The Good Earth Chapter 30 Summary

  • You know what we're going to say: it looks like peace, but it's anything but peace.  
  • It's that first son again. He always wants something new. We bet he'd be one of those guys waiting in line for the new iPhone for like a month. Anyway, he wants Wang Lung to buy the outer courts. 
  • Wang Lung doesn't even care anymore, and he just tells his first son to do what he wants. So the first son kicks out all the poor people who are living in the outer courts. We have the feeling they won't forget this. 
  • At the same time, the second son isn't happy about all the money that his big brother is spending, so he gets Wang Lung to make him stop. Okay, so that's done. But now there's another thing. 
  • Do you remember that third son? Yeah, Wang Lung didn't remember him, either, but it seems like he's pretty unhappy. Apparently, he wants to learn how to read, and he doesn't want to be a farmer. Wang Lung isn't too happy about this, but he lets him learn anyway. 
  • The day finally comes for the second son to get married. He pinches every penny (who pinches pennies on their wedding day?), and his big brother gets pretty annoyed. So a feud between the brothers starts. 
  • The only person who isn't causing trouble in the new house is Wang Lung's baby grandson, so Wang Lung spends all his time with him. Soon enough Wang Lung has a whole bunch of grandkids to entertain him. 
  • With all these births, of course, there has to be a death. This time it's Wang Lung's uncle, and this uncle makes Wang Lung promise that his son will get married. When the uncle dies, the whole family mourns—not because they care, but because it's the right thing to do. Now all that's left of that family is Wang Lung's aunt.