The Rent Collector: Chapter Twenty-Two Summary & Analysis

Carrying Nisay, Sang Ly and Ki walk an hour from the road to the river, and then hire a boat to take them to her old village, where they find Uncle Keo and Auntie waiting for them. Sang Ly fills Auntie and Uncle Keo in on news of Stung Meanchey and Lena, but when she is about to tell them about Sopeap, she cannot bring herself to speak of her lessons. Uncle Keo tells Sang Ly that the Healer is away for a couple days, but in the meantime they can stay in his other house, where his mother-in-law lives, though she won’t be happy to share her space. True to form, the old woman scowls at Ki and Sang Ly, though Sang Ly hopes she can soften the old woman with a story.

The next day, Ki finds work helping a local rice farmer plant his crops while Sang Ly takes care of Nisay. He was especially sick the night before, and Uncle Keo’s mother-in-law is clearly displeased with the living arrangement. Sang Ly takes Nisay to the riverbank to watch the water buffalo for a while before making her way to the Healer’s home. There, Sang Ly finds the Healer’s wife, who tells her that the Healer will meet her back there in two days.

As Sang Ly returns, she smells smoke, and is horrified to find the mother-in-law cooking rice on her stove, using Sang Ly’s leather storybook as fuel. Sang Ly, in a combination of rage and terror, snatches the book away, but many pages have already been torn out and burned. Uncle Keo apologizes for the old woman, explaining that she is old and did not realize that anyone in the village could even read. When Sang Ly, in tears, bitterly remarks that she should replace it, Uncle Keo answers that there are no books in the village.

The next morning, Auntie asks Sang Ly to accompany her down to the river while she does laundry, potentially just to keep her away from Keo’s mother-in-law. Auntie remarks that she still talks to Lena by phone sometimes, and says that though she is proud of Sang Ly’s reading, she is also worried that she will take a job outside of Stung Meanchey and leave her behind. Sang Ly implies that she’d rather live somewhere like this village, where it is more peaceful, but Auntie reminds her that there is poverty and ugliness here just the same as Stung Meanchey. Stung Meanchey, she says, is like a durian fruit—which, though it stinks, is Cambodia’s tastiest and most nutritious fruit. Although Sang Ly disagrees, Auntie argues that perhaps the dump is where she belongs, and that even there one may find beauty in life.