The chapter opens with a flashback to the Lin family's house, which was mortgaged to pay off the family debt after the parents' deaths. The chapter's epigraph is from a newspaper clipping, which describes the family as being in financial trouble. The newspaper clipping shows the Lins holding a box that contains a movie ticket, a train ticket, and a hairpin. The hairpin is a gift from Mr. Lin to his daughter, who is named Olivia.