When the Abacus-Bead Lanterns of Green Ox Valley hung thick across the herb-drying yard, the inaugural "Pearl Covenant Literary Gathering" was in full, boisterous swing. Herb farmers clutching abacus-bead poetry drafts and pharmacology scrolls were packing the threshold. On one old man's draft, the abacus beads actually bounced among the characters for "Rhodiola," sparking a wave of medicinal fragrance that drew butterflies fluttering around the paper. Xiao Moli waved an abacus-bead brush and laughed, "No imperial examinations today—we're only comparing 'Pearl Covenant Life!'" The beads immediately bounced into the character for "exam," revealing an image of Huwa's carving of an abacus bead wearing a square scholar's cap amidst his hair.
"Look at my *Chart of the Four Seasons of the Pearl Covenant*!" Old Qian, the farmer, unrolled a scroll. The abacus beads actually leaped into the picture, animating the "Spring Plowing" page with ploughing abacus beads, while the "Autumn Harvest" page burst into a golden formation of grain mounds. A certain young scholar curled his lip. "Nothing more than artisan tricks..." The beads instantly bounced into the character for "contempt," embroidering a small chili pepper on his cuff along with the verse, "Pedantic vinegar-drenching hypocrisy, may abacus beads pierce your throat." Old Qian scratched his head. "I don't know how to read; the abacus beads helped me match the poem!" The scroll itself emitted the crisp sound of abacus beads: "Plant…
Chapter 280