At the end of Chapter 2, O-lan announced that she was "with child." Beginning with Chapter 3, Wang Lung immediately begins to assume that the child will be a "man child." As we are soon to learn, a girl child was considered a burden, if not a disgrace, whereas a man child was a benefit to the family. This concept develops mainly out of Chinese customs and their religion of ancestor worship. If a man has sons, he never has to worry — his sons will take care of him. Furthermore, this belief is so strong that a son has virtually no rights of his own as long as his father is alive. Even Wang Lung's uncle can bully or hit Wang Lung, and, according to religion and custom, Wang Lung can do nothing but accept this relationship status. We know that he secretly resents his uncle, but, publicly, he cannot oppose him.
O-lan's character is further developed in these chapters. Previously, we saw her working side by side with Wang Lung while, at the same time, taking care of the house and cooking. Now we see that she works in the fields until she comes into labor. We see that she is a very proud woman because she refuses to have anyone from the House of Hwang help her during childbirth. Wang Lung tells her that even his own mother had help during childbirth, but she stubbornly refuses to have anyone help her. The only help she requests is a newly peeled and slit reed to "cut the child's life from mine." Even in the midst of labor, she takes time to prepare food for Wang Lung and his father. It is now that Wang Lung discovers that "she was a woman such as is not commonly found." She then retires to the room to give birth to her baby, and she even cleans up after giving birth before she calls Wang Lung to come and see his man child. Early in the novel, then, Pearl Buck establishes O-lan as an exceptional person, one who is proud, independent, stubborn, and resourceful.
With the help of O-lan, their resourcefulness and frugality begin to pay off. Unlike most other women, O-lan makes their own shoes, she repairs all of the broken pots, and she mends the clothing while Wang Lung is repairing the tools and mending the farm equipment. In terms of food, O-lan is an expert at making a little bit go a long way. Wang Lung is pleased that he does not have to spend money on fuel because O-lan collects wood, and the land is improved because she collects the droppings of horses and donkeys in the road.
