The chapter opens with a flashback to 1899, the year of wang di's birth and death. Coincidentally, this is also the year that the reincarnation ceremony will take place. The narrator tells us that this will be the first time that a person born in 1899 will be reborn in the year 1900, which is the year after his or her death. In other words, this will mark the end of the old world and the beginning of the new world. The old world is the world of the dead, while the new one is the one of the living. . The chapter ends with a description of the feast that will be held in honor of the upcoming reincarnation ceremony. It is a feast of roast pork, salted chicken, roasted pork, char siu , and other delicacies. The food is so good that the narrator is sure that it will be a success. Cang and his friend, ox-head, are also in attendance. They are going to a new garden villa bought for their friend's birthday this year. The two men are dressed up for the occasion, and cang is wearing a fine damask jacquard coat. He asks his friend if he can change it for him, and the two men do so. The brothers decide to sit next to each other, so that cang can talk to the spiritual king alone. He tells him that wang shi, his student's mother, is on the list of those who will be reincarnated in the next reincarnation ceremony, and he asks him if she is the mother of a student of his. She is not, he tells him, because she is not the kind of person to be reborn