chapter 10-14

One night the family hears a great clamoring, a sound "like the cracking of heaven" (133). The mob has broken into the Great House. O-lan disappears and Wang Lung gets swallowed by the mob. He finds himself within the innermost chambers of the house. Here he finds a wealthy, fat, half-dressed man hiding. The man begs Wang Lung for his life in exchange for money. Wang Lung takes the money and then demands more. One thought rings through his head: "We go back to the land -- tomorrow we go back to the land!" (137)