As soon as the new plaque for the Qingniu Medical Hall was hung on Vermilion Bird Street, merchants splashed half a bucket of ink across it. The four golden characters of the medical hall were stained black, making them look like a grinning ghost-face carved by Zhang Yifan. Su Wanyue's horsewhip cracked sharply against the doorframe, startling the sparrows perched on the eaves. "Do you take Su Wanyue for someone made of paper?"
Zhang Yifan squatted on the ground, clicking his abacus. The abacus beads, flecked with ink, still snapped and clattered away. "Don't rush. Huwa has already set up his wood-carving stall in the West Market—" He suddenly looked up, his dimples appearing and vanishing in the morning light. "Right about now, he's probably selling 'anti-mildew ghost-face pendants,' giving away samples of Cyan Ox Seven with every pendant, and casually sharing the merchants' 'hoarding secrets.'"
Sure enough, a roar of laughter drifted over from the West Market. Huwa stood atop a wooden statue of a Cyan Ox, holding half a scorched wheat cake. The surface of the cake bore an ink drawing of a gap-toothed ghost-face. "Gather around, folks! Why did the merchants splash ink? They're afraid our medicinal residue fertilizer will ruin their nightsoil business!" He suddenly pulled out a small medicine jar with a horsewhip-wielding ghost-face carved into the rim. "See this? Boss Su's whip-patterned ghost-face keeps the black-hearted merchants' evil schemes in check!"
Chapter 52