As a simple peasant, Wang Lung has no consistent religious pattern in his life. Instead, he uses various aspects of several religions. Mainly, however, he is concerned with superstitions and evil omens. When he thinks in Chapter 5 that he is too lucky to have such a child, he begins to refer to the child as an ugly girl because the evil spirits will not be interested in a mere girl. These fears come to Wang Lung as a result of the rumors that the House of Hwang is in trouble. He therefore wants to ward off any evil spirits which might affect his rise.
By the end of Chapter 6, O-lan has given birth to a second son, and Wang Lung does not feel the need this time to celebrate because he now realizes that O-lan has brought him exceptional good fortune and that there will be sons every year. Note here, too, that the harvest is better than ever, and the piece of rice land that he bought from the House of Hwang yielded much more than his own land.
