The dilapidated houses are hidden in the small narrow alleys of Yuanhe Town, and a small door separates the yard from the alley. The small courtyard surrounded by earthen walls is still covered with snow, and in addition to a well, you can see that there is a vegetable patch in the courtyard, and what was originally planted in the field.

The old man laid down his burden under the eaves, carried the stove into the house, and turned back to beckon the young man who was following him to come into the house.

"Come into the house, it's warmer." The old man smiled and beckoned: "I'll go to the firewood room to get some firewood, this stove has been outside for a long time, and the donkey fire is not as prosperous as it used to be." With that, he walked straight to the hut on the side of the courtyard, leaving the young man standing alone under the eaves.

The room was dim and silent, with a boxy wooden table in the center, an old oil lamp, a broken teapot next to it, stacked with two clay bowls, and a bench on either side of the table. When you enter the house, you can find that there is a room on the left and right, and the one on the left is the kitchen, and the gray curtain in the middle is lifted, and you can see the earthen stove and the water tank. The room on the right is covered by a gray curtain, and you can't see what is going on inside, so it must be the old man's bedroom. The young man walked over slowly, standing in this room and looking at the kitchen, in the small kitchen, the earthen stove and the water tank have occupied most of the space, the pot is very large, and the water tank is also very large, enough to cook four or five people's meals, but there are only two dishes and chopsticks on the board next to the water tank.

The old man had already returned to the house with a pile of firewood and piled it up by the door. The young man didn't look at the room anymore, and stepped forward to help the old man light the fire.

"Young man, there are still some flames in the stove, you slowly put dry wood into the stove, don't press the flames, I'll go into the kitchen and boil some hot water for you to wash your face and wipe your hands." The old man was really thoughtful, and the young man had no reason to refuse, and in the few days he came to Yuanhe, it was the coldest time, and it was really hard to ask for hot water to wash his face.

Looking at the slight flames in the stove, it gradually turned into a fire with the addition of dry wood. Outside the house, the weather changed, and snow fell from the sky like catkins.

The north wind blows, the snowflakes drift; Snowflakes are falling, and people are lonely.

In this foreign land, it's good to know the old people.

The young man's thoughts were brought back to his homeland of Nanzhou, where he had been born and raised for many years, and the faces of his family, lovers, and old friends appeared in front of him one by one, appearing on every crystal snowflake. His gaze was drawn by the snowflakes until he flew into the fire, and every qiē was reduced to nothing. The young man suddenly had a look of displeasure on his face and anger in his heart, but he didn't have a seizure, because he knew that everything was just his imagination. The north wind blew into the room, blowing the curtain in the middle of the right side, and an incense case and three tablets came into his eyes.

"It's snowing again, close the door so that the cold won't come in." The old man heard the wind outside the house again, and came out of the steaming kitchen and closed the door. "The hot water is boiling, you wash your face and wipe your hands!" As he spoke, he came out of the kitchen again with a wooden basin and a towel on his shoulder.

"Thank you, uncle."

"No thanks, no thanks." Laughing, he turned around and walked into the room on the right. I only heard the sound of rummaging through the cabinets inside, and the old man seemed to be looking for something. The young man was washing his face and wiping his hands outside, and heard the old man say inside: "Your hands are so frozen that the places where the frostbite has flared up have begun to suppurate, and when I find that thing, I will put it on you・・・・・・ where is it?" Remember to put it on. "The old man seemed to be trying to remember the location of something.

"It was here, it was here. Young man, apply this medicine to you, and your chilblains will heal in a few days. While speaking, the old man took a small clay pot in his hand and lifted the curtain and walked out.

"What is this?" The young man asked curiously.

"This is snake oil, which can cure the chilblains on your hands." The old man replied.

"Is it the oil from the snakes that crawl and walk?" Young people were still a little skeptical that this kind of thing could really cure chilblains.

The application of snake oil has a long history in China, and its use in medicine was first seen in the "Fifty-two Prescriptions". Li Shizhen recorded the efficacy of snake oil in the "Compendium of Materia Medica": snake fat "wraps the deaf ears, but also swells and poisons", and "rubs things, all are transparent". It shows that snake oil has strong penetration and has the effect of reducing swelling and poison. Snake oil is commonly used to treat chilblains, chapped, eczema and water and fire burns.

"Not bad. This snake oil is extracted from the fat of the snake, and my snake oil comes from a strange poisonous five-step snake, which guarantees excellent efficacy. Come on, I'll help you put it on. The two sat down next to each other, and the old man opened the sealed clay on the clay pot, and when he lifted the lid, a strange smell came to his face. The young man looked a little uncomfortable and shrank back. The old man then took out a small copper spoon and put it into the clay pot, and the copper spoon contained a spoonful of yellow oil. With a cool touch, the snake oil has been evenly applied to the frostbite affected area.

"It's so cool!" The young man's back was shocked by the sudden cooling sensation, "I didn't expect this snake oil to have such a great effect." ”

"Young man, I'll tell you the truth, old man, when I was young, I was a snake catcher. This strange poisonous five-step snake killed five people in a row, and it took me three days and three nights to catch it on the mountain. The old man sat on the side, pointed to the clay pot, remembered the old days, and talked about the function of the snake. The folk of Yuanhe like to use snake oil to treat diseases and health care. Borneol is ground into powder and mixed into snake oil to apply to the affected area, and the effect is quite good. It is also effective for chilblains, burns, chapped skin, etc. Also, this snake oil is very effective as a scald medicine. If you rub snake oil immediately when you burn, you can quickly relieve the pain without foaming, and rub it 1-2 times for minor injuries, and rub it a few more times for serious injuries to heal without leaving scars. You say that snake oil is not very effective. ”

After some introduction, it was said that the young man had a new understanding of snakes, a poison that disgusted him. The snake oil in the affected area had dried up, and the old man picked up a small copper spoon and applied cool snake oil to him again.

"Young man, you are from Nanzhou, what is your surname?" The old man finally asked what he had always wanted to ask.

"Uncle, my name is Zhao Han, from Nanshan County, Nanzhou." Zhao Han finally revealed the origin of his name.

"Since you are from Nanzhou, how did you come to Yuanhe in this winter?" The old man's doubts were just solved, and he was puzzled. From the moment Zhao Han went home with the old man, he had no intention of hiding anything, and he could only tell his benefactor frankly.

Zhao Han, a native of Nanshan County, Nanzhou, has a high-ranking old mother in his family, and he is the only son who serves him. According to the laws of the kingdom, if there is only one child in the family, the only son can be exempted from military service. Military service is exempt, but conscription is still undertaken. Zhao Han was on the way to the front line of Huaizhou with the grain and grass from Nanshan County, and he was anxious to escape and now is being pursued by the officials of Nanshan County.