Times grow bad for Wang and the other farmers, but he continues to buy land from the House of Hwang — although he does not tell O-lan that he's using up all of their silver. Food grows scarce, and the family is forced to slaughter their ox and eat it. Wang's uncle maliciously spreads the false rumor among the farmers and villagers that Wang has hordes of food and silver, and men force their way into Wang's home and take what little food they find, to which Wang comforts himself by saying that at least no one can take the land that he owns. Wang decides to move his family in hopes of finding a job, but he refuses to sell his land. Along with many others, Wang and his family take a train south.
Arriving in an unnamed city in the south, Wang and his family support themselves by O-lan and the children begging for food and Wang hiring himself out as a ricksha driver. Daily they eat at the public kitchens. Soon, armed soldiers regularly appear in the city, for there is talk of war; the rich begin fleeing the city, abandoning their opulent houses. A mob of people including Wang break into one of these abandoned houses, and Wang forces a man who failed to flee the house to give him gold. With this gold, Wang and his family return to their land and once again establish themselves as prosperous farmers. Wang learns from O-lan that while in the southern city she stole a cache of jewels from the house where Wang stole the gold. With this newfound prosperity, Wang buys up all of the remaining land of the House of Hwang. He is becoming as rich and established as the House of Hwang formerly was.
Seven years pass of increased fortune, but in that seventh year a great flood comes and covers the fields. With idle time on his hands, Wang begins visiting the town's tea shop. There, he is introduced to a woman named Lotus Flower and takes her for his concubine, moving her and her servant into his house. The household further grows when Wang's uncle and aunt and their son forcibly move themselves into Wang's house. Additionally, Wang's sons marry, and they and their families live in the house. It is during this time that O-lan and Wang's elderly father both die and are buried.
