Er Ya carefully took Shi Yangyang's rough, frostbitten hand and led her into the simple mud house.
Although the house was bare, Zhang Cheng had tidied it up neatly, making it much better than the pigsty it had been in before.
A barely perceptible hint of surprise flashed in Er Ya's eyes.
She pulled Shi Yangyang to sit down on the newly nailed bed and glanced around the room.
"You sit here for a bit, I'll go find you someone to wipe your face."
Er Ya rummaged around in the corner for a while and finally picked up a black cloth that was so dark that its original color was almost indistinguishable.
She shook it in disgust, looked at Shi Yangyang who had his head down, and pouted: "Sister-in-law, do you only have this one rag here?"
Shi Yangyang's cheeks flushed slightly as she protested silently.
That was clearly a washcloth she had used just yesterday, but Zhang Cheng couldn't get it clean no matter how many times he washed it, so he just threw it there.
Seeing that Shi Yangyang remained silent, Er Ya didn't care and walked to the still steaming iron pot on her own.
Boiling water was being cooked in the pot; it was hot water prepared by Zhang Cheng.
Er Ya scooped out some boiling water from the slightly broken earthenware pot in the corner, then went to the door, grabbed a handful of clean snow, mixed it in, and tested the water temperature.
Then, she began to scrub the dark, grimy towel with practiced ease.
Despite being heavily pregnant, Er Ya was surprisingly efficient and quickly washed the towel until it was slightly white.
She carried the small earthenware pot to Shi Yangyang and wrung out the wet towel.
Er Ya first carefully wiped Shi Yangyang's greasy, tangled, and dusty long hair.
This hair is in such bad condition it's unbearable to look at.
As she wiped, Er Ya kept talking, breaking the silence in the room.
Since becoming pregnant, she has been confined to the house to rest and recover, feeling bored all day long and having no one to talk to.
Now, facing Shi Yangyang, who, though not responding, was at least an individual, she seemed to have opened her floodgates and spoke with great enthusiasm, and her mood inexplicably improved a lot.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Zhang Cheng appeared at the west end of the village, in front of the low earthen house of the old Chinese medicine doctor known as "Old Blind Man".
The old blind man wasn't actually blind; he just spent years in a dimly lit room working with herbs, and coupled with severe astigmatism and presbyopia, he always squinted when he looked at things, which is why he got that nickname.
His house was filled with a strong herbal smell, and there were many dried medicinal herbs piled up in the corner.
On ordinary days, villagers with headaches, fevers, or minor illnesses would come to him to get some herbal medicine, which he would give them for free, just some grain or food.
Zhang Cheng explained his purpose and asked the old blind man for some dried jasmine flowers and a few small pieces of beeswax.
These are the materials he prepared to make a simple lip balm for Shi Yangyang.
In exchange, Zhang Cheng agreed to help the old blind man dig up some Solomon's Seal after the snow melted in the spring.
Now that the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, there's no way to dig.
After saying goodbye to the old blind man, Zhang Cheng did not immediately return to the dilapidated house in the backyard. Instead, he turned and headed towards Tie Zhengzi's house at the other end of the village.
Zhang Cheng's arrival overwhelmed Tie Zhengzi's family with gratitude.
Especially Zhang Jucai, Tie Zhengzi's father, was so excited that his face turned red. He insisted on taking out a small jar of rice wine that he treasured at home and giving it to Zhang Cheng, but Zhang Cheng politely declined with a smile.
Zhang Tiezheng, recuperating from his injuries, lay on the earthen kang (heated brick bed) in the inner room.
When he saw Zhang Cheng come in, he struggled to sit up, but Zhang Cheng pressed him back down.
"Brother Er Gouzi!" Tie Zhengzi's face was full of gratitude for surviving the ordeal. "This time... if it weren't for you, most of us of these dozen or so people probably wouldn't have made it back alive! I won't thank you enough, but once the snow melts in the spring, I'll definitely find a way to get you a job at the cannery in the county!"
In those days, working in a cannery was a secure job in the countryside; countless people would fight tooth and nail to get in.
But Zhang Cheng, who has been given a second chance at life, has no interest in this.
He smiled and shook his head, declining Tie Zhengzi's offer: "Brother Tie Zheng, I appreciate your kindness. Let's talk about getting into the factory later."
He paused for a moment, then stated his purpose directly: "I came here this time not only to check on your injury, but mainly to... get some more stuff from you."
He was referring to bullets.
Of the eight bullets I got from sewing up my pants, I used one to shoot a wild boar, two to shoot wolves, and one to warn Zhang An and his son. Now I only have four left.
Faced with the ever-present threat of danger, this ammunition reserve is far from sufficient.
"Hey! I thought it was a big deal!" Tie Zhengzi slapped the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and said heartily, "Er Gouzi, you're being too polite! You saved my life, not to mention the bullets, you gave me my life!"
He turned to his wife, who was standing nervously by the door, and shouted, "What are you standing there for? Didn't you hear what Brother Er Gouzi said? Quickly bring Er Gouzi my hunting rifle and that bag of ammunition!"
"Oh, oh!" Tie Zhengzi's wife finally realized what was happening and hurriedly turned around to search the inner room.
"Thank you very much, Brother Tiezheng." Zhang Cheng said thank you without being polite.
Tie Zhengzi leaned against the pillow, carefully examining Zhang Cheng sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his eyes filled with complex emotions: "Er Gouzi, I feel like... after you got married and separated from your family, you seem like a completely different person?"
The Zhang Ergou who used to be taciturn and even somewhat cowardly is now a completely different person from the sharp-eyed and ruthless man in front of him.
"People have to learn to grow up, right?" Zhang Cheng grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, but his smile carried a hint of meaning.
"That's true..." Tie Zhengzi nodded thoughtfully, then lowered his voice as if he had thought of something, "Er Gouzi, I heard... Big Head Brother wanted to recruit you to join them and go into the mountains together, but you didn't agree?"
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