At three-quarters past the Mao hour, the scent of sesame flatbreads drifted across Chang'an Street. Zhang Yifan strolled through the West Market, casually swinging his Abacus Bead Pouch, while Huwa squatted on his shoulder, carving a "market-guarding grimace." The abacus beads fixed their gaze on Daoist Master Yuqing's Daoist robe. Today, she had changed into a light gray brocade robe, the cuffs embroidered with the abacus bead pattern Huwa had recently carved, while the "procurement portrait" abacus bead on her wooden hairpin playfully licked the corner of an invoice with its tongue.
"The Daoist Master's cuffs are even more eye-catching than my abacus bead pouch," he chuckled, and the beads bounced into the character for "bright" amidst her sleeves. Yuqing glared at him, her whisk sweeping past a roadside cosmetics stall. "The Daoist robes of my temple have been turned into fabric samples by you—Miss Xiao even embroidered the words 'Daoist Affinity' on the collar."
"This is called 'the integration of Dao and commerce,'" Zhang Yifan's abacus beads bounced into the shape of an embroidery needle. "When the spring uniforms for the Yi School are finished, every student will wear 'Daoist Affinity Brocade,' making them living billboards—" He suddenly pointed toward the silk shop belonging to the Hu merchant Ali. "Look, Ali has already put the 'Daoist Cloud Pattern' fabric in the prime spot."
Chapter 132