Chapter 16: Filthy to the Point of Nausea

A fierce roar or not, the night passed quietly.

No one dared to cause trouble.

Having just arrived, he hadn’t had a moment to rest, constantly laboring.

That night, Su Yanwen slept deeply.

He didn’t know when dawn broke.

A faint noise roused him from his heavy sleep.

After days of endless snow, the sun finally shone today.

Zhao Yue’e and Cao’er woke early; Cao’er wasn’t at home, but Zhao Yue’e stayed by his side.

The coarse cloth on his hand was untied, revealing a horrifying wound beneath.

Without any anti-inflammatory medicine, the wound exuded a foul stench—no wonder it hurt so much.

“Bear with it, I’ll clean it up for you,” Zhao Yue’e said, trying to cup some cooled boiled water with her hands to wash it.

But her fingers were rough from long hours of labor.

Even though Su Yanwen endured silently, the moment the wound was touched, pain made his body tremble.

“Did you add salt to this water?” he asked.

Zhao Yue’e sounded anxious, whispering, “If the wound isn’t cleaned, it will fester and cause death.”

“Luckily Cao’er brought back some salt.”

Even in Su Yanwen’s world, where medical resources were scarce, bacterial infection was the greatest fear.

Saltwater indeed had disinfectant properties; in times of material scarcity, it was a valuable remedy.

“Hold on, salt is precious—don’t waste a drop,” she explained, moving carefully to minimize his pain.

The sting of the saltwater intensified the pain, and Su Yanwen gripped the chair’s armrest tightly with his other hand.

After cleaning, she replaced the dressing with freshly boiled, clean cloth.

“Thank you,” Su Yanwen said sincerely.

Zhao Yue’e paused in her movements, then said quietly, “Cao’er hopes you survive.”

Is that so?

“Ha, then you can rest assured,” Su Yanwen scratched his head shamelessly. “They say trouble lives a thousand years; even that old witch Miao Qin is still kicking around. I should live another five hundred years for sure.”

Zhao Yue’e smiled at that.

When she smiled, the curve of her lips was just right, her bright eyes curved like crescent moons, resembling a blooming peony.

Su Yanwen couldn’t help but praise, “You look beautiful when you smile.”

Suddenly, Zhao Yue’e stopped smiling.

She turned and resumed her chores.

Usually, when Su Yanwen exaggerated compliments toward someone, it meant he had an ulterior motive.

The safest way to be around a scoundrel was to hide beauty.

When she leaned over the water jar to scoop water, Zhao Yue’e couldn’t help but glance at her reflection on the surface, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

Who doesn’t love beauty?

It was just that the environment did not permit it.

After glancing at the sky outside and estimating the time, Zhao Yue’e began preparing a meal.

She cooked all the remaining food together; though scarce, her skillful hands made it look decent.

While cooking, Zhao Yue’e even scooped a small spoonful of the saltwater used to clean the wound into the pot.

“What are you doing?” Su Yanwen was stunned.

He couldn’t help but shout loudly, “That’s filthy! It’s mixed with pus and blood…”

Recalling the scene of wound cleaning just now nearly made him vomit.

Zhao Yue’e looked puzzled, frowning as she explained, “That’s salt; of course, we have to save it.”

“I’ll only put a little in the pot. Later I’ll see if I can find some wild vegetables to pickle, so the saltwater won’t spoil, and we can eat it slowly.”

She spoke so earnestly, even with a slight smile at the corner of her mouth.

Su Yanwen felt sick to his stomach.

Though he understood such conditions made this normal,

he, a modern man who had never lacked food or comfort—a wealthy man from a world of plenty—could not accept it.

He simply couldn’t.

“Husband, do you want some saltwater first? That way you’ll have strength,” Zhao Yue’e said, noticing his gaze fixed on the saltwater, scooping some up with a spoon and offering it to Jiang Beichen.

Dirty particles floated conspicuously in the liquid.

“Ugh!”

Su Yanwen felt utterly disgusted.

He snatched the bowl and threw the saltwater outside.

“It’s just a little salt! What’s the big deal? Can’t we at least have something clean to eat?”

Zhao Yue’e’s smile vanished instantly.

She knelt on the ground, her face ashen, hands caressing the saltwater frozen into the ice.

Tears fell uncontrollably.

Biting her teeth hard, she realized some natures were impossible to change.

She shouldn’t have deluded herself into thinking Su Yanwen would change.

Crying again?

Su Yanwen was no good at comforting women.

Likely, if he ate well, she would stop crying.

He grabbed his hook and headed out to find food.

The whole village had heard about Su Yanwen catching fish yesterday.

Today, the river was full of fishermen.

Not a single one caught anything.

Driven to desperation, some even tried fishing with their heads.

“Hey!”

Su Yanwen checked his pockets; too many people around, nothing in there was useful.

He had heard that the village chief was searching everywhere for rhubarb; the dogs had been poisoned by medicine, making their meat inedible.

At that time, Zeng Tianba and his group were terrified, leaving without caring for the dead dogs.

Now, days later, they wanted to bury them properly, but no trace of the dogs remained.

Old Su reached the riverbank.

He attracted some attention.

But almost everyone just cast lazy glances and murmured a few words.

They all looked listless.

Watching them punch holes in the ice, their movements were sluggish; one man even slammed the ice a few times and fell headfirst.

He was just a starving, emaciated man, weighing under a hundred pounds, needing three people to barely support him.

“Old Su, what are you looking at?” a voice came from beside him. It was Da Lang.

Su Yanwen frowned and sneered, “Are all the men of this era such weaklings?”

Da Lang was confused.

Why was Old Su speaking so strangely now? Was he really possessed by the snow ghost, as the rumors said?

“I mean, men nowadays are so fragile, listless, and without even the strength to hold a chicken.”

Su Yanwen tried to use words they could understand.

Da Lang suddenly understood, smiling bitterly, “Maybe in a few days, I’ll be like this too.”

“Why?” Su Yanwen asked, puzzled.

Others aside, Da Lang’s household had a capable wife and at least some food.

“This is due to a long lack of salt. No strength in the body; drowsiness is just the beginning,” Da Lang said bitterly.

“In the years of famine, the summer drought left us with no harvest; then the winter brought heavy snow. Even those with money exchanged it all for food.”

“Who still has salt?”

He lowered his head after saying that.

“My family has been out of salt for over ten days.”

“The situation isn’t optimistic.”

“My wife told me to eat salty food to conserve my strength. She and the children haven’t had any salt for a long time.”

No wonder Zhao Yue’e consumed such filthy saltwater.

Guilt surged.

He took Da Lang to a less crowded spot to fish.

Upon returning home, Cao’er was there.

Zhao Yue’e’s pant legs were rolled high, and so were Cao’er’s.

Nearby, a basin held a murky, foul-smelling water; Zhao Yue’e was using it to rub Cao’er’s legs.

“Daddy!”

As soon as he stepped inside, Cao’er’s clear voice rang out.

Hurriedly she said, “Daddy, look! Mommy’s legs are so fun.”

She placed her small palm on Zhao Yue’e’s leg; the flesh slowly sank beneath the pressure, revealing the imprint of a tiny hand.

“Daddy, why does Cao’er’s leg return to normal quickly, but mommy’s stays like this so long?”

Cao’er imitated pressing on her own leg.

Her skin also sank but bounced back quickly.

“Daddy, can yours do that?”

This scene struck Su Yanwen like a thunderclap.

The daytime image replayed vividly.

The hope when she spoke of pickling with saltwater.

The despair when the saltwater was thrown to the ground.

Zhao Yue’e and Cao’er were swollen from long-term salt deficiency.

To Su Yanwen, the grimy salt was their life-saving elixir.

His heart was heavy with frustration.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

There was a knock at the door.

Night had fallen, snow covering the land; who could it be?

The door opened.

Aunt Zhang stood there, worry etched on her face, shifting uneasily.

She rubbed her hands together, forcing a faint smile at Su Yanwen.

“Old Su, you’re home?”

“I... I wanted to borrow something,” she said.

“What is it?” Su Yanwen asked.

Her eyes were red; she wiped them dry.

“I heard from the children that she traded fish for some salt.”

“Old Su, can you lend a little, even just a bit…”

“My fifth child is swollen all over. Since noon, he’s been vomiting and now lies on the bed convulsing.”

“A little salt could save the child’s life!”