As the sound of cicadas at Green Ox Lodge blended with the fragrance of mung bean cakes, Xiaotao squatted before the chopping board, pressing the pastries into molds. The dough figurine of Huwa atop her double buns was smudged with bean paste, and the abacus beads in her apron pocket bounced to form the character for "cake": "Brother Fan! Boss Liu says the leftover pastries can be used as abacus beads!"
Zhang Yifan rattled his abacus beads and leaned in, the beads bouncing on a mung bean cake to spell out "ledger": "Then let us test Lady Xiaotao—" He nudged three pieces of osmanthus candy with his beads, "Three pieces of candy in exchange for one mung bean cake, buy four pieces of candy and get half a cake free—how much change should be given?" Xiaotao bit her finger, the abacus beads rolling across her palm to form the word "chaos": "Four pieces of candy for one and a half cakes, you should, you should give back..."
"Wrong!" The Protagonist chuckled lightly, the beads bouncing on the pastry surface to spell "fool": "Buying four candies only requires paying for three, and half a cake is a complimentary gift—Lady Xiaotao's arithmetic is even more crooked than Huwa's carving knife." Xiaotao poutingly tapped the back of his hand with the pastry mold, but accidentally stamped a ghostly face of Huwa onto his lapel. The beads immediately bounced beside the ghost face, spelling out "asking for a beating."
Chapter 160