Lin Jinguang saw his grandson off from Fuzhou Changle International Airport on April 19. For the first couple of months after the boy's departure, the grandfather, 63, found it difficult to stay at home, but with the passage of time he's gradually adapting to a quieter life.

Lin Nan, whose English name is Michael, lived with his grandparents for more than four years after his parents sent him to China from the United States when he was only 4 months old.

Five kids from the kindergarten Lin Nan attended left Guantou on the same plane.

Grandfather Lin entrusted Lin Nan's ticket money to a relative who was traveling to the US and asked him to take care of the boy on the plane. His granddaughter had already returned to the US 12 months before.

"My wife and I didn't have time to do anything except take care of the two kids. They were very naughty, and our house was like a battlefield everyday," recalled Lin, smiling at the memory.

"On lots of occasions, my wife and I each held a small bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, chasing the kids to try and feed them as they ran from room to room. The kids lived with us for more than four years; when they left, I discovered that not only the house, but also my heart was empty," he said. "In the first couple of months, when we were having a video chat, the kids often cried and begged me to get them back to Guantou. When I saw them crying, I cried as well," he added.

"We're happy to see that they have become accustomed to life there, but it makes me sad that we now have fewer video chats and they don't seem to like talking with us as before," he said.

Lin is desperately worried that one day the kids will have nothing to say to their grandparents. His daughter Lin Liqiu, 31, has been in the US for eight years, but is still awaiting citizenship.

"I haven't seen her in front of me for eight years, but as long as she has a good life with the kids and they are safe and healthy, we will be fine," Lin said.

"I am looking forward to the day they return and the whole family can sit at the same table and have a real reunion."