Scene 6 is set in "the 'private dining room' on the upper floor of a cheap restaurant in a poor section of town." Shen Te is there with her wedding guests: some of the family that has been taking advantage of her, the unemployed man, and Mrs. Shin. Yang Sunand Mrs. Yang, his mother, are removed from the crowd and have a secret conversation in which Yang reveals to his mother that Shen Te has said she can't sell the shop for him because of the loan from the old couple. His mother says, "Of course you can't marry her now," and he replies that since there is nothing in writing, he will try to reason with Shui Ta about it. Mrs. Yang leaves to go look for Shui Ta.
Shen Te finds Yang Sun and they have a toast "to the future," casually joking about what their marriage will be like. Mrs. Yang returns without Shui Ta, and the Priest who has been waiting to marry the couple gets up to leave. Mrs. Yang says loudly to Shen Te that she doesn't know where Shui Ta could be, revealing to Shen Te that the three hundred silver dollars is still important to Yang Sun and his mother: without the money, negotiated by Shui Ta, Yang Sun will not marry her. They decide to wait another fifteen minutes for Shui Ta.
Mrs. Yang announces to the guests that Yang Sun has been hired as a mail pilot in Peking, and that she and he are moving there. When Shen Te asks Yang Sun to let his mother down easily, he says that he doesn't agree; he still wants to move to Peking and when Shui Ta arrives, he will negotiate with him to get the money he needs from Shen Te.
At this point, Shen Te tells Yang Sun that Shui Ta will not bring the three hundred silver dollars, since he told her that Yang Sun bought only one ticket to Peking, revealing that she knows about the conversation he had with her "cousin" the day before. However, Yang Sun shows her two tickets; he tells her that they will have to leave his mother behind.
The waiter enters and asks if they want another pitcher of wine. When Mrs....