 Yet this is a land where the Chen family will not starve; where they will be able to keep a girl baby, and not sell her into servitude as was the Old One, whose back is scarred from whippings.In their new life, there is a constant struggle to balance the new Gold Mountain ideas with the old traditions and knowledge of China.Old One doesn't like Kiam-Kim speaking English, and Kiam-Kim knows that to be without manners, without a sense of correct social ritual, is to bring dishonour to one's family.