In this section, Wang Lung and his family are plagued with bad luck which overshadows even the good fortune of the preceding section. In Chapter 7, Wang Lung's uncle begins to be the "trouble which Wang Lung had surmised from the beginning that he might be." Throughout this section, the uncle takes advantage of the claims of relationship which he holds over Wang Lung by asking him for a dowry for his daughter in Chapter 7 and for food during the drought in Chapter 8.
To justify these demands, the uncle calls himself a "man of evil destiny." Here, he brings this evil to Wang Lung's house. By the end of Chapter 7, Wang Lung is struck with a sense of evil as his third child is born a daughter, one who does not belong to her parents, but is "born and reared for other families." Chapter 7 is concluded by the "evil omen" of a flock of crows.
Drought in Chapter 8 plagues the whole village. Again the uncle brings trouble to the family of Wang Lung with claims of "filial impiety" and rumors that Wang Lung is hoarding food. O-lan is again with child, a child which Wang Lung especially dreads as the famine intensifies. It is declared fortunate that it dies soon after birth. Now we see an angry Wang Lung, cursing the Old Man in Heaven, spitting on the gods at the temple of earth, but defiantly hanging onto life for himself and his family.
After the first year's drought, Wang Lung sells his meager harvest immediately instead of saving it to sell when the prices go up during the winter. With the profit, he buys another piece of land and does not tell even O-lan about it. This time, when he goes to see the agent for the House of Hwang, Wang Lung is placed on a position closer to equality because the House of Hwang is in desperate need of money. Consequently, the "evil times" have made the two families more equal.
