…the coolies could be seen languidly pursuing the only two occupations known to the Chinese peasant: to wit, standing stock-still up to the knees in paddy-water holding a bullock on a rope, or shifting mud very slowly from one point to another. Deny them these employments, and they would simply lie down and die, which a good many of them seemed to do anyway.
Flashman and the Dragon, p.19, Fontana Paperback edition, 1986.
Tags: Flashman, Flashman quotes, occupation.
