Summary

Hang begins university and despite their disagreements, she still lives with her mother. Her mother is not doing well in her business and she and Hang eat very little. She continues to sell goods from the house to buy the little cabbage they do eat. Hang grows very thin and weak. One day she tells her mother she wants to sell some of the gold rings her aunt gave her to buy food for them and get the roof fixed. Hang’s mother is furious and will not allow it. Aunt Tam shows up and is angry at Hang’s mother for allowing Hang to starve. She provides a feast for Hang , but tells her mother nothing she gives Hang can be used for her family’s benefit. The aunt asks for the rings back and after a long absence looking for them, Hang’s mother...