Wang Lung is now so old that he does not even know what his own family is doing and has to inquire of Cuckoo about the nature of his family, and he learns that he now has eleven grandsons and eight granddaughters. But the one thing that never leaves Wang Lung is his love for the land, for the good earth: "He had gone away from it and he had set up his house in a town and he was rich. But his roots were in his land." As he feels death drawing near, he asks his eldest son to get him a coffin and bring it to the earthen house where he will move and end his days where he was born. Taking Pear Blossom, his fool, and a few servants, he returns to the good earth which brought about the establishment of the House of Wang. Once when the eldest and second son come for a visit, he overhears them talking of selling the land and he firmly resists such talk: "Out of the land we came and into it we must go — and if you will hold your land you can live — no one can rob you of land." Consequently, from our first glimpse of Wang Lung on his wedding day, when he felt as one with the good earth and through all his trials, he hung onto his land to the very end; Wang Lung has constantly emphasized his alliance with the "good earth."
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