Mao Dun (1896-1981) published both short stories, “The Shop of the Lin Family” and “Spring Silkworms,” in 1932. “The Shop of the Lin Family” tells the story of a shop selling foreign goods in a small town in China in the 1930s, which Zhu Ziqing considers the best work written by Mao Dun. “Spring Silkworms” is about a silk weaver, Old Tong Bao, who takes very good care of his silkworms, but the armed conflicts caused by the Japanese in Shanghai on 28 January 1932 ruined his high hopes of selling the cocoons at a good price.



　　《林家鋪子》和《春蠶》可謂茅盾短篇小說的代表作。



　　《林家鋪子》原題為《倒閉》，於1932年在《申報月刊》創刊號發表時改為《林家鋪子》。朱自清說，茅盾作《林家鋪子》，「寫一個小鎮上一家洋廣貨店的故事，層層剖剝，不漏一點兒，而又委曲入情，真可算得『嚴密的分析』，私意認為這是他最佳之作。」



　　《春蠶》最初發表於1932年11月之《現代》月刊。接著茅盾又寫了《秋收》《殘冬》，構成了故事情節有連貫性的三個短篇，被稱為「農村三部曲」。《春蠶》寫農民老通寶悉心照料絲蠶，結果蠶繭收成甚豐，可是一二八事變使蠶繭供過於求，老通寶只好把蠶繭賤價而沽的故事。夏志清說，「這篇原意似在宣揚共產主義的小說，反變而為人性尊嚴的讚美詩了。」