emotional about Lei reconnecting with his roots, said he respected his decision and promised to remain supportive.
