The chapter begins with Jokey Jin kotowing to Bao-yu and Qin Zhong to settle the argument between them. He comes home enraged, and his mother Widow Jin warns him not to get too haughty—they don’t have to money to afford a tutor, and she reminds him that they are lucky he got into school in the first place. She tells him, “If you get yourself thrown out of there, you needn’t think you can get in anywhere else” (217-18). Later, a relative, Mrs. Huang, becomes haughty at the knowledge that Jokey Jin has been in a fight at school, and she goes to complain to Jia Rong and Qin-shi about the problem.

While visiting with You-shi, Mrs. Huang learns that Qin-shi has fallen ill. She isn’t having her period and is listless and exhausted. You-shi is deeply concerned about Qin-shi and says that Qin-shi’s brother Qin Zhong has only stressed her body more by talking to her about his fight at school as well as the bullying done by Jokey Jin and other boys. Mrs. Huang quiets when she hears this, and the matter drops.

A new doctor, named Zhang, visits the household.