She dresses her son in fine clothes and Wang Lung accompanies them to the great house, proud of his prosperity. When New Year’s arrives, O-lan bakes beautiful cakes to bring to the Old Mistress. They have a large harvest that winter, and Wang Lung guards it carefully, saving the money he makes. Before long, she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a healthy son, bringing joy to the house. Over the next few months, O-lan works hard in the house, and when she runs out of tasks, she come to help Wang Lung with his work in the fields. Wang Lung has a wedding feast that night, and then he sleeps with O-lan. They return to Wang Lung’s house, stopping on the way to burn incense in a temple to the gods of the earth. After much nervousness, he finally appears before the Old Mistress of the House of Hwang, who presents him with his wife, O-lan. He has never met his bride-to-be, and on this morning he goes to the nearby town to fetch her from the wealthy house where she works as a slave. The novel opens on the wedding day of Wang Lung, a simple Chinese farmer.
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