"Youngest brother, is this the place you were talking about?" Bai San looked back, then looked ahead and sighed, "There should still be a river down there. How big of a ladle would you need to scoop up fish?"

Xiang Wan didn't take it seriously and chuckled, "Third Brother, there are things here that are more precious than fish. Maybe next winter we won't have to go on a hunting expedition anymore."

Looking at the vast expanse of white, without even a trace of animal, Bai San took Xiang Wan's words as a joke.

"Let's walk around here and look for signs of melting ice."

What Xiang Wan was looking for was, of course, salt. Modern highways use de-icing salt to melt snow; here, salt should be able to melt snow and ice as well.

The two walked slowly, stopping frequently, not daring to stray too far from the shore. This was the sea; if a piece of ice broke, falling in would be disastrous.

About an hour later, on a sloping spot near the rocks, the two discovered that the ice and snow here seemed quite different from those elsewhere. They trod on it and soon could see the sand and gravel beneath. Xiang Wan reached out, pulled out a handful of sand and gravel, and licked it. It tasted slightly bitter, but it was definitely salt.

"Third Brother, we found it! It's salt!"

Xiang Wan was a little excited and held the salt in front of Bai San.

Bai San hesitated for a moment, then imitated Xiang Wan, pinched a handful and put it in his mouth, spitting it out after a while: "What is this thing? It tastes terrible."

Xiang Wan ignored him and began to clear away the surrounding snow and ice with her hands. She spread all the sheepskins she was carrying on the ground and put salt on them. "This is good stuff. We'll rely on it to improve our meals from now on."

Bai San threw the bundle he was carrying to the ground, pointed to a spot not far away, and said resentfully, "To be honest, you tricked me into coming out here, wasn't it for him?"