ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at families that have successfully expanded their undertakings to see how they align production decisions with family labor. Large mirrored wardrobes in the bedrooms of his sons reflect the family's new affluence as do the pedal operated sewing machines that each married woman uses to repair clothing. Wang Laixiong knows well the pitfalls of holding together a large extended family, having grown up in one himself. Families, like rivers, build up to the point that they press outward, and eventually break through the dikes built to contain them. While Laixiong's son stresses the advantages of family integrity, his wife sees more promise in family division. The Lins had built a sizable family by the time the responsibility system came into force, which entitled them to more animals than most. Danning herself had been little affected by family planning and had never made any effort to limit the number of children she had.
