The morning mist over West Lake was laced with the fragrance of Longjing tea as Zhang Yifan’s Wooden Ox convoy stepped onto the Broken Bridge. The hooves made a steady clack-clack sound against the bluestone slabs, jolting Huwa awake from his nap on the ox’s back. Huwa was busy using Longjing tea leaves to weave ghost-faced grass rings for the Wooden Ox, leaving tea crumbs scattering down the ox’s face.
"You little rascal!" Zhang Yifan approached, clicking his abacus. "Are you feeding the tea merchant's tribute to the cattle?"
Huwa held up half a string of unfinished tea-leaf rings, the leaves still dusted with powdered sugar. "Brother Fan, look! Tea fragrance and ghost faces—bugs will definitely mistake these for the Mountain God's afternoon tea!"
Chapter 40