At the third watch of the Mao hour, the Dreamweaving House was filled with the fragrance of roasted chestnuts in sugar. Pei Hongxiu slammed the sheepskin wager down onto the Populus euphratica wood table, pointing her ivory comb at the share quota for the "Tea-Horse Trading": "Yifan, if you can get the Qiang Village Chieftain to sign this contract within three days, I will..." She chuckled softly, her golden hairpin tracing a cunning arc in the morning light. "I'll gift you a box of Persian rosewater. I hear Miss Xiao loves this scent."
Zhang Yifan flicked his gilded abacus beads, which bounced across the wager to spell the word "Difficult": "Is Boss Pei trying to use reverse psychology? The Qiang Village Chieftain despises the stench of a merchant's copper coins. I need to win the contract with 'sincerity'—" He leaned in suddenly, his warm breath brushing against the tip of her ear. "However, I'll gladly accept the rosewater, and I'll thank you on behalf of Moli."
Pei Hongxiu's earlobes instantly turned crimson, and her ivory comb struck the abacus beads hard. "Scoundrel! If you can't produce the contract in three days, you'll be my errand boy for three days!" Huwa immediately carved a little figure holding a horse whip on the edge of the wager, the abacus beads gazing toward the Qiang Village: "Brother Fan, don't worry! Huwa's carved 'contract-protecting ghost face' will keep an eye on the Chieftain's beard!"
Chapter 114