Chapter 62 finds everybody in the Garden busy with birthday preparations for Pao-yu's birthday. By coincidence, Pao-yu shares his birthday with Pao-chin, Ping-erh, and Hsiu-yen. This coincidence makes everybody extremely happy, so, in addition to sending each other gifts, they decide to collect money for a really sumptuous feast, outside in the Garden so that they can all drink and have fun — to their hearts' content!
Accordingly, all of the girls and the maids, including Pao-yu too, take part in the celebration. They have a very good time together, playing games, drinking wine as a forfeit, and making fun of each other.
From this celebration, we can see that the young master and the young ladies seem to be on comparatively equal terms with the maids in the Garden during the absence of the Chia authorities, but their happiness is brief. The young ladies, especially, live a kind of precarious, parasitic life, since their destinies lie in the hands of the family authorities. (Later we will see that the fate of the maids and actresses is indeed bitter and miserable.) However, for today, they are all free to enjoy the happy, carefree gaiety of the Garden. Here, the notions of equality and happiness pervade the atmosphere. The young master and the young ladies are all equal today — because the Chia authorities are away. Never again will there be so much happiness in the Garden. In fact, this chapter will soon serve as a dramatic contrast to the cruel search of the houses in later chapters.
The first part of Chapter 63 focuses on the girls in the Garden, feasting and celebrating Pao-yu's birthday. They drink wine, play games, and sing songs — throwing all caution to the wind. Some of them even get drunk. The girls are all very excited about the celebration, and even Miao-yu (a nun) sends a celebration card to show her respect for Pao-yu.
Miao-yu is an unconventional person. She has practiced asceticism for ten years and is a bit eccentric; she looks down on common people. She became a nun because she offended certain powerful people and was forced to come to Iron Threshold Temple for protection. Pao-yu is overjoyed when he receives her card; immediately, he sends a message to her to show his gratitude.
The second part of the chapter deals with the death of the Old Master, Chia Cling, and Madame Yu's managing the funeral preparations single-handedly. She asks for the Emperor's permission to fetch Chia Chen, Chia Jung, and old Mrs. Yu and her two daughters (Second Sister Yu and Third Sister Yu) to come and help her. Giving up the noble title of Palace Graduate, Chia Ching long ago retired to live quietly in the Mysterious Truth Temple, outside the city. He took elixirs every day, hoping to enjoy longevity and become an immortal.
