Back in Highland Park, Abner faces an increasingly scarce, as well as “lazy and shiftless” (78), labor force. His elderly parents have also moved in after his father was fired from his job. The children appear to prefer their “gentle and kind” grandmother over their “peevish” mother, which leads to conflicts between Milly and her mother-in-law, especially over Hank, who is now 11 and “beginning to display the uncontrolled nature which was to cause unhappiness to himself and his parents” (79).

Abner decides that it is normal both for women to quarrel and for boys to be disobedient, and decides not to worry. His wages have increased again, but so have consumer prices. Although the family now owns a car, Abner has been unable to fulfill his dream of buying inexpensive vegetables in the countryside at the weekend, as the farmers have raised their prices, too. The children, who have never experienced hunger and do not have to work, are accustomed to material comfort, but Abner feels that hard times could come again.

Ford’s factory is flourishing, making a new Model T every 25 seconds, and he has expanded into a wide variety of industries, gaining control of raw materials and manufacturing his own steel, iron ore, coal, glass, rubber and cement.