As the sound of abacus beads clicking drifted from the Yi School on the outskirts of Chang'an, Huwa was handing out abacus beads carved into miniature figures to the village children. The beads bounced in the palm of each child, forming the character "Fun." "These were bought with the money from selling Human-grade cloth!" one child exclaimed, biting down on an abacus bead. "It's sweet!" The bead instantly transformed into the character "Shy," leaving a blue crystal pattern on his lapel that read, "Biting beads is forbidden."
Zhang Yifan strolled into the classroom wearing Human-grade Coarse Cloth. The abacus beads bounced onto the "Qingniu Protects Agriculture" label, forming the character "Plow." "For every *zhang* of this cloth sold, one *wen* is donated to the abacus fund—" The beads leaped into the *Classic of Abacus* on the podium, spelling out "Book." "This year, the Yi School has twenty more kids, all thanks to you buying cloth!" A peasant woman carrying a roll of cloth laughed heartily, "Buying books for the kids is more worthwhile than feeding the oxen!"
Xiao Moli pinched a wolf-hair brush to write a plaque for the classroom, and the abacus beads instantly leaped to the tip of the brush, changing "Plow and Read to Pass Down the Family" to "Bead-Plowing and Bead-Reading." Pei Hongxiu chuckled as she leafed through the abacus ledger. "Has the young man calculated? Though the profit on Human-grade cloth is thin, it has made the Chang'an cloth merchants follow suit an…
Chapter 214