撒盐止痛
[sā yán zhĭ tòng]
A metaphorical phrase where literally it means 'sprinkle salt to stop pain.' But in fact, adding salt into the wound often worsen the injury rather than curing. So it's used to mean using the wrong method to relieve the pain, which results in more suffering. Maybe the person wants to express that facing some problem, sometimes direct confrontations do no good and can make things worse