Bab 269: Servant of the Axe - Hearth Week, part II

Chapter Type: Minor Character Development

"Actually," Tang Ning said, "Nui has an interesting story."

"I really don't." Nui Ping said.

"If I must command you to speak, I'll order you to use the voices." Meng Wa said.

Don't ask me; to this day I don't know about the voices.

"All right, I'll tell it again."  He took a breath, as though before walking across a path of hot coals.  "I was born to the farmer caste; mother wove baskets, and mats, and the like.  She trained me on jute.  That's a plant that most regard as a weed.  People don't work with it because it creases easily and has no structural strength.  Also, the fact that the stalks are irregular means that it's just terrible for fabric."

"Anyway, jute is regarded as a plant to train on so that you can work with other, better, materials later in life.  But, you see…"