In this chapter, we are introduced to a number of characters who have been introduced previously in the novel. The first of these characters is Hu Jin, who has been introduced in Chapter 1 as a young man who has fallen in love with Madame Bovary. The second character is Ren Zhengfei, who was introduced in Chapters 1 and 2 as a child who has come to live with his family in Shanghai. The third character is also introduced, and we are told that he is Ren's father. The fourth character is a young woman who is introduced as the daughter of a prominent family. The fifth character is an older woman who has also been introduced. The sixth character is introduced, who is also a young girl who has just come to meet her father.