The morning mist had not yet cleared in Cyan Ox Village when Su Wanyue's carriage was blocked at the village entrance by a pack camel. Old Cyan Ox was flicking its tail and chewing on medicinal dregs, a "mosquito-repelling ghost-face" newly carved by Huwa hanging from its horns. At the sight of a stranger, it let out a "moo" that rattled the carriage shafts so hard they shook.
"Forgive the scare, Proprietor Su." Zhang Yifan laughed as he pulled the old ox away. The ghost-face wood carving on its horns was still stained with fresh mint juice. "This old ox ate medicinal dregs mixed with sulfur, and it's drunk enough to dance a plowing jig. Look at its hooves—" The old ox snorted, its hooves stamping a crooked smiling face into the bluestone slabs, looking for all the world as though it had been laid out with abacus beads.
Passing the old locust tree, Su Wanyue was startled by the wood carvings hanging from the branches. Beneath every locust leaf hung a miniature ghost-face, some holding medicine hoes, others cradling abacus beads, glowing with a warm sheen in the morning dew. "To keep the bugs away," Zhang Yifan said, stroking the abacus beads at his waist. "Locust leaves attract aphids. If you carve some 'hoe-wielding ghost-faces,' the bugs see them and think the Earth God is watching."
Chapter 51