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1. How is Zhu described?

Zhu is the family's second daughter, and she is about ten years of age. She has a wide forehead that does not have the roundness that makes children look cute. She has the look of a brown locust.

2. What happened to the elm trees?

The elms had once been beautiful. After the harvest failed the third time, the peasants had discovered that the elms could be butchered and eaten.

3. In Chapter 1, what does Zhu cook and how much of it does she get to eat?

Zhu's father brings in a melon and tells her to cook it. She puts the melon into the pot with a scatter of yellow beans. She cooks it as long as the wood lasts. Her father and brother serve themselves. When Zhu is served, there are only beans and water in her bowl.

4. How does Zhu's father die?

Three bandits come to the hut the Zhu family shares. They ask Zhu's father for any food he has hidden. He gives them a clay jar of food, and they get angry wanting more. Zhu's father offers the bandit Zhu, but the bandit calls her garbage. The bandits find more food, and Zhu's father falls to the floor. The bandit kicks him in the ribs. When the bandits leave Zhu's father is dead from his beating.

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