Wang Lung was the son of a peasant farmer. When it came for him to
marry, his father chose a slave girl from the house of Hwang who was
hardworking. O-lan, Wang Lung's wife was a good wife for Wang Lung.
She did not waste anything, and made items such as shoes for the family
so Wang Lung could save his money for other things She worked
endlessly for Wang Lung and his father, and even helped Wang Lung
plow the field. One day while helping on the field, O-lan went inside and
bore their first child. Luckily, it was a boy. Girls at that time were always
slaves, or married to other family's sons. They named him Nung Wen.
Before leaving the house of Hwang earlier, O-lan promised to bring
their first child to pay respects to the house. That year, the harvest was
good, so Wang Lung bought new clothes for O-lan, the baby, and
himself. After paying their respects, Wang Lung made a deal with the
house of Hwang and bought a plot of good land just outside the house.
One year later, another boy was born and was named Nung En. Wang
Lung's third child was a disaster. Not only was it a girl, but she was born
retarded. That summer, a drought hit the area where Wang Lung lived,
and it did not rain for months. There was little harvest, and soon all of the
wheat was gone. Starving, Wang Lung had his ox killed for food, but
could not bear to watch because the beast had been so faithful to him.
Not having any money, Wang Lung sold the furniture in his house for a
few silver pieces. His fourth child was born in the drought, and was born
dead. The family was forced to move South to find food, so with the
money he made from selling the furniture, Wang Lung paid train fare to
go down south. On the train, Wang Lung spent some more money to
buy material so they could build a hut when they reached the city. At the
city, they built their hut, and discovered a kitchen where for almost no
money at all, a person could eat all of the rice they wanted. Wang Lung
bought enough rice for his family, and they ate it heartily. Now, Wang
Lung needed money again, so the next day he rented a ricksha to
transport the rich around the city for money, and O-lan and the children
begged for money. After paying the rent for the ricksha, Wang Lung did
not make a lot, but it was enough to support his family for another day or
so. They did this all through the winter, each day earning just enough
money to make it to the next. One day, after the rich men left,
soldiers came in and fought with the enemy that was approaching them.
The poor took advantage of this, and raided the rich man's house. O-lan,
knowing the ways of the rich, found a secret stash of expensive jewels,
and Wang Lung got a handful of gold after threatening a rich man who
was hiding. With this money, Wang Lung returned home with his family.
When Wang Lung got back, he repaired his home which was
damaged by weather. Within the next six years, Wang Lung bought
much more land from the house of Hwang, his first two sons began
attending school, and he hired seven men to work the land including a
neighbor Ching, and O-lan had borne him twins, a boy, and a girl. Wang
Lung also discovered that O-lan had hidden a pouch full of expensive
jewels from him that she found in the rich man's house. When Wang
Lung found the jewels, he took them all from her except for two pearls
that O-lan liked. So the men worked well until there was a great flood.
All of the land was flooded and could not be farmed. It was then that his
uncle, his uncle's wife, and son came to live with Wang Lung. During this
flood, the neighbor's houses were robbed, but Wang Lung's house was
not. He found out that his uncle was second to the chief of the robbers.
Knowing this, Wang Lung was forced to let his uncle's family live with
him, or he would be robbed or even murdered. Not being able to farm,
Wang Lung began visiting the city for entertainment. He discovered a tea
shop where he fell in love with a woman named The Lotus Flower. After
a month of seeing Lotus, he bought her from the tea shop and took her
home as a concubine. O-lan did not like this, but Wang Lung would not
let Lotus live anywhere else, so he built a courtyard with adjacent rooms
for Lotus to live in. The courtyard had a small pool, and Wang Lung
bought only expensive foods for his Lotus. When Wang Lung found
out that his older son was seeing Lotus when he was away, he decided to
have him married to a grain merchant's daughter. The wedding took
place, and shortly afterwards, O-lan died of a stomach illness, and soon
afterwards, Wang Lung's father died. Wang Lung then apprenticed his
younger son to the grain merchant Liu, and his youngest daughter was
betrothed to Liu's young son. Thinking of a way to get rid of his uncle
and his wife, he persuaded them to start smoking opium that he had paid
for. Once they became addicted, they were too busy with the drug to
bother Wang Lung. But, his uncle's son did not take the opium, and
began to annoy Wang Lung's older son's wife by talking dirty and walking
around with his robe open. Seeing this, Nung Wen became very angry
and Wang Lung rented a portion of the house of Hwang. The uncle and
his wife were left in the country with their opium, and the uncle's son left
to join the army. When Ching died, Wang Lung stopped farming and
rented out his land, hoping that his youngest son would tend the land, but
when he took a girl that his youngest son liked, his youngest son ran
away from home and joined the army. When Wang Lung's death came
near, he moved back to the country to be with his land. He brought only
his slave Pear Blossom, that his youngest son loved, and his first
daughter that was simple. One day as he was looking at the fields with
his sons, he heard them talking about how they were going to spend their
inheritance and what they would do with the money they would make
from selling the land. Wang Lung cried out that they must never sell the
land because only with land could they be sure of earning a living. But
Wang Lung did not see his sons look at each other over his head and
grin.
. south. On the train, Wang Lung spent some more money to
buy material so they could build a hut when they reached the city. At the
city, they built their hut,. looking at the fields with
his sons, he heard them talking about how they were going to spend their
inheritance and what they would do with the money they would