The Good Earth Chapter 11 Summary

  • Everyone makes it to the South. Wang Lung pays for the ride on the firewagon, gets off, and buys some food.  
  • On the wagon, some guys were bragging about all the stuff they knew about the South, and Wang Lung was listening for all of the information he could get. By now, he knows everything he has to do. 
  • The South is totally different from Wang Lung's hometown. People talk funny, they are mean, and they look down at him. Even though Grandpa is excited, the kids are crying, and everything is crazy. 
  • Once more, O-lan calms everyone down and takes control of the situation. She's been here before, and she remembers how these things are done, so Wang Lung leaves it up to her. 
  • By now, everybody's getting pretty hungry, so they head out to the public kitchens. Wang Lung has never seen this much food before, and he doesn't even get where it all comes from. The guy tells him that rich people donate it, but that's all he knows or cares about it. 
  • The next day, Wang Lung and O-lan need some more money for rice, so O-lan starts teaching the children how to beg. As for Wang Lung, he's too proud to beg. He tries to make a living pulling a rickshaw instead. It's a little more difficult than he imagined, but in a while he has his first customer and a shiny new coin. When everyone else finds out how much Wang Lung gets paid, they make fun of him. Then he learns that he has to make a lot more money if he ever wants to get out of the South. 
  • All of the children have made some money begging. Only Grandpa is sitting with his hands empty. He figures that he has worked long enough already. It's the young people's turn now.