Wang Lung is a young farmer living with his widowed father. On his wedding day, he prepares to meet his bride for the first time. He’s marrying a girl who serves the matron of a great house. Wang Lung goes to a barber, who shaves his head except for his traditional hair braid. He buys food for his wedding guests and incense for a rain offering.

When he walks to the House of Hwang, the doorman asks for a bribe to take him to see Mistress Hwang. Wang Lung has never been in such a massive house. The elderly mistress, who smokes opium continually, keeps losing her place in their conversation. Eventually, she brings in a 20-year-old girl, O-lan, whom she purchased from her parents during a famine when she was 10. The mistress represents O-lan as a kitchen cook who isn’t bright, is probably a virgin, and is obedient and good-tempered.

They leave together in silence, Wang Lung walking in front of O-lan. When they arrive at the small farmhouse where he lives, Wang Lung’s father ignores the new woman, as per traditional custom. Wang Lung takes her to the kitchen and orders her to prepare a meal for his friends and relatives.