Chapter 3: Integrity Shattered Everywhere, Want to Pick It Up? [3]

Seeing that Old Lady Ji was about to fly into another rage, Ji Mei hurriedly tugged at her mother's clothes, gave her a meaningful look, and said with a sheepish smile, "Anyway, she's going to die sooner or later. It's better for Brother to pick her up first, lest someone else picks her up!"

Listening to their discussion, Zhu Jie almost burst into tears. How could she be such a failure, to have gained yet another nest of people hoping for her early death so they could be reincarnated? No, that wasn't right—they were hoping for her early death so they could eat her meat! Zhu Jie couldn't help but shudder.

"Go get some salt!" Ji Yi suddenly interrupted them.

"What do you need salt for?" Sister-in-law You looked at Ji Yi in confusion.

Ji Mei immediately took on an expression of sudden realization and said, "That's right! We have to salt her first, lest she doesn't die right away and starts to rot. Besides, salting makes the flavor soak in better and helps it last longer!" As she spoke, she scurried off to find the salt.

*No way! You damn girl, I'm actually not dead yet!* Zhu Jie wanted to scream, but unfortunately, she couldn't even make a sound. She could only shout incessantly in her heart, but it was utterly useless.

In a short while, Ji Mei returned with a jar of salt. Seeing Ji Yi reaching for the salt, Old Lady Ji grew somewhat displeased. "Such a big person, how much salt would it take to salt her all? Don't you know salt is expensive nowadays?"

Clearly, what she was reluctant to part with was the salt, not the human life! Zhu Jie wept inwardly; this family was utterly heartless! If she waited for them to save her, her only fate would be to be eaten!

Just as Zhu Jie was actively attempting to save herself and gathering her strength to get up, the people beside her weren't idle either. She saw Ji Yi pinch a small amount of salt, put it into a cup, and poured hot water over it.

It was a cold day, and the hot water lost its heat in no time. She saw him holding the cup and leaning closer; Zhu Jie felt someone moving her, and she could hear Ji Mei's self-righteous voice in her ear.

"Oh my, why has Second Brother suddenly become so smart? That's right! We can dissolve the salt and rub it on her body; that way we can save quite a bit of salt!" Ji Mei instructed as she spoke, "Second Brother, there's no need to rub it on her head. If it rots, it rots; there's not much meat there anyway!"

*If your head rots, it rots!* Zhu Jie really wanted to tear this little girl's mouth apart. She swore that if she woke up, she would make this greedy, death-defying brat pay!

But Ji Yi was clearly being disobedient. She saw him prop up Zhu Jie's head and bring the cup to her.

Just as Ji Mei was about to call him off, she saw the Zhu Jie on the bed suddenly open her eyes. Yes, she had finally woken up, and her eyes were wide with fury, looking as if she were about to devour someone!

"Little sister, you're awake? Here, have some water!" Ji Yi happened to bring the cup right to the edge of Zhu Jie's mouth.

Zhu Jie froze, staring at him blankly, but he truly, truly poured the water from the cup gently into her mouth. To her surprise, as the lukewarm, lightly salted water went down, Zhu Jie instantly felt her body warm up.

"Thank you," she said in a raspy voice.

Unfortunately, what she heard in her ears was a chorus of sighs. She had woken up, and some people were going to be disappointed!

"This... how did she wake up?" Old Lady Ji looked at Zhu Jie with annoyance, wishing she could press her back down onto the bed.

Ji Mei and Sister-in-law You also wore expressions of disappointment. *No way! How can our luck be so bad? Instead of picking up meat, we picked up a person to save?*

Ji Mei could only whisper to comfort her mother, "Mother, it's fine, she'll die eventually!"

Zhu Jie really wanted to roll her eyes at them, but unfortunately, she didn't have the strength yet.

*Fine, put it on my tab!*

"Er Dan, let me tell you plainly: our family is poor, and we can't afford to feed idle people!" Old Lady Ji said fiercely.

To her chagrin, Ji Yi didn't pay her any attention at all. He merely laid Zhu Jie down gently and even took care to tuck the corners of the quilt around her.

"Forget it, Mother. You know Er Dan is a blockhead. Once he decides to do something, is there any point in you saying anything?" Seeing Ji Yi's manner, Ji Yi's eldest brother couldn't help but mock him a few times.

Hearing his instigation, Old Lady Ji became even more infuriated. "Hmph, I'm telling you, our family has no surplus grain. Everyone's rations are fixed. If you want to save her, then take it out of your own rations!"

Ji Yi still said nothing. He just sat quietly on the edge of the bed, turning his head away from the family.