Hey, Qingniu Valley is having a "saltpeter shortage" today! Old Qian stomped his feet while hugging an empty saltpeter sack. "Sanzhu! The saltpeter shops in Chang'an have been bought out by the nobility, and our cold storage cellars are about to turn into 'warm cellars'!" Shaking with a clatter, Sanzhu transformed into an icicle and projected an image right at the mouth of the sack: "What's there to panic about? Sanzhu is taking you on the 'Winter Glacier Adventure'—the river ice in the Qinling Mountains is harder than Huwa's thick skull!"
"Xiaoxiu! Bring out our 'abacus-bead winter coats'!" At a shout from Xiao Moli, Old Zhou huffed and puffed as he carried in sheepskin coats embroidered with the Abacus Code. "Sanzhu says we'll 'use ice to fight ice—it's eco-friendly and saves money'!" With that, Sanzhu drove Huwa's sled across the frozen river surface, carving out an ice-harvesting zone shaped like an abacus bead with a scraping screech, and finally projected a warning on the ice: "Harvest ice with caution, and don't be like Huwa chewing on icicles." Huwa, who had indeed been licking an icicle, hastily pulled his tongue back in fright.
While everyone was busy, a herb farmer shoved a piece of river ice straight into the drying kiln. "Sanzhu! Why is this ice melting the more it gets roasted?" Sanzhu swooped up to the top of the kiln in a flash, projecting the "Abacus-Bead Anti-Common-Sense Classroom": "Idiot! River ice belongs in the cold storage cellar; the drying kiln is …
Chapter 335