On the first night outdoors, Lin Rui barely fell asleep because he was too tired. At dawn in the morning, he heard a commotion around him.

"Ah! How did it become like this!"

"Was it bitten by something?"

"This kid has been holding it in until now. If I hadn't seen him in so much pain this morning that he couldn't get up, I wouldn't have known about it!"

"We don't have a doctor here. I'm thinking of using some traditional lard to apply it."

"Can you do it? Don't make it worse by stimulating it again. Look how swollen it is!"

All sorts of noises poured into Lin Rui's ears, driving away the last bit of sleepiness he had left. Sanliang woke up early and kept watch over him while packing his things.

"Master, you're awake!" Sanliang said happily when he saw him wake up.

Lin Rui nodded, rubbed his eyes, and looked over there: "What's going on?"

Zhao Qing came over and started loading the luggage onto the wheelbarrow. Upon hearing this, he replied, "Zicheng's butt looks like it was bitten by a snake or insect. It's swollen like a steamed bun. Now he's lying there crying in pain, unable to get up!"

"It's so serious!" Lin Rui couldn't sit still anymore and stood up to check on him.

Something was wrong with Lin Zicheng last night. At that time, he was still stubborn and didn't say anything. He just thought it was a hemorrhoid problem. Who knew it would become so serious!

These rules of strict separation between men and women were more stringent in wealthy families, but less so in ordinary peasant households. The Lin family had many children, most of whom were sons, and most of them married young. Now, those standing in this small area were either cousins' wives or younger cousins' wives. Married women were much more assertive than unmarried girls, and they all gathered around Lin Zicheng's swollen buttocks, staring intently.

Lin Zicheng's face was red as hell, and it was unclear whether it was from pain or shame. His wife Tan Ying wanted to cover him with a piece of clothing to hide his shame, but the moment the clothing touched his buttocks, the pain made him scream in pain. The scene was both pitiful and funny.

Lin Rui saw through the crowd that his buttocks were indeed extremely red and swollen, with blisters and rashes in some places. His smooth buttocks became bumpy and bulging, with shiny, bulging blisters. If they were squeezed, they would definitely become inflamed.

There were no tetanus shots available in ancient times, not to mention that they were still fleeing famine.

Lin Changxi and Lin Changhe, his uncle and biological father, were helpless standing beside Lin Zicheng.

"Changhe, why don't you try using lard? There's no ointment here right now!" Lin Changxi had no idea at this time and had to make this suggestion.

Looking at his son sweating profusely from the pain, Lin Changfa had no choice but to agree: "Okay, let's try it."

Lard in rural areas is a treasure, used to rub mosquito bites, insect bites, and burns. Another type of lard is rat oil, made by soaking newborn mice, before they've opened their eyes and grown fur, in a jar of oil. Over time, it's also effective for treating frostbite and bites.

However, lard and rapeseed oil were luxuries for poor people. They would only use a little bit of oil with chopsticks during a meal and just treat it as oil. Who would be willing to use a little mouse to soak a jar of oil?

Lin Changhe reached into the oil tank and scooped up some lard and was about to smear it on. Lin Rui couldn't bear to watch any longer: "Third Uncle, wait!"

"What's wrong, Rui'er?" Lin Changhe asked curiously.

Whether it is lard or rapeseed oil, the skin is very easy to absorb dust and dirt. Lin Zicheng's butt is now so red and swollen that even covering it with a layer of clothes is burning with pain. But is he going to walk in the woods without clothes and wait to be sucked dry by soft-bodied creatures such as leeches?

"I have some medicine powder here. You can give it to your cousin first." There are three packets of anti-inflammatory powder in the household medicine box in the house. He would not bear to use it unless it was a matter of life and death, so he called it medicine powder, but it was actually the prickly heat powder that he had bought and stored at home.

Apply some powder to reduce the friction between the skin on the buttocks and the clothes, which will make Lin Zicheng feel better.

Lin Changhe and Zhang Dacui were so happy that tears came out of their eyes: "Rui'er, Third Uncle really thanks you for saving Chengzi's life!"

Lin Rui waved his hand: "It's not that serious!" After a pause, he said: "Uncle San, wait a moment, I'll get it for you."

"Okay, okay!" Lin Changhe nodded hurriedly.

Lin Rui returned to his ox cart. He remembered that he had placed the prickly heat powder and the purchased Chinese medicinal materials in the same place. In order to prevent himself from getting them mixed up, he marked the serial numbers on them with charcoal.

Feng Zhenniang, looking unhappy, escorted Lin Changxi to Lin Rui's side, her face full of disappointment. "Hey kid, the medicine powder is such a valuable thing, you just gave it away as you said. What if our family needs it later?"

Lin Changxi was unhappy after hearing this: "What nonsense are you talking about, Zicheng is still my nephew after all, so what if Rui'er lends a hand!"

Feng Zhenniang rolled her eyes at him: "How are they the same? You also said that Zicheng is your nephew, and Rui'er and Susu are my biological children. Why are you so disloyal?"

Lin Rui comforted them: "Mom, don't worry, I know everything. I have prepared medicine for my family."

He took out all the medicines in the family medicine box in the house, such as cold capsules, which he had packed early with kraft paper used to wrap medicinal materials in Chinese medicine shops. Originally, these capsules were sealed with plastic shells wrapped with aluminum foil. In terms of safety, it is safest to keep them in the house. They will not expire, get soaked in water, or get damaged.

But the house is like this. If you don't take out the medicines diligently, it may not be updated for a year or two based on its previous usage frequency.

Seeing that Feng Zhenniang was still in pain, Lin Rui had no choice but to persuade her from his own interests: "Mother, you don't have to be so distressed. We are all relatives along the way. The bones are broken and the tendons are still connected. But if you have medicine today and don't help, how can we work together and unite to deal with the looting and destruction of other refugees tomorrow?"

"Our father, me, Sanliang, and my brother-in-law are only three and a half laborers at most. But look at my second uncle's family and the village chief's great grandfather's family. They have more than a dozen children and grandchildren combined, and their wives are all strong and powerful. Each one is worth two. This escape has just begun. How do you know there will be no one to turn to for help later? Mother, we have to win together. The death of anyone in our Lin clan is a huge loss."

"Good!" A loud cheer came from behind.

Lin Changxi and Feng Zhenniang were both startled and turned around quickly to find that it was the village head, Lin Pingmao.

Lin Pingmao looked even more worn after the bumpy ride, his face as wrinkled as tree bark. He looked at Lin Rui with a bright gaze, but seemed disappointed with Feng Zhenniang. "Zhenniang, you're not even half as sensible as Rui'er. Don't you understand that a single chopstick breaks easily, but ten pairs can hold together? As long as our Lin family sticks together, there's nothing we can't overcome!"

Lin Rui felt that the Best Awareness Award was his, and nodded respectfully at him: "Grandpa."

Lin Pingmao's expression relaxed: "Good boy, go and do your thing."