When the Persian textile shop in the Chang'an East Market hoisted its sign reading "Persian Qingniu Colors," Abbas still had lime powder clinging to his beard. The abacus beads on his gem-studded belt buckle clicked and rearranged themselves into the characters for "Fool": "Listen up, people of Tang! My dyes are much more vibrant than Qingniu Colors!" Pei Hongxiu twirled an abacus-patterned fabric-inspection lamp and chuckled, "Lord Abbas, I'm afraid that 'vibrant' is more like 'making a spectacle' of yourself?"
Zhang Yifan strolled past swinging an abacus, the beads on his cuffs spelling out "Fading": "Behold the abacus-edition 'Rainbow Show'—" Before he could finish, the display fabric in front of the shop suddenly seeped multicolored water stains. The beads bounced through the flowing water to form the words "Foreign merchant talking nonsense," which miraculously spelled out "Bungling barbarian." Passersby gasped in shock, "Why has the fabric turned into a spotted cat?"
Xiao Moli swung her brush to paint "Abacus Fading the Foreign Merchant," and the abacus beads instantly leaped onto her painting, altering the merchant's sign to read "Persian Faded-Color Textile Shop." Abbas turned pale with rage: "Impossible! I used ten catties of lime—" The beads promptly jumped onto his mouth, spelling out "Dummy": "Using lime for dyeing is better off used for whitewashing walls!"
Chapter 202