The morning mist of Mount Zhongnan, laden with the aroma of apricot preserves, drifted into the Yi School. Zhang Yifan shook his Abacus Bead Pouch as he pushed open the classroom door, only to find Daoist Master Yuqing frowning at a mountain of apricot preserves. Her grey robe was dusted with powdered sugar, and the little abacus bead figurine on her wooden hairpin was biting into half an apricot slice—clearly the handiwork of Huwa.
"Is the Daoist Master planning to open a dried fruit shop?" His abacus beads bounced across the pile of preserves to spell out the word "sweet." Yuqing glared at him, her horsetail whisk sweeping away the sugary syrup stuck to the table. "The apricot harvest in the Wishing Forest was bountiful, and Huwa went and made them all into preserves!" Huwa squatted on the windowsill, carving a "Heart-Protecting Ghost Face," his abacus-bead eyes fixed on an apricot pit. "Brother Fan said apricot preserves can keep for half a year, which is better than candied fruit!"
"Splendid!" Zhang Yifan's abacus beads bounced into the shape of an abacus. "This humble one suggests we divide the apricot preserves into three tiers: 'Dao Heart Apricot Preserve' (plain sugar), 'Mortal World Apricot Preserve' (honey-glazed), and 'Fate-Bound Apricot Preserve' (stuffed with walnuts), priced respectively at thirty wen, fifty wen, and one guan." Yuqing raised an eyebrow, the tip of her whisk tapping the "Fate-Bound Apricot Preserve." "Why is that the most expensive?"
Chapter 127