The summer heat of the canal baked the boat's awning until it felt scorching. Zhang Yifan's team of Wooden Oxen had just rounded the ancient Guazhou Ferry when the vermilion lacquer on the oxen's bodies caught a swarm of mosquitoes—the candied hawthorn juice that Huwa had mixed into the lacquer had drawn the insects, and their buzzing drowned out the clicking of the Wooden Oxen's gears.
"You little rascal!" Zhang Yifan chased away the mosquitoes with his abacus. "I told you to mix insect-repellent lacquer, so why did you brew a bowl of sweet soup instead?" Huwa hid inside the belly of a Wooden Ox, clutching half a string of melted candied hawthorns. "Brother Fan doesn't understand! Flower mosquitoes are afraid of spice, so I mixed Yangzhou chili powder into the sweet soup. The bugs will cough their lungs out once they drink it!"
Xiaoxiu had just hung her sweet-osmanthus sachet at the bow when a swarm of bees surrounded it. Furious, she chased Huwa around the deck. "Did you soak my sachet in a sugar jar? These bees are even more stubborn than the mosquitoes!" Huwa dodged and shoved a mint candy into the ox's mouth. "Don't worry! I've equipped the Wooden Ox with a 'refreshing ox tongue'. One lick, and all the bugs will run for their lives!" Before he finished speaking, the Wooden Ox let out a strange moo, and its tail flicked out a mixture of chili powder and mint scent, startling the bees into crashing against the river's surface.
Chapter 38