- Marriages are over. Burials are over. Now it's time to get back to the land.
- It looks like it's going to flood again. Remember what happened last time? That's when Wang Lung bought Lotus. Well, this flood is much worse, and Wang Lung is too worried about his land being destroyed to have any free time.
- Hard times are here again. In the town, people are starving and gangs of robbers are killing people and taking their money. Wang Lung knows that his uncle is the only reason he is safe.
- The problem is that since his uncle's family knows that Wang Lung depends on them for safety, they start being even more greedy than usual. While everyone else is starving, they want fancy foods and even money.
- Wang Lung's first son doesn't even care about all this until he notices that his cousin has been looking at his wife. The solution? Opium. That will calm them down. Wang Lung isn't too sure about this, but when his uncle's son fondles his youngest daughter, he runs to buy some.