When the dark clouds of Cyan Ox Village pressed down upon the terraced fields, the old village chief's tobacco pipe tapped out a rapid rhythm against the Abacus-Bead Measuring Tool, the beads leaping across his palm to form the Chinese character for "Rain": "Lad Zhang! The forecast says a torrential downpour is coming, and Cyan Ox Seven is afraid of waterlogging!" Zhang Yifan shook his abacus beads as he looked toward the horizon, the beads bouncing beneath the dark clouds to form the character for "Sparse": "Waterlogging is nothing to fear, we have the 'Abacus-Bead Drainage Technique'—" He chuckled softly, the beads rolling along the field ridges to form the character for "Ditch": "Digging ditches is just like working an abacus, three beads up and four down, clear methods for channeling water."
Moli frowned as she clutched her wolf-hair brush: "Wait a moment, you rascal!" The abacus beads immediately leaped to the tip of her brush, spelling out the character for "Illustration": "My 'Drainage Manga' isn't finished yet!" Before her voice had even faded, the beads were already bounding across the fields to form the character for "River", the spacing between each trench measuring exactly three feet, looking for all the world like a water network strung together from abacus beads. The old village chief widened his eyes: "Goodness gracious! The abacus beads are even faster than our old hoes!"
At three quarters past the hour of Wei, with the torrential rain pouring down, Xiaotao …
Chapter 178