The novel opens on Wang Lung's wedding day. Wang is a Chinese peasant farmer who lives with his father; his mother died six years earlier. His intended bride, O-lan, is a slave in the prosperous House of Hwang. Wang walks to the House of Hwang, where he is embarrassed by his shabby appearance, and collects O-lan after appearing before the Ancient Mistress of the House. The couple returns to Wang's farm, where O-lan prepares dinner for guests — including Wang's unnamed uncle and the uncle's unnamed son — invited to celebrate the wedding. Later that night, Wang and O-lan consummate their marriage.
Over the next few months following their marriage, O-lan tends the house and joins Wang in cultivating the fields. We learn at the end of Chapter 2 that she is pregnant. The events of her pregnancy are skipped over, and we soon find O-lan ready to deliver her baby; she asks Wang for nothing except a newly peeled reed, slit, so that she may cut the baby's umbilical cord. She delivers a son and soon rejoins Wang in working the fields. The harvest is prosperous, and Wang and O-lan are able to hide silver dollars from the harvest in their house.
On the second day of the New Year, Wang and O-lan, dressed in new clothes that O-lan has sewed, take their son to the House of Hwang to present him to the Ancient Mistress. Their appearance of prosperity is in stark contrast to Wang's appearance the first time he visited the House. O-lan relates to Wang her suspicion that the great House of Hwang is having financial difficulties, so much so that the House is looking to sell a portion of its land. With the silver coins from their previous harvest, Wang purchases the land. Soon thereafter, O-lan delivers a second son. Along with this second son comes another prosperous harvest, even better than before, and Wang and O-lan again are able to stash silver in their house.
At the same time that O-lan is delivering yet another child — a girl this time — Wang's uncle approaches Wang and cajoles Wang into giving him silver to be used as a dowry for his eldest daughter. Wang resists giving the money to his uncle, who is a despicable character, but out of guilt — and the threat of blackmail of his good name — Wang acquiesces.
